2019 trade package #35: Cardboard History

It's a week until Christmas Eve and all of my Christmas card packages seem to have made it (safely) to their destinations.  Meanwhile, tonight I'm celebrating another incoming trade envelope, one of several that have either arrived to me or are en route, really highlighting the spirit of generosity of the season.  Other bloggers are awesome!

Tonight's package is courtesy of Cardboard History's Billy Kingsley, a well known name among bloggers, traders, and TCDBers.  He's especially active on the latter and that's where he let me know he had some basketball dupes to send my way in return from some stuff he selected from a giveaway I did a while back.

As luck would have it I needed the vast majority of what he sent, giving me a nice boost especially to one player's collection.  Here's the damage:

Because I don't actively collect basketball, my collection of Fab-Fiver Jalen Rose isn't huge, but since he's a fairly recognizable Michigan guy, a number of folks like Billy have sent his stuff my way.  The 43rd different card in his PC is this base from '96-'97 Skybox Z-Force, a perfectly typical '90s Fleer product (which I mean in a good way).  You can really see some of the elements that came up again in other products like Circa/Thunder and Metal.

The real star of the show was the other guy in the envelope, though.  I think if you asked most average basketball fans to name a Michigan Basketball player these days, Chris Webber would be the first or second guy about 99% of the time.  Billy sent me enough of his cards to do five scans, starting with this one that's 100% 1993-94.  Card #1 is a very cool acetate insert called, uh, Acetates, from '93 Classic Four Sport, where he was one of the marquee players to pull.  Aside from a Hoops Admiral's Choice insert, everything else is a RC, from notable brands such as Fleer, Hoops, Skybox, Stadium Club, Topps, and Upper Deck, plus UD's Special Edition.

Next we jump forward to '94-'95 through '97-'98.  There's a few brand repeats from the last scan plus some newcomers like Ultra, Skybox Z-Force (the year after Jalen's card from above), and my favorite, E-X2001, another terrific acetate design.  A Collector's Choice-like card from '96 Upper Deck Slam Dunk Series offers a great photo of that kind of play while card #6 in the bunch, a '96-'97 UD subset, shows Webber with the Bullets up front and his original team, the Warriors, on the back.

The first two scans each had at least one card I really liked but I think this one has the most combined in one group thanks to my love of many of the brands shown.  '99-'00 Fleer kicks things off with a great photo, 2000-'01 Bowman's Best brings a design that continues to appeal to me, the same year's Fleer Showcase is another winner from that name, and '01-'02 Flair is another good example of a Fleer design I like.  While I'm at it, 2000-01 Upper Deck Hardcourt is kind of a cool answer to Ovation, though I think the hardwood floor's look and texture on the card is less noticeable compared to the diamond version.

This group is no slouch when it comes to some nice designs compared to the one above.  The first five are very strong, a 2001-02 quintet that includes Fleer Premium and Showcase, SP Authentic, Stadium Club, and Ultra.  The others are also pretty solid, though I've never been a fan of that Upper Deck Victory design.  The Fleer Sweet Sigs from '04-'05 makes up for it, though, even if the product was superfluous!

Our final group includes a trio of verticals plus a nice pair flipped 90 degrees.  I don't look at a lot of basketball cards so I don't know how often this view is used, but overhead shots in the paint can result in some really colorful photos like the one seen on Chris' '04-'05 Ultra base.  Then Topps manages a return to the action with a flagship base from '05-'06 and one from the Turkey Red product issued the following year.  I also think that set was unnecessary but I do like the playground court artwork on the card.  Heading over to the x-axis we have 2003-04 Fleer Patchworks, with its kinda-cool but hard-to-scan pattern on the first third of the card, and '04-'05 SPx, which wasn't UD's best work but still manages to look pretty cool.

I already mentioned that Rose's collection got bumped up by one card to 43 but given how many Webbers you just looked at--41--you're probably interested in finding out where his collection stands.  I'm happy to report that it's a milestone-worthy 113, making him the first player in my basketball collection to reach that mark thanks to Billy.  #2 is Glen Rice at 58, so that's a lead I think he'll hold for a while.

Billy, thanks again for thinking of me when it came to a bunch of Michigan Basketball dupes.  I'll see if I can't return the favor in the near future, and in the meantime I'm sure I'll be seeing you a lot over on TCDB!

9/6/19 card show report: hooky haul

I've got a ton of cards in-hand and on the way so I've got lots to cover, but what you're getting today is a same-day recap from this weekend's card show at the usual spot in Taylor.  Because tomorrow's Michigan game kicks off at noon (a.k.a. best kickoff time) I doubted I'd be able to get over there with enough time to look around, so I took the day off today instead!

I ended up spending around an hour sifting through my dude's $1/six-for-$5 and $2/three-for-$5 boxes and that ended up being the limit of my patience for the afternoon, so no dime box stuff today, but maybe next time.  In the end I took home 18 of the former and 15 of the latter, totaling 33 cards for a nice even $40.

After sorting out stuff intended for specific trade packages I came up with two extra trade bait cards:

The Dustin Keller auto/manupatch/RC is from '08 Leaf R&S Longevity, and I didn't mind including it in my $2 box pile because of this:

eBay 1/1!  I figure between the card looking pretty cool, the numbering, and the player or team, I'll find somebody that wants it.

The other card up for grabs is a 2000 Pacific jersey of former Chargers RB Natrone Means.  I was thinking one or more of you who follow me might collect Chargers, and otherwise it's a reasonable trade card to have for just a buck.

My personal haul was just as minuscule, which is totally fine given the avalanche of cards descending upon me lately.

Up first is a new autograph of Michigan basketballer GRIII from Panini's 2014-15 Paramount product.  The set's called Penmanship Rookie Autographs and the card's numbered on the back (#25/99).  Robinson has a pretty cool signature if you don't mind initials, which I think works just fine here and lives up to the name of the set.  I now own five hits of the former Wolverine/Piston who's now playing for the Warriors.

And then I was even more excited to come up with this David Harris autograph (which also came from the $2 box, I believe).  You just don't get many defensive guys on hits, so you have to grab them when you can!  This Harris, my 29th of the tackling machine of a LB, hails from 2011 Topps Rising Rookies, a product that had multiple versions of an insert called "Playmaker" that could include relics, autos, and both (such as the one I already own, which is five copiers easier to find for some reason).  It's numbered (#04/20) up front so its relative scarcity is immediately on display.  I now have 81 different cards of the former Wolverine great, and I hope his alma mater comes away with a victory tomorrow afternoon against Army and its goofy offense.

With these covered, you can look forward to cards from three(!) trade packages, COMC, eBay, and Sportlots over the next few weeks as I try to catch up with a cavalcade of cardboard.

Who knew that free cards were Nextdoor?

I don't know how many of you have signed up for Nextdoor, but I did a while ago after hearing that it was a decent resource for neighborhood news, buying and selling, and the like.  While it does sometimes bring its share of (easily ignored drama), I like checking it once in a while, especially the "for sale and free" section.

After missing out on such a deal last year, about a month ago I quickly responded to a listing for "free sports cards" at an address in the neighborhood across the street from mine, roughly a five minute walk away.  As luck would have it, I was fast enough to claim this offer, so I headed over for the traditional porch pickup.

Here's a look at what I grabbed:

Hmmm, a paper shopping bag full of boxes, interesting!  It ended up being a big bunch of (mostly) basketball sets, almost all of which were complete.  I had a lot of fun going through each, verifying there were indeed complete, and eyeballing the designs.  While I'm not a big collector of the sport, a few of these might be keepers for me.

Here's a quick rundown, including representative fronts and backs, for what I landed here (with a pretty obvious theme):

1990-91 Fleer:  complete set

1991-92 Fleer (including Update):  complete set + second complete Update set

1991-92 Skybox II:  complete set

1993 Classic Basketball Draft:  missing one card

1993 Classic Four Sport:  missing 23 cards

1993-94 Hoops (I and II):  complete set + second series II set

1993-94 Jam Session:  complete set

1993-94 Skybox II:  complete set

1993-94 Ultra II:  complete set

1994-95 Fleer II:  complete set

1994-95 Hoops II:  two complete sets

1995-96 Hoops I:  two complete sets

I want to make a few quick points:

1. The lady I got these from was super nice, a collector (of many things besides cards) herself who was clearing things out as she prepared to move.

2. I felt much safer meeting up with someone through something like Nextdoor, which is local to your area, meaning it's probably less sketchy than Facebook (not to mention Craigslist).

3. There's a fun mix of designs here!  The Jam Session cards are the coolest to me as they were part of Fleer's oddly sized design across multiple sports around then--I'm sure many of you baseball guys recall "Extra Bases".

4.  All of the duplicate sets, 91-92 Fleer Update, 93-94 Hoops II, 94-95 Hoops II, and 95-96 Hoops I, are all available for trade.  I may make some of the others available as well, but haven't decided yet.  Make me an offer!

5.  All of the scans you see above were done with my new ScanSnap ix500 automatic document feed scanner that I grabbed for a nice deal through Facebook Marketplace.  I may do a future post on it for those who'd be interested.  It was super easy to scan the fronts and backs of all 12 cards you see above, and I recently scanned almost 1600 family photos in probably under three hours to give you an idea of its utility.

6.  Yes, I'm already working on finishing up those two sets, hopefully with the help of the usually reliable Sportlots, so stay tuned.

For those of you who haven't found a fun social media deal like this, keep your eyes peeled as they do pop up from time to time!

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: