COMC Shuffle #7

Another week, another ten randomly selected cards from last year's COMC hoard.


1971 Milk Duds -whole box-

Over the course of about a month last year I purchased 9 whole Milk Duds boxes from the same seller. This was kind of a big deal for me because I had just learned of the Milk Duds cards, and quickly became quite enamored with them (even did a post that I don't feel like going and finding the link for).

This was one of those stretches where the Challenges had been open quite a bit, so not only was I racking up the store credit, but it also meant that I could afford to get all of these boxes each time they went on sale (at prices that were much lower than eBay), if I hadn't been earning so much credit at the time, I would've probably been able to only get a couple of the lower tiered one's -- like Mr. Perry above.

When I finally got my yearly shipment after the Black Friday sale, other than the Goudey's and my first couple of T206's, I was most excited to see these, especially since I had never seen a whole box before... unfortunately that excitement didn't last too long:

The first box that I took out was the doozy, aka the biggest purchase (or use of my credit rather) of the year, Pete Rose. I knew that something was askew almost instantly, and upon turning the box over, I saw exactly what that was -- Pete's box is the first one in the above photo. All 9 boxes were near mint when I bought them, but four of them ended up arriving damaged, and not from something happening to them during shipping, no, this was sheer human error, as whoever put them into toploaders after I bought them, hooked four of the flaps on the toploaders while they were being loaded -- with Pete getting it the worst.

Obviously it didn't take me long to send COMC a wtf email. After a brief back and forth, I was given the option to send them back for a refund, which I promptly did. Getting the credit back was good and all, but multiple things about this still kind of bug me - a) I never get an apology, all I got was a "We're sorry that your unhappy with your cards", which came across like it was my fault, or that I was just being difficult. b) The employee who did this had to have known that they did do it, you would've felt the resistance as the boxes were getting hooked on the edges, and yet they didn't say a word, I mean did they really think that whoever purchased them wasn't going to notice that their once near mint boxes were no longer so. c) The Pete Rose box truly was near mint, and I bought it for less than half of what they sell for on eBay. I have never gotten anything graded before, but I was seriously thinking about doing so with this particular box, obviously that was no longer an option after it was received. d) This was supposed to be the start of a new collection, a collection that was going to be highlighted by Pete Rose, that collection idea is now a thing of the past, because after having to return almost half of this new collection, I've basically lost complete interest in all things Milk Duds (I realize that this mindset might not make sense to some, but that's just how I'm wired). It's been like five months now, and the five that weren't damaged are still sitting in the exact same place that I put them after all of this went down, I haven't looked at them once, if I ever do, it'll probably be just to scan 'em and list 'em on eBay, because I will not be collecting any more of these.

This disappointment has also caused me to spend far less time on COMC through the first couple of months this year. Normally I would have done a couple hundred dollars worth of Challenges by now, but so far, I've only been able to bring myself to do about ten bucks worth, and I don't know if that'll be changing anytime soon. I still have lots of though, as I still haven't even used all of what was put back from these damaged boxes.

Sorry for starting this week's post off on a downer (the shuffler just had to land on one of these first), but if anyone's still here, I do have nine more cards here today with a lot less backstory :)


1995-96 Topps Power Boosters #280

I don't remember what the odds were on these back in the day, but they seemed like difficult pull at the time. I was fortunate enough to get one in a pack, the only bad part was that it was Sherman Douglas, who, no offense to him, was probably the least interesting player to be included in the checklist. This is one set that I kind of wish that I had the MJ's from, as it would be a fun one to complete, but I'm not gonna pay for what those Jordan's are fetching these days.

2013-14 Panini Prizm Red, White, and Blue Mosaics #248

Is that Ted Kaczynski in the background?


2016 Panini Certified Mirror Gold #98

I found the orange bordered version of this card at a show last year, I liked it so much that I half-assedly decided to try and complete the rainbow. I'm under no illusion that I'll ever be able to get the black 1/1, and probably not the to /5 green either, but I've been able to find everything else so far, including this gold, which is numbered to /25.


1971 Milk Duds -whole box-

It took seven weeks for the shuffle button to land on a Milk Duds box, and now goes ahead selects two in one week.

1999-00 Skybox E-X E-Xceptional #15XC

I absolutely love the E-Xceptional's! I already had Lamar, but when I see them cheap (especially on the basketball side) copies, no matter who they are, I just can't not get them.

1975-76 Topps #236

If there was a Mt. Rushmore for fro's, Mike would most certainly be included!

2013 Panini Father's Day Progressions - Cyan #38

I have completed two Progressions rainbows so far, Chris Kreider here was the first, the second will be shown in a future post.


2013 Panini Cooperstown Collection Red Crystal Shard #72

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've sort of temporarily (I hope) lost interest in the Cooperstown parallels, it's convenient that my loss of interest waited until I was only one away from completing the green's, and around 20-25 away from completing the gold's, and the red's, as well.

2013-14 Panini Prizm Light Blue Prizms Die-Cut #228

The light blue, and the purple die-cuts, are by far my least favorite of the 2013 Prizm parallels, that being said, I still wasn't able to pass up this Sam Perkins when I saw it for just 46 cents (there numbered to /199 btw). I have multiple copies of this card in green, but unless I find any more for less than 50 cents, this'll probably be the only light blue Perkins that I ever get.

It seems like the selection this week was a bit basketball heavy, hopefully that didn't put too many people off, because with all of the Prizm parallels that are still sitting in the folder, this is bound to happen again... and probably more than once!


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

The Ram has landed!

About a month ago I posted the contents of a trade with uber collector extraordinaire, Greg, also known as GCA, from The Collective Mind.

That package was highlighted by a '71 Topps Johnny Unitas, as well as a '71 Jack Snow. The Johnny U was wanted because, well, because it's Johnny Unitas! The Snow on the other hand was desired by me simply because of the card's staged photo, which just so happens to be a very fun one. It was in the comments section of that post that I replied to something that Fuji had said, by mentioning that I had seen another really fun photo from that set, that being HOFer Merlin Olsen, at the last show that I had attended. That particular card was priced a little high (IMO) considering the condition that it wasn't in, so I let it go, which really wasn't a big deal as there are plenty of copies out there, I just had to keep an eye out for a more reasonably priced example.

Fast forward to last week when a very unexpected PWE showed up in my mailbox, a PWE, that to my surprise contained the very card in question:

Turns out, I don't in fact need to keep an eye out for a more reasonably priced example, as Greg obviously saw my reply, and while at one of the many shows that he's been going to, found one for me!

I really can't put into words how much I enjoy this card, the photo is just so darn great -- leave it to an actor to ham it up like that for his football card :)

Thanks again for the card, Greg! This truly was one of the more unexpected acts of generosity that I've received during my time as a blogger.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

One Random Pack: 2018-19 Panini Donruss Optic rack pack

My mom just recently gifted me with this pack of Optic, which, don't get me wrong, was very nice of her, and thought behind it is certainly appreciated -- but in all honesty, this is a product that I don't really care about, and would've never bought any of for myself.

Again, I'm always grateful to someone when they give me something, but this is one of those instances where the money could have been saved, and even though I of course said thank you and all of that, I did try to gently get across the fact that this isn't something that was made with someone like me in mind, and that the money could've been better spent elsewhere.

I thought about asking her to take it back, but as a card collector you know how it goes, the old "what if there is actually something good in there?" thoughts got the better of me, so now I'm here today to see if there was actually anything good in there!

Seems to be the usual configuration here, three packs of four cards, and the bonus three card Blue Velocity pack. I thought it was kind of interesting to see that the BV pack is somewhat translucent, enough so that you can see who's on the front, and which rookie is in the back.


Pack #1

Not a good start!

Jeremy Lin: How is he still around? I hope that team's aren't still banking on the ten good games that he had 7 or 8 years ago. Plus there's the whole "always injured" thing.

Ben Simmons Express Lane insert: I've heard a lot about him, but I haven't ever seen him play. Supposedly he's put up some decent numbers during his first couple of seasons, but that doesn't do much for me, a lot of guys have done that, call me after he's consistently put up those same numbers for over a decade, and then we'll talk.

Spencer Dinwiddie: I know of him only from the two years of fantasy basketball that I tried, that's it.

Collin Sexton: No clue, but playing in Cleveland certainly doesn't bode well for him.

Keepers: None.


Pack #2

Better than the first pack.

Pau Gasol: Future HOFer. His parents should also be in a hall of fame somewhere for all of the good work that they've done over the years.

Kris Dunn: Interesting image on his card, sort of 90's-esque.

Marvin Bagley III: I remember hearing some hype about him a couple of years ago, but haven't read or heard anything else since.

Paul George Lock It Up insert: I'm starting to think that there's an insert in every pack, if so, it kind of devalues the specialness of getting an insert.

Keepers: Pau.


Pack #3

Looks like the second pack was the best.

Nikola Jokic: Another guy that's wowed those who tend to be easily impressed over his first couple of seasons, I'm a little more difficult to please.

Lauri Markkanen Franchise Futures insert: Yep, there's an insert in every pack, and apparently they all kind of look the same.

D'Angelo Russell: Tell me that he's not glad to be out of L.A.!

Kostas Antetokounmpo: Obviously he's one of Giannis' brothers, other than that I don't anything about him. Wasn't there another brother who already came and went from the NBA? I would have to imagine that all of these teams who are drafting Giannis' brothers are hoping that they turn out to be like him, and I suspect that none of them will.

Keepers: Giannis' brother, at least for a year or two... just in case!

Blue Velocity pack

These are really pretty cards, much more attractive than I thought they'd be.

Mikal Bridges: ???????

JJ Redick: He's stuck around a lot longer than I think most people thought he would.

Kevin Durant: Kevin looks like he's standing on the court and just reaching up to place the ball in the basket.

Keepers: Mikal (just in case he does something of note) and KD (I only have like three cards of his).

Overall, I'm not too impressed with the base cards, or the one per pack inserts. I'm not overly crazy about getting a rookie in each pack either, but I know that that's done for the modern collector/flipper... not for an old guy like me.

As usual, if anyone sees anything that they think they can't live without, don't be shy about saying so.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

Momentarily confused

Getting mail from fellow bloggers is always fun. However, me opening said mail after a long day isn't always the ideal time to do so. Case in point:

This one card PWE temporarily threw me for a bit of a loop, causing a piece of internal dialogue that went a little something like this...

Ooh, 1998 Signature Series!
Travis lee... I remember him!
That's a poopy (sidenote: poopy isn't the word that I thought of) lookin' autograph.
Is that an autopen?
I don't remember anybody ever saying anything about an autopenned signature in this set?

*Turns card over*

Oh!
It's a sample.
Obviously that's why the signature looks so terrible.
Duh!
I didn't know that Signature Series had samples?

*Goes and checks COMC. Finds out that the 1998 Signature Series did indeed have samples, or rather a sample, as Travis Lee was the only one*

This brief bit of confusion could've easily been avoided had I just read the note that Jim had included -- oh, and I don't think that I've mentioned it yet, but Jim (gcrl), of cards as i see them, sent this wonderful card to me -- anyways, I could've read the note first, but you know how that goes!

I've thought many time in the past about starting a collection of samples, probably the only reason that I haven't done so already, is that there are also pre-production, and prototype cards, out there -- and honestly, I don't what the difference is? Are they all different? Or is it just a bunch of different names for the same thing? Well, maybe this isn't the only thing that's holding me back from starting such a collection, but it is up there amongst the reasons.

Jim, thank you again for thinking of me when you came across this one! Even if I don't ever start a sample collection, this is still one really cool card.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

COMC Shuffle #6

Another week, another ten randomly selected cards from last year's COMC hoard.


1962 Topps Mars Attacks! #4

*First thought that comes to mind when looking at this card*

My brain:
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.

Me:

2014-15 Panini Prizm Gold Prizms #152

People always knock Panini, but any company that still makes cards of Swen Nater is okay in my book. Oh, and this card is numbered to /10, that's all!


1997-98 Fleer Ultra Platinum Medallion #62P

Even though they're numbered to /100, these Platinum Medallions were a very tough get back in the 90's. Even though I own a couple from this particular set now, it still feels sort of surreal each time that I'm able to get one.


1961 Topps #296 (x2)

I saw a thing on the Twitter (I think) last year about 1961 Topps, it was a poll of some sort for most popular card (or image?) in the set, and if memory serves (scary thought), Wes here ended up being in the top 5 -- if this poll actually happened (I'm pretty sure that it did though), it's not hard to see why this one would be so popular.


1975-76 Topps #80

Hondo's gettin' fresh... hopefully he bought Elvin dinner first :)


2017 Topps National Convention Bowman Chrome Prism Refractor #BNR-KGJ

I've mentioned many times in the past that I don't buy a lot of cards during the Black Friday sale, mostly because of all the sales that aren't actually sales, so much as they are prices that have been hiked up, and then put on sale with prices that are higher than they were before the sale started (COMC doesn't care about all of the people that do this) -- that being said, I did get a few cards during the last Black Friday sale, this shiny Junior being one of them.


1999 Pacific Revolution Thorn in the Side #3

You could put an eye out with this card!


1999-00 Topps Finest Leading Indicators #L5

I'm not going to lie, it's awfully tempting to wanna remove the "protective mask", and touch those circles!


2014 Panini Prizm Blue Prizms #12

I'm pretty fond of the purple prizmed Vikings that I showed a while back, but this blue Eric Dickerson is right up there too amongst my favorites from the 2014 set... I really need a few more copies though.


2012 Topps Chrome Refractor #100 (x8)

Around September of last year, there were nine of these Ichiro refractors on COMC, over the next two months or so, I bought eight of those nine. The ninth card had a punky corner and wasn't priced accordingly, it was purchased by someone during the Black Friday sale, none have been added to the site since.

It seems like the unofficial theme of this week's Shuffle was "old and shiny"... could be worse!


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

Tales from the Thrift Store vol. 11

This past Saturday was the monthly 50% off everything sale at Goodwill, and even though I wasn't really feeling it on this particular day, I went ahead and made the trip anyway.

I found a whole four things of interest, probably not enough to warrant a post, but I need a break from the card posts, so here's my four exciting finds for your viewing pleasure:

Back when I was around nine or ten years old, I remember hearing dudes going on and on about their infatuation with Sean Young. These were guys that were usually 10-15 years older than me, and not only would I hear it from guys that lived around me, I 'd hear about from guys on the radio too. I hadn't yet seen things like Blade runner or Dune, so I never really understood what all the fuss over her was about, and honestly, even after I saw her in a couple of things... I still didn't get it?

I mean don't get me wrong, she didn't need to go around wearing a paper bag over her head or anything, but if all of these crushes were based solely on looks alone, I didn't see it. There were certainly many more physically attractive actresses around during her prime years, most of whom, dare I say, were far better actresses too. I guess this can be chalked up to that old saying "to each his own".

As for this film, I had never even heard of it, sounded interesting though, and as usual, for a quarter I don't mind taking the chance.

I just finished watching the first season of Stargate Universe, which wasn't too bad, I think I like the first half of the season more than the second half, but overall it was still pretty enjoyable -- now I just need to find a cheap copy of the second season on DVD. Even though the show is done, I'm still feeling a bit Stargatey, so I might as well go back to the beginning. This movie used to be on television all the time, but it's been about a decade since the last time I watched it, and now that I'm thinking about the movie, it's a bit of a mystery as to why I haven't bought it before now?

I just recently mentioned how much I enjoy television movies from the 70's and 80's, so finding another one - which is still sealed - that I haven't seen before was a nice surprise. I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain that this was supposed to be a pilot as well, one that never got picked up by any of the networks.

I seem to be having some decent luck in finding Xbox and PS2 games during the last couple of sales, and here's another one! I don't care enough to look it up, but I'm fairly certain that this MGS2 Substance is some sort of expansion edition, what with all of the talk about extra missions and such. I never played the Substance-free MGS2, so I don't how much better this one will be over the original.

This was one of those times when I'm not entirely sure that the trip was worth it:

Leave at 7:45 on a Saturday morning.
35 minutes to get there.
More people than usual at the store (how was that even possible?), many of whom were quite rude.
10 minutes of actual shopping.
4 items found
15 minutes spent in line.
$4 spent.
And 35 minutes to get back home.

So, was it worth it...?


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.

Big spender

Like a lot of folks, I recently took advantage of the $3 off eBay coupon.

Like a lot of folks, I too heard about it on the Twitter... and who says that the site isn't good for anything?

And like a lot of folks, I haven't been very card minded as of late. I wouldn't necessarily refer to it as "burnout", so much as it is that my interests have just been directed elsewhere. Because of this, I initially searched for just about anything but cards (comic books, DVD's, etc.) in my attempt to find something cheap to use the coupon on.

After my first round of searching, I couldn't find anything non-card related, at least nothing that was going to be ending during that two-day window that the coupon was good for.

Begrudgingly, I did end up looking at cards. I couldn't find any one card that was just a shade over $3, so I ended up getting three cards, thankfully the coupon was still good when buying from multiple sellers.

I am not a Jordan fan, and I'm overly fond of the 1998-99 UD Choice Starquest cards ('97-98 was much better), so why did I get this card? Uh????? I guess all I can say is that I don't already have one, and I knew that it was going to be cheap.

Unlike the last card, I was, and still am, a big fan of LJ. I'm also big fan of Prizm parallels, and even though I already have 3 or 4 of these green's, it doesn't hurt to pick up another copy.

This Chris Webber rookie isn't my third purchase, it was included with the LJ... not a bad bonus card!

Now that's a pretty card (please ignore my crooked picture)! I don't have too many of the light blue prizms from the 2015-16 set, so it's not really much of a stretch to say that this one is now the best of the bunch. Oh, and I will definitely be looking for more copies of this card.

After applying the coupon, I ended up paying .49 cents for each of these three cards, which isn't the greatest deal ever, but I would've been willing to pay the same amount had I come across them at a show, or even if I saw them on COMC, so...


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.