So Scott and I were roaming the aisles at Reading this past Saturday, and I noticed table with a stack of 2008 Allen & Ginter boxes. I don't know what it was, but the sight of boxes of Allen & Ginter got me thinking....
What if we fast forward 1000-2000 years and archeologists dig up a stash of 2006-08 Topps Allen & Ginters. And then, another group of archeologists discover some 19th Century A&Gs.
What will our descendants (no, not those Descendents) think? How will they know what cards they have? Will they be able to tell the difference between an original A&G and a Topps A&G?
Think about it.
Showing posts with label reading show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading show. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
What I got at The Philly Show: 9/27/08
The big news was that, after 33 years, the EPSCC sold out to Hunt Auctions who will relocate the show to Valley Forge. Thank God. The only thing worse that the 60-mile trip to Reading, is Reading itself. Seriously, what a shit town.
I arrived at 2:30PM, and for those of you expecting to meet me there, I apologize. I fucking hate driving the Schuylkill.
I did hook-up with Scott, and we bought a shitload of junk packs that we'll be reviewing on APAD.
Highlight of the show: Actually coming within 12 inches and a pane of glass from touching Steve Carlton's 1982 NL Cy Young Award and Mike Schmidt's '82 Gold Glove.
1 Waxbox of 2008 Goudey: $65
1 Waxbox of 1996 Leaf Preferred: $15
Stack of assorted junk packs: $25
Stack of assorted inserts/short prints: $77
Three packs of top loaders: $3
Total Spent on Cards: $185
Admissions and Tolls: $15
Grand Total: $200
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Fear and Loathing in Reading.
We were somewhere around King of Prussia, on the edge of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, when the pack busting jones began to take hold. I remember saying something like "I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive..." And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like former late-night sports collectible TV hosts, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about seventy-five miles an hour to Reading. And a voice was screaming: "GEM! MINT! TEN!"
Then it was quiet again. "What the hell are you yelling about?" my attorney muttered, staring up at the sun. "Never mind," I said. "It's your turn to drive." I hit the brakes and aimed the Great Black Tank toward the shoulder of the PA Turnpike. No point in mentioning the voices of Don West and Kenny Goldin, I thought. The poor bastard will hear them soon enough.
It was almost Noon, and we still had thirty miles to go. They would be tough miles. Very soon, I knew, we would both be twisted. But there was no going back, and no time to rest. We would have to ride it out. The fabulous Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show was already underway, and we had to get there by four. And I was, after all, a semi-professional fake-gonzo baseball card journalist; so I had an obligation to cover the story, for good or ill.
I had $300 in cash, most of which was already spent on extremely worthless baseball cards. The trunk of the car looked like a mobile Shop at Home studio. We had two factory sets of '90 Donruss, 75 waxpacks of 1989 Topps, five waxboxes of 1991 Classic Draft Picks, a 800-count box half-full of Casey Candaele rookie cards, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored '90 Topps, '91 Fleer, '88 Score, '94 Stadium Club... and also a set of '81 Donruss, a vending box of '88 Topps, a case of '87 Sportflix, a rack box of '89 Score and two dozen '01 Donruss singles.
Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious junkwax collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.
The only thing that really worried me was the '89 Score. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an '89 Score pack busting binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon. Probably at the next Turnpike rest area. We had sampled almost everything else, and now -- yes, it was time for an '89 Score rack pack.
"Man this is the way to travel," said my attorney. He leaned over to turn the volume up on the radio, humming along and moaning the words: "K-Y-W! News-Ray-Dee-Oh! Ten-Sixty!"
You poor fool! Wait till you hear Ken Goldin's voice!
We drove around to the Greater Reading Expo Center and parked near the front door. "This is the place," I said. "Where's the '88 Fleer?" said my attorney. "The '93 Topps ain't working." I gave him the key to the trunk while I ripped into some '92 Leaf. He came back with two '88 Fleer cellos, opened them, then emptied the cards into an 660-count box. This is the main advantage of late-80s junkwax: it makes you behave like the village drunkard in some early-Irish novel. Which is interesting, because the brain continues to function more or less normally ... you can actually watch yourself behaving in this terrible way, but you can't control it.
You approach the entrance leading into the Greater Reading Expo Center and you know that when you get there, you have to give the lady six dollars or she won't let you inside ... but when you get there, everything goes wrong: you misjudge the distance to the front door and slam against it, bounce off and grab hold of the old lady handing out complementary EPSCC gift bags and you think: What's going on here? What's going on? Ah, devil '88 Fleer.
The ground floor of the Greater Reading Expo Center is full of dealer tables, like all the other card shows ... but even bigger. I came in wanting to buy wax; specifically the brand new 2008 Topps Heritage. I step up to the first table with '08 TH: going price $69. "As your attorney, I advise you to pay no more than $65 for the new Topps Heritage."
Eventually found what I was looking for: a box of '08 TH for only $62. This particular dealer also had a box of 1997 Pinnacle and I was tempted to pick it up. At only $15 it seemed like a bargain, and the perfect addition to our burgeoning junkwax collection.
"As your attorney I advise you not to buy the '97 Pinnacle box. Instead you should search for the $4 boxes of 1986 Donruss All-Stars that Scott wrote about on A Pack A Day."
Ah yes, the '86 Donruss All-Stars. Me and my attorney searched far-and-near for these boxes, but our collective efforts went for naught.
Sometime around two-thirty my attorney wanted something to eat. We were standing in front of former Phillies pitcher (and the show's autograph guest) Shane Rawley when my attorney began yelling at the people in line.
"Hey there? You folks wanna buy some junkwax?"
No reply. No sign of recognition. They'd been warned of this kind of crap: Just ignore it ... "Goddamnit, I'm serious! I wanna sell you some pure fuckin' junkwax!" But still nobody answered. I glanced over, very briefly, and saw four Pennsylvanian faces frozen with shock, staring straight ahead.
It was sometime around three when we entered the Greater Reading Expo Center's snack bar. There was something about the atmosphere of the snack bar to put me on guard. The cashier was passively hostile, but I was accustomed to that. All I wanted from her, was a Budweiser Select and a $5 basket of chicken fingers. No hassels, no talk -- just a place to rest and regroup. I wasn't even hungry.
My attorney had no cards, or anything else to compel his attention. So he focused, out of boredom, on the cashier. She was taking our orders like a robot when he punched through her crust with a demand for "Two cans of Bud -- and a plastic cup!"
My attorney poured the two cans into the cup and drank them in one long gulp, then asked for another can of Bud. I noticed that the cashier seemed tense.
Fuck it, I thought. I was reading the insertion odds on the back of my 2008 Heritage box.
What the fuck was I still doing here? I wondered. It made no sense at all. Since I was already here, I though I might as well buy a box of last year's Heritage, and found one for $60. After purchasing the box, we turned away and reeled off in the general direction of the exit.
"God's mercy on you swine!" I shouted at two dealers coming out of the men's room.
They looked at me, but said nothing. By this time I was laughing crazily. But it made no difference. I was just another cardboard degenerate. Shit, they love me on A Pack A Day. I felt like a monster reincarnation of Jefferson Burdick ... A Collector on the Move, and just sick enough to be totally confident.
Total Spent on Cards: $122
Admission: $6
Tolls: $7
Basket of Chicken Fingers and three cans of Bud Select: $17
Grand Total: $152
Then it was quiet again. "What the hell are you yelling about?" my attorney muttered, staring up at the sun. "Never mind," I said. "It's your turn to drive." I hit the brakes and aimed the Great Black Tank toward the shoulder of the PA Turnpike. No point in mentioning the voices of Don West and Kenny Goldin, I thought. The poor bastard will hear them soon enough.
It was almost Noon, and we still had thirty miles to go. They would be tough miles. Very soon, I knew, we would both be twisted. But there was no going back, and no time to rest. We would have to ride it out. The fabulous Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show was already underway, and we had to get there by four. And I was, after all, a semi-professional fake-gonzo baseball card journalist; so I had an obligation to cover the story, for good or ill.
I had $300 in cash, most of which was already spent on extremely worthless baseball cards. The trunk of the car looked like a mobile Shop at Home studio. We had two factory sets of '90 Donruss, 75 waxpacks of 1989 Topps, five waxboxes of 1991 Classic Draft Picks, a 800-count box half-full of Casey Candaele rookie cards, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored '90 Topps, '91 Fleer, '88 Score, '94 Stadium Club... and also a set of '81 Donruss, a vending box of '88 Topps, a case of '87 Sportflix, a rack box of '89 Score and two dozen '01 Donruss singles.
Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious junkwax collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.
The only thing that really worried me was the '89 Score. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an '89 Score pack busting binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon. Probably at the next Turnpike rest area. We had sampled almost everything else, and now -- yes, it was time for an '89 Score rack pack.
"Man this is the way to travel," said my attorney. He leaned over to turn the volume up on the radio, humming along and moaning the words: "K-Y-W! News-Ray-Dee-Oh! Ten-Sixty!"
You poor fool! Wait till you hear Ken Goldin's voice!
We drove around to the Greater Reading Expo Center and parked near the front door. "This is the place," I said. "Where's the '88 Fleer?" said my attorney. "The '93 Topps ain't working." I gave him the key to the trunk while I ripped into some '92 Leaf. He came back with two '88 Fleer cellos, opened them, then emptied the cards into an 660-count box. This is the main advantage of late-80s junkwax: it makes you behave like the village drunkard in some early-Irish novel. Which is interesting, because the brain continues to function more or less normally ... you can actually watch yourself behaving in this terrible way, but you can't control it.
You approach the entrance leading into the Greater Reading Expo Center and you know that when you get there, you have to give the lady six dollars or she won't let you inside ... but when you get there, everything goes wrong: you misjudge the distance to the front door and slam against it, bounce off and grab hold of the old lady handing out complementary EPSCC gift bags and you think: What's going on here? What's going on? Ah, devil '88 Fleer.
The ground floor of the Greater Reading Expo Center is full of dealer tables, like all the other card shows ... but even bigger. I came in wanting to buy wax; specifically the brand new 2008 Topps Heritage. I step up to the first table with '08 TH: going price $69. "As your attorney, I advise you to pay no more than $65 for the new Topps Heritage."
Eventually found what I was looking for: a box of '08 TH for only $62. This particular dealer also had a box of 1997 Pinnacle and I was tempted to pick it up. At only $15 it seemed like a bargain, and the perfect addition to our burgeoning junkwax collection.
"As your attorney I advise you not to buy the '97 Pinnacle box. Instead you should search for the $4 boxes of 1986 Donruss All-Stars that Scott wrote about on A Pack A Day."
Ah yes, the '86 Donruss All-Stars. Me and my attorney searched far-and-near for these boxes, but our collective efforts went for naught.
Sometime around two-thirty my attorney wanted something to eat. We were standing in front of former Phillies pitcher (and the show's autograph guest) Shane Rawley when my attorney began yelling at the people in line.
"Hey there? You folks wanna buy some junkwax?"
No reply. No sign of recognition. They'd been warned of this kind of crap: Just ignore it ... "Goddamnit, I'm serious! I wanna sell you some pure fuckin' junkwax!" But still nobody answered. I glanced over, very briefly, and saw four Pennsylvanian faces frozen with shock, staring straight ahead.
It was sometime around three when we entered the Greater Reading Expo Center's snack bar. There was something about the atmosphere of the snack bar to put me on guard. The cashier was passively hostile, but I was accustomed to that. All I wanted from her, was a Budweiser Select and a $5 basket of chicken fingers. No hassels, no talk -- just a place to rest and regroup. I wasn't even hungry.
My attorney had no cards, or anything else to compel his attention. So he focused, out of boredom, on the cashier. She was taking our orders like a robot when he punched through her crust with a demand for "Two cans of Bud -- and a plastic cup!"
My attorney poured the two cans into the cup and drank them in one long gulp, then asked for another can of Bud. I noticed that the cashier seemed tense.
Fuck it, I thought. I was reading the insertion odds on the back of my 2008 Heritage box.
What the fuck was I still doing here? I wondered. It made no sense at all. Since I was already here, I though I might as well buy a box of last year's Heritage, and found one for $60. After purchasing the box, we turned away and reeled off in the general direction of the exit.
"God's mercy on you swine!" I shouted at two dealers coming out of the men's room.
They looked at me, but said nothing. By this time I was laughing crazily. But it made no difference. I was just another cardboard degenerate. Shit, they love me on A Pack A Day. I felt like a monster reincarnation of Jefferson Burdick ... A Collector on the Move, and just sick enough to be totally confident.
Total Spent on Cards: $122
Admission: $6
Tolls: $7
Basket of Chicken Fingers and three cans of Bud Select: $17
Grand Total: $152
Monday, October 15, 2007
What I Got (and Observed) at the Philly/Reading Show: 10/13/07
Site: Greater Reading Expo Center; Reading, PA
After taking a practice GRE exam in the morning, I arrived in Reading around Noon. Stale Gum reader Scott, a teacher at a Philadelphia-area Catholic school, was the sole person to RSVP, and he didn't arrive until around 1:30PM.
Some observations:
- Although I miss the old Ft. Washington Expo Center, I'm beginning to warm to the new place in Reading. Yeah, it is 55-miles from Center City, but the Greater Reading Expo Center has one trump card over the old Ft. Washington Expo Center AND the Westchester County Center: they've got a liquor license. This may be the only card show in America where you can buy a beer. Awesome.
- We may have witnessed the last three unopened packs of 2001 Bowman Chrome Baseball left on the planet. I was tempted to plunk down $75 for the packs, and post the results to A Pack A Day, but thought the wiser. Besides, knowing my luck I would have pulled the Albert Pujols redemption.
- I think I also found the last two unopened waxboxes of 1994 Sportflix Rookie/Traded left on the planet. They were both in a locked display case, and didn't have a price listed -- didn't ask either.
- Judging by the amount of used baseball books for sale, I've come to the conclusion that every member of the '77 Yankees had their "autobiography" ghostwritten by Peter Golenbock.
- I was unable to find my latest "white whale," a 1994 Upper Deck Next Generation Alex Rodriguez insert. I great card from an under appreciated set.
- I had no idea that Frank Howard, the show's autograph guest, once played in Japan. Yep. The "Capital Punisher" played one game for the Seibu Lions, struck out, blew out his back, and never played again.
- The Fleer Ultra SE experiment has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. 5-pack boxes were selling in the $44-$50 range -- well below the $100/box MSRP. Allen & Ginter is still hanging in there at just under $100/box.
- Question: Which waxbox do you think costs more? 1987 Donruss, or 2007 Bowman? The correct answer is 1987 Donruss at $30. Would you believe that the current year's Bowman is now going for less than $30/box? I guess all the autographs and Chrome cards weren’t such a great idea?
- I'm a total sucker for junkwax, and the table that had the $29 Bowman waxboxes also had some other primo junk. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of anything I was interested in. Examples:
- '93 Stadium Club series two: $8
- '93 Fleer series one Jumbos: $10 (If only I could go back in time and NOT buy that '93 Fleer jumbo box.)
- '94 Leaf series two Jumbos: $12
- '94 Pinnacle series two Hobby: $15
- '97 Pinnacle Hobby: $19
- '97 Score series one Retail: $12
As for what I bought:
One retail waxbox of Upper Deck Goudey. (Paid $50)
If you're still in the market for Goudey, avoid Hobby wax like the plague! Retail is where it's at. The only difference between Hobby and Retail is 1) the Sport King chiptopper, 2) one autograph, and 3) about $35-$40.
(Since I've already posted a Blaster break, and my product review on APAD, I won't be posting the results of this box here.)
A stack of '90s inserts. (Paid $129)
1995 Leaf Statistical Standouts Ken Griffey, Jr. ($8)
1995 Leaf Heading for the Hall Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
1995 Leaf Gold Leaf Stars Barry Bonds ($8)
1996 Donruss Hit Parade Ken Griffey, Jr. ($3)
1996 Donruss Long Ball Leaders Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
1996 Donruss Round Trippers Ken Griffey, Jr. ($5)
1996 Donruss Freeze Frame Ken Griffey, Jr. ($5)
1996 Leaf Limited Pennant Craze Ken Griffey, Jr. ($8)
1996 Leaf Preferred Steel Power Ken Griffey, Jr. ($5)
1996 Summit Positions Edmonds/Griffey, Jr./Damon ($8)
1997 Donruss Armed and Dangerous Barry Bonds ($5)
1997 Donruss Franchise Features Ken Griffey, Jr./Andruw Jones ($5)
1997 Donruss Power Alley Ken Griffey, Jr. ($8)
1997 Donruss Limited Fabric of the Game Ken Griffey, Jr. ($10)
1997 Leaf Preferred Staremaster Ken Griffey, Jr. ($4)
1997 SP SPx Force Jones/Guerrero/Walker/Rolen ($4)
1997 Ultra Fielder's Choice Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
1998 Studio Masterstrokes Mark McGwire ($6)
2001 Donruss Longball Leaders Barry Bonds ($6)
2001 Donruss "1999" Diamond Kings Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
I've rediscovered the joys of collecting 1990s inserts. Most of the current wave of insert cards aren't really worth collecting, and you just don't find these cards everyday. Give me 1995 Leaf Statistical Standouts over Generation Now any day.
Speaking of the Leaf Stat Standouts, whatever happened to "Material" cards anyway? You know, those cards that had the look and feel of leather, wood, polyester, etc., but weren't actually made of game used material? They were all the rage about a dozen years ago, but by the turn of the Century, the concept fizzled out. I guess having actual pieces of wood and polyester mounted onto a trading card (the gamer) killed that idea off, but I wouldn't mind them being brought back.
As part of my quest to build a master set of the Worst Baseball Card Set of All Time, I also picked up another two 2001 Donruss inserts.
Another reason why I've rediscovered the 1990s insert is price. You can now have these cards for a fraction of what they were going for just a few years ago. This particular dealer had a boatload of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Barry Bonds inserts for 80%-off Beckett HI. I don't know why those particular players, but I could have easily bought another $100 worth of cards from this guy. Unfortunately, I just got my car insurance bill. (DAMN YOU GEICO! DAMN YOU AND YOUR CAVEMEN TO HELL!)
Total Spent on Cards: $179
Admission: $6
Tolls: $3
Hot Dog, French Fries, and a Beer: $10
Grand Total: $198
Saturday, March 03, 2007
What I Got at the Philly Show: 3/3/07
Site: Greater Reading Expo Center; Reading, PA
The economist John Maynard Keynes coined the term "animal spirits" to describe a state of collective over-confidence, bordering on naivete. Personally, I'd call it something else: "stupidity." Such naivete/stupidity was on full display at the 97th Philly Show, and most of it revolved around one single card: the now infamous 2007 Topps Derek Jeter.
How much were '07 Topps Jeter's going for at the Philly Show? How about $35-$50 for a base, $75 for the Red Letter and -- and hold onto your armchairs for this one -- a Gold was reportedly sold $1100! '07 Topps wax (or what's left of it) has shot up to $75/box, and I couldn't find a single HTA or rackbox anywhere. (For the record, in the hobby waxbox I purchased last weekend for $50, I pulled a base and a Red Letter.) I don't ever recall seeing such demand for a non-rookie, non-short-printed, non-error, base set card since the 1990 Score Bo Jackson card. Animal spirits, indeed!
Also, 2007 Topps Heritage is now live, but nobody seemed to care.
Stack of 22 different 2006 Upper Deck Update SPs and 19 different UD Update commons (paid $100)
Speaking of animal spirits...
There's one particular Philly Show dealer who always brings a boatload of current and previous year baseball singles. Being the set builder that I am, he's usually the first table I scope out.
This time, he brought with him a three-fifths-full 5000-count monster box full of '06 UD Update singles, with all the SPs in individual sleeves. Upon seeing the monster box, my "animal spirits" had me thumbing through them all trying to finish off my set, cost be damned!
When I bought and broke my two boxes, I had no idea that UD had short-printed 50 of the cards. In fact, it wasn't until after Update was listed in Beckett that I even found this out. (I was tempted to revoke UD title as 2006's "Best Base Set," but the set is just too damn good. And so it shall remain.) To their credit, UD didn't just SP all the usual suspects. In addition to all 30 Team Checklists and a few rookies, a couple of the veteran players (and even a manager) were short-printed. Naturally, I would up buying all the ones I had on my wantlist -- including paying $5 for a SPed card of former Phillie and current Dodger second baseman Marlon Anderson. Yes, I paid $5 for a card of MARLON F'N ANDERSON!
The buyer's remorse didn't kick in until I spotted a stack UD Update waxboxes a couple of tables over. Price: $30 each. Now I just bought a stack of singles to (nearly) finish off my set for $100; but I could have bought another two boxes (and taken my chances) for $40 less. That's animal spirits for you. I now need only four cards to complete my 1250-card 2006 Upper Deck set, and they're all Update SPs.
Stack of 83 different 2007 Topps commons (paid $25)
Sorry, but I refuse to pay $75 for another waxbox of '07 Topps. Even if it's possible to get my $75 back by pulling another Red Letter Jeter and immediately flipping it, I'm not doing it. I'll gladly fill out the rest of my set out of somebody else's commons box for a third of the price, thank you very much.
These were purchased from the same dealer as the UD Updates.
One retail waxbox of 2007 Fleer (paid $33)
I had no idea this was a retail box until after I opened it up and noticed the word "RETAIL" printed on each wrapper. From what I understand, the only difference between Hobby and Retail in this year's Fleer is a one-per-box autograph in Hobby. In both versions you get two MLBPA "ROOKIE CARDS" and a Rookie Sensations insert in every pack -- which should make for an interesting break. Break forthcoming -- but keep in mind, that I still have two boxes from the last Philly Show that I still have yet to post breaks on.
One hand-collated 1981 Donruss set (paid $40)
Early-80s sets have been on my wish list for a while, and (believe it or not) even after grossly overpaying for all those UD Update singles, I still had enough left over for this beauty. Alright, 1981 Donruss wasn't exactly a "beauty," but it's still better than the Donruss set that came twenty years later.
Can you believe that a complete set of quarter-century old baseball cards can be had for less than the price of a comparable set of today's cards? I should've been charged with theft for buying this set.
Total spent on cards: $198
Admission: $6
Tolls: $3
Grand Total: $207
I still can't believe I paid $5 for that Marlon Anderson card!
The economist John Maynard Keynes coined the term "animal spirits" to describe a state of collective over-confidence, bordering on naivete. Personally, I'd call it something else: "stupidity." Such naivete/stupidity was on full display at the 97th Philly Show, and most of it revolved around one single card: the now infamous 2007 Topps Derek Jeter.
How much were '07 Topps Jeter's going for at the Philly Show? How about $35-$50 for a base, $75 for the Red Letter and -- and hold onto your armchairs for this one -- a Gold was reportedly sold $1100! '07 Topps wax (or what's left of it) has shot up to $75/box, and I couldn't find a single HTA or rackbox anywhere. (For the record, in the hobby waxbox I purchased last weekend for $50, I pulled a base and a Red Letter.) I don't ever recall seeing such demand for a non-rookie, non-short-printed, non-error, base set card since the 1990 Score Bo Jackson card. Animal spirits, indeed!
Also, 2007 Topps Heritage is now live, but nobody seemed to care.
Stack of 22 different 2006 Upper Deck Update SPs and 19 different UD Update commons (paid $100)
Speaking of animal spirits...
There's one particular Philly Show dealer who always brings a boatload of current and previous year baseball singles. Being the set builder that I am, he's usually the first table I scope out.
This time, he brought with him a three-fifths-full 5000-count monster box full of '06 UD Update singles, with all the SPs in individual sleeves. Upon seeing the monster box, my "animal spirits" had me thumbing through them all trying to finish off my set, cost be damned!
When I bought and broke my two boxes, I had no idea that UD had short-printed 50 of the cards. In fact, it wasn't until after Update was listed in Beckett that I even found this out. (I was tempted to revoke UD title as 2006's "Best Base Set," but the set is just too damn good. And so it shall remain.) To their credit, UD didn't just SP all the usual suspects. In addition to all 30 Team Checklists and a few rookies, a couple of the veteran players (and even a manager) were short-printed. Naturally, I would up buying all the ones I had on my wantlist -- including paying $5 for a SPed card of former Phillie and current Dodger second baseman Marlon Anderson. Yes, I paid $5 for a card of MARLON F'N ANDERSON!
The buyer's remorse didn't kick in until I spotted a stack UD Update waxboxes a couple of tables over. Price: $30 each. Now I just bought a stack of singles to (nearly) finish off my set for $100; but I could have bought another two boxes (and taken my chances) for $40 less. That's animal spirits for you. I now need only four cards to complete my 1250-card 2006 Upper Deck set, and they're all Update SPs.
Stack of 83 different 2007 Topps commons (paid $25)
Sorry, but I refuse to pay $75 for another waxbox of '07 Topps. Even if it's possible to get my $75 back by pulling another Red Letter Jeter and immediately flipping it, I'm not doing it. I'll gladly fill out the rest of my set out of somebody else's commons box for a third of the price, thank you very much.
These were purchased from the same dealer as the UD Updates.
One retail waxbox of 2007 Fleer (paid $33)
I had no idea this was a retail box until after I opened it up and noticed the word "RETAIL" printed on each wrapper. From what I understand, the only difference between Hobby and Retail in this year's Fleer is a one-per-box autograph in Hobby. In both versions you get two MLBPA "ROOKIE CARDS" and a Rookie Sensations insert in every pack -- which should make for an interesting break. Break forthcoming -- but keep in mind, that I still have two boxes from the last Philly Show that I still have yet to post breaks on.
One hand-collated 1981 Donruss set (paid $40)
Early-80s sets have been on my wish list for a while, and (believe it or not) even after grossly overpaying for all those UD Update singles, I still had enough left over for this beauty. Alright, 1981 Donruss wasn't exactly a "beauty," but it's still better than the Donruss set that came twenty years later.
Can you believe that a complete set of quarter-century old baseball cards can be had for less than the price of a comparable set of today's cards? I should've been charged with theft for buying this set.
Total spent on cards: $198
Admission: $6
Tolls: $3
Grand Total: $207
I still can't believe I paid $5 for that Marlon Anderson card!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
What I Got at the Card Show: 12/2/06
Site: Greater Reading Expo Center, Reading, PA
New venue, same ol' Philly Show.
Yeah, it's the end of the semester. And yeah, I still have that term paper/PowerPoint presentation due on Tuesday. But screw all that. It's Philly Show weekend for christsakes, and any self-respecting collector who misses the Philly Show should be flogged.
One hobby box of 1995 Upper Deck series one (Paid $35)
One box of 1997 Bowman series one (Paid $29)
Stack #1: A stack of assorted '06 Topps Allen&Ginter and Ultra Lucky 13 short-prints, and one 2006 Upper Deck David Dellucci. (Paid $45)
Stack #2: (paid $75)
2002 Diamond Kings: Lou Gehrig SP
2002 Diamond Kings Heritage Collection: Mike Schmidt
2002 Diamond Kings T-204: B. Bonds, R. Henderson, & M. Piazza (#/1000 each)
2002 Donruss Diamond Kings Insert: R. Clemens (#/2500)
2002 Donruss The Rookies Rookie Phenoms: M. Prior (/#1000)
2002 Donruss Elite: B. Backe, C. Zambrano, B. Claussen, & M. Cuddyer (#/1500 each)
2002 Donruss Elite Extra Edition: O. Perez & T. Hodges (#/1000 each)
2002 Donruss Elite All-Star Salutes: Ichiro (#/2001)
2002 Donruss Elite Career Best: Two different Ichiro's (#/838 and 127, respectively)
2002 Studio: A. Guiel & C. Figgins (#/1500 each)
2003 Diamond Kings: A. Loewen SP
2003 Diamond Kings Heritage Collection: N. Ryan
2003 Diamond Kings DK Revolution: Ichiro
2003 Diamond Kings Team Timeline: Ryan & Oswalt (#/1000)
2003 Diamond Kings Hall of Fame Heroes: T. Williams
2003 Donruss Elite Extra Edition: A. Loewen, D. Cabrera, F. Sanchez, D. Waechter, D. Haren, D. Willis, & R. Weeks (#/900 each)
2003 Studio: A. Loewen & Hong-Chin Huo (#/1500 each)
2003 Studio Big League Challenge: A. Pujols (#/400
2003 Studio Stars: R. Clemens
One of the big pluses of the MLBPA's 20-product-per-licensee limit, is the ability for collectors to "catch up" with older products. For some reason, I never got around to '95 UD I or '97 Bowman I. But with the lack of new product, it gave me a convenient excuse to indulge in some junk wax. (I can't believe I just put the "junk" label on 1997 Bowman.) Breaks for all three products will be coming sometime after I finish my school work, which at the rate I'm going, should be sometime in 2009.
I finally got that David Dellucci card I needed to finish off my '06 UD set. Yep, I did it. I completed the whole 1000 card set. I also got a boatload of early-'00s era Donruss inserts and gimmicked rookies at 60%-75% off book.
Still trying to find that elusive '01 Donruss Albert Pujols RC -- although I did find a nice Baseball's Best, and a handful of DTRs. (And don't even get me started on the Ben Sheets.) The quest continues....
Total spent on cards: $184
Bridge Tolls: $3
Admission: $6
Grand Total: $193
New venue, same ol' Philly Show.
Yeah, it's the end of the semester. And yeah, I still have that term paper/PowerPoint presentation due on Tuesday. But screw all that. It's Philly Show weekend for christsakes, and any self-respecting collector who misses the Philly Show should be flogged.
One hobby box of 1995 Upper Deck series one (Paid $35)
One box of 1997 Bowman series one (Paid $29)
Stack #1: A stack of assorted '06 Topps Allen&Ginter and Ultra Lucky 13 short-prints, and one 2006 Upper Deck David Dellucci. (Paid $45)
Stack #2: (paid $75)
2002 Diamond Kings: Lou Gehrig SP
2002 Diamond Kings Heritage Collection: Mike Schmidt
2002 Diamond Kings T-204: B. Bonds, R. Henderson, & M. Piazza (#/1000 each)
2002 Donruss Diamond Kings Insert: R. Clemens (#/2500)
2002 Donruss The Rookies Rookie Phenoms: M. Prior (/#1000)
2002 Donruss Elite: B. Backe, C. Zambrano, B. Claussen, & M. Cuddyer (#/1500 each)
2002 Donruss Elite Extra Edition: O. Perez & T. Hodges (#/1000 each)
2002 Donruss Elite All-Star Salutes: Ichiro (#/2001)
2002 Donruss Elite Career Best: Two different Ichiro's (#/838 and 127, respectively)
2002 Studio: A. Guiel & C. Figgins (#/1500 each)
2003 Diamond Kings: A. Loewen SP
2003 Diamond Kings Heritage Collection: N. Ryan
2003 Diamond Kings DK Revolution: Ichiro
2003 Diamond Kings Team Timeline: Ryan & Oswalt (#/1000)
2003 Diamond Kings Hall of Fame Heroes: T. Williams
2003 Donruss Elite Extra Edition: A. Loewen, D. Cabrera, F. Sanchez, D. Waechter, D. Haren, D. Willis, & R. Weeks (#/900 each)
2003 Studio: A. Loewen & Hong-Chin Huo (#/1500 each)
2003 Studio Big League Challenge: A. Pujols (#/400
2003 Studio Stars: R. Clemens
One of the big pluses of the MLBPA's 20-product-per-licensee limit, is the ability for collectors to "catch up" with older products. For some reason, I never got around to '95 UD I or '97 Bowman I. But with the lack of new product, it gave me a convenient excuse to indulge in some junk wax. (I can't believe I just put the "junk" label on 1997 Bowman.) Breaks for all three products will be coming sometime after I finish my school work, which at the rate I'm going, should be sometime in 2009.
I finally got that David Dellucci card I needed to finish off my '06 UD set. Yep, I did it. I completed the whole 1000 card set. I also got a boatload of early-'00s era Donruss inserts and gimmicked rookies at 60%-75% off book.
Still trying to find that elusive '01 Donruss Albert Pujols RC -- although I did find a nice Baseball's Best, and a handful of DTRs. (And don't even get me started on the Ben Sheets.) The quest continues....
Total spent on cards: $184
Bridge Tolls: $3
Admission: $6
Grand Total: $193
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