Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Happy Wolverine Tuesday, plus group break idea (for real!)

Sample hit.  Not bad, eh?

Group break idea (possibly for real, no guarantees)

(To start with, for those of you not as Wolverine-inclined)  I recently kicked around a few group break ideas in hopes of popping my group break-hosting cherry, but I never ended up with anything I really liked.  I think in many ways football is too difficult for me to do, what with Michigan alumni scattered over so many teams.
However, while scoping out Blowout and DACardWorld daily I remembered a set I hoped to get in on at one point because of the good number of hits and my general disinterest in the base set:  2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition baseball!  There's a good number of young stars, plus for my interests some good 2010 Detroit draft picks, and even a couple Michigan picks to boot.  Checklist (including teams) here for those interested.
So?  So I'm thinking something like 4-6 boxes.  Each gets you around 6 hits (all autographs of some type) plus more inserts, and four boxes per 20 box case are "hot boxes" with 10 hits.  That means 5 boxes could net us anywhere from 30-52 hits (more likely 30-34, of course).
With boxes going for approximately $63 on BO and $70 on DA, 5 would run me a bit over $300 shipped, plus I'd have to factor in shipping/materials for participants.  I'm thinking something in the neighborhood of $30-$35 per slot for a total of 10 slots (including me), each slot getting 3 teams, possibly determined via a draft or something (though to be up-front, I'm immediately calling the Tigers, my only real stipulation.  



UPDATE:  BA Benny suggests that each person gets to pick teams up front or pick two and then have the rest go into a draft.  I'm open to either of those if people prefer--I just want to make sure everyone gets a fair shot at teams they want without one or two people taking all the "best" teams themselves.  I think we can make this fair.
UPDATE 2:  Blowout is quoting me a price of $60/box, which is pretty nice, and means I could do 5 or 6 depending on everyone's preference.  I think 5 would be enough for a 10-person break, but if enough people are willing to put in enough (say $40/slot) that would be cool.  If we go with 5 boxes I think about $30/slot, give or take another $1 or $2 for shipping at most, would be fair.  The sooner I determine there's enough interest, the sooner I'll get these ordered!
Hopefully each person would get 3-4 hits, a few inserts and plenty of base.  Multiplayer cards and other unclaimed stuff would be randomed off as fairly as possible.  I'd also allow trading of teams/cards prior to shipping if there's interest in that.
With all of that in mind, do I have any interest in this?  I'd be looking for 9 other participants, and I'd take a stab at the whole live video break/recap deal to make it fun for everyone.  What do y'all think?  Please leave comments and if there's enough interest I'll get off my ass and make this happen.

Hail to the Blowout forums

By now you know the drill--I find a guy dumping a bunch of Michigan stuff on the BlowoutCards forums and everyone wins.  In this case, the guy happened to live pretty close to Ann Arbor, so despite only confirming the deal on Sunday, they're here today (Tuesday).

The latest haul, at a low, low cost of $55 to yours truly (guess where they're ending up?):

Adrian Arrington 2008 Press Pass SE Gridiron Graphs Gold auto:  this one didn't wow me design-wise, but it's a nice looking signature, features him in his Michigan uni, and was a nice throw-in
Chris Perry 2004 Bowman Chrome auto RC:  my Perry collection has grown by leaps and bounds despite his brief, disappointing NFL career.  Oh well, my gain
Leon Hall/Alan Branch/LaMarr Woodley 2007 Ultra Signature Class Triples auto:  did I mention this one's numbered 13/25?  At $60 this card alone is worth more than I paid and generally looks great.  Hall and Woodley have both gone on to star in the NFL while Branch...um...has survived being on the Cards this year without hanging himself, which is an accomplishment
Leon Hall/LaMarr Woodley 2007 SP Rookie Threads Multi-Marks dual auto:  these guys look familiar.  I seem to attract numbered Leon Hall and LaMarr Woodley multiplayer autographs like Michigan attracts star O-linemen
Jake Long 2008 Topps Rookie Premiere auto blue:  This is my first Topps RP auto of any kind, and at $40 represented a nice value considering my $55 total price.  As if I needed more Long autographs, right?  Can't help it, he's a guy from that awesome 2008 team that I love to collect
Jake Long 2008 Topps Rookie Premiere auto red:  Yes, the guy had both, and no I wasn't intending on grabbing both, let alone either.  Basically I said "a bunch of these don't have prices, are they available, specifically these?" and he gave me a ridiculous price, even crazier considering the one above is $40 and this red version is unpriced due to its rarity.  I don't do multiples of the same card as far as my Michigan hits go, but this one's different so it's a keeper
Mario Manningham 2008 Topps Rookie Premiere auto blue:  more Super Mario and more Topps RP autos!  This was sort of another "throw-in" for the guy, at least in the sense that he didn't have it posted up on his PhotoBucket but decided to mention it to me later.  Another $40 hit, and the value just kept on coming.  Mr. New Math will blossom into a star WR if he gets more chances to start, plus a QB who isn't an inaccurate little bitch
Marlin Jackson 2005 Topps Draft Class Marks auto:  man was this guy good when he played corner at Michigan.  He parlayed that into a nice draft selection, then quickly became as brittle as 2000s Ken Griffey Jr.  A sad NFL career, but I'll always remember his lockdown play at CB for the Wolverines.  By the way, just my second Marlin autograph
Marlin Jackson 2005 Topps Draft Senior Standouts jersey:  another Marlin hit, and this one presumably a piece of a Michigan jersey, which is a nice plus
Tim Biakabutuka 1999 Score Supplemental Inscriptions auto:  I'd seen some of these around but never had one of my own.  Somehow this is my fourth TB hit, to go with a helmet piece picked up from one of those Target "get a guaranteed random memorabilia card and some crappy packs" deals, plus two lower-quality Classic autos from another deal (which are still appreciated).  This is a very cool fairly transparent card and the highlight of my TB collection thus far

So all 10 of those cards for $55 delivered, which come to $250+ (due to the unknown Jake Long price, so probably closer to $300+) in value.  Or, you know, priceless, as far as they go towards adding to my burgeoning Wolverine collection.

4 comments:

  1. Some sweet looking cards, I think the Jackson auto is my favorite.
    As far as the break goes, I might be interested but I prefer to be able to pick my own teams, I don't really need a lot of cards from teams I don't collect. Perhaps people can pick 2 teams and get a third random that they can keep or trade. I do like the idea of ten people at 3 teams each. Just my 2 cents.

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  2. Nice cards, but that Tim Biakabutuka is awesome. I love those Inscription acetate cards. Good Stuff!!!

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  3. I'm in for your break if I can get the braves and someone else. Let me know.

    Derek
    www.tomahawkchopping.blogspot.com

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  4. The break sounds interesting. I would be interested in the Cubs and the Royals. I'll keep watching for updates

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