Coming soon...

It's been more than a couple weeks since I last posted, mostly due to positive things, especially great weather and a fantastic trip to Ft. Worth for my best buddy's wedding.  Hopefully the weather keeps up, even if that means I end up posting less (if that's even possible).  I do have a few things in the pipeline, though, so here's a bit to look forward to on this here blog.

Trade packages  I have one in-hand to show off, and who knows, maybe I'll have more to go with that one soon.  I also expect to send more out pending receipt of my latest COMC package

Too many Verlanders!  Speaking of COMC, thanks to the Spring Cleaning sale I grabbed a fat stack of new Verlanders along with a bunch of other Tigers stuff I'm looking forward to showing off here when it all arrives

More PC player showoffs  I still have lots to scan and post from four of my biggest PCs:  Griffey, Gwynn, Maddux, and Ripken.  We'll see if I can make any progress with those this spring/summer.

Spring/summer cleaning  Ah yes, something I actually intended to do last year but never got around to...you know...doing.  This version will likely focus less on cards (though there'll still be plenty!) and more on some of the larger stuff I'd like gone from storage, including Starting Lineups, Pinnacle Inside Cans, Donruss Studio Portraits, oddball stuff, and lots, lots more!

And other stuff, as I get to it when I'm not out enjoying the beautiful Michigan weather.  Happy spring/summer, everyone!

Giveaway/contest update: prizes and shipping

Here's a quick update now that all the prizes have been claimed:

1. Brian (Play at the Plate)  Tulowitzki auto
2. Kyle Wong  Quad jersey (Verlander/Billingsley/Carmona/Chamberlain)
3. Tony (Off Hiatus Baseball)  2008 Upper Deck baseball blaster
4. Greg (PTSiA)  2014 Upper Deck Johnny Manziel RC
5. Eric Eckstein  Warren Moon and Julio Jones jerseys
6. Max (Starting 9)  100 card baseball value pack
7. Al Kawamoto (Hockey Kazi)  2008 Donruss EEE baseball complete set
8. Alex (Chavez Ravining)  2013 Triple Play pack
9. Tim (Great Sports Name Hall of Fame)  2014 Upper Deck football set (with Lucks)
10. Josh Liss  2014 Upper Deck football pack
11. Swing and a Popup  Michigan football hits x2

Congrats again, Brian!  Everyone else should fine some sort of extra in their package as well.

As for shipping,

I actually grabbed a few more boxes and mailers today, just in case!

I've started packaging things up today, and I'll probably start bringing them a bit at a time to the post office beginning Sunday (tomorrow), meaning they should start heading your way on Monday.  Thanks again to all who participated!

Spring cleaning giveaway/contest final update

Here's what I'll be doing this week...

Hi everybody!

To say that this giveaway exceeded my wildest expectations would be an understatement.  Not only was I able to end it more than a week early, but also every single lot was claimed!  The amount of space this has opened up for my card closet is priceless (other than, uh, shipping), and I'm much happier getting those lots into the hands of collectors that want them instead of unceremoniously dumping them by other means.

So, how about an informative update, bullet-style?:

• Most importantly, I need addresses from quite a few of you.  If you're on this list, please send them soon so I can get your stuff packaged this week:  Al Kawamoto (Hockey Kazi), Alex (Chavez Ravining), Chris (Nachos Grande), Chris (Raz Card Blog), Chuck Bartz, defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown), Jack (Baseball Dad), Josh Liss, Kyle Wong, Mark (Baseball Nation), Max (Starting 9), Tony (Off Hiatus Baseball), Triple Play Autos.  You should have my email from my responses to your entries, but if not, it's CalJr3000 at gmail.
• We have a total of 25 entrants and 117 entries
• The randomization will be sometime tomorrow afternoon (up in the air due to Father's Day festivities).  I'll put up a post so everyone knows what's going on, then I'll have the winners choose what they want draft-style
• Canadian entrants:  as I mentioned, some of the prizes are a bit too large to cost-effectively ship them north of the border.  We'll cross that bridge if/when we come to it, but I have a couple contingencies for you just in case, so don't worry

And most of all,

Giveaway/contest update

Here's a quick update on the proceedings for those of you interested:

Remaining lots available (contest entries per lot):

• NFL:
• Arizona Cardinals (3)
• Atlanta Falcons (2)
• Baltimore Ravens (2)
• Carolina Panthers (1)
• Chicago Bears (1)
• "Wisconsin/Minnesota":  Green Bay Packers/Minnesota Vikings (1)
• "State of Pennsylvania":  Philadelphia Eagles/Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
• "All College Unis":  what the title says (2)
• NBA
• 2000-2001 Topps complete set (minus rookies) (2)

I'm thrilled by the fact that this is all that's left!  As a matter of fact, if I can get that Cardinals lot gone by this weekend, I'll go ahead and bump up the cutoff date to this Sunday so I can run the prize randomization a week early and then get down to packaging and shipping.  If you see anything in this list you'd like, please make sure to comment on the original post per my rules.

So claim or get someone else to claim the Arizona Cardinals and we'll finally unlock the Tulowitzki autograph as the grand prize!

Speaking of the contest portion, we just hit our 100th total entry today, with 23 total entrants to-date.  It's not to late to augment your entries by pimping the contest if you haven't already, plus, of course, you could help your chances by grabbing one or more of the above lots.  "Girthy" Greg Z. is our overall leader in chances with 12 right now, by the way.  Good luck, everybody!

Edit:  in one fell swoop, Chris of the Raz Card Blog has not only taken over the lead in entries with 13 (sorry, Zakwin) but also picked up the last of the 10 lots I made prerequisites for making the Tulo auto available.  Thanks again to those of you that chose those, making this contest a lot more interesting for everyone!  I'm now declaring the giveaway/contest at an end at 11:59 p.m. EST this Saturday, the 14th, with the drawing taking place Sunday and shipping following shortly thereafter.

Pic unrelated, but awesome (from CBSSports)

2014 Spring Cleaning Giveaway/Contest!

Why?  Because crazy fun free giveaway contests automatically mean Matthew Lesko, that's why!

The what:
As if I haven't been teasing this for a while.  I'm giving away lots of cards, then giving away MORE in the form of a contest to make sure people take cards away from me.

The why:
1.  To clear space
2.  To get cards into the hands of people that want them
3.  Seriously, I have a lot of stuff I don't really want, and it's not like space grows on trees.  Cards sort of do, though, when you really think about it.
4.  To spur a bit more trading, since I don't really have much in the way of trade bait anymore.
5.  It's fun!

The rules:
I'm trying to keep this as simple and fair as possible, but I still have a few guidelines:

1.  Each of these lots is absolutely free.  I'm hoping it'll get some of you trading with me (if you aren't already), but there's zero obligation here.
2.  All claims for lots should be made in the comments of this post only.  That assures that everyone can see who's claiming what and solves any issues of who claimed what first.
3.  Also, I won't allow any anonymous comments; either post with an account that's linked to your email, or provide your email address, even if you just say "myemail at gmail" or something.  I don't want to have to track down "noreply-comment@blogger.com" 20 times!
4.  Claim as many lots as you want, but don't be a dick and claim them all!
5.  Because of shipping costs, I reserve the right to deny claims for larger lots (or prizes) to participants outside of the country (including Canada).  A medium-sized bubble mailer is fine, I just don't want to pay like $50 to send something larger than that (sorry!).
6.  Each lot has an assigned number of contest entries based on how much I want to get rid of it, but I'll try to make things as fair as possible.  Just look for the number inside parentheses after the lot title/description.
7.  An additional contest entry per person can be had by pimping the giveaway/contest on your blog.  Please just comment anytime with a link to prove it.  As you'll see, the more people we get involved, the better it will get for everyone!
8.  What I consider the top prize, the Tulo auto, will only become available if all of my highest-priority lots I want to get rid of get claimed.  Those will be denoted in red/bold, and, as I've said, will also earn you the most entries.  There are 10 of these.
9.  I'm going to run this contest for up to two weeks, from Sunday, 6/8 to Sunday, 6/22 at 11:59 p.m. EST, or until everything is claimed, whichever comes first.
10.  I will then take every one of the entries, randomize them, and then the top 11 different participants will get to choose among the prizes (below) draft-style.  I'll also try to throw in something extra (small insert sets or other things) for everyone else who participates while supplies and space last.
11.  In the interest of transparency, I'm posting a Google Drive spreadsheet of the entries for all to see at the very bottom of this post.
12.  Once the lots and prizes are claimed at the end of the giveaway/contest, I'll ship everything out.

I'll keep this post updated so everyone knows who's claimed what.  Again, please comment on this post only--don't pick another one or email me directly!

The prizes:

Troy Tulowitzki auto

 

2008 UD baseball Series 1&2 jumbo pack blaster (five packs/36 cards)

 

2014 UD football value pack

2013 Panini Triple Play baseball value pack 

Random 100-card baseball value pack

Verlander/Billingsley/Carmona/Chamberlain quad jersey

Warren Moon and Julio Jones jerseys

Shawn Crable auto and Prescott Burgess jersey

2008 Donruss EEE complete set 1-100

2014 UD football Star Rookies complete set (51-150) and Luck Heroes set (1-10)

Manziel 2014 UD RC

Plus as many others as I can find for all non-winning participants

The lots:
As you'll see, there's a lot of variety here.  Please feel free to ask more about the lots, though I'm not going to list specifics for every group.  The team/player lots are generally a mix of base/inserts, and there's definitely some doubles (and up) in there.  The sizes of the lots varies, and I tried to give a bit of a sense of scale in the images below.

NFL teams (1 of 3):

1. Arizona Cardinals (3)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
2. Atlanta Falcons (2)  Claimed:  Kyle Wong
3. Baltimore Ravens (2)  Claimed:  Josh Liss
4. Carolina Panthers (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
5. Chicago Bears (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
6. "State of Ohio":  Cincinnati Bengals/Cleveland Browns (2)  Claimed:  Tim (Great Sports Name Hall of Fame)
7. "State of Texas":  Dallas Cowboys/Houston Texans (1)  Claimed:  Brian (Play at the Plate)
8. Denver Broncos (1)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
9. Detroit Lions (1)  Claimed:  Chuck Bartz

NFL teams (2 of 3):

1. "Wisconsin/Minnesota":  Green Bay Packers/Minnesota Vikings (1)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
2. Indianapolis Colts (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (3)  Claimed:  Eric Eckstein
4. Kansas City Chiefs (3)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
5. Miami Dolphins (2)  Claimed:  Roger (Cool Breeze Baseball Buzz)
6. "What's News?":  New England Patriots/New Orleans Saints/New York Giants/New York Jets (2)  Claimed:  Max (Starting 9)
7. "West Coast Party":  Oakland Raiders/San Francisco 49ers/Seattle Seahawks (1)  Claimed:  Chuck Bartz
8. "State of Pennsylvania":  Philadelphia Eagles/Pittsburgh Steelers (1)  Claimed:  Josh Liss
9. San Diego Chargers (2)  Claimed:  defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown)

NFL teams (3 of 3):

1. St. Louis Rams (1)  Claimed:  Stewart65
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)  Claimed:  Eric Eckstein
3. Tennessee Titans (2)  Claimed:  Stewart65
4. Washington Redskins (1)  Claimed:  Curtis (Condition Sensitive)
5. "All College Unis":  what the title says (2)  Claimed:  Kyle Wong
6. "University of Virginia football alumni":  also what the title says (1)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)

Baseball teams/other:

1. Atlanta Braves (1)  Claimed:  Chris (Nachos Grande)
2. Colorado Rockies (1)  Claimed:  Curtis (Condition Sensitive)
3. Detroit Tigers (2)  Claimed:  Pat (Hot Corner Cards)
4. Florida Marlins (4)  Claimed:  Tim (Great Sports Name Hall of Fame)
5. Kansas City Royals (1) Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
6. San Diego Padres (4)  Claimed:  defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown)
7. Assorted base lot (doesn't include teams above) (2)  Claimed:  Jack (Baseball Dad)
8. Assorted insert lot (doesn't include teams above) (1)  Claimed:  Brian (Play at the Plate)
9. Assorted 1980s vintage lot (doesn't include teams above) (2)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)

Baseball players:

1. Garret Anderson (1)  Claimed:  Matt (Bob Walk the Plank)
2. Carl Crawford/David Price (1)  Claimed:  Matt (Bob Walk the Plank)
3. Prince Fielder (1)  Claimed:  Tony (Off Hiatus Baseball)
4. Brian Giles (1)  Claimed:  defgav (Baseball Card Breakdown)
5. Troy Glaus (1)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
6. Mark McGwire (1)  Claimed:  Max (Starting 9)
7. Oakland A's:  Eric Chavez/Johnny Damon/Jason Giambi/Mark Mulder/Barry Zito (2)  Claimed:  Mark (Baseball Nation)
8. Alex Rodriguez (1)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
9. C.C. Sabathia (1)  Claimed:  Jack (Baseball Dad)
10. Sammy Sosa (1)  Claimed:  Triple Play Autos
11. Alfonso Soriano (1)  Claimed:  Jim (GCRL)

Baseball complete sets:

1. 1990 Topps Traded (2)  Claimed:  Pat (Hot Corner Cards)
2. 1997 Donruss Rookie Update (a.k.a. Series 2) (2)  Claimed:  Swing and a Popup
3. 1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess (2)  Claimed:  Swing and a Popup
4. 1999 Topps Series 2 (Includes Sosa HR card) (4)  Claimed:  Tony (Off Hiatus Baseball)
5. 2000 Fleer Tradition Update (opened) (1)  Claimed:  Doug (Sports Cards From the Dollar Store)
6. 2001 UD Evolution (1)  Claimed:  Al Kawamoto (Hockey Kazi)

Basketball:

1. 1999-2000 Topps complete set (minus rookies) (2)  Claimed:  Mark (Baseball Nation)
2. 2000-2001 Topps complete set (minus rookies) (2)  Claimed:  Alex (Chavez Ravining)
3. Huge lot of basketball base and inserts (both piles on the bottom) (5)  Claimed:  Brian (Play at the Plate)

Starter sets (multiple sports):

1. 2001 Upper Deck MVP football:  290/330, including many Rookies (5)  Claimed:  Greg (Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle)
2. 2008 Score football:  153 cards, including 12 Rookies (2)  Claimed:  Chuck Bartz
3. 2012 Upper Deck football (Star Rookies):  51 cards, all different (1)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
4. 1999-2000 Topps basketball:  missing five cards (#73 82 121 125 210) (4)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
5. 1998-1999 Topps basketball #1:  missing one card (#65) (2)  Claimed:  Roger (Cool Breeze Baseball Buzz)
6. 1998-1999 Topps basketball #2:  missing nine cards (#7 32 65 76 97 113 156 161 165) (4)  Claimed:  Chris (Raz Card Blog)
7. 2014 Topps Olympics:  32 different, plus one double (2)  Claimed:  Al Kawamoto (Hockey Kazi)

The contest entries:

Spring cleaning/contest teaser

It's been a while since I posted over here, mainly because I haven't had much to blog about.  Hopefully that'll change soon whenever I put the finishing touches on my latest Sportlots order, but in the meantime I do have some news to tease.

I've been working hard on getting things organized for another spring cleaning event that should be bigger and better than ever.  Once again I'm trying to consolidate and clean out some space, and that means some fun opportunities for you guys to pick up stuff you may like.  Expect items such as baseball, basketball, and football team lots big and small, player lots, complete and starter sets, and more.

As an added twist, I'm looking to add a contest aspect to the proceedings to grease the wheels on participation and make the event more interesting.  I've got lots of prizes in mind, including a few things that I hope will really draw a crowd.

So stay tuned for that once I get everything set!  Take us out, GIS for "spring cleaning!"

(Don't forget to check out Hyperbole and a Half!)

Spring cleaning means fun stuff for YOU!

So I've been doing a bit of spring cleaning in my basement as I continue to try to consolidate years worth of collecting madness into something more reasonable.  Why does that benefit you?  Because I'm making all of this available for trade/sale.  I have a feeling most if you, if you're interested in anything at all, will prefer to trade, and I'm 100% on board with that.  What I'm asking for now is that you let me know what you're interested in, then we work out a deal, keeping in mind that most of this stuff is a little goofy in terms of shipping logistics, upping the cost for me a bit.  But I promise to be fair, and in the interest of getting this stuff out of my place and into your willing hands, I'll be as easy to work with as possible.  So here's what I have up for grabs:

Donruss Preferred tins

Just Hank Aaron Figure

Retro Lunchbox Griffey (front)

Retro Lunchbox Mantle (back)

Alou SLU

Baerga SLU

Canseco SLU

Cedeno SLU

Conine SLU

Edmonds SLU (2001)

Edmonds SLU (1998)

Garciaparra SLU (2001)

Garciaparra SLU (1999) 

Giambi SLU

Justice SLU

Millwood SLU

Palmeiro SLU (1998)

Palmeiro SLU (1996)

Piazza SLU

Williamson SLU

Jeter and Garciaparra Topps Screen Plays hologram cards in tins

Garciaparra and Jeter Screen Plays tins (bottom)

USA Basketball SLU set (2000)

I realize not everything here is in pristine condition--note the SLU price stickers, box dents, etc.--but I'm not out to make money on these, they're here for collectors who will enjoy them. So please leave comments (first come, first served) letting me know your interests and we'll make a deal!