Trade With Juuussst A Bit Outside

Even though I only missed 3 days of posting, it feels like I've been in a slump for a month.  I sort of got back yesterday with a modest card pickup post, but I feel like I'm in a funk still.  I think the eTopps announcement got me down a bit since it was always a good source of material.  A good trade certainly can help and I received a few cards in the mail this week from Kyle at Juuuust a Bit Outside.  This was my second trade with him.  I sent him a Evan Longoria eTopps and he sent back the following:

The Jeter Tek card is clear plastic and looks great in hand.  I also didn't have the Michael Young mini yet, so I was very happy to get that.

If you haven't been to Juuust a Bit Outside, go check it out.  Kyle always has something interesting up his sleeve.  I especially like his barter auctions, although I don't see any up at the moment. Still going with this idea Kyle?  I hope so, it was a good idea... unless you only got crap offers for your stuff.

Checklist Chipaway: 2001 Topps HD Image

I've kind of hit a wall lately on the blog, and things may move a little slow over the next few weeks.  I continue to grind away at my master checklist though, and found a 2001 Topps HD Nomar Garciaparra Image insert that has been eluding me for some time now. 

This takes me to 70% complete on this set, with only McGwire, A-Rod and Griffey to go. These remainders will be expensive, so further patience will be needed on my end. 

Man, I am struggling for material....

Cleve’s Auction Night: Back In the Saddle Again Part 3

Yesterday, I showed off the stamp stuff that was in the $6 goodie box I got at Cleve’s.  I hope someone out there has an interest in it.  As much as I enjoyed the old post cards that I found, that’s not why I bought the box.  I bought it for the assortment of cards, some of which I’ve never seen before.  Namely, these:

I’d never seen Topps 3D up close.  But there were 9 of these in the box, including a Tony Gwynn for my Gwynn album.  I love ‘em and am not embarrassed to say these were one of the reasons I grabbed this box.

There was also a handful of lineage base cards, and some inserts:

I don’t have any interest in these, so if you are building a set and need them, let me know.  The Teixeira is a Venezuela parallel.

It didn’t take long to detect that whoever sold this box was a Tigers fan.  There were lots of Tigers cards, including a small handful of shiny Tigers:

And there were several other Verlander cards too that I didn't scan.

I got a few other cards for my Tony Gwynn album in this box too:

There were also several of 2011 Topps inserts, including some Kimball Champions, Diamond Cards, Topps 60 and vintage reprint cards.

 Excuse the lopsidedness, I left these Kimball Champions in the sleeves when I scanned because I was lazy.

 Wait, that Bunning card looks different.

Whoa, it’s a real 1958 card!  How did that get in here?  It was the only vintage card in the box, so I think it was put in there by mistake.  This card is in fantastic condition, and Bunning is a HOFer.  He is a current  US Senator too, but he may be a bit of a nut.  Whatever. I got a 1958 card of a Hall of Famer basically for free.  Or I bought  a card of a Hall of Famer and got the rest of this crap for free.  You can look at it however you want.

I was going to extend this out to 4 posts and show the football and basketball stuff that was in here tomorrow, but truly none of it is that interesting and I've dragged this out long enough.  Here is my final purchase grade:

Goodie Box $6:  A+  This box was a lot of fun with the old postcards and the unexpected Bunning 1958 card.  The 3D cards were cool, and there was a small Score Football complete set that I didn't show.  One of my favorite purchases ever from a Cleve auction.

Cleve’s Auction Night: Back In The Saddle Again… Part 2

As promised I’d like to show off the cool non sport stuff I got at Cleve’s Tuesday night.  First, I should cover two other minor purchases quickly:

First I bought this box of 1995 Donruss commons.   I spent $5 on it.  I should have left it alone.  I was hoping a Puckett or Clemens Rookie might sneak in there.  Or at least  a Darryl Strawberry.  Nope, just commons.  So if anyone is building this set, I’m sure I can help you out.  Maybe I’ll see how much of the set this box fills and complete it myself.  I’m not thrilled with this purchase.  The box  they came in was nasty, and I’ve already tossed it.

On a brighter note, I got this 1992 Topps set for $2.  I know the 1992 set is nothing great, but try to find a complete set for $2 and not pay shipping.

Here is the best purchase of the night- a 2,400 count goodie box:

One row was filled with baseball/football and basketball cards, and the other was filled with miscellaneous stamp collecting stuff.  Does anyone know anything about stamp collecting?  I don’t and have know idea if any of this stuff is worth anything.  Here is the stamp stuff a little more splayed out:

 

I was digging through everything and came across what I think is my favorite find in this whole goodie box:

These are postcards from 1909.  I don’t know why,  but I’m enamored with these.  I especially like the one with the picture of the horse.   I can’t read what’s on the back of it, but I can read the back of the other card  and thought I would share it with you:

“Dear sister:- I sent you a letter at Christmas time.  Thanked you for Martin’s tie he was very much pleased with it. did the draft take any of your boys or did any of them enlist.  every single man physically able has been called from here.  Martin has a silo filling outfit and has been very busy filling silos.  we are milking 12 cows.  Have a 5 J silo.  love Sadie & Martin."

How awesome is that?  What a sobering conversation to witness from that point in history.  The question regarding her boys being drafted asked so casually gave me chills when I read it.  I feel like I have an artifact that belongs in a museum.    

I'll give myself a grade on the goodie box after showing the rest of it in my next post.  Here are the other grades for the above purchases:

1985 Donruss Box $5= D:  Eh, this was a waste of money, as much as I like '85 Donruss.

1992 Topps Set $2= A:  A complete set for $2 has to be an A 

Cleve’s Auction Night: Back In The Saddle Again… Part 1

I’ve been in a bit of a slump at Cleve’s lately.  The Holiday Auction was too rich for my blood and I didn’t see anything I had to have at the auction last Tuesday.   But, I got back on track in a big way this Tuesday night.  Well, let’s not get carried away, it wasn’t that big of a night, but I’ve got good blog material for at least 4 days now thanks to this auction.  I got some good singles, sets and a goodie box that was loaded with little treasures that I can’t wait to show, some of the most interesting bits having nothing to do with baseball cards. 

Ironically, I was just yesterday bemoaning to the lovely wife the fact that with eTopps apparently slipping into the night, I was going to have to find a new source of topics to take it’s place on the blog.   At least temporarily I have plenty to write about from this auction.   I almost have so much, I don’t know where to start.

I guess I’ll start with the singles I picked up:

 Yes, this Duke Snider has seen better days, but I’m pleased with it anyhow, especially for $5.

 

For $2 I couldn’t resist this dual relic Diamond King card of Scott Rolen.  It’s also numbered to #25.

This may have been my only “mistake” of the night.  My hand was a little slow on the draw and I got snared with a $4 bid rather than $3 for this Marshall Faulk/Steven Jackson dual relic.  But it’s numbered to #230 and has a current and perhaps future Hall of Famer on it.

Another $2 purchase.  I’m pretty proud of this one.  Both cards are of Jeff Bagwell, who better get in the HOF next year.  The “Play at the Plate” card has batter’s box dirt in it, and the other card is numbered to 1,000.  Plus they both came in screw down holders which I can always use.

Finally, I picked up an autographed card of Eddie George.  I think this is a rookie card as well.  I’ve always been a fan of Eddie George, so this was a steal at $2.

Not a bad way to start huh?

Here are my self given grades:

Duke Snider 1958 Topps $5=  B-  : I probably should have passed on this given it’s condition, but I wanted to make sure I got a good vintage card, and I don’t have a card of the Duke.  

Scott Rolen Relic #25 $2= B+ :  I hope I can get a good trade out of this.  I don’t care that much about Rolen, but this is a nice card.

Panini Jackson/Faulk Relics $4= B-  :  I spent more than I meant to on this, but it’s still a nice card.  

Jeff Bagwell Lot $2 A :  I love the stadium dirt gimmick, and getting two screwdown holders is a plus.  

Eddie George Auto $2= A+:  This is a steal in my opinion.  I’m sure I could triple my money on it, but it makes a nice addition to my small autograph collection.

Tomorrow, I’ll cover the non-sport treasures that I’m extremely excited about!

Checklist Chipaway: EX Century- One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

I previously thought I was only 3 cards away from completing my 1999 EX Century set.  I got out the album the other day and wanted to verify the accuracy of my checklist.   I was bummed to see that I actually further away than I thought.  Undeterred, I plowed ahead and ordered some of the cards I thought I already had off sportlots.com.  They came in today and after placing them in the album, I double checked and can confirm that I only need card #117, Gabe Kapler to finish.      

eTapps

As I usually do on Mondays, earlier today I checked eTopps to see what the offering would be for the week, if anything.  With the regular football season finished, I wasn’t really expecting any new cards, but thought there might be an update as to what program was coming next.  There was an update alright:

Dear eTopps Community,

Thank you for participating in this year’s NFL football release as well as your continued enthusiasm for eTopps card offerings over the past ten years. Moving forward, we no longer plan to offer new cards each week. For now, we will continue to offer weekly catalogs and a baseball fantasy game, and we will maintain trading, selling and shipping services for eTopps cards.

We look forward to sharing new digital developments with you in the future, and thank you for your support of eTopps.

Sincerely,
The Topps Company

I read this as a notice of the end of eTopps despite the vagueness of the wording.  The message states they no longer plan to offer cards “each week,” but doesn’t say, “ever.”  And they also mention they are running the baseball game again this year, although I don’t know how that would be any fun if there is no baseball offering for 2012.   Again, I interpret this message as eTopps is done, but will keep the site running only to allow existing cards to be traded and cards in portfolios to be shipped (at the new higher costs which went into effect today).  I did not take the note about “sharing new digital developments in the future” too seriously.  I think if they had some sort of plan for new developments or programs in mind, there would have been a lot more optimistic tone to the note.  It’s too bad if in fact they are done.   I would have loved one more run of T206 cards.  

I’m a little bummed.  I’ve been on eTopps almost since the beginning and have for the most part enjoyed what the program offered.  The cards have been very nice for the most part and the site offered a lot of entertainment with trading and games.  I’ve also enjoyed sending in-hand cards to folks that have never had them before.  The end of eTopps also takes away a lot of subject matter for my blog, which really stinks.     

  

Oh well, nothing lasts forever.  The concept of eTopps is still relevant in my opinion.  Maybe something better will take the reins on this niche of the market, or perhaps eTopps just needs to regroup and start from scratch at some point in the future.