Showing posts with label sportlots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sportlots. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

One of Things Is Not Like the Other

About a month ago, I asked people for blog topic suggestions and Jeff at Wax Pack Wonders mentioned that the folks over at SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee will write a post about their favorite common as a way of introducing themselves.

This topic might be simple for some, but for me... it was pretty challenging.  There are just way too many cool cards out there to choose from.

Ultimately... I decided to pick a card from one of my earliest collecting memories.  When I was a kid, my neighborhood friends and I would bring out our shoeboxes filled with cards and trade back and forth just like millions of other kids around the country.


It's been nearly forty-years since those trades took place and my memory isn't what it used to be.  However one card still stands out after all of these years.  Here's a hint, it's one of the cards above.  Here's another hint:


Did you figure it out?  You might have noticed that all of the 1981 Donruss Atlanta Braves cards feature a light blue border with the exception of this card:

1981 Donruss #550

As soon as one of us noticed this discrepancy, we all assumed it was some sort of rare error card and wanted it.  This card went back and forth between our collections during that brief moment of our lives when we traded cards on our front porches.

I honestly have no idea who ended up with the card, but if it was me... I got rid of it years ago.  The card you see above was purchased off of Sportlots a few weeks ago and has since been added to my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder.

I'm still not sure why Donruss decided to give The Mad Hungarian a purple border and as far as I know, they never made a card of him with a light blue border.  Regardless... this simple 18¢ card is my favorite common today.  But will it be my favorite next week?  Who knows.

Today's question of the day:

What is one of your favorite commons?

Don't stress over it.  Just type out the first card that popped into your head.  Okay... I've gotta get ready for this Nearpod webinar.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Monday, February 10, 2020

Clearing Some Desk Space

It seems like all of the cool kids are using TCDB these days to add new cards to their collections, but not me.  I'm a rebel.  A few weeks ago, I decided to clean up my office and wrap up some sets that were cluttering my deskMy solution?  Sportlots.


I don't purchase cards from that site very often, since I'm way too cheap to dish out 18¢ for commons.  However... dropping $21.73 (+ $13.45 shipping) allowed me to complete ten sets while crossing off cards on a few others.

Here's
a list of the sets I completed:


12015 Heritage WWE 2K16
2
2015 Heritage WWE Rookie of the Year
3
2015 Heritage WWE Then and Now
4
2015 Heritage WWE NXT Called Up


52012 Panini Golden Age
62013 Panini Golden Age
72014 Panini Golden Age


82017 Topps Gallery


92019 Topps Chrome


102013 Panini Hometown Heroes

It feels good to clear off some desk space, but I'm not finished yet.  As soon as I wrap up and ship out all of the care packages that are cluttering my office, I'm going to head over to Sportlots again and try to knock off a few more sets.

While were on the topic of set building... I ran into Mr. Haverkamp at the Serramonte Mall Sports Cards, Toys, and Collectibles Show.  He handed me a nice stack of 1984 Topps baseball:


I was able to cross off fifty-three cards from my wantlist, which leaves 187 cards needed to complete the set.  This put me in a pickle.  Before Mr. Haverkamp's generosity, I was planning on breaking this set up.  But for now, I'll continue to work on it.  Hopefully I'll stumble across a big box of 1984 Topps baseball cards at the flea market on the cheap.

Mr. Haverkamp also got me one step closer to completing the 2013 Topps Update 1971 Mini set with this Derek Jeter:


Last, but not least he asked me if I could use these two 2001 UD Decade memorabilia cards:



I haven't officially started building either of these sets, but I've thought about it.  In fact, I enjoy picking up singles here and there and estimate that I'm at least 50% of the way on each of these sets.

Thank you Jim for helping me out with all of these set builds!  I'll try to track down some more Mike Schmidt oddballs for your collection.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

State of the Office


Like Billy Ocean once sang... when the going gets tough, the tough get going.  Sadly I'm as soft as a marshmallow.  With each passing day, more stuff continues to pile on my plate and card related items are not exempt.

Last week, I wrapped up sorting the collection I purchased in September and focused on care packages.  Then on Friday, my Sportlots order, which contained set needs started arriving.  So I paused on the care packages for the umpteenth time to get the set situation under control.

On Saturday, I spent the day at the card show... which resulted in a few more stacks of cards that needed to be sorted and cataloged.  Plus standing up and sitting down didn't do my sore back any favors.

Then on Sunday, the news of Kobe Bryant broke and an emotional component was added to the formula.  In short, I'm physically and mentally burnt out.

I know most collectors look forward to sitting down with their cards, but when I came home yesterday from work... the last thing I wanted to do was open the door to my office and see stacks of cards laying all over the place.  My body and mind told me to lay down on the floor and listen to episodes of The Office or a podcast.  And that's exactly what I did for an hour or so.  Then I went upstairs and continued the process of scanning, cataloging, and sorting for another hour or so.

Collecting is suppose to be fun.  My office is suppose to be my Fortress of Solitude.  A place for me to hide out and relax, while being surrounded by sports cards.  It's starting to feel more like an actual office space.

I'm looking forward to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.  At that point, my desk and office floor will be clear, cards will be sleeved or put into boxes and binders, and care packages will have been shipped.  My plate will finally be clean and I can look forward to some dessert.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Monday, March 4, 2019

Cheap Cards & Small Investments

While some of you were picking up Heritage boxes, blasters, hangars, and/or packs last week... I decided to head over to Sportlots for the first time in over a year and find some singles for my collection instead.

Normally most of my online card purchases take place over on eBay or COMC, but there was one particular card I've been wanting to add to my collection and Sportlots offered the cheapest solution:

2019 Topps #126

Ever since people started showing off their 2019 Topps Series One, I've been in love with the team card subset and the amazing stadium photographs.  The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum card is extra special to me, because I grew up attending games and concerts there.

Sportslots ended my monthlong wait and it only cost me 18¢ + shipping.  It's seriously the best 18¢ I've spent in a long time.

While I was there, I decided to pick up another cheap card:

2017 Topps Pro Debut Ben's Biz #BBB-9

I try to go to at least one or two San Jose Giants games a year and the churros are pretty darn good, but I've gotta admit... I had no idea who Paul Cerda was until I saw this card.  But the fact that there's a card out there honoring a local is pretty cool.  I'm gonna take 18¢ card with me the next time I go to a game and see if he'll sign it for me.

The last cheap single I grabbed was this Matt Chapman rookie card:

2014 Bowman Draft #DP21

Chapman is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball and he's a pretty good hitter too.  That's why I wasn't sweating the 20¢ investment I made on his first Bowman card.

The other three cards I grabbed were more expensive, but it made me feel less stupid for spending $3 on premium shipping.

The most expensive card I purchased was this Ramon Laureano rookie card:

2017 Heritage Minor League #3 (No First Name)

Laureano is projected to be the A's starting centerfielder for many years to come.  He caught my attention last summer after I saw this highlight:


The No First Name variations were tough pulls... seeded at 1:47 packs... which explains the $5 price tag.  I'm just hoping he doesn't fall into a sophomore slump.

The last two purchases were also rookie cards, however they're a little more established than Mr. Laureano:

2018 Topps Gallery Wood #101
2018 Topps Gallery #126

The Andujar was $2.50 and Soto was $2.  I threw these two into the shopping cart, because I was impressed by both of these guys last year.  Plus none of the Walmarts in my area sell cards, so I didn't have access to any 2018 Topps Gallery.


At the end of the day, I
dropped $13.06 on six cardsWas it the greatest deal of the year?  Definitely not.  But I did cross off two cards that I really, really wanted to own and added four rookie cards that may or may not have room for growth.  I can live with that.

Well that's it for today.  If you didn't see my Saturday post, I'm celebrating my blog's 9th anniversary with a contest.  Click here to enter.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Friday, April 10, 2015

The Price Was Right

I'm not sure what it is.  Maybe I'm getting older and wiser.  Maybe it's the lack of space.  Or maybe the little voice inside my head is telling me that I should have more to retire on then stacks of cardboard with pictures of people printed on them.

Whatever it is... with each passing day, I see myself getting more and more finicky about what I spend my hard earned money on.

Long gone are the days where I'd buy anything and everything sports card related.  These days it's all about buying certain completed sets I really like, specific vintage cards, on-card autographs of hall of famers and fan favorites, cheap singles for the teams and players I collect, and of course finding those hidden treasures on eBay, COMC, and Sportlots.

However... I try my best to avoid purchasing cards that look like this:

2014 Donruss Signatures #JD

It's logo-less.  Donaldson's hands and legs have been cropped off.  Plus he signed a sheet of stickers and never held this card.  In short... it's the trifecta of cardboard crappiness.

However... the price was right.


A few weeks ago, I was searching Sportlots in an effort to complete my two 2001 Upper Deck Decade baseball sets and stumbled across a seller with cheap memorabilia cards (75¢ to $1.25).  And within his inventory he had the Donaldson for $2.50.

What's that mean?  Well... I guess I'll still buy certain cards I deem hideous... if it's cheap enough and fits into one of my player or team PC's.

The icing on the cake?  After two years, I finally finished both of my 2001 Upper Deck Decade sets:


Unlike the Donaldson... this set is awesome!  One of these days I'll review it along with the insert sets I put together.  In the meantime, feel free to respond to today's question...

In terms of your personal collection...

Do you have an unconditional love for cards?  Or does physical appearance matter?

And if it does...

What are some of your favorite set designs from the past decade or so?

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Friday, June 6, 2014

Cheap Vintage Rules!

I've been trying to wrap up my Topps HOF League Leader Project, so last month I headed over to Sportlots to see if I could check off a few cards from my wantlist.  I ended up finding one guy who had eight cards I needed:






I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up seventeen different hall of famers for $5.78.

Now if you're familiar with Sportlots, then you understand the importance of combined shipping.  So I began scouring other vintage singles from his inventory and found a bunch of items.

One of the first cards I discovered was this cool catcher's card:


I grew up watching both of these guys play and although it's poorly centered, it's well worth the 55¢ I spent on it.

Next up are a pair of rookie cards:


Neither of these guys are HOFers... but Mad Dog and Teke are both fan favorites.  The damage?  80¢.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Oakland Athletics three-peat during the 70's.  I picked up these three cards for an additional 61¢.



And wrapping up this post are these two classic cards:


I already own both of these cards thanks to Mark (Stats on the Back) and Chris (Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz), but I needed some cheap filler cards and these two fit the description.  Herb's unique position and Gamble's awesome hair only set me back 43¢.

In all... there were forty cards in my order... setting me back $16.57 (plus $5.00 shipping).  That's approximately the price I would have had to pay for a 2014 Topps Archives blaster box.  And although Archives is one of my favorite products (huge fan of the hard signed autographs), I'll take actual vintage cards over them any day of the week.

Well... that's it for now.  I'm still waiting on one more order that will bring me a few steps closer to wrapping up the League Leaders Project.  Until then...

Happy Friday and sayonara!