Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Were you #8?

Thanks to everyone who entered last weeks anniversary contest. Thanks for all of the kind words too. They weren't necessary for you to be eligible, but were still much appreciated. 

There were 20 entrants (Gavin declined the chance to win back-to-back gift cards), the list, prior to randomization was as follows:

The Angels In Order
Dennis
Bo
Matt
kcjays
night owl
John Sharp
gregory
RJ Sahl
Vrooomed
Crocodile 
The Snorting Bull
Derek
Elliptical Man
Johnnys Trading Spot
POISON75
Mark Zentkovich
gcrl
Chris
Nick

And before I show the results, remember, since I was celebrating 8 years, the list was being randomized 8 times and who ever landed in the #8 spot would be the winner. So, without further ado...

Looks like the winner is kcjays. Congratulations to Merlin! Whenever you get a chance, let me know via email if you already know where you want your gift card to, or if you'd like me to send a list of the places.

I'm gonna try to do another one of these for Christmas (a few weeks before), and if money allows, I might try to kick it up a notch. In the meantime, thanks again to everyone who entered.

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

It's that time of year again

I've made no secret that this blog is basically just limping along at the moment, and unless something drastic happens, it'll probably continue to do so for the time being. My heart isn't in cards or blogging right now, but even so, I still wanted to acknowledge the blog's 8th anniversary; which is today. And as promised a few months back, I also wanted to do something for the folks who are still kind enough to stop by from time to time, i.e. run another small contest.

Just like back in July, this'll be another contest for a $25 gift card, though I'm gonna let the winner pick where they want the gift card to be from this time. Kroger is the best place locally for me to get gift cards, as they have a pretty large selection, which includes all of the usual suspects: eBay, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, as well as a whole bunch of other places that I've never heard of. I'll send the winner a link to the site that lists all of the places so that they can see everything that's available (unless of course the winner just wants a card from one of those four places already mentioned). 

If anyone is interested in entering, just leave a comment below. I'll leave it open for a week, and then, since I'm celebrating 8 years, I'll randomize the list of names 8 times, and whoever lands in the #8 spot will be the winner.

I think that covers everything. Sorry I don't have a more elaborate post for you today; hopefully the contest will make up for that.

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Reggie MelBo

Despite the title, today's post will not be about a current NFL'er, nor the famous aborigine. No, this is just gonna be a quick thank you to a couple of folks who've been kind enough to send a few single card mailings over the last few months; and the title is just a not-so-clever amalgamation of the names featured on said single cards.

Going oldest to newest...

I can no longer remember how many have passed, but "some" months ago an unexpected PWE showed up from, Greg, the collected mind behind, The Collective Mind. At first glance, it appears to be just a regular old copy of Reggie Roby's card from the 1992 Skybox Impact set; but if one were to turn it over...

... one would see that it is instead the prototype version of the card. Greg mentioned getting this card in a trade, and subsequently thinking of me. I'm not the sort that people think of very often, so it's awfully nice when they do; and even more so when they mention having done so. Being sent a needed card is nice, too. Thanks again, Greg!

Sometime in the last few months, Tom, of the resurgent, The Angels, In Order, opened up a pack of cards from the film, Maverick, as part of his weekly junk wax series. I was never interested in the James Garner series, and therefor wasn't interested in the 1994 updated big screen version either. I was, however, interested in acquiring a card of Mel Gibson for the binder that I usually just refer to as my "childhood" binder (it really needs a better name though). It's basically just a binder full of things that remind of certain people/things from my childhood and early teen years. It's terribly unorganized at the moment, and I'm thinking that I need to start a second one, but the idea behind it/them is that I can use the items in there to recall specific memories; memories that I'm trying not to lose. If the binder(s) do ever get organized, I fully intend to start showing off pages on here, and hopefully then discussing the memories that each card provoke. In the meantime though...

I had inquired about this specific card after reading Tom's post, and he was kind enough to set it aside for me, and then out of the blue it showed up sometime later. On a negative note, I have realized now while sitting here typing this that I forgot to send Tom a thank you email after receiving the card, which is probably only the 3rd or 4th time that I've forgotten to do so in all of my years blogging. So, many apologies to Tom for not acknowledging his kindness sooner, which hopefully will not be considered a slight, as the card was very appreciated.

I never thought the time would come where I'd be seeking out any '91 Fleer again, but I found myself doing so after putting away the sun-bleached Bo '91 Fleer mod from Gavin, which revealed that I didn't have a copy of the original to pair it up with. And being the way I am, I actually need two copies to balance out the page's row. I was thinking that I'd have get them via Sportlots at some point, but, Randy, who some of you frequent blog readers might know as RJ Sahl, intervened and offered to send the two copies that I wanted. I really appreciate Randy doing so, mostly because I know with great certainty that this would've been one of those things that I'd only remember when I flipped by that page in the binder, and then would immediately forget again after I closed said binder. And it would've happened often, much more so than I would've ever admitted. Thanks for sparing me from that, Randy!

Many thanks once again to Greg, Tom, and Randy for their generosity.

Saturday, September 2, 2023

I should've passed on this one

I've been a lot more careful in recent years when it comes to buying. A large part of that is due to the fact that I just don't have as much as play money as I used to. I also seem to have reached a point where I don't want stuff just for the sake of having stuff. Stuff takes up a space, and space is always at a premium. Because of these two things, I will often go back and forth over whether or not I really need a particular item or not, especially when it involves something for sale online. When it comes to cards, and more specifically, those of the auction variety, more often than not, other folks usually end up making my decision for me by pushing the price of whatever it is up; and out of my range. Occasionally though, something will slip through the sewer grate...

The listing for this card ended two days after the Joe Rudi that was in the last post. Had there been a larger gap in which Joe had been able to arrive before this one came up, I never would've bought this one. I do sort of collect Bert Campaneris, though I'm still a bit down on him for not signing the 1969 Topps card I sent him about 5-6 years ago, which I only did because he was supposedly signing quite actively at the time (and yes, I know, this is a terrible reason to be down on someone). That being said, and despite my usual waffling, the seemingly complete lack of interest from other bidders is ultimately what swayed me into bidding on this card. I figured, for five bucks, I couldn't go wrong. Well, I went wrong!

Having never owned any autographs from the 2001 Topps Archives set, I didn't know about the glossy finish, and if you saw the last post, then you already know how I feel about it. If you didn't, I hate it. It's so distracting. If that wasn't bad enough, Bert's card also features a slightly blurred image (it wasn't noticeable in the auction photo), which wasn't a feature of his rookie card. One would think that Topps could've reproduced one of their own cards without blurring the image, but I guess that was too much to hope for in this particular card.

I haven't looked, but I really hope that there isn't anyone else on this checklist that I feel like I need to own, because I do not like these cards, and if there is, I have no doubt that I'll forget at some point and buy another one. 

Despite my dislike for the card, I have hung onto it, and will continue to do so for the time being. Though, if I end up dropping Bert's player collection (which is very possible), I will find someone else to send this too, as it won't be worth me keeping just because it's an autograph.


I realized as I was starting this post this morning (Saturday the 2nd), that this'll be my third post in six days on here. That may not seem like much to some, but I haven't done that on this blog in what seems like years. Seeing as how Monday is a holiday, I won't be doing four in eight days, but I should have something up on Tuesday. After that, I'll probably work on some stuff for the other two blogs, one of which has been terribly neglected this summer (there's only so many hours in the day!).