Trying to stay positive

In my Blog Bat Around post, I mentioned some of the most valuable cards I pulled over the years - and I mentioned how many of them were sold for less than peak value. Jon commented that bloggers like myself far too often lament the unfavorable transactions and rarely mention the favorable sales.

So, in the interest of balance (and to remind myself that I'm not completely incompetent at this whole sports card thing) here's a list of ten cards I sold at or near peak value. Nearly all of these were sold in either 2020 or 2021. I'm sure I've got some other successful sales in the archives, but figured I'd focus on the sports card spike during Covid.

In ascending order:

2012 Topps Russell Wilson RC
Sale Price: $32.00

Russ was still seen as a top-10 quarterback and future Hall of Famer when I sold this card. I think he's got some good years left in him, but his popularity has definitely taken a hard hit. As of this posting, you can buy a PSA 9 copy of this card for under $20.

Speaking of PSA 9s..

Julio Urias 2013 Bowman Sterling AU PSA 9
Sale Price: $43.09

Prospectors are always cautioned to avoid pitchers but I liked Urias because he was very young (debuted at age 19), left-handed, and a Dodger. He also shares my birthday. I gave up on him after injuries halted his progress (shocker), kicked myself for doing so after he won 20 games, and felt relieved to have sold this single when he was charged with domestic violence (again).

A BGS 9.5 copy of this card recently sold for $17.50. Want an ungraded copy? It'll cost you a dollar.
 

Christian Yelich 2013 Topps Chrome Update RC
& 2015 Topps Museum Auto #d/399
Sale Price: $71.00

I was a fan of Yelich, but worried that his sub-par 2020 season was the beginning of a decline. He hasn't fallen as far as another player I invested in pre-pandemic and bailed out on just in time, but his RCs won't sell for anything near this amount today - even if you throw in an autograph as I did here. Yeli's base Chrome RC can be had for less than the cost of a large coffee. If you want the autographed version, a gem mint copy or refractor can be had for around this price.

I somehow landed this Bad Boy for pocket change in 2015 back when 4 Sharp Corners had bargain slabs:

1988 FLEER #45 ISIAH THOMAS PISTONS HOF PSA 9 K1634890-215

$3.39

It was purchased before I'd really planned to build the set (thus the lack of direct scan) but I sold off some of the PSA 9 singles during the pandemic because ... well, at those prices, it would be silly not to. Earliter this year I got a PSA-slabbed Michael Jordan All-Star for around this price. MJ's nemesis can be had in this grade for about $25 today.

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky PSA 9
Sale Price: $305.00

I spied this card ungraded at my LCS (long before they moved down the street from me). The slab cost more than the card itself, and the $30-40 total was a wise investment. I had no intention of selling it, but pandemic pricing sent high-grade copies of all-time greats soaring to new heights. That included the Great One, whose singles practically quadrupled. $305 isn't necessarily a peak price; while many PSA 9 copies sell for under $200 today one copy recently sold for $400. 

1996-97 Kobe Bryant SP RC PSA 9
Sale Price: $306.01

Another fortunate 4 Sharp Corners pickup - I bought this with Christmas money in 2014, before I had any plans to rebuild a basketball collection. In that same order I bought a PSA 9 John Stockton Fleer RC - and amazingly both were cheaper than an SP RC of Jarome Iginla!

1748675 - 1988 FLEER #115 JOHN STOCKTON RC JAZZ HOF PSA 9 K1748675-424

$16.14

1

$16.14

1634172 - 1994 SP #181 JAROME IGINLA RC PSA 9 H1634172-715	$18.69		1	$18.69
1596449 - 1996 SP #134 KOBE BRYANT RC LAKERS PSA 9 K1596449-622	$10.19		1	$10.19

I'd planned to keep the Kobe card, especially after he tragically passed away in 2020. However a year later, the prices of this fairly common rookie card were soaring and I decided to sell. The most recent PSA 9 example sold for $50 so I think I made the right decision.

Henrik Lundqvist 2005-06 SP Authentic RC Auto BGS 9.5
Sale Price: $475.00

I managed to splurge on a few Future Watch autos over the years including this "King" Henrik, which I bought in 2012 for $160. Despite my disdain for the Rags, I liked Lundqvist and was happy to have this card in my high-end hockey PC. Once he retired, I decided to cash out. The pandemic was unofficially done by the time I sold this in early 2022, but the prices remained high. One recent eBay auction for a BGS 9.5 ended at about $270, while another copy sold for roughly the same price as mine.

Kris Bryant 2013 Bowman Chrome Ref. Auto BGS 9.5
Sale Price: $600.00

I loved this card. It was one of my absolute favorite singles of one of my favorite players. I did not buy it to resell. This was supposed to stay in my collection forever. However, I started to panic after his injury-riddled 2018 season and even though he rebounded in 2019 I must have sensed something ominous on the horizon - because I sold this card in January of 2020. Bryant's stock has sunk lower than Yelich due to a never-ending string of injuries. I still root for the guy and occasionally scoop up his low-end parallels, but I'm glad I was able to sell this when I did. A South Korean seller recently sold two copies of this card for $99.99 each. I'd consider buying it back at that price.

Jaromir Jagr 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier RC PSA 10
Sold for $625.00

This one was wild. Another prescient purchase from 4 Sharp Corners, back when I was hoarding high-grade rookie cards of legendary players. Jagr was five seasons away from completing his incredible NHL career (he's still an active player in his homeland!) when I picked this up in a 2013 Black Friday sale:

261334213355 - 1987 FLEER UPDATE GLOSSY #U-68 GREG MADDUX RC PSA 10 B1473136

$41.27

360784314860 - 1990 O-PEE-CHEE PREMIER #50 JAROMIR JAGR RC PSA 10 H1464622    $34.39

If the Maddux had fetched $400+ during the pandemic I would have sold that one, too. Actually, I sold this card two times - the initial auction ended at $405 but the seller didn't pay so I relisted it. Only when the relisted auction exceeded $500 did the first buyer pay his $405. I immediately refunded him and watched as the relist soared past $600.

This for a run-of-the-mill base card from 1990. Probstein has sold a bunch of 10s recently for about $150 each. Covid was crazy, man. 

Mike Trout 2011 Bowman Chrome RC BGS 9.5
Sale Price: over 1k

I wrote a blog post about this gem shortly after it sold, for more than any single card I've ever sold. But, as I said in the Blog Bat Around, it's not the most valuable card I've ever owned. I just happened to sell this at the right time. Since this was a pack pull from a blaster, the $20 I spent (plus the grading fee) easily makes this the most profitable transaction of my collecting life. Even though Trout's place among baseball's best is secure, this card can be purchased in this grade for half a grand today.


There you have it, my ten most successful sports card sales. Unfortunately, I may need to add to this list soon.

Years ago, back when Corky was still blogging, he wrote that he had to sell his 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig PSA 3 to pay for the medication that he needed to stay alive. That gutted me as a lifelong collector. I could only dream of owning such an incredible card, and any illness that required such a sacrifice must have been an incredibly painful ordeal to endure.

I've been so fortunate to have avoided the hospital for most of my life. No major illnesses or surgeries, even though I don't exercise and I eat like a lazy teenager.

My wife is not so lucky. Mrs. Collector has stage 4 colon cancer. Her chemotherapy treatments start in May. 

As a result, this will be my last post for a while. Card collecting is on an indefinite pause as of 5/1. I will try to complete the Athletics series as promised, but it might be the only posts I manage this summer. The family needs me more than ever.

Take care, everyone. Thank you for reading.




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Saturd

For many baseball fans, the stories of legendary players and championship teams are nearly automatic knowledge regardless of age or level of interest. You can ask almost anyone to identify the most successful franchise in the sport's history and they'll name the Yankees. Ask a non-sports fan to name a historically significant baseball player and you'll probably get answers like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, or Hank Aaron. 

honorable mention for Willie Mays

While each of us may have our own memories of personal or national events in any given year, sports fans collectively - and baseball fans specifically - instantly connect certain years with an all-time great team. For example, fill in the blanks below with the first thing that comes to mind. You have ten seconds.


1927 _________________

1955 _________________

1969 _________________

2004 _________________

Not every calendar year yields such a memorable championship team. If one were to continue this quiz, some of the most popular answers would be teams that didn't win the World Series, such as these years:

1919 __________________

1975 __________________

1994 __________________

2001 __________________

This might be tougher for a casual fan. But if you're reading this, I'm confident that you can easily answer those.

Now, let's kick it up a notch - how about 1910? 1929? Anything coming to mind?

Here's an old crossword puzzle answer my father-in-law once needed my help to solve.
 

Three-time AL MVP. Four letters. (hint: not Ruth)

Here's a Hall of Famer with six World Series rings - the most of anyone who never wore Yankee pinstripes. If I brought this photo to Rittenhouse Square and offered $50 to anyone who could identify him without searching the internet... how long would it take me to give away $50?

These underrated stars - and many more - played for an American League team that won back-to-back World Series in the 1910s and the 1930s. In between those peaks of dominance, this team had five 100-loss seasons, finished in last place for seven consecutive seasons immediately following their fourth World Series appearance in a five-year stretch, climbed back into contention, then won two more titles.

Shortly after that mini-dynasty ended, this team slid back into irrelevance, finished below .500 for 13 consecutive seasons, and didn't return to the Fall Classic for forty years.

All of that winning and losing happened under one man. This team, through extreme highs and lows, didn't fire their manager for fifty years.

If you're not a baseball fan - or didn't catch the subtle omission from this post's title - we're talking about the A's.

Starting in May, The Collector will say farewell to an all-time great franchise in a new series Saturdays with the A's.

Episode 1 - Mister Mack
Episode 2 - Kansas City AAAs
Episode 3 - Team of the '70s
Episode 4 - Bash!
Episode 5 - Moneyball
Episode 6 - Erosion and Relocation (Rinse and Repeat)

I hope you'll join us for a summer-long celebration of the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas Athletics.

Thanks for reading!



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The Last Set Build?

For the past few months I've been trying to fill every last space in my boxes and binders with low-end base and insert cards. Many of my small Sportlots purchases have been assembled around picking up the last two or three cards I need to complete a set. In some cases (like 2023-24 Upper Deck hockey and 2018 Panini Classics football) I don't bother with the short-printed rookies. A complete base set will do.

These sets always seem to have a gremlin or two, and some singles arrive in such bad shape that I need to immediately order a replacement. That said, my full set building wantlist is once again under a dozen cards.

Not counting the 1956 Topps baseball set, that is. I consider this the Final Boss of my card collecting life. The latest addition is this Braves team card, purchased from the Baseball Card Exchange on eBay. My eBay sales - direct and through my California friend - are climbing back up to a level where I can cover these cards. I could have skipped the card show and just bought them with that cash, but where's the fun in that?

The journey to 75% completion is taking a few twists and turns. I actually sold a card, and tossed another in the discard pile - though technically it is still in my possession. My Jim Gilliam had a print line across the front, so I sold it along with some other slabbed singles. Probably a foolish move to upgrade now, years before the set is even complete. Regardless, I'm now at 73.5% completion.. or 73.1% completion.. or 73.97% completion. Let me explain.

There are 340 cards in the 1956 Topps set, plus two unnumbered checklists. I have two cards sitting in my COMC inventory yes, I still have to shop there, grrr.. and I still own the creased Frank Thomas card I mentioned in a previous post. Could I manipulate the numbers in such a way that it equals 75% completion?

	ct.	340-card set	342-card set
without Frank Thomas	250	73.53%	73.09%
with Frank Thomas	251	73.82%	73.39%
with COMC purchases	252	74.11%	73.68%
with Thomas & COMC	253	74.41%	73.97%

Can't quite get there yet. Guess I'll stick to discarding the Thomas and counting only what's in my possession toward the 342-card set. 

 

This set would be my magnum opus, and I've operated under the assumption that it would be my final set build. Perhaps the last card I need to complete the set will be the last card I ever purchase. Ever.


But... maybe not. Even though my budget has been streamlined and my collection space is nearly full, I have found ways to make room for a couple more boxes. And I'm getting the set building bug again.

While I've lost interest in modern baseball, I definitely want to complete the 1994 Leaf set through boxes and packs. 2001 Donruss Studio is calling to me (I have complete sets of 2003 and '04 Studio) and I'm tempted to fill in gaps of Topps factory sets with missing years 1989 blecch and 1992.

There's no room for any basketball or hockey sets at the moment, but I moved some things around and put those new binders to use for my latest football set project:

Got a nice stack of 2023 Score base cards from Johnny and decided to complete the 300-card veterans portion only. But the rookie cards are so cheap that I might go for the full 400 card set. Bryce Young was $2 at the card show. A-Rich I refuse to call him AR15  was $1.25 on COMC. The others were 20 cents each on Sportlots.

Initially I thought that Josh Allen (the QB) and Justin Jefferson were the last two base cards I needed, but after purchasing those from a slow but cheap eBay seller I found that two more were missing: Russell Wilson and Darren Waller. Those two, along with a few more 2023 Draft Picks, are on the way via Sportlots. Just in time for the 2024 Draft!

So much for my tidy 12-card wantlist

There's no chance that I'll finish 1956 Topps before I finish 2023 Score, but there is a chance that completing newer, cheaper sets rekindles my interest in building more sets. 1985 Topps (baseball or football)? 1993 Upper Deck (football or basketball)? 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee hockey?

Who knows, maybe the last set I complete will be the polar opposite of '56 Topps... like Pro Set:

Do you have a card collecting 'Final Boss' that would complete your collection enough to acquire and retire? 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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Blog Bat Around, Mystery RAK, and a Franchise Farewell

Our resident Diamond Jester Matt started a Blog Bat Around last week, giving us all the opportunity to discuss our greatest pack-pulled cards. I was reluctant to list mine because I've sold many of them so long ago that I don't even have a saved scan, but here's my top ten anyhow:

honorable mention - Grant Fuhr 2005-06 The Cup Scripted Swatch patch/auto

In terms of value, this would rank as one of my all-time top-ten pack pulls. However, I'm calling it an 'honorable mention' because it was the best card I pulled from a tin of The Cup, which I was lucky enough to purchase for a mere $450 in 2006. At that price you'd better pull at least one $100 card lol.

10. Carson Palmer 2003 Finest RC Auto #d/399

There was a mini-box of 2003 Finest in my Christmas stocking courtesy of my mom. Autographs were one per box IIRC, and I somehow pulled the #1 overall pick. I sold it for about $150 shortly after.

9. Chris Osgood 1988-99 Upper Deck Game Jersey

This was my first memorabilia hit, way back when jersey cards were tough pulls (1:288 hobby packs per TCDB). Even a semi-star like Osgood sold for well over $100 on an upstart auction site called eBay. It was a nightmare transaction; I sold it to a guy in Nova Scotia who had to send a wire transfer to my girlfriend. I don't have a scan of the card but I think I still have her note, "here's the $140 from that weirdo in NS :P "

8. Eli Manning 2004 Topps Chrome RC Refractor

Bought a bunch of 2004 Topps Chrome at Target in a futile attempt at completing the set. I pulled Larry Fitzgerald and Philip Rivers but gave up when I couldn't land a Big Ben RC. It didn't help the set build that my Manning was a refractor - but I was able to sell it for about $80 well before he won two Super Bowls. (They sell for $200+ these days.)

7. Mario Lemieux 2000-01 Upper Deck Return to Excellence jersey #d/66

Upper Deck made a special set of Lemieux relics where every card was hand-numbered to 66 and inserted into various late-season products. This was my first major superstar swatch pull, and likely my first with a print run under 100. I sold this one in another disastrous eBay transaction that made me want to leave the site forever (I managed to stay away for about a year.)

6. Aaron Judge 2017 Topps Heritage RC photo variation

5. Carlos Correa 2017 Topps Heritage Real One Auto red ink #d 19/68

Now we're getting to more recent pulls, where I actually have scanned evidence. The recent release of 2024 Topps Heritage reminded me of the 5-box break I revealed in the early years of this blog. Judge (which I later submitted to PSA) and Correa basically covered the price of that break.

4. Mike Trout 2011 Bowman Chrome RC

I never pulled a Topps Traded Trout RC despite buying several packs and hangers, yet I got this Bowman Chrome RC from a blaster box purchased during a Dave & Adam's Black Friday sale. This and my all-time greatest pack-pulled hit were submitted to BGS via COMC. I got more money for this card, because I was smart enough to sell it at peak value (unlike the top two...)

3. Marian Gaborik 2005-06 Black Diamond Gemography Onyx Auto 1/1

Once the lockout ended and the much-hyped Crosby/Ovechkin rookie class hit shelves, I gobbled up all the cards I could. Even though I was a poor college student living in a cruddy apartment I managed to buy one hobby box of Black Diamond. The quad diamond SPs (one per box) were more interesting to me, but it was cool to pull an autograph. Only when I sorted the cards by number did I notice the serial numbering on the back. It was my first (and only) one of one pull. I sold it in yet another nightmare eBay transaction.

2. Connor McDavid 2015-16 Upper Deck Young Guns RC

Pulled the big kahuna out of a retail blaster at Target and squealed with glee. I sold it a few months after, for a very good reason: COMC had gem mint copies for rock-bottom prices. An almost free upgrade to a slabbed copy was one of the few smart decisions I made with an all-time top ten pull.

1. Aaron Judge 2013 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Auto #d/50

I've told the story here before but if you're new to the blog, here it is... back in my prospecting days I would buy one Jumbo box of Bowman Draft every Black Friday or Christmas. One of the jumbo packs had some gold shine and when I saw the card I was... nonplussed. Aaron Judge? Okay. It's a Yankee, so that's something. Wow, this kid is huge. Let's see how he did last year.. oh, he was injured. Great.

Once he climbed up the ladder and made it to the Bronx I sent this to COMC for grading, along with a few others:

If I'd sold it after his record-breaking rookie season, or his American League-record 62 home run season, I 'd have had enough cash to buy a car - even after feeBay took their 22%. But I did not sell it at the right time. I sold it when I was making minimum wage and there was a family matter that drained the budget. Another major family issue is gathering steam, but I'm in a better financial position to weather the storm. Which is good, because if I let another 20k card slip though my fingers at less than full value, I'd...

Moving on... it seems that a wave of mystery PWEs has been circulating, with few clues other than "TCDB" and a Hartford postmark. This kind stranger sent six Packers and six Devils over this way (no Whalers though?)

I don't watch Pat McAfee; is A.J. Hawk as bland as everyone says? Or would anyone look like an NPC compared to Patty McCaffeine?

The three best ever Devils are represented here, along with the second-best goalie in Cory Schneider. Mystery person, if you're reading this... thank you!

Last night the Arizona Coyotes closed out their 28th - and final - season in Arizona with a 5-2 win over the Oilers. As someone who lost my hometown hockey team as a teenager, I felt a kinship with the Coyotes. That franchise had somehow survived so many awful decisions from ownership and management -- and just when it seemed like they were on the right track, they couldn't secure an arena. It was Atlanta all over again, and it sucks.

I could write a whole essay on this topic, but I'll spare you my thoughts on the matter except to say that when any franchise has to relocate it's heartbreaking. What that fan base lacked in raw numbers they made up for in resiliency. Who among us would stand by a team through two decades of incompetence, relocation rumors, and scores of insults from snickering, gatekeeping out-of-towners who claim that their favorite team shouldn't exist? Congrats, bullies. You got your wish. The Coyotes are no more.

But! There is an arrangement being discussed to possibly bring them back. If the now-former owner can secure a building within five years, the Coyotes may one day rise from the ashes like... some type of bird.

That said, the players definitely deserve to play for a team with stable ownership and a permanent home. I'd be interested to see how far this young squad can go in the coming years. Good luck in Salt Lake, boys.

Thanks for the memories... even though they weren't so great.

Thanks for reading!




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NJ Card Show Review

Went to my first NJ card show yesterday, at a convention center about 20 minutes away. Admission was $15(!) and there were lots of superstar players signing autographs (including Jordan Love) but I didn't have the time or money for any of that. My main goal was to find some quarter and dollar box gems. I was hoping to find some set fillers or vintage, but I only had 2 1/2 hours because family. Time was scarcer than money.

The room looked like a giant warehouse with the tables in the center and along the left side wall, the autograph lines to the right (behind a large curtain) and a cafe at the back where I stopped to pack my purchases away and regroup.

I mainly bought from three tables. Table #1 was a dealer who did not have any prices listed. Picked out a stack:

And he separated them thusly. First stack was $1 each, then $2, then $3. He moved the Deion from $3 to $2 and gave me $4 off at the end.

Second major purchase was a box marked $3 each or 4/$10. I picked out this stack and got a small discount there as well:

Upon entering the convention center, this table was the first I saw from left to right. I actually didn't notice the cards at first because my eyes lit up at the sight of the display behind his tables:

SLUs! 1988 SLUs!! Rare, out-of-market 1988 football SLUs!!!! 🤯 We'll come back to this. 

Here's a scan parade of my pickups. Every single card cost between 90 cents and $2.22 unless noted.

Lots of color matching cards and serial numbered parallels. The De'Aaron Fox Elite (#d/95) and Allen Iverson Ice (#d/149) were the only $3 cards.

The Jalen Suggs came from box #3. 15 cents.




Now for the football portion of the purchase.

Mostert and Thibodeau are numbered to 95. Minshew, Bosa, and Olave were 15 cents.

Lots of Baker Mayfield in these boxes. The Donruss was 15 cents, as was the Lil' Jordan Humphrey Pink Prizm.

Martellus Bennett Black parallel #d/54 (there's one on COMC for $10). Kelvin Joseph RC was 15 cents.

Both of my bags were a little light on baseball, because I just don't follow the sport much anymore and don't keep up with the current stars/prospects. Also because there are fewer numbered parallels, and more collectors to gobble up the good stuff. I think I did okay though:

Puason was 15 cents. I picked it up mainly because my friend is an A's fan.

Pair of Papi for my PC. The Red Mojo Prizm (#d/299) was $1, the OTG was 15 cents.

None of the quarter/dollar boxes I saw had any hockey cards whatsoever. Maybe some Flyers base from Upper Deck. No inserts/parallels/Young Guns... nothing. I was expecting that someone chasing Connor Bedard RCs would dump off the unwanted cards but no. It's not like we have an NHL team or anything.

After spending half my money at the dollar tables, I had about 40 minutes left. The game plan was to shop for higher-end stuff, big PC pieces, graded cards, set fillers... that sort of thing. On my way out I'd stop at the Ultra-Pro table, pick up some supplies, and then see if I could procure an '88 SLU.

It was almost Noon, and the higher-value tables were crowded. Also there was a lot of autographed helmets, jerseys, and prints. I was tempted to buy a Marcel Dionne auto for $40 - not a card, an actual jersey - just for the value. But it didn't fit my collection, so I left with no hockey at all.

I didn't see any 2024 Topps Archives baseball, either - except at one table offering $25 blasters and $40 megaboxes. They had a tin of 2023-24 Upper Deck hockey as well. I didn't want to risk it.

One graded card dealer had a 1988-89 Scottie Pippen RC I need - PSA 8 for $40. But it was off-center. I also saw one 1956 Topps single - a Bob Miller graded by some non-PSA entity I've never heard of. Pass.

Which brings me to the quarter box. The prices were marked $0.25 or 5 for $1. I picked out 134 cards as quickly as I could and hoped to get them for $25. "How about $20?" He said without counting the cards. Done!  I'll show off some more of those pickups in a future post.


With $100 left in my pocket, I returned to the SLU figures. Cris Collinsowrth and Doug Williams interested me in particular, and I knew that one of them was priced at $100. I'll offer $80 for the Collinsworth and call it a day. I thought.

I should have zoomed in more. Sorry.

Nope. Williams was $100 - and creased on the back. Collinsworth was $200. And honestly? That's probably fair. The piece above was in better shape than this one on eBay. It's just a lot of money to spend on one action figure.

Then again, that's how much I spent on 300+ low-value cards and some Ultra Pro supplies.

Thanks for reading!



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