2025 Facebook Marketplace purchase: 10,000? Maniac!

It took a few months this year but back in mid-March I made my first Facebook Marketplace card purchase of 2025: a pair of 5000-count boxes of random stuff for $60.

I drove east to nearby-ish Livonia (my hometown!) and met up with a guy who was cycling out some unwanted stuff from collections he'd picked up, and that's exactly the kind of stuff I like looking through at around this price.

These boxes turned out to be heavier on base than inserts but the latter were still prominent enough to give me some great trade content, and the former were useful in some ways as well. I'd say the split was around 60% baseball, 20% football, and 10% each of basketball and hockey, give or take (it's been a while so I can't remember for sure!).

Regardless, as always I had fun flipping through this stuff, and a good chunk of it has already gone out in trade packages, plus I may list some on TCDb eventually.

As for the reason most of you are probably reading this, here were my keepers, which amounted to a pretty nice stack:

This bunch skewed recent, as in the past five or so years, which was great for me since that helps fill a lot of holes for current Tigers and other PCs. In terms of older stuff, the 2007 Topps Tigers you see here aren't base but are actually from the team set, which I didn't already have.

The Tigers were well represented, as you'd probably expect from cards I picked up in a suburb of Detroit. It's great to see the '06 World Series guys together with some of the stars leading the charge for a surprisingly good 2025 squad.

Both of my blog namesake guys made the smallish group of horizontal cards. Curtis deserves all of the awards for being a talented player who was fun to watch in addition to an impeccable ambassador of the game.

There was just a quartet of Wolverines I needed in the basketball stuff, but this gives you a small idea of some of the brands that were heavily represented.

The football contingent was three times larger (and happily included some love for the defensive guys) and again this gives you a bit of a taste of brands I found.

2024 Absolute Retail and Prestige were by far the biggest stacks so it's no surprise I had multiple keepers from both. Some Prizm and Mosaic sets also popped up a good amount, just to a lesser degree.

When it came to hockey the local favorites also made lots of appearances, mostly to the benefit of the collections of two guys I loved watching in my younger days. Sergei Fedorov got a great bump to his PC with a cool mix of brands and designs.

Though most of his cardboard appearances here depict him with other teams, Brendan Shanahan also got a nice boost, and there's even a few in the next scan from his tenure in Hockeytown.

The HOF three-time Cup winner, all with Detroit, spent parts of nine seasons as a Wing, but was also known for multiple years with the Devils, Blues, Rangers, and Whalers. What a great trade acquisition he was as Detroit finally ended its Cup drought in '97.

Oh yeah, one Michigan Hockey card did manage to sneak into the pile: an early 2000s base of Mike Cammalleri, a guy who had a nice 15-year career of his own.

Like I said, these were fun to look through and sort into piles for my trading buddies, plus I still have some stacks I may list for trade, we'll see. In the meantime, I recently bought another lot from this same seller--around 300 recent baseball inserts for $50--but probably won't do up a post on them since I only ended up with a single keeper for myself. Some of those did make for nice filler in the 11 trade packages that went out to some of you today, though, so some of you should watch your mailboxes!

Next time you see a post from me I should be into Aprils acquisitions.

2015 trade package #17: 3x3x3 Heroes, Red Wings-style

I don't think it gets said often enough, but Jeff from 2x3 Heroes is a classy guy.  Hey, stop laughing and get back here!  Or at least get back here.

For reals, though, he's a good person known for being very generous, especially when it comes to sending out PWEs.  He's even willing to send me his unwanted Red Wings even though his team is our hated rival, the Blackhawks.  To be fair, though, the 2014-15 champs are a very well-run organization (just like the Wings!) and have won multiple cups in a short span of time (just like the Wings!) and I have to give them their due for knowing how to put together a team...

...just like Jeff knows how to put together a PWE!  I like the Wings, I like cards in multiples of nine that scan easily, and I loved this stuff that he sent my way:

Page 1 includes:

• Justin Abdelkaer -- BOOOOO, a Spartan, though a good contributor for the Wings
• Jimmy Carson -- the guy traded in the deal that brought Paul Coffey to Detroit
• Chris "Chev" Chelios
• Dino Ciccarelli x2
• Paul Coffey x 3 -- the HOF defenseman who was traded to Hartford in the deal that brought Brendan Shanahan (and multiple cups!) to Detroit
• Matthieu Dandenault -- another multiple Cup-winner with the Wings

Page 2 includes:

• Sergei Fedorov -- if you don't know who he is, you weren't watching hockey in the 90s
• Glen Hanlon -- a former goalie who went on to coach the Caps
• Gordie Howe -- I dunno, some old guy
• Greg Johnson -- a former standout at North Dakota
• Slava Kozlov -- one of the members of the Russian Five!
• Martin Lapointe -- had an excellent career with the Wings, Bruins, and...HAWKS!
• Nick Lidstrom x 2 -- the best defenseman of my era and one of the greatest at the position of all time
• Chris Osgood -- well-known Wings goalie won three Cups and was a great return story in 2008

Page 3 includes:

• Xavier Ouellet -- a recent D prospect drafted in 2011
• Keith Primeau -- 3rd overall pick in '90, he never won a Cup with the Wings but was a force for his entire Detroit tenure (and was part of the deal for Shanahan)
• Yves Racine -- Wings first-rounder in '87, he went on to have a long pro career
• Brendan Shanahan -- huge part of Wings resurgence in the 90s is now Toronto's president and hired Mike Babcock away from his old team!
• Brendan Smith -- former Hobey Baker finalist at Wisconsin is now a regular on Detroit's blue line
• Steve Yzerman -- I'm pretty sure that "C" on his sweater stands for "Champion"
• Steve Chiasson -- (whoops, he should have been in the first scan!) former D-man sadly died after driving drunk in 1999.  His son was a senior at Michigan last year
• Henrik Zetterberg x2 -- late-round Swedish gem hasn't been as much of a force since the late aughts but was a key component on Detroit's last Cup-winning team in '08

Thanks again, Jeff!  I actually have a few things set aside for you and I'll shoot them your way sometime soon.  In the meantime, enjoy your revels in the afterglow of another Chicago Cup!

Let's Go Red Wings! My Hockeytown PC

(Jeff, you're gonna want to go do something else instead of reading this post, like celebrating that one time your guys won the Cup, or bragging about specific styles of pizza, or whatever you Hawks fans do.)

In honor of the Red Wings clinching the Western Conference's #7 seed in this year's playoffs, extending their playoff appearance streak to a mind-boggling 22, I thought I'd show off the rest of my best Wings cards, a project actually inspired by Jeff after he sent me a few really nice ones a few weeks ago.  Please feel free to have a look at the whole album at your leisure here.

So here's 10 more high-end Hockeytown hits for your viewing pleasure!:

Alex Delvecchio 1999-00 Upper Deck Retro Inkredible auto

What a great player to start with!  Delvecchio was a LW with Detroit for his entire NHL career, which spanned from 1950-1974.  He set or neared all kinds of records for playing games for a single team and put up some fantastic statistics, finishing with a 456/825/1281 line, numbers that were surely aided by his legendary teammates on the famed "Production Line," Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe.  He was part of three Cup-winning teams in '52, '54, and '55, saw his #10 retired by the Wings, and holds a prominent spot in the NHL Hall of Fame.  All that AND he has a fantastic signature!

Brett Hull 1988-89 Topps RC

Hull, son of fellow hockey immortal Bobby, had a fantastic career in his own right.  An often outspoken and controversial figure, a prolific two-year career at college powerhouse Minnesota-Duluth presaged good things, and they came true beginning in St. Louis after a brief stint with the team that drafted him, the Calgary Flames.  I generally associate Hull with the Blues since he played the majority of his career with them, but in 1998 he moved on to the Stars, where he scored an oft-debated Cup-clinching goal over the Sabres the following year.  A couple seasons later he signed with the Wings, for whom he played for three seasons, including a big turn for the 2002 Cup-winning team.  He closed out his career with a very short stint with Phoenix, and has since gone on to executive roles.  While his time with Detroit was relatively short, his fame and contribution to yet another title-winning team gives him an honored place in my Wings PC!

Niklas Lidstrom 2000-01 SPx Winning Materials jersey-stick

Lidstrom was just one successful member of an insane 1989 draft haul for Detroit, which also included quality players Mike Sillinger, Bob Boughner, Sergei Fedorov, Dallas Drake, and Vladimir Konstantinov.  That class was a sign of things to come for the NHL's model of scouting, drafting, and player development to this day.

Nick's numbers put him at the top of that group, not to mention among the five best defensemen ever.  He played his entire career, 1991-2012, in Detroit, and was a blue-line stalwart, winning the Norris trophy TEN times.  A 12-time all-star, he was key in all four of Detroit's Cup wins dating back to 1997, and in 2008, with face of the franchise and former captain Steve Yzerman retired, the Swedish-born Lidstrom made Don Cherry put his stupid foot in his stupid, ethnocentric face by becoming the first European player to captain a team to a Stanley Cup.  Lidstrom continued to play at a high level despite his advanced years before hanging them up for good last year.  He will be sorely missed by a fan base that had been used to his presence for an amazingly productive 20 seasons!

And what a great start to a PC this is--the hockey version of SPx's Winning Materials line, this one including a jersey and stick.  I hope to add an autograph at some point, and plenty more of one of the all-time greats of Detroit and the NHL as a whole.

Brendan Shanahan 1988-89 Topps RC

Brendan Shanahan 1997-98 Score TTM auto

Brendan Shanahan 2000-01 UD Pros and Prospects Game Jersey jersey

Brendan Shanahan-Sergei Fedorov 1999-00 Upper Deck MVP SC Edition Great Combinations puck

To say that Shanny lived up to the hype as the #2 overall pick in 1987 would be an understatement.  Shanahan was drafted by the Devils, but he would go on to some excellent years with the Blues before the Red Wings brought him on board for the 1996-97 season, and he spent the bulk of his career in Detroit.  It was no coincidence that the Wings ended their Cup drought that season, as he potted 46 regular-season goals, plus another nine in the playoffs.  All told, he was part of three Cup-winning teams ('97-'98 and '01-'02) before he finished off his career with the Rangers and Devils.  Since then he's become the league's chief disciplinarian, which is apropos as Brendan is the only player in league history to score 600+ goals AND accumulate 2000+ penalty minutes!

Thanks to the cards above I almost have a trifecta I would approve of--I'm too much of a stickler not to include a certified autograph.  I'm happy to have the TTM signature, though, as one of the few ones I tried to acquire of a hockey player.  The puck card he shares with Fedorov is fun, too, because hockey pucks have a cool feel to them that you don't quite get with other sports equipment.

I'll do a more in-depth rundown on Fedorov if/when I pick up something of him alone.

Aaron Ward 1993-94 Upper Deck IP auto

Now THIS is a card I've been meaning to scan for a long time, and my failure to do so is especially haunting, because it resides on a plaque that I've had up on a wall for YEARS.  I picked it up a long time ago at a craft show-type thing held at my high school when I noticed a guy was selling a bunch of these he had made. I couldn't tell you why my brother and I picked this out--I'm guessing he was more astute than I was and knew that Ward had played for three seasons at Michigan before becoming a Red Wing.  In any event, I'm very happy to own it!

Ward was one of many prominent draft picks to play for (former Red Wing!) Red Berenson's Wolverines.  He was drafted by the Jets 5th overall during his sophomore season, then traded to the Wings the following year (for Paul Ysabaert--anybody remember him?!).  Aaron became a regular blueliner for Detroit during the '96-'97 season and was part of the two consecutive Cup-sweeping teams.  After being traded to Carolina, he enjoyed one last Cup victory, scoring in game 7 for the Hurricanes in a win over Edmonton.  He would then play for the Rangers, Bruines, 'Canes again, and Ducks before hanging 'em up in 2010 and beginning a new career as a TV analyst.  I've been after certified autos of Ward for a while and eventually that'll happen, likely via COMC.

Steve Yzerman 1984-85 Topps RC

Steve Yzerman 2000-01 SP Game Used Tools of the Game jersey

Steve Yzerman is a little-known center who played a few years for the Wings, had a minor role in some Stanley Cup titles, then retired to a life of relative obscurity.

Or, you know, he could just be one of the top Red Wings of all time.  Yzerman was part of a prolific (I really like that word today) 1983 first-round draft class, in which eight of the top 12 picks were all-stars, Hall-of-Famers, or both.  #8 overall in career goals scored, "Stevie Y." was a big-time scorer from the get-go, but it was his development into a complete player and leader that ultimately brought him fame as a 19-year captain, an NHL record.

Thanks to his improved game and some excellent roster-building by the team, Yzerman led the Wings to three of their four recent Stanley Cups, and was a prominent executive for the 2008 team.  He finished his career in 2006 with 692 goals and 1063 assists for an insane 1755 total points.  After getting his feet wet as Detroit's VP the following year, and as GM of Team Canada in 2008, Steve became VP and GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he's an up-and-coming executive, one who's hopefully on his way back to Detroit in the future whenever Kenny Holland, the architect of the Wings' dynasty, retires.  I guess for now Steve can bask in the glory of all those trophies, awards, and his Hall of Fame enshrinement, but I bet he loves returning to the Joe from time to time to see his familiar #19 hanging from the rafters alongside many, MANY other banners!

I picked up his RC a long time ago, and while it's a bit beat up, it has that vintage kind of character that makes it one of my favorites in my entire PC.  I got the jersey a bit more recently than that, but I've still had it for a long, long time as well, and it's a beautiful swatch of a red Detroit sweater.  Maybe in the future I'll get rich and be able to afford a certified Yzerman auto to form a trifecta!

I also don't want to forget this Mike Knuble Be-a-Player auto that's resided in my Michigan Hockey PC for a while.  I wrote about it briefly here and may cover Mike in the future at bit more if I find more Red Wings hits of him.  Red Berenson is another guy who played for the Wings and of whom I own some hits, but I've yet to decide if I'll include him since neither pictures him with Detroit.  We'll see.

I hope you've enjoyed this look at the best cards in a PC I've long neglected to show off here.  Maybe this will motivate me to pick up some more hits to show off the best of Hockeytown.  Good luck to the Wings in the playoffs, starting with round one against the hated Ducks!