Amazing Trade with Reader Alvin: This Ain't No Bull

I don't get many trade requests from collectors who don't have their own blogs. I'm always surprised to find out anyone is reading besides just other bloggers and my sister now and then, and someone in Russia, according to my stats.

Enter El Toro Alvin. The Bull contacted me flashing some player names I liked. He said he had some GUs and autos of the fellas I like. My interest was piqued. And then he sent some scans. My chin dropped, and I let him pick all he wanted off my trade bait page. I'm always willing to trade a bunch of cards for a few or even one, like this one:

Oh my God, right? I have a couple Kaline autos, but this is my new favorite. I love the design of these 2007 Ultimate autos. The red, gold, and blue is a super classy version of patriotic. All the foil is just done perfectly, and everything draws the eye to that fantastic auto. It's just the perfect card.

This card alone was worth a bunch of my bait. But Alvin had more to offer.

This is only my second Ripken GU. They're tough to come by, and I dig this one. Quite a night and day difference in design from the last card. Look at all that gray. And everything draws the eye to...gray. I'm hardly complaining. I love this card for its simplicity and 'cause it's Cal. And Alvin is awesome.

But there's more.

 I'm seeing less Miggy GUs these days, ever since he won MVP last year. I don't foresee his cards getting any cheaper any time soon. It's always neat to see these cards where he was so young and small.

 

 

 And finally, Alvin sent this Pudge GU. Always great to see a stripe. I dig the designs of this card, though the red and white have nothing to do with anything really, which I suppose is why they washed out Pudge's color. Two Marlins cards in a row. Thank goodness they fed the Tigers so many delicious players or we probably wouldn't be seeing the playoffs.

 

Thanks again to Alvin. This was a smashing good trade. He collects Royals, gold refractors, and Bowman autos from what I can tell. If you have a chance to trade with him, do it!

Card Show-Off: Dime Boxes: I've Got a Golden Ripken!

Yesterday, the blog hit 100 followers, and I'm thrilled. Thanks, everyone, for reading. The final push past 100 might have something to do with my contest, which you should enter if you haven't and you like vintage cardboard. If you don't like vintage, well, that just makes me a little sad.

Following up on yesterday's post, it's time to show you what else I got at the Holland, Michigan card show. As I said yesterday, those Dutch are known to be famous for their wooden shoes and windmills and silly hats, but are secretly also known for their great deals on vintage AND their wonderful dime boxes.

This one actually came out of a 3/$1 box. And it's a very intriguing addition to my Ripken collection. I have no idea what this card is, but it's made of metal, probably pure gold. It looks a little like the early '90s Bleachers cards, but I'm not too sure.

And the back doesn't help much. It does appear to be numbered out of 10000, and is this Japanese writing? Whatever this is, I'd have to say this is one of the most oddball finds out of the bargain boxes.

One whacky oddball calls for another. Check out the Bo Jackson card I snagged from the dime box. What was he thinking to have posed for this shot? The '90s were full of bad choices for all of us. Flanking Bo's big mistake, we have a great Rollie card and those 3000 Club Fleer inserts I'm a big fan of. They're thick as a game-used card and cut really cool.

A few more unidentifiable Nolan oddballs, and a 1990 Leaf, all a dime a piece. 

Here are my dime box Ripkens. I was excited to pick up the 2001 Topps Traded reprint, which cost a bit more; it's probably the closest I'll ever come to the white whale that is Ripken's best rookie.

And this 1995 Topps Traded Mariano Rivera is probably the closest I'll ever come to his white whale rookie. A great find for a dime. As is the Wally auto. I have no idea if it's real, but it's worth a gamble for a dime. 

Lots of Topps Gold, which actually came out of a nickel box, and will one day become trade package extras.

A dime box auto, a nickel box Romero rookie, and that Paulk is numbered to 50, so who cares that I have no idea who he is! The Mantle has felt and the Jackie is Chromed out. This grouping defines the hodge-podge that is the joy of the dime box.

Love those tobacco and Goudey reprints.

Though I don't find them often, Sparky and Tigers team cards are always a great dime box find. I'm pretty sure these team cards were a bit pricier, but such is Michigan. If you trade with me, Sparky and Tigers teams are always welcome adds to a trade package.

This was not a dime box find, nor was it five dollars. You can't get much cooler when it comes to a well-designed GU card than this one: numbered, baby blue, Mr. Gwynn, pinstripe. Perfect.

That wraps up this show. I'm headed to my first card show of 2013 this weekend, so wish me luck. I hope I get some finds as sweet as the Dutch gave me. Don't forget to enter my contest!

Sports Cards Chewed My Brains so much They Could Be Ginter's Next GU Gimmick

I have been so mired in work and family stuff that I've hardly been able to post at all. The Vealtones are getting restless. And I've been so blown away by all the awesome trades I've received lately that I fear my time constraints won't be able to do them justice. For those of you who've sent me trades in the last few months, thank you so much. I can't explain to you how much joy they've given me in a very stressful time. I'll get to posting about them all, even if it's a year after the trade.

But it's time to post about one of my favorite traders, Scott, from the wonderful blog Sports Cards Ate My Brain. He is super generous, and an absolute gem of a trade partner. I'm happy to see trade posts popping up on other blogs, as now you all get to see how awesome he is.

This post will actually cover our last two trades, because that's how behind I am.

Back in mid-summer, Scott went shopping for me at a card show. And that's just such a cool thing to do, to imagine someone printing off my want lists. I'm really honored. He snagged this Cliff Mapes 1952 Bowman card for my vintage Bowman Tigers sets.

But Scott never just sends what he says.

He threw in a bunch of sweet numbered Tigers.

And then some Verlander rookies. That's right. These were just extra surprises. I mean, this guy never disappoints and always makes me feel like I owe him. I love the Turkey Red parallel card. So freaking cool.

And a sweet Cabrera Ginter jersey to boot. I like the new Ginter border, but 2009 may be my favorite.

So that was just some, some I vehemently stress, of the great stuff Scott sent in just one of our trades. Our next trade was based around another Cabrera jersey and an Pudge gold card.

I found these off of Scott's trade bait pages, which are detailed by team and full of great stuff. Seriously, go check them out. I love the jersey scrap here with the stripe. Stripes always make jerseys better.

We'd also talked about this Matt Joyce auto. Joyce didn't spend a ton of time with the Tigers, but he's a player I respect and I love the design of these brick-thick cards. Rather than the boring old sticker, 2008 SP Authentic really got the idea right with the inlay auto. Very cool card.

And, once again, Scott threw in extras. He mentioned having a bunch of Ripkens not listed on my Ripken player collection, and I thought, cool. Maybe he's got some late '90s Score offshoots I didn't have yet.

Instead, how about some shiny Pacifics.

Or maybe some super sweet numbered SPx cards with big ol' badges in the middle.

The amount of shiny and classy and cool Ripken cards were ermergerd-inducing. I love getting new Ripkens and Scott sent so many gems, hardly what you'd expect from extras tossed into a trade. And, really, this is only the start.

Young Ripkens with a bit of hologramizing.

Ripkens from one of the many endless Ripken tribute sets.

And finally some awesome commemorative consecutive games record cards. The crown-cut Pacific card is so cool.

So, as you can see, if you haven't traded with Scott yet, you're missing out. I owe a great deal of appreciation for getting so many cards that added serious depth to my Ripken player collection. Scott's trading is so classy, only Ripken in a cherry red sports car giving some high-fives could conclude this post. Too bad I don't have--

Wait, what's that I hear rumbling through the outfield?

Bob Bonner's eBay Store, or El Cheapo Ripken Rookie

A while back, I was trolling eBay, searching for deals, when I came upon a listing for a 1982 Topps card, number 21. The dealer listed this information and some random names of guys I didn't recognize: Bonner and Schneider. I don't even know why I clicked. But probably a lot of you already know what card is being described.

 

 

Ripken must have been listed somewhere in the posting, but it wasn't obvious that his was his rookie card, one I'd been trying to find a good deal on for a long time. And a deal I got. I bid 5 bucks and I got the card shipped for less than that. Now, of course the seller must have known this was a sweet card, or he wouldn't have put it in a screwdown, which was a nice bonus. My theory is that the seller had me in mind and knew I wanted this card and am a poor teacher. That or Bob Bonner himself was the seller and was sick of Ripken getting all the recognition for his rookie card.

 

 

This deal just goes to show how obsessive eBaying can pay off. Or maybe this shows that I'm wasting far too much time. But I don't know if a better deal than this can be found for a 1982 Topps Ripken.

Once a Cub on a Sushi Platter in Order <--Franken-title Trade Post

It's time to catch up on some trades, three to be exact, from some great bloggers. First up, Spiegel over at Nomo's Sushi Platter sent me some cardboard.

A gaggle of Tigers, new and old, and a giant rookie cup Ripken. The O-Pee-Chee Whitaker was a new one for me, too, and a great action shot of Lighter-Than-Air-Lou.

Layer that with some Bowman gold, and some fine Topps Heritage. All Avila's red is making Miggy's floating head smile.

Here's the meat of our trade. I already had the Lineage mini of Austin's jersey, and this bat chunk makes a nice companion. I'm a big fan of Austin, and am still a bit irked that he got the all-star snub. Not to worry, though. Austin has many all-star games to play in his future.

The other trade comes from Tom at Angels in Order.

He sent over a ton of Ripkens for the player collection. Tons of gems and these are just a few. The phone card is especially fun.

And what goes better with a bunch of Ripkens than a bunch of Pudges? This really is only a small sampling of all the cards he sent. A very generous batch that added some weight to two of my favorite player collections.

Finally, I was strolling around the blogosphere and found a newer blog, Once a Cub, which has already become prolific. Matt was posting some pick-ups from this year's Topps rips. And I took the bait.

A manu-patch-stitches-sewing-project-type-thing of the original Pudge. This is a player collection of mine still in its infancy, and this is a great addition to it.

Topps has really gone nutty in the last few years for their manu-cards, and I dig the creativity. Well, really, I could give a crap unless it's of a player I collect. This Retired Number card is sweet, because it's Rip.

Thanks for the great trades, guys. Readers, be sure to check out these blogs and see if you have some cards they want. All excellent traders.

Dime Box Ripkens: Card Show Wrap-Up

I love finding random treasures in the dime boxes, but one of my main focuses is adding to my Ripken collection. It's tougher to find Tigers players in the dime boxes, just because they're over-priced in Michigan. I rely on trades for my Tigers stuff. But as for Ripken, apparently he's just dime box fodder around the mitten, which is good for me, and my pursuit of one of my childhood heroes.

All out of the dime box. I rarely ever turn down a dime box Ripken, unless they're doubles from the junk wax years. I already had doubles of the Masterpieces cards at the top, but for a dime, that's a triple I can handle. The rest are all new. The Diamond Kings card is probably the biggest highlight of this bunch. I love the DK  sets.

Some more nice Ripkens. I dig the horizontal cards at the top. My favorite here is the 2002 Leaf card commemorating Ripken's ROY. Very classy design.

So this card show netted me a few dozen more Ripkens for the collection, on top of the other finds I noted in my last two posts.

I should also mention that the dealer who sold me most of these dime box Ripkens had what looked like an authentic 206 Honus Wagner encased in a huge brick of plastic anchoring his table. Really, it was only about half of the card, as the bottom had been chewed off. I should've taken a picture. It was cool to see one of these in person. When I asked him how he'd attained this card, he gave me the old cliche, "If I told you I'd have to kill you." I figured I'd leave it at that and go home safely with my handful of Ripkens.

That Goo Has Mystique

I always like to pick up a pack or two of discount hobby packs when I'm in my home town, visiting the parents. And one of my favorite to buy is 2006 UD Update. I guess I'm hoping to find that Pedroia rookie, and I've whittled away most of the packs in stock at this point. Was this time a success?

Here are the highlights from 3 packs. Some short prints and an auto. I dig the Soto. Not much going on with the auto besides a cool name. Colter Bean played a few innings for the Yankees and a ton in the minors.

But this post is about to have more mystique, Fleer Mystique, that is. This LCS has a few packs of Mystique from 2000 and 2003, and I've scored a nice pull off these in the past.

So, what did I pull this time?

Some shiny base cards of some good players. Well, that's dandy. And what's this?

So, in case you haven't ripped any Mystique, they randomly insert these mystery cards. If the wrapper wasn't enough packaging, they offer you yet another chance to bust open a card. These sparkly coatings are stickers that you peel off on both sides of a card that's some sort of insert. So let's get to peeling.

Oh, that looks like a Ripken. Awesome for a Ripken collector, right?

Oosh. Not so awesome. The sticker left goo all over my Ripken. I was freaking out because this is a card I actually needed for the PC, and it's a cool one. But what to do about the goo? I was thinking about getting out the lighter fluid, which is the best way to remove sticker residue (technical term: goo) from top loaders and such. Then I started just rubbing at it, and the gunk balled up and fell off.

After a few minutes of rubbing, I was covered in little balls of gunk, and my Ripken was finally clean. It's still sticky, but even a sticky Ripken is a good Ripken. Now, I'm left wondering why the hell Fleer thought this was a good idea. I guess I'm just glad Topps never got their hands on Mystique's sticker gunk technology.

By the way, any of these cards are for trade, besides the Soto and Ripken.

Two-Thirds of a Proper Ripken Collection

Ripken's been a favorite of mine as long as I've been collecting. It took me until just last year to pick up his rookie card, which I had my little sister pick up for me off the Ebay. She's internet savvy and was actually the first one in my family to earn a bit of scratch on Ebay when she sold her My Little Pony collection. What a jerk of a big brother I sound like, forcing my little sis to spend her hard-earned My Little Pony money on baseball cards. But don't be fooled. I'm not robbing a baby sister's piggy bank. She's away in Texas working as an optometrist for the Air Force, while I'm a lowly writer/teacher/grad student. I thought it would be a more convenient way for her to shop for Christmas. So there you go, parents: Encourage playing with My Little Ponies and you might get yourself an optometrist; let your kids play with cardboard and they'll pick up some ridiculous job that will fate them to eternal poverty and obscurity.

Here's the rookie card she snagged:

This is actually my favorite rookie of Ripken's, aside from the Topps Traded white whale. We get an action shot of Cal here, rather than a posed closeup of mini-Cal squished between two scrubs. Sure, there's not much action in this action shot, and it looks to be taken at spring training. Still, it's a pretty great card, one of the favorites in my collection.

One of the other favorite cards in my collection is this one:

Here's my first and only game-used Cal card: 2001 Fleer Platinum National Patch Time. The word play is clever, but I don't quite understand why there aren't any patches on these cards. It seems like if they're going to call the set "Patch" Time, there should be some patches. Perhaps it should have been National Pants Time. Not as catchy?

I don't mean to complain. This is a great card, which I snagged off Ebay for a little less than $5.00 shipped. I like the black of the jersey and the way you can see the texture of the stretched fabric with the white in the background. And, since it's black, I know this isn't a piece of pants. I guess it can't be National Pants Time, then.

These two cards put me two-thirds away from having a trifecta of the Iron Man. Now I just need an auto. Anyone have a double they want to trade? Yeah right. I guess I'll just have to send little sister back to the bay. Or perhaps I'll try a TTM auto, which I've never done. Does anyone know where to send Ripken auto requests? I hear Cal's great about signing.

By the way, I just hit my first milestone as a blogger. This is my fiftieth post.

Trade with Scott Crawford

Ah, the semester is done, the grades are in, the dishes are done, man. So now it's time for a quick trade post. Scott over at Scott Crawford on Cards sent me a nice slew of cards for my player collections. First off, here's some mini Ripkens:

Minis from the '80s. Ripken is deep in thought on the left, speculating on mini Ripken on the right and his nice mini swing.

Here's my favorite card of the trade, a 2008 Goudey Ripken. That hand on the hip and look on his face says, "Oh no you didn't" to whatever Derek Jeter has to say.

Another Goudey of Verlander. Goudey's last year was the weakest for me. They went simple, or maybe just lazy, with the background, and the design just didn't sing like the other years. Anyway, great Verlanders nonetheless. Scott sent both 2011 60 Years of Topps Verlander cards, original back and regular.

To wrap things up, here's a great looking I-Rod card. He's telling his mitt secrets. Scott sent more Cabreras, and more cards all together, but these were some highlights. Thanks, Scott, for the great cards.

Stay tuned, as soon I'll be posting about a very special package I just got in the mail, perhaps the new most prized card in my collection.