Cleve's Auction Night: The Hobby Is Thriving In Northwest Arkansas...

...and it sucks for me.  There were about 30 people at Cleve's auction tonight, which is the most I've seen not including the Holiday auction.   What was most concerning was that there were several people in attendance I've never seen before, and they all were aggressive bidders.  If they get a Cleve auction in their veins, they'll be back.  Of course I'm happy to see Cleve get a good turnout, and I want the hobby to be healthy.  But these dudes are making it harder for me to sneak home some cheap pickups.  These new guys weren't married either, which is not a good sign.  They don't have to answer to anyone on how they spend their money like us married folk.  Single dudes with jobs are the toughest competitors at auctions for guys like me.

There were a few kids there too, and they're also tough to deal with.  A 1983 Fleer Tony Gwynn came up for bid that I wanted.  I bid $3 and some kid bid $4.  No one else bid, and I probably could have got it for $5, or at least made the kid pay $6.   I can't drive up the price on a kid without looking like a jerk now can I?   So kids are the second toughest competitors at these things.    Actually, the toughest competitor is this doctor that sits in the back and lays down a few grand every time he comes in.  Tonight he picked up an unreal complete 1966 Topps set in a binder (every card was pristine), with the Mantle card PSA graded separately.   I think he spent $950 on it.  He also picked up a few American Caramel cards that were ridiculously cool.  Maybe I should just start posting his wins each week.  They would be much more interesting than mine.

Speaking of competitors, my nemesis has not been to an auction in a while.  I would like to believe I scared him off, but something tells me he's out there, lurking, up to no good.

Even though the place was packed tonight, and I didn't get everything I wanted, I did manage a few wins.  They were modest, but decent:

I found this card of Robin Roberts interesting just for the fact that it lists the Yankees as his team.  Roberts started all of 0 games for the Yankees in his career.  They acquired him at the end of the 61 season when it looked like he was at the end of his rope.  He pitched for them during Spring Training, and they released him in May.  He then signed with the Orioles, sort of got a second wind and went on to have a few more good years. 

I didn't have any Rocky Colavito cards, so I decided to make a grab of this pair for $4.  Colavito is not in the Hall of Fame like Roberts, but he was very good, with almost 400 home runs and 6 all star game appearances.  Both cards are in great shape, and the 1960 on top is really superb.  Again, these will be great adds to my sampler album.

Not so superb was this lot of 1960 Fleer cards.  There are some good names here, but they are not in great shape.   I blew it on this one even though I only spent $2.

I also picked up 3 1961 Fleers for $4.  I bought these because for some reason I had it in my head that Jeff from Cardboard Catastrophes was collecting this set and I was going to help him out.  I've been trying to find something good to send him because he has always been so generous with me.   After looking back over his blog I think I was wrong about him collecting these.  Who was I thinking of?  Eh, I'm glad to get the Hubbell at least.

Grades:

1962 Topps Robin Roberts $2:  A  Good HOF pickup for my sampler album.
2 Rocky Colavitos $4:   A   Not a HOFer, but these cards are purdy.
1960 Fleer Lot $2:  D    If I'd spent a dollar more, I'd give myself an F.  Didn't need them, and they're not in good shape.
1961 Fleer Lot  $4:  B-   My target trade recipeint was off on this one, but I don't have any of these and they're in good shape.

Wooooo Pig Sooie!!! Razorback Baseball Is Here!

Today the Razorbacks kick off the start of their college baseball season.  This should be a fun year for the Hogs who are ranked in the top 10 in most college baseball polls.  The pitching should be steller, led by Team USA member DJ Baxendale:

This is not my card, but I would like one.  If anyone has one of these, please let me know if you are willing to trade it.

The offense is good, and could be very good if some of the hitters progress as the coaches think they will.  This guy is very good:

 

This is my card, and it’s my second nice Ficociello card.  It’s cool to be able to get cards of these guys while they are still in college.  

If the weather is decent today or tomorrow, we’re going to venture out for a few innings.  When I come back I’ll bring pictures and we can all "Call the Hogs".  For those not in the know, you call the hogs by saying and doing the following:

Raise your hands in the air and wiggle your hands as you slowly say “Woooooooooooo” then bring your elbows  down as you emphatically say “Pig!” and then pump your right fist in the air as you say “Sooie!”

Do that 3 times.   On the third “Woooooo… PIG! Soooie!”  you keep continue to pump your fist in the air and say “Razorbacks!”    Practice it a few times and you’ll get the hang of it. 

Cleve’s Auction Night: My Absentee Pickups

Should I get credit for skipping Cleve's auction this Tuesday and instead spending Valentines night with the lovely wife?  Or did I technically “attend” the auction since I put in write in bids beforehand and may or may not have been thinking the whole night about what I may or may not have won rather than listen to her yammer about whatever she was yammering about? I kid of course!  We had a lovely dinner together sans children, and as I mentioned, she gave me a swell Valentines gift. 

But there was a lot of good stuff at the auction this week, and I put in bids on about a dozen items, hoping that most of the other guys would be in the same boat as me and skip the auction to be with their significant others.   My hopes were dashed when I found that I only one two auctions.  They were solid pickups, so I’m not too disappointed. Here was the first purchase for $5:

What you see is a lot of 61 vintage Topps cards anywhere from so-so to ultra-crappy condition.  I bought this assortment to fill out my sampler album.  For those that don’t remember every word of every one of my posts, one of my goals this year was to build a sampler album of one 9 card page for every Topps base set from 1952 to today.  I will deliberately and systematically trade out and upgrade the "starness" of the players and the condition of the cards over the years.  But for now I at least have a full page of 1959 Topps, and a good start on my 1964 page, including Rusty Staub's 2nd year card. 

Again, these cards are not in great shape in general, but I would love to be able to send the ones that don't make the sampler album to good homes if anyone is interested or needs some set fillers. 

I also got this 1967 Al Kaline for $3.  It’s in good shape, and a neat looking card.  It too will go in the sampler album. 

Grades:

Vintage Assortment  $5  A-:   That's $.08 a card, people.   Not a lot of stars and many cards are in bad shape, but this was a cheap way to fill in my sampler album. 

1967 Kaline $3  B+:  Nice card of a HOFer.  Can’t complain about that.

1999 Skybox E-X Century- The Whole Stinkin' Set Part 4

And we're done...

1999 Skybox E-X Century- The Whole Stinkin' Set Part 3

Yes, I'm still mailing it in with these posts.  Here's part 3 of the 1999 EX Century Set:

Baseball Card Box Of Chocolates

As if I needed any more reason to worship the lovely wife...

I have often been tempted to purchase one of these value packs at Target.  10 packs for $10 is a great deal, and at a minimum, you get a pack of 206 and 2010 Heritage.  I've always passed because I felt I should spend my money on packs I "needed."  I came home today to find a value pack, plus a rack pack of 2011 Topps Series 2 on my night stand with a sweet Valentine card that I will keep to myself.

This is a perfect gift for card collectors on Valentines Day because of the assorted nature of it.  I opened it with more of a sense of fun than anything I've opened in a long time.  There was no feeling of hoping to avoid doubles, hoping to get a big hit, or hoping to not get the "wrong" thing.  It was so much fun to open because it was a little of this, and a little of that.  Kind of like going to a wine tasting.
Here was what was inside:

 I haven't opened Upper Deck Wax since forever, so this was a great excuse to do so.

That's such a pretty picture.

And I was very happy with what I got in the packs:

I've received a few of these UD StarQuest cards in trades.  Very nice insert set.  Getting Jeter and Griffey cards turns any pack rip into a win.

The Kinsler at the top of this pic came from a 2007 Topps pack.  The bottom 2 are from the 206.  I love the Queensboro Bridge mini card.  The Munson is a beaut too.

The Heritage pack yielded probably my favorite assortment.  I got Vlad as a Ranger and two of my favorite non-Rangers, Ichiro and Halladay.

I may have mentioned this in the past, but there is something about this Fleer Ultra set that I really like.  It's on the short list of sets to add to my master checklist.

Finally, I mentioned the 2011 Topps rack pack.  Can't complain about these pulls, with the Kimball Champion Aaron leading the way.

That was just fun!  It was a nice reminder of what opening wax is supposed to feel like.  Thank you so much lovely wife.  I'm a lucky dude!

1999 Skybox E-X Century- The Whole Stinkin' Set Part 2

Part 2 of the EX Century Set:

1999 Skybox E-X Century- The Whole Stinkin' Set Part 1

I wasn't kidding when I said I would show every single card from my recently completed 1999 Skybox E-X Century Set.  I am doing this for two reasons: 1) I really love this set and think the cards are worthy of display and 2) I am insanely busy at work right now and I need a few more auto pilot posts that don't require a lot of thought on my part.  So here is part one of this set, pages 1-4:

 I wish they could have found a better pose for the Piazza card.

Checklist Chipaway: 2005 Topps Gallery Artists Proof

I apologize for 4 days of posts about my checklist progress.  I actually have bought some 2012 Topps, but didn't hit anything interesting and don't have much to say about them that hasn't already been said.  So think of me as a boring oasis of pictures of cards of which you have no interest.

Or perhaps you are interested?  I know I was certainly interested in this big lot of 2005 Topps Gallery Artist Proofs that I got this week off of sportlots.com.    Just when I think I've picked through everything on sportlots.com, a new batch of stuff will show up that I have to have.  That was the case here, as I got a nice chunk of 15 artist proof cards, taking my set to 63%.  The scans don't nearly convey the slickness of these cards:

Checklist Chipaway: 2003 Diamond King Diamond Cuts

I don't care how long it takes, I am going to finish the master set of 2003 Diamond Kings.  I just sit up in my tree like a sniper and every once in a while my prey comes into affordable view and I'm able to chip, chip, chip away towards completion.

The autos on this set are reallllllyyyy going to take some time to finish, but I'm a patient dude.  I managed to snipe this Mike Sweeney auto recently:

I'm still here 2003 Diamond King cards, I'm still here.

Checklist Chipaway: EX Century- All Done!

Before my little girl learned to talk, when she was done eating she would hold her hands up to us palms up and rotate them left and right.  This means "all done" in baby world.  You can't see it, but I'm holding up my hands and signaling "all done" to 1999 EX Century with this final card:

If you don't believe such an outrageous,  incredible, unbelievable tale, just look on the "completed" tab of my master checklist.  Go ahead, I'll wait.

See, I told you!  In your face!

I'm actually in Toronto right now and the blog is on autopilot for a few days, but when I get back, you are in for quite a treat when I post scans of every single card of this bad ass set. 

Checklist Chipaway: Gypsy Queen Green Paper Frames

I now have a D- on my Gypsy Queen Green Paper Framed Set, or more precisely I'm 62% complete.  62% still feels like it's a long way to go.  

I got this lot from a fantastic eBay seller named lilbumblebeee03.  Not only did they send these beauties quickly after purchase, check out these "filler cards" that were sent along:

Trout, Hosmer and Stanton rookies? Thank you very much!  I guess the Hosmer isn't technically the 2011 Rookie of him, but his "Rookie Debut" card.  It's all good to me.  I'll definitely be watching bumblebeee03s store going forward.

I Like My Mail Sonny Side Up

I received a nice little PWE this week from Justin over at the wonderful Justin's World.  He had come across a couple of cards of former Razorback Sonny Weems and was kind enough to send them my way.  I didn't have any cards of Weems yet, so these found a much appreciated spot in my Razorback binder.  Thanks for the considerate gesture Justin!  I am on the lookout for some of the 2012 Topps you still need.

Gwynn Win

Even though I have a full album of Tony Gwynn cards, I don’t have a lot of relics of him. 

I picked this one off eBay for $3 shipped this week.  There wasn’t a picture of the item in the auction, so getting a stripe in the swatch was a nice surprise. 

Hey Big Spender- January Wrap Up

In an effort to better understand and control my spending on cards this year, I decided to keep detailed records on where my money goes.  Not only is it helpful to me from a budget standpoint, it gives me some blog material as well!

Each month I am going to track where I spend my money (Cleve’s, Wal-Mart, eBay, etc.) as well as on what I spend my money (vintage, wax, etc.).  I wish I had done this last year when eTopps was still making new cards.

First, let’s look at January overall and see how many days of the month I spent money on cards.

Yep, that’s the purchase cadence of a guy with a problem.  Sure, it’s not much money each shot, but I bought something on average almost every other day.   That needs to improve.  I sure ended the month with a bang too (Cleve’s auction, 2012 Topps Blaster, eBay purchase all on the 31st).

So, where did I spend my money?

Value packs going on sales for $11 at Walmart was a big reason for them getting 35% of my card money in January.  I’m done with those, and I’m not all that hot on 2012 Topps, so I should be able to control myself on wax purchases in February and the lion’s share of my purchases should go to Cleve’s.  I’ve got a lot of travel planned in Feb/March so I might be forced to be good those two months anyway.

What did I spend this money on?

It's no surprise that wax was the biggest category, again due to the value packs.  I’d like to get that percent down and spread it out more to vintage and set completion (sets listed on my master checklist).    Relic cards is a category that I don’t plan out in advance, but I know what I want when I see it so it's a little unpredictable.

When all is said and done, I spent $182 on cards in January.  Considering what some folks drop on a single box, that’s not too bad.  For February, my goal is to get spending down to $120, and then my average per month would be $150 year to date, which I think is reasonable for a mediocre collector like me.