Mailday Roundup: August Pickups

"Mailday." A term that we use daily in this hobby and probably take for granted. The US Postal service is crucial to exchanging cards. USPS isn't perfect, and we have all have our gripes - but 51 cents seems like a small price to pay to swap some cardboard across several hundred (or several thousand) miles. Here's to hoping that political greed won't interfere with our hobby.

Thankfully I haven't experienced any drastic changes in my USPS service yet. My latest big purchase arrived in a timely manner...

I'm excited to announce that I was able to add a second superfractor to my collection last week:

Bryan Reynolds - 2020 Topps Finest The Man Insert Superfractor #1/1

The love for "The Man" inserts in 2020 Topps Finest has been well documented, and with good reason. I was especially pleased to see that my favorite player, Bryan Reynolds, was lucky enough to be featured in the set. I keep my eyes peeled on eBay for most things Reynolds-related, using several saved searches and checking daily. This card went up on a .99 cent auction and I made sure to be there when the bidding closed. I won it for what I think is a reasonable price. Not cheap, but it could have been my only chance to own this card. It still cost me less than a hobby box of Topps Chrome, and I'd certainly rather have this than some mystery cards.

Due to the colorful artwork on this card, you're not seeing much of the superfactor-y chrome finish. It's only really evident in the space by his name and by the Topps Finest logo. The bigger standout to me is the color of the text at the top. The base cards fill in the text at the top with a pink/magenta color. This isn't my card, but here's what I mean:

Bryan Reynolds - 2020 Topps Finest The Man Insert 

Nothing wrong with the base cards, they're sweet too, but I'll take the white on the superfractor all day.  And of course, there's a 1/1 stamp on the back!

The seller threw in some extras which was really cool of him to do. Aside from the 2016 Bowman Draft, I didn't have any of these, so I netted 4 new Reynolds cards for my collection in this deal. 

Bryan Reynolds - 2017 Bowman Chrome - Prospects Gold #/50

Another eBay pickup for the gold collection. This was Reynold's last card in a Giants uniform before being traded. With these additions, I'm up to 31 unique Bryan Reynolds cards.

Thanks to a generous Free Stuff Friday from Kerry at Cards on Cards, I was able to grab these two inserts in a PWE. Speaking of, Kerry, I owe you another PWE - I'll get one out soon. 

I still root for and collect Tyler Glasnow, and due to some early success in Tampa, he's showing up on quite a few baseball cards. 

Lonzo Ball sure isn't playing like a #2 overall pick, and any spotlight that may still be on him will quickly shift to his younger brother. Lonzo's only 22 and I think he's got a pretty ideal situation in New Orleans. Only time will tell if he'll pan out, but thanks to Kerry I'm lucky to have a Lonzo rookie in my collection.

Robert from $30 a week habit and I pulled off our first TCDB trade last week, and it was a good one. I've been a huge champion of TCDB on here - and I'm telling you - if you're not on there, you should be. If it were not for the trade tool on the website, I don't think this trade would have happened. Although Robert didn't have too many Pirates that I needed, he had lots of great cards on his For Trade list, and I was able to build up a nice little stack of eight cards and we made it happen.

The highlights are above. Robert was kind enough to part with a rookie card of the hottest young rookie the game. Not to say I stiffed him - I sent him some pretty nice cards too. 

Believe it or not, I'm more pumped about the Eduardo Escobar rookie. Gold border and serial numbered #/2012. To me, Escobar is one of the most underrated players in the game. He 's not young (31) and he's not flashy, but he had 35 HR and 118 RBI last year. Those were all career highs by a long shot, so hopefully it wasn't a flukey year. 

Thanks for the cards, Robert!

All in all, it was another great week of visits to the mailbox. As much as some of us will declare otherwise, it's in our nature to enjoy gifts and surprises - and it's certianly in our nature to enjoy giving to others. Opening up the mailbox to find a PWE will always be a fun little feeling. I won't take it for granted.

Farewell to Captain Luck

As you've heard by now, Andrew Luck announced his retirement last night. When you take into account his injury history - torn abdomen, lacerated kidney, torn labrum, his recent calf issue, and probably a host of concussions - it's hard not to respect his decision. Congrats to Andrew on a great seven years in the NFL, and congrats to him for his bravery and for making a decision that he feels is best for his life.

I have a sports card association with Andrew Luck, and it's not sunshine and rainbows. Is there a certain card, or cards, in your collection that you entirely regret purchasing, for whatever reason? So much so that you don't even looking at them?

Looking back at 2012, I can't recall an NFL draft where the #1 pick was so certain. From the last day of Andrew Luck's college career right to the minute that Roger Goodell called his name, the world knew who was going number one. Number two wasn't in much doubt either as Luck and RGIII went back to back. 

And that doesn't happen too often. As the card below says on the back: Luck and Griffin going 1-2 was the first time since 1999. It may have started a trend, as we've seen it twice since then - 2015 with Jameison Winston and Marcus Mariota again in 2016 with Jared Goff and then Carson Wentz. 

All of that hype is exactly why, in 2012, I found myself needing to add these two guys to my collection, and there was a lot of dual cards out there of these guys. Autographs were insanely priced, and memorabilia cards were still cool. 

So what did I do? Right when these cards started to come out I picked up a 2012 Topps Prime Dual Jersey /25 ... for an absolutely insane price tag. 

I wish I was kidding, but I can't even look at this card without smirking and shaking my head and muttering to myself, "You're such an idiot." 

Enough self-deprecating It is a nice card. It's fine. But you know the phrase "The one that got away?" Whatever the opposite of that is... that's what this card is to me. The one that didn't get away, but I sure wish it did. 

All in good fun. The collector's plight, I suppose. Again, congrats to Andrew Luck on a short, but excellent career.

Autograph Trade Bait Randomness

Browsing my collection on a lazy Sunday and hoping to find some takers on some trade bait that's cluttering my collection. These have been acquired mostly through box breaks. Never been in a accident, one owner (check the carfax).

If you folks see anything that tickles your fancy, please drop a comment or reach me by email and nsbell440 at gmail dot com. Descriptions below (L to R, top to bottom).

***If you're building a set of 2015 Topps Baseball, please let me know. I have lots of singles and will happily send them off compliments of Big 44 Cards.***

Jorge Polanco 2013 Bowman Chrome Auto

Cameron Gallagher 2013 Bowman Chrome Auto

Andre Rienzo 2013 Bowman Chrome Refractor Auto /500

L.J. Hoes 2013 Topps Chrome Auto

Rob Brantly 2013 Topps Chrome Refractor Auto /499

Onelki Garcia 2014 Topps Chrome Refractor Auto /499

Mike Leake 2010 Topps "Peak Performance" Auto

Scottie Pippen 2012-13 Panini Momentum Auto /25

Larry Johnson 2012-13 Panini Elite Auto /199

Dwayne Bowe 2011 Panini Certified Jersey /50

Kyrie Irving 2012-2013 Panini "Swirlorama" RC #161

***If you're building a set of 2015 Topps Baseball, please let me know. I have lots of singles and will happily send them off compliments of Big 44 Cards.***

Thanks for reading!

Big 44 Reincarnated, With a Contest

Hello world!

After a 9 month hiatus, I will attempt to make my triumphant return to the blogging world. My time off has been a product of many factors, the foremost being a very busy schedule. After starting a new job last summer I have finally settled in at work and have achieved a somewhat consistent schedule.

There's another reason that I've been away from collecting- which is collecting-related; and I will chronicle that in length in my next post (stay tuned).

But enough about me! To kick this off, I want to see if there's anyone out there that is still interested in listening to me ramble. If you're out there, please join me in dusting off the cobwebs and attempting to revive my blog. It all starts with this contest:

It's essentially a smorgasbord of nothingness! Details: 

2013 Topps Target Red Ryan Ludwick 

2014 Topps Miguel Montero Wal-Mart Blue Parallel

2013 Bowman Chrome Elvis Andrus Refractor

2013 Topps Chrome Starlin Castro Purple Parallel

2013 Topps Chrome David Ortiz Die Cut

2012 Topps Mark Hamburger "Golden Moments" Auto

There's actually some pretty good stuff here. Lots of parallels and shiny stuff.. even an autograph from a dude named Hamburger! What could be better?!

Here are the rules: The contest will run until Sunday, April 26th at 10 PM EST. There are three ways to enter:  (1) Drop a comment. Anything works. (2) With your comment: Detail, in a few sentences, your favorite memory/most cherished moment that took place in a major league ballpark, and (3) "Pimp" this contest on your blog. You know the drill.

So that's a maximum of 3 entries per person. All entries will be randomized, and lucky number 1 will be taking home the loot.

If this goes well, I'd love to continue to do more in the future. Let's get this rolling...

My Wax Box

A few weeks ago, I came across a blog post that presented a brilliant idea: Buy packs, and don’t open them. Yep, that’s right. It sounds difficult I know, but it’s actually been one of the best decisions of my collecting career.

(I can’t recall whose blog it was, but if this sounds like your idea: A. Thank you and B. Please drop a comment and take credit!)

So it works like this: If I’m at Target or Walmart shopping for items aside from cards, I hit the card aisle and grab some packs. I approach it with two simple guidelines: Look for bargains, and buy in bulk. If anything decent is discounted, I grab that. If I’m at Target, I usually grab a box of packs from the Fairfield Company, which is basically the only way to “buy in bulk” without using the internet. Here's an example:

When I get home, I take my packs and throw them in a designated box- my Wax Box! My goal is to build up a nice collection of packs, so when I get the urge to rip some retail, I have a variety of packs available to me. If I buy a bunch of packs, I may open one or two immediately and throw the rest in the box.

Above is my accumulation thus far and I hope it continues to grow. Not only is this type of collecting tons of fun, but it eliminates the impulse to run out and buy packs. If I want to open packs, I've got them. It takes a good deal of self control to avoid shredding them all at once, but it really does pay off! 

Now this isn't to say that I don't still run out and buy new products, because I absolutely do. It seems like yesterday that I was eagerly making my way out grab some 2014 Bowman.

I'd love to hear some feedback. Aside from the mystery blogger who prompted me- Anyone else do this? If not, would you consider trying it?

Thanks for reaading!

2012-13 Panini Timeless Treasures Hobby Box Break and Review

Merry Christmas eve! I decided to treat myself to a small hobby purchase this Christmas. The decision was made primarily because dacardworld was nice enough to send me a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. There was also free shipping for all orders over $50, so I was able to get this nice little tin for around $40 shipped. A steal, if you ask me.

Here's the box, which is actually a tin. Panini has switched away from the tin for the 2013-14 set, which has disappointed many collectors. It is a nice bonus.

Although the box states that you get a total of five cards, I received seven including a redemption. Three of the cards are hits- auto or memorabilia. Above are the four base cards. Nothing too special to see here. I was annoyed to see J.R. Smith here, because he shot 17 three's the other night. In one game. He missed the vast majority of them, of course. He's a big reason that the Knicks are so dismal this year.

Here's my first hit, a Nikola Vucevic Rookie Glass Auto, numbered to 499. I really like the look of these cards. I think the glass works well in this set. Nikola has developed into a dependable big man this year, although he plays for an awful team. Very happy with this pull.

Next hit was also an auto, a Jeff Teague "Validating Marks" numbered to 199. This card isn't bad looking, but it's certainly bot attractive as the previous. Like Vucevic, Teague is having the best year of his career right now and developing well. Another solid pull.

My final hit was a third auto, albeit a redemption. This Tony Wroten card will be the same exact as the Vucevic card. So overall, all three of hits were autos, all numbered, and no memorabilia cards. I'm more than okay with that! Wroten has broken out Philly over the past few weeks, here's to hoping he breaks out! 

REVIEW

Overall design: The base cards are above average in design, although no one cares about them. And why would they? This is clearly a hit-based product. The base set consist of 150 cards, but I don't see many collectors chasing it. The glass rookie autos work well. Flashy, but not overdone.

Box contents: Again, this a hit based product. There are three hits per box, two of which will be autos, and one of those autos will be a rookie glass card. You'll get 3 or 4 base cards as well.

The Hits: This product seems to come through with the hits, at least in my case. I was VERY happy that all three of my autos are from guys that are still in the NBA. Not only that, but they're all young guys that are really producing. I feel very lucky in that respect. The auto and memorabilia checklists are pretty solid, and they feature a good mix of vets and rookies. This set is affected by the double rookie class, which really waters down the talent pool, in my opinion. In other words, it just creates more cards of guys who are/will be in the D-league or Europe.

Positives: Rookie Glass autos, on card autos, availability of rookies, serial numbered autos, mix of vets/rookies.

Negatives: Lack of base cards, double rookie class

Rating: 7.5 out of 10. Very happy with this product. It's nothing outstanding, but definitely worth a shot at a discounted price.

My Best Trade Yet, with ARPSmith

Back in October, I stumbled across an awesome blog - ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession - run by an awesome blogger, Adam.

I eagerly scanned his want list, and luckily I had a few goodies for him. I shot him an e-mail and before long, a trade was born. I sent off some SF Giants for him, and asked for anything he could spare in return. The first bullet in his wantlist states, "Those who fill one of these needs will be greatly rewarded!"

..and let me assure you, this guy is not kidding.

I found myself with a stack of Pirates, and I could immediately tell that this collection was loaded with color! Parallels. Yes.

First off is a nice Jeanmar Gomez parallel from 2013 Update. I already have the emerald, but not the gold. Perfect. In the center is former 1B/3B Casey Mcgehee, from 2012 Update. To his right is his successor, looking lovely on that Emerald background. After two great years with the Brewers (and then one really bad one), he got a shot with the Pirates. It was more a less a disaster. 

Next up is a nice horizontal from 2011 Topps Diamond. I really like the look of the these cards, and specifically this very card. A great shot of Cutch, Garrett Jones, and Ryan Doumit. Any card with Cutch on it is gold to me. Doumit's Pirate career is comparable to Mcgehee's... no need to trash him too.   Garrett Jones just signed with Miami after the Pirates decided not to pay him. I'd be lying if I said I won't miss him. My favorite memory of him was back in June when he blasted one straight into the Allegheny. It was only the second time a homer went into the river on a fly. Quite impressive.

To the left is a Starling Marte RC from 2012 Topps. Just a gorgeous card. The gold sparkle bodes so well with the Pirates black and gold jerseys. To the right is Cutch from 2013 GQ with a nice white border. 

In the center is, allegedly, a Jose Tabata "Future Stars" Insert. There are several strange things going on here:

1) Is "Future Stars" not the most played out term for inserts? Ever!?

2) Jose Tabata will most likely never come close to star status

3) ...that's Ronny Cedeno.

I poked around the internet, and I don't think Ronny Cedeno had card in 2011 GQ. A very interest error card. Cedeno's a short stop, Tabata a right fielder. Poor editorial work here, but a cool card nonetheless!

Lastly, a nice 2013 Topps Chome orange parallel of Mr. Russel Martin. I already have the Sepia and Black Parallels... do I see a rainbow in the future?

Below it is a wonderful bonus that Adam was willing to send my way. I'm actually a big fan of Jonathan Dwyer. He was drafted by Pittsburgh, and he's been with the team for three years now. He was actually cut during pre-season cuts, but then re-signed after several injuries at the runningback position. He's a power back, something that the Steelers have been lacking lately. My favorite aspect of this card is Dwyer's number. He wore 21 in college, and wears 27 now. Not sure where the 41 came from.

Adam, thanks so much these awesome cards. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined such a complete and exciting package.

If you'd like to check out more of my Pirates PC, it can be seen HERE!

Thanks for reading!

Pirates PC Additions

In my ongoing mission to bulk up my Pirates PC, I've been browsing eBay quite often. Last week, was able to grab two beautiful cards of two keystone Buccos. As my Pirates collection has grown, it seems that it's becoming more and more autographed based. As long as it continues to be an affordable practice, I'd love to snag at least one auto of each significant member of the Pirates roster. Here are my two newest additions (you can also view my entire PC HERE):

The first card I purchased is a Neil Walker Auto from 2012 Topps GQ. Everything about this card is great: On card, blue ink, great pose. The price was right too, just under $10 shipped. Neil's going to have to starting putting up some consistently good numbers if the Pirates want to have a stable offense. In other words, they offense will go as he goes.

The other card I grabbed is a 2008 Topps Triple Threads Francisco Liriano Autograph/Jersey. I'm not a huge fan of Topps' silver in-card autograph stickers, but an auto's an auto. The centering of the sticker on this particular card is also very poor. Thankfully the jersey isn't just plain white. Topps was kind enough to give me one single pinstripe... how kind of you, Topps.

This was also just under $10 shipped. Here's to hoping Frank the Tank can deliver us another all-star caliber season. Hopefully Topps will produce some more cards with Frankie in a Pirates jersery. Until then, I'll gladly settle for this.

Thanks for reading!

4 Repacks of 2012 Bowman Football

I recently had the privilege of picking up some 2012 Bowman Football packs for a very reasonable price. With preseason football underway, it may be time for me to focus on some football cards! 

 They make it very clear that there are three rookie cards in each pack, which is awesome news for such a loaded draft class. I hoping to pull some big names, and I was lucky enough to do so!

 Mr. Griffin III made a double appearance in these packs! Even better, both are inserts! I'm not a huge fan of the base card design, but these two inserts are on a better level. The Accolades insert is very sharp. I love the fact that the Bowman logo and RC stamp are both in gold. It adds a nice touch. 

I also pulled a Russel Wilson base card. Overall, very fun repacks to tear open! 

As always, thanks for reading!

Need your help! 2013 Topps Cut to the Chase Set Update

Hello again friends. If you haven't already read it, I'm working to compete a set of the 2013 Topps "Cut to the Chase" inserts. I'd love to make some trades and try to obtain some more of these cards. To see what I need/already have, please click HERE.  

As far as what I can offer in return, there's lots of options. I have lots of cards from Topps baseball- 2012. 2013, and Gypsy Queen. I also have a mix of other cards.. please see HERE for that. I have a pretty large collection, don't hesitate to ask about a favorite player, team, etc. I'm a generous trader! My e-mail is nsbell440@gmail.com. Let's chat!

RIP

Tearing open 18 Jumbo packs of 2012 Topps baseball

I typically buy all of my boxes from dacardworld.com. It just happens that they always have great deals on lots of retail packs. I usually snag one lot of rack packs since I'm already paying out the ass for shipping. This time around, I got myself a sealed box of 18 Jumbo retail packs from Topps 2012 Series 2. $34 bucks, can't beat it.

With 36 cards per pack and 18 packs per box, I ended up with 648 cards (Yes I used a calculator). So, if any of you are looking to fill sets from this series, shoot me an e-mail and I'll let you know what else I have. I know I'm late to the Topps 2012 party, but if you're still looking, chances are I may have what you need.

Now, on to the highlights of the packs. My favorites:

Here are the 9 gold parallels that I pulled, and boy are these cards gorgeous. The names I pulled are fantastic too. As a Pirates fan, I was happy to pull Brandon Inge, who hit his first jack as Pirate the other night. Freddy Sanchez is a one of few Pirates middle infielders who has actually been good in the past decade, so he's also a welcomed face. It's the first Clayton Kershaw Parallel I've pulled out of any Topps pack, and I love the way Edwin Encarnacion has been swinging the bat lately. 

I didn't snap a picture of the "Cut Above" dicut inserts that I pulled, but here's a list:

Robinson Cano, Mickey Mantle, Troy Tulowitzki, Roy Halladay, Cal Ripken Jr, Dustin Pedroia, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr.

These packs (and I believe the series as a whole) was very short on rookies. The only ones worth mentioning are Jed Lowrie, Wade Miley, and Yoenis Cespedes (2x).

I was excited to pull a memorbilia card, which I wasn't necessarily expecting:

According to baseballcardpedia.com, the ratio on pulling one of these insert memorabilia cards is 1:103 so it looks like I beat the odds. Very nice card.

2012-13 Panini Threads Basketball Hobby Box Break and Review

After a nice check on payday, I couldn't help but ponder my next hobby box. Panini basketball products are my favorite type of sports card, which you'll see as my blog continues to develop. I've never dabbled in the Threads product line, so I gave it a shot with a hobby box. Guaranteed 3 auto's and a memorabilia card for $73. Can't beat that. Onto the break:

The box

Here's a look at the base cards. I love the Ray Allen card and the way it highlights his move to Miami. All the other base cards in the box were more like the Derrick Rose card. The photos are of perfect quality, and the banner running up the left side of the cards looks great. The color varies per team. Moving to the inserts:

Here we see the "Inside Presence" inserts. Pretty decent names.I dig the backgrounds.

Next is the "Floor Generals" inserts. Unlike above, these cards keep their natural background. I prefer the latter but not a big deal.

"High Flyers" inserts. I love the names I pulled here, Ibaka, J.R. Smith, Rose, and Blake Griffin. All cards have nice action shots on them.

Another line of inserts for this box, the "Century Greats." Love seeing Havilcek get some love here, and what a great picture of Walton. Really cool cards.

Here are the dicut threads cards. A somewhat odd group of names here (L to R): Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Marquis Teague, John Henson, Chris Singleton.

My favorite line of inserts, the "Talented Twosomes." Couldn't be happier with the pulls either, particularly the Knight/Monroe card. What a duo they can be. The Curry/Lee card is a better picture though. Again, photography is clear as day.

The Hits

Tony Parker Jersey- Nice card. No serial number, which is a bit disappointing. It's shame that the Spurs lost the finals, because this guy may have had a shot at the MVP. Probably would have been Tim Duncan.. but one can dream.

Look who it is, again! Another Derrick Williams auto, along with Enes Kanter. For some reason, neither one of these guys excites me too much. Maybe it's because they're both on terrible teams, who knows. I really should not complain though. These guys did go #2 and #3 in the draft, after all. The cards are actually made of wood, and the auto's are on card. No serial numbers :(

Now, why the Jrue Holiday you ask? Take a close look at the silver stripe along the bottom. Every other base card in the box has a bronze stripe (The Ray Allen and D-Rose commons up top are visually misleading, but trust me, they're identical).

So that silver stripe caught my eye. A parallel! My favorite. I flipped the card over and to overwhelming surprise...

BOOM! Hiding in the left hand corner. It's the lowest serial numbered card I've ever owned. Turns out that the stripe isn't silver, it's platinum. Very exciting card from an exciting young player. 

Last but not least, a redemption auto in my final pack:

I can redeem a torn ACL! Poor Gallo. Hope his rehab is going well. It's my understanding that this card will be an on-card auto on one of the jersey style threads cards seen above. I don't believe that it will be numbered.

The checklist for the Team Threads Signatures has some awesome names on it, so seeing that made my heart jump, and seeing Gallo made it un-jump. He deserves some credit though, he's a very consistent scorer and this looks to be a really nice card. I'll probably redeem it sooner than later.

Overall design: The cards themselves satisfy. The photography is professional, and I'm a huge fan of the horizontal banner on the left side of the base cards, it's a creative and looks sharp. Out of all the inserts, I like the Inside Presence the best when I comes to design. 

Box contents: The base set of 150 is very collectable, and you'll be well over halfway to a set with just one box. The base set contains only veterans. The insert sets offer some great variety, from big men to point guards to legends. 

The Hits: This product really comes through. Three autos and a patch card (possibly triple patch) is an awesome ratio for cost. The possibility of pulling low numbered cards ups the ante. 

Positives: Value, card design, variety, autos are on card

Negatives: No rookie base cards, only 5 cards per pack

Rating: 9 out of 10. A staple of Panini Basketball.