2 Jumbo Packs of 2010 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

Today's stop on WallyWorld meant the inevitable trip down the card isle. I wasn't too impressed with what I saw, however I was able to find some discounted packs. My favorite. 

Those glorious, glorious red stickers. I simply can't get enough. 

I was really happy to see some familiar faces in these packs... you never know with Draft Picks and Prospects. I really like the design of these cards. Simple and crisp.

I had the luck of pulling a jersey card out of one of the packs, and this guy actually isn't a total no name. He's ranked as the 19th prospect in the Indians system. He's a lefty, and he's only 19. Could be worth hanging onto. It's also numbered out of 949. A nice little hit, but not my favorite card that I pulled...

This is. I laughed out loud at this one, for one reason only: That 'stache. Not only does this guy have an electric arm, he seems to have the personality to match it. Only a goofball would rock that type of facial hair in this era. If you didn't catch this 4-minute clip of Mr. Harvey back during the All-Star break, give it a watch, you'll appreciate it.

Collectors, I Need Your Advice!

Set builders, hear my cry! This is new territory for me.

Last week I made my announcement about my newest and most ambitious goal. I'm attempting to complete a set of 2013 Topps Chome Blue Sapphire Parallels. I've been buying trading for them and scouring eBay daily for these cards. I'm enjoying the hunt, although it's proving to be an investment. One that I'd like to protect as best as I can.

Which brings me to my question: How should I store my completed set?

I fear that the biggest challenge here will be the infamous chrome bend. It seems that most Chrome products warp over time. I'm wondering if placing each card in a toploader would be helpful. Is there anything I should avoid?

The bottom line here is that I've never had to store a completed set that I care so much for. Any advice at all is welcome! A big thanks in advance.

Contest! Billy Butler Auto Anyone?

Free stuff! If you'd like a chance at some nice free cards or a sick auto, head over to It's like having my own Card Shop. You won't regret checking it out!

PC Additions

Today's post will be a quick one, highlighting three cards that I'm excited to add to my personal collections:

This card is from 2013 Update, one of the retail only chrome refractors. Back in November, I posted about how much I love black Pirates parallels. Frankie didn't have a card in the 2013 Chrome set, so it's great to be able to add this chrome parallel, #'ed out of 99.  I'm still looking for the same card of Pedro Alvarez. The only one on eBay is a bit too pricey.

This beauty was sent to me by the wonderful Judson Meeks over at My Cardboard Habit. Judson has been sending me some awesome Pirates cards for a few months now, and gets more generous by the day. This card is also from Chrome Update, retail only. The gold border looks great, and so does the /250 stamp on the flipside.

 Thanks, Judson!

My final addition is terribly random. I'm not necessarily a superfan of Drew Brees, and I don't have a Drew Brees PC. But several Sundays ago, I was watching Brees shred Carolina's defense for over 300 yds and 4 TD's. As the broadcasters were raving about the future hall-of-famer, I thought, "It would be great to own a tangible piece of this guy's career." So I did what any compulsive collector would do... hopped on eBay and grabbed a jersey card! It's numbered to 249, so it carries a bit of rarity which I always appreciate. Less than $5 shipped- can't beat!

I recently created a Twitter account to coincide this blog, as well as my collecting in general. Give me a follow - @big44cards

Thanks for reading! 

Rippin' Retail

Christmas money = repacks. My local Target has a great selection of retail products, and I love to browse the isle whenever I have some extra cash. My selection this week was a Jumbo box retail pack made by Excell Marketing. Historically speaking, I tend to avoid these products. They're often packed with a bunch of gimmicky crap, but this one looked somewhat legit. As you can see below, it revealed a pack of 2012 Bowman Platinum. There's an identical window on the opposite side of the pack, showing 2012 Update. I also snagged two repacks of 2013 Update.

Here are all the packs within the box. Not a huge fan of Opening Day, but I was very happy to see two more packs of Topps products:

Moving on to the highlights:

One of the '13 Update packs had the Hairston emerald on the left, and the other had the Marshall. 

Same type of story from the 2012 packs.

The box was very generous with Bucco cards. Love the two Marte's.

 Aside from the four packs, there are 50 additional cards inside. Regardless of the sport you buy, the cards are typically a bunch of no names/semi-stars from the early 90's. This box was no different. Some of the cards were terribly warped, as seen above. This card almost looks like a half-pipe.

The pack of Platinum contained this very pretty Will Middlebrooks X-Fractor. The box promises a "Bonus", which must be this Albert Pujols Heritage Mini, because it was floating around the inside of the box. A nice touch, but the real bonus was inside the pack of 2012 Update...

The cardboard gods smiled upon me! The pack felt a little thick, and I was surprised it wan't a decoy. Getting a hit out of a repack is always a great feeling... even if it's a Carlos Ruiz All-Star workout jersey. 

All in all, a very successful purchase. This box alone has really changed my view on this type of product. If you haven't tried one of those retail boxes before, I'd definitely recommend it. I'm sure this wont be my last.

Everything here is for trade, like usual. Thanks for reading!

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.

Early Present to Myself, Some Retail

During today's last minute holdiay shopping run, I had that itch to grab some repacks. I was browsing the card isle in Target, but just couldn't find anything that my head and wallet could agree on. I remembered a recent blog post that I read which highlighted some discounted repacks bought from K-Mart. I can't remember who's blog it was, but whoever you are, thank you for the inspiration!

There was K-Mart on my way home, so I stopped in for a peek. I was happy with what I saw:

Discounts indeed! It seems that baseball cards are generally one of those things that are very inflexible with their prices. It's rare to find sales or discounts on good cards, so these big red stickers instantly caught my eye. 

Small note about K-Mart's normal pricing: They're actually higher across the board, with  slight, consistent inflation. Single repacks were $2.29 rather than $2, jumbo packs were $5.79 rather than $5, blasters $21.49 rather than $20, etc etc. It seems K-Mart is the place to go for discount, but not much else.

Here's what I pulled from 2010 Topps S1 Jumbo:

Three inserts, all unique. I love the Bo Jackson reprint. I love all things Bo Jackson, really. What a freakish athlete. I also enjoyed the humor in A-Rod appearing on a "Peak Performance" insert. The phrase "peak performance" almost sounds like a steroid joke.

I was fortunate enough to pull the one card I really wanted, the Cutch RC. Next to him is a Kyle Phillips gold parallel /2010. Phillips is lifetime minor leaguer. To the right is Johnny Bench appearing on a nice turkey red insert.

On to the bonus box of 2008 Topps S1:

The box promises three gold bordered cards in a bonus pack, exclusive to K-Mart. While I haven't heard anything about  any of these guys in a while, these are still nice cards. I'm reallllyyy not a fan of the design of 2008 Topps, but the gold borders somewhat save it. All three cards are rookies, so no complaints here.

To the left is a mediocre looking Fausto Carmona insert. Carmona, now named Roberto Hernandez, signed a 1-year, 4.5 million dollar deal with the Phils last week. Honestly I had no idea this guy is still in the league until I looked him up. Once a 19 game winner, his lifetime record sits at a paltry 59-82.

Next to Mr. CarmonaHernandez is politician John Edwards... pre-sex tape. I literally laughed out loud when I saw this guy's face in a pack of baseball cards. Just look at that creepy "I just had sex" grin...

Rounding out the fun is two Buccos, of course. This Clint Hurdle base card actually marks the first of any sort of memorabilia I own of his. Although I'm not a fan of 2008 Topps, I've got to hand it to them for including the managers in the set, as these guys often go unappreciated.

So overall, nothing too crazy in these breaks. The jumbo pack was more rewarding than the more expensive box, interestingly. Some good PC additions for sure though, and for 9 bucks, certainlu can't complain!

Thanks for reading.