More Recent Auction Wins

Alrighty, jumping back into the pool with something easy to post about.  This is becoming a pretty regular feature here on the blog.  Recent auction wins!  I'm a bit of a bargain hunter when it comes to ebay auctions but I also don't usually buy super popular cards either.  I also have the good fortune of working at a place where I have internet access all day so bidding on an auction at 10am on a Tuesday morning isn't really a problem.  I can peruse ebay all day long but can not read my personal email (stupid firewalls).  Looks like I'm rambling again.  Here's the cards:

Here's my first Nolan Reimold card that I won.  It's a Blue Refractor '05 Bowman Chrome Draft picks numbered 140/150.  Man I hope this guy stays healthy this year.  I know he could hit 25 to 30 homers if he did.  He'd be able to replace Mark Reynolds' power and strike out a lot less.

This black beauty is from 2010 Topps Heritage.  The Black Refractors are pretty awesome I think.  I really hope Nick stays healthy this year too.  Injuries haven't really been a concern for Nick the Stick during his career so I think last year was a fluke.  Let's just keep Captain Cheesburger's fastballs away from the wrists. BTW, this one is lucky-numbered 7/61.

The next Nick that won was this 2011 Topps Chrome Red Refractor numbered 2/25.  I own about eleventy billion different versions of this card through flagship, Chrome, and Opening Day.  I think the only version I'm missing is the rack pack exclusive un-numbered Orange Refractor.  How does that happen?

The final card that I'm showing off today is a 2009 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor of Nolan #d 42/50.  Not a whole lot left to say about Nolan in this post.  Just stay healthy. *fingers crossed*

Here's my winnings from Listia over the last few weeks:




Oh right, I didn't win anything because I refuse to pay 1000 credits (approx $10-12) for a stack of late 80's commons.  The credits required to win a couple of Cal Ripken cards got way out of hand in my opinion so I refused to bid.  There seems to be more and more sellers starting to charge for shipping too.  No way am I handing over 2000 credits and 2 dollars shipping for a relatively plentiful mid-90's insert of Cal, no sir!  My patience with Listia is running thin, so when I finally spend the rest of my credits I'm closing my account.

See, I told you that I can put pictures on a post!  Hope you enjoyed the cards as much as I do.  Thanks for reading!

State of the Blog and a Return to Semi-Regular Posting

          It's amazing how time flies.  I took a look at my blog today and realized it's been over a month since I wrote anything meaningful.  Well, at least something that pertained to my collection.
     I ran into a plethora of computer issues including (but not limited to) a full hard drive meltdown, a battery failure (its a laptop) and hardware and software updates.  I finally got that back up and running with all of my music ripped and backed up on 7 CD-R data discs.  Sometimes there's just not enough hours in the day to get everything done!
     I've also been hard at work outside in the yard cutting down trees in preparation for my sister-in-law's boyfriend to bring over his backhoe to rip the stumps out of the ground.  I'm nearing the homestretch and I haven't cut my leg off with the chainsaw or damaged anything with falling trees!  There's about 50 trees left (nothing too big but big enough to need a backhoe to pull the stumps out of the ground) that need to hit the ground before I can call this project done.  Then the next project will be finding somebody to come and haul away the firewood.  Anybody know somebody in Richmond that needs some?
     So what does all of this have to do with baseball cards?  Not much, unfortunately!  Just because I've been busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest doesn't mean that my collection has suffered.  Only my blog has been neglected!
     Since Christmas break I've reorganized just about every aspect of my collection.
     I've given about 10,000 cards I don't need to kids I know.  A bunch of doubles that I had no use for and I'm sure the youngins would like them.
     I sent a bunch of stuff to COMC.  Hopefully the processing doesn't take too long.  I'll let everybody know when they go up for sale.
     I also backed off of my complete set complete sell out.  I've decided to keep all of my regular Topps sets  from 1981 thru the present.  I will be selling off all of my Bowman ('89-present) and Upper Deck ('89-'09) complete sets as well as some of the other random sets I have around ('09 Topps 206 regular and mini, '07-'09 Goudey).  I'm still on the fence about whether or not to get rid of my Allen and Ginter near sets, and the UD Masterpieces though.  The are all great sets but I just don't look at them once I complete them.  I guess it's just the thrill of the chase but once I get them all, the thrill is gone.
     I have decided to collect just the regular Topps sets from here on out.  I'm working on 2013 right now.  I didn't buy a hobby box and decided to try and build it just from retail purchases.  It's going to cost me more in the long run, so experiment failed.  I'm not going to write up a pack break or review because I'm sure everyone is sick of seeing series 1 by now.  Just check out my trade list to see what I pulled and have available to trade.
     I haven't totally given up on building the 1974 thru 1980 Topps sets even though I've traded some of those cards over the last month.  They just aren't a priority right now.
     I've revamped all of my trade lists to include the inserts that I have from 2011 and 2012 I've also added a section for the hits and notable cards for each team that are for trade.  I figured it would be easier to find cards from your favorite team than just looking at a long list.
     I even took a little time to change the design of the blog too!  I think it look a little more dignified, even though I did like the little birdies on the old design.
     I should have some trade packages and Ebay auction wins coming in over the next few days so I will have some good material to write about.  Plus, baseball spring training has started so that will probably inspire me to write a little bit more.  I don't try to post on a daily basis but hopefully from now on, I'll be able to get some decent content posted!  I promise, next time there will be pictures of cards!  So let me declare:

I'm Open for Business, Who Want's to Trade!?!?!?

Ripped from the Headlines #2

I just saw this article on Yahoo! while I was at work:

Postal Service to Cut Saturday Mail to Trim Costs

I'm actually OK with this.  This has been rumored for years but now it seems like its actually going to happen.  Sure I won't get any mail delivered on Saturdays but if it means I can still be able to send and receive trade packages during the week, I'm all for it.

Reading further into the article, you will be able to get your mail on Saturday if you get your mail in a P.O. Box.  Also, all of the service windows that are presently open on Saturday will not be affected.  You will still be able to go to the counter and send out packages, buy postage and stamps.

What do you think about the change?

Ripped from the Headlines #1

I'm still having "technical difficulties" with my home computer but I was reading my daily Orioles links at work and I ran across this article about baseball cards on SB Nation:

Requiem for the 00's: The Decline of Topps Baseball Cards

I agree with some of the topics covered such as the Topps Monopoly, competition causes innovation, and kids are more attracted to video games than collecting cardboard.

The author does harp on the fact of the numbering of the flagship set a little bit.  It never really mattered to me if Cal Ripken or Ken Griffey Jr. or Frank Thomas had a nice "round" card number like 100 or 555.  I haven't grabbed many packs of 2013 yet but the numbering of the cards doesn't really mean a whole lot.  It's just how you put the cards in order, not some hierarchy of a player's worth.

The author does tend to appreciate tradition over present but makes it seem like a person interested in cards is only allowed to buy the latest and greatest.  For hardcore collectors (yes, if you are reading blogs and collecting, you are hardcore!) we know that you can still buy vintage cards online or at shows.  If you're only buying cards at Wal-Mart or Target, you're only going to be able to buy the latest and greatest!

Sure baseball cards aren't as popular as they used to be but Topps is still making money or they wouldn't be doing it anymore.  I don't really appreciate the article's author putting my hobby 6 feet under!  It's more of niche hobby now instead of mainstream and that's ok.  Roller skating was huge at one point in time and it surely declined but they are still around!  Not as many people snowboard as they used to.

Our hobby is not dead or dying.

Here's my only story from Orioles Fan Fest that I am going to share.  (I basically stood in the same lines and William from foul bunt and ended up with the same results, so check his blog for the blow by blow details).

I was standing in the kids only line with my friend Scott and his kid Austin.  Behind me were 4 boys that were probably from the ages of 8 thru 12 and they were rabid baseball fans.  I was talking to them and they were really knowledgeable about the game and the players.  I offered to send them a bunch of extra cards that I had (since I'm downsizing a bit) and they thanked me over and over.  I sent the cards last week and a few days later, the mother of 2 of the boys sent me an email thanking me for making the kid's days!  She said it was like Christmas at their house when the cards arrived.  It made me feel good to do something good for people I only met one time.  Maybe I sparked one (or maybe all 4) of the boy's interest in the hobby by giving away some cards.

So the hobby is not dead or dying, it's only what you make of it!

Technical Difficulties and other things

I'm writing this on my work laptop while on my lunch break.

My home laptop (which is a Mac) is about 5 years old so the operating system is now obsolete according to Apple.  I bought the install disk for a newer OS last week and attempted to upgrade it on Friday afternoon.  While updating the software, the install disk found some critical hard drive errors and basically scrambled everything up.  The computer is now a brick since it's stuck between 2 different operating systems.  The geniuses at the Apple store said that my computer is obsolete and can't fix it due to their company policy of cash grabbing and trying to get you to buy the newest, latest, and greatest.  My only hope is my father-in-law who runs his own computer repair business.  I'm probably better off taking it to him anyways!

So bottom line is, I won't be able to post any pictures or scan any cards for a little bit until I get my home laptop up and running again.  I'm not sure how long this will be.  Maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe more.  I think the time away from blogging might be good considering my malaise about it right now.  I'll be reading everybody's entries when I get spare moments at work so I'll be around.

I also want to thank everybody who read my posts over the weekend for their words of encouragement.  I do have a tendency to be really, really hard on myself sometimes.  I think that was the first time it had spilled over onto the blog though.  I will continue to write about my collecting journey as well as I am able.

I will try to dig up some pictures of what our house looked like when we moved in and what it looks like presently.  Luckily the wife has those on her computer!  William from foul bunt is the only blogger that has seen my house (unless some of you guys out there are creepers)  and he'll say that the difference is night and day (or jungle to not-so-much jungle)!

Speaking of William, I did attend Orioles Fanfest with him this past weekend and had a blast.  I want to do a recap of that as well as a tribute to Earl Weaver and Stan Musial whenever I get my computer back in working order. I finally get some cool stuff to blog about and now I can't because of the hard drive failing!  I will endeavor to persevere!  See you all soon!

Dear Diary Part 2

      I've done a little thinking about my collection a lot lately.  I do need to downsize what I have.  I've decided to sell off all of my complete sets.  Topps 1981-present, Upper Deck 1989-2009, Bowman 1989-present, Allen & Ginter 2006-present along with a few other random sets I have.  They take up a lot of space (nearly 100 complete sets ) and I just don't look at them once they are complete.  I can't tell you the last time I pulled my 1988 Topps set off the shelf and cracked open the box and looked at the cards.  I can probably say that it hasn't been opened since it was completed!
    I've never understood why complete sets of baseball cards are "worth" less that what they are if you added up all the individual card "values".  For example: if you look on ebay for a Super Mario Brothers 3 game for NES you'll find a ton for sale.  Then you find that one copy that has the original box, manual, advertising inserts and maybe the original shrink wrap intact is going to sell for a premium price.  Why the premium price?  Because it's complete!  Why don't baseball card sets carry that premium? Somebody please explain this to me!
 
      I've already had a trade bait blow out which was overall a big success.  I cleared out some room in my tradebait boxes and more importantly  I acquired some really nice cards in return. But, I still have a nice sized pile to send to COMC.  That's ok by me because whatever I sell there, I can turn around and use the store credit to fund my habit to buy some cards I need.  I think I may do a massive last chance clearance before I seal the box and send it out just to see if there are anymore cards that people are interested in.

    I've also purged a bunch of cards from my overproduction era commons boxes.  I'm sitting on a mountain of 3200 count boxes of cards that just take up space.  I don't think I need 800 or so piles of 1988 Topps or 1991 Donruss sitting around in boxes.  I think the Children's Hospital or Goodwill might be a good place to take these cards unless somebody wants them on here.  They would only have to pay shipping or come pick them up.

So looking forward I won't be building sets anymore. I also think this will cut down on the amount of wax I open too.  This won't be a bad thing though.  I'll be able to buy more of the cards I need for my collections instead of cards to just "fill" sets.  I will still open packs and the occasional hobby box but nowhere near what I used to bust.  Hopefully this strategy will keep me from acquiring too much extra cardboard that I don't need.

Dear Diary Part 1

     Sometimes I feel like my blog is the worst on the internet.  All I do is post up trades that I complete, a pack break every now and then with a group break sprinkled in for good measure.  I have a hard time coming up with "original" material like Night Owl, Nick from Dime Boxes, or Napkin Doon do on a nightly basis.  I've never been a talented writer when it comes to originality but when I get a prompt (or in this case a trade) I can usually put together a few paragraphs and say thanks at the end.
     I don't get a ton of comments (669 comments on 437 post, ~1.5 comments per post) but I understand why I don't.  Most everything I post  is "show and tell", so all of the readers just look and move on.
Baseball cards are enjoyable for me and I do it on my spare time (which is less and less these days).  I work a full 8 hours and then I come home to do some work in the yard (more on that a little bit later) or household chores and by the time I sit down to look at cards, my brain is in shut down mode.  Coming up with thought provoking commentary or witty banter about something I enjoy is sometimes tough when you're pooped from the day's activities.

    I'm not trying to sound like a whiner or get some pity from anybody.  I know everybody else has issues that they deal with on a daily basis too.  Bottom line is I hope that my writing style isn't boring to read. My blog is what it is and I just want to thank everybody that does read.  I'm not going anywhere for a while so you're going to have to cope with my blog for long time to come!

The boring stuff starts right here:

     Let me jump back in time to last May when the wife and I moved into a new (to us) house.  I've always been  the kind of person who enjoys a well landscaped yard and we both saw the potential that the house has (and is slowly reaching).  The only thing is that while the inside of the house was well taken care of, the yard had become an overgrown jungle since it was built back in 2007.  Trees were out of control and the flowerbeds were almost non-existent. When the weather cooled last September (right after my adult baseball season ended) we went to work.  I hate Sweet Gum trees, especially those damn spiky "gumballs" that they drop.  Out of the roughly 125 trees I've cut down, hauled away the brush to the dump, given away loads of firewood and chopped up the stumps with an ax, probably 100 of them have been Gum trees!  Luckily our county dump gives away free mulch so we've probably spread about 20 or so loads of that in our new flower beds that have been constructed out of nothing but our imaginations and the dirt under our feet.  All of this has taken a remarkable amount of time  and there's still a lot of work that needs to be done.  Everything I've mentioned has been in the front yard!
     I'm planning on cutting down more trees in the back yard and planting some grass so that there's a nice place for the Mrs and I to relax with our dogs.  Then there's the garden that we're planning on putting in the side yard.  That will also include cutting trees down and getting rid of the stumps!
     I actually enjoy spending the time doing yard projects.  I'm getting my exercise and fresh air and I'm told that's good for me.  Chopping my toes off with an ax or having a tree fall on me would be bad.  I'm looking forward to continually work on finishing up these projects but it just takes time.  One bite of the elephant at a time is what I keep telling myself.

Trade with Ryan of Ryan's Pitch

Here's a trade that came together rather quickly last week.  Ryan from the excellent blog Ryan's Pitch posted up a wantlist for some 2012 sets he's trying to finish up last week and I was happy to help out (and clear some room out of my commons boxes).  I was very happy to be able to get these cards in return:

A Javy Lopez patch card!  If I remember correctly, this one is numbered 70/100.  I vaguely remember Javy's time in Baltimore since it was a time when I wasn't collecting much or paying that close attention to the Orioles.  I do remember my roommate at the time who was a Braves fan being pretty upset that Javy switched teams.  I guess it was the personal connection he had since he had seen him play in person for the Braves Triple-A team at the Diamond here in Richmond.

There's a rumor that the Orioles are interested in bringing back Matt Lindstrom to the flock for the upcoming season.  I'd welcome that move since he pitched really well during the 2012 season before he was shipped off to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Joe Saunders.  To be quite honest Lindstrom would be preferable in my eyes over the re-upping of Saunders.  You can't teach a 98 MPH fastball that Lindstrom possesses but  we don't need to sign Saunders to a multi-year deal that blocks the path of Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman to the major league rotation.

Luis Ayala pitched really well of the O's this past year.  I really hope that he can keep it up this year.  For once, the Orioles bullpen has some stability and reliability.  This particular card is one of my favorites of 2012.  It's like Luis is pointing the bat at the photographer saying "don't even think about making fun of my pink batting gloves, my daughter gave them to me!"

The next big offensive prospect in the Orioles pipeline is Jonathan Schoop.  I've gotten his autograph in person a few times and he has been quite pleasant each time.  I believe he is going to start the year in Triple-A Norfolk playing everyday.  He played very well in the Arizona Fall League after having an average season at Double-A Bowie.  I'll be following him closely this year to see how he's progressing!

Thanks for the trade Ryan.  I hope we can get together on another trade soon!