Was tired of looking at all the new and pricier cards so I thought I would venture back into the pool and look at cheap autographs that I either missed the first go around or just thought they were overpriced at the time. I came up with a Windle card.
When Bowman Sterling came out I was on the look out for the only licensed card of Julio Urias. Chris Anderson and Tom Windle are also included but since I acquired Chris on a Bowman Black card I only "needed" Windle and that was only if it could be had at a cheap price point. Months ago it was going for north of $5 and sometimes touching $10 so I wanted no part of that action. The day I saw this one prices had come down dramatically and I was able to pick this one up on a buy it now auction for a measly $2 delivered. Once again, patience is a virtue.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Card of the Day - 2008 SP : Matt Kemp By the Letter Autograph " M " ( 62 / 99 )
Another letter that I needed multiple copies has been finally acquired.
I picked up the first "M" needed for the set back in January from fellow collector/blogger Josh aka DodgerBobble as seen HERE . One down, one to go. With the first "M" I have been able to spell MATT but still needed the other "M" for his last name. I originally had locked one up on eBay and I waited a few weeks for it but it never arrived so I contacted the seller and he stated he sent it out but didn't have a tracking number. Uh huh. Well with that being a lost cause I had to still look for another "M" and another seller had a copy up for sale but he only had a feedback of 2. Risk another potential bad transaction or pass and wait? Decided to try my luck and within a week of the end of the auction I had my second and final "M" for the project. Deal went smoothly from this new seller.
17 down and 8 more to go.
I never thought I would even get this far but I can't stop now.
I picked up the first "M" needed for the set back in January from fellow collector/blogger Josh aka DodgerBobble as seen HERE . One down, one to go. With the first "M" I have been able to spell MATT but still needed the other "M" for his last name. I originally had locked one up on eBay and I waited a few weeks for it but it never arrived so I contacted the seller and he stated he sent it out but didn't have a tracking number. Uh huh. Well with that being a lost cause I had to still look for another "M" and another seller had a copy up for sale but he only had a feedback of 2. Risk another potential bad transaction or pass and wait? Decided to try my luck and within a week of the end of the auction I had my second and final "M" for the project. Deal went smoothly from this new seller.
17 down and 8 more to go.
I never thought I would even get this far but I can't stop now.
My other "M" now has its twin
62 of 99
Friday, August 29, 2014
Card of the Day - 2005 Topps : Brett Butler Retired Players Autograph
I have a list of past Dodgers that I want to acquire a card that has their autograph on it and Brett has been near the top of that list for a long time. The main reason is that other than this card ( that I have seen multiple times on eBay )I think I might have seen one other different one to chose from that shows him in Dodger blue.
I have lost out on this card numerous times as there was no way I was going to throw $9+ at it as that is usually the price the auctions ended at. This card also seems to be encased in the plastic that Topps sent it out in. Nothing wrong with that but I was going to and have cracked it opened already and put it in my own case. Maybe people were paying a premium for the fact that it was in a sealed case.
A seller from our friends up north had this up and unlike the other copies of this card there was minimal action. Once again probably because it was come from a foreign country which seems to slow traffic on transactions from buyers from the USA. Doesn't bother me I might have waited an extra week or two as I picked this up for a mere $3.51. Another steal in my eyes and another check off on my checklist of wants.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Base Blue Refractor Parallels ( Multiple Players )
The bigger lots are starting to slow down as evident by only six in this lot that I was able to purchase on the bay. Good thing though it is one of my better purchases, money wise, as all were had for just 49 cents a pop.
A seller had all of these ( and some others that I didn't need ) that ended on the same day. Problem was he had them set to end at the exact same time and a few of these I was watching on another seller's auction. Didn't want to get stuck with two copies of some of the card. Luckily I was the only one to bid on these and they were sent to me a few days later. Glad to say this seller also put these in rigid top loaders so that brought the cost of storage down as well. Woo Hoo.
A seller had all of these ( and some others that I didn't need ) that ended on the same day. Problem was he had them set to end at the exact same time and a few of these I was watching on another seller's auction. Didn't want to get stuck with two copies of some of the card. Luckily I was the only one to bid on these and they were sent to me a few days later. Glad to say this seller also put these in rigid top loaders so that brought the cost of storage down as well. Woo Hoo.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
13 Cards Submitted To Beckett Grading Submissions (BGS) At Frank and Sons On August 20, 2014
My stack of cards that I wanted to get graded was piling up and I knew it would soon be time to submit them to get slabbed. As always I have the option to drop them off at Frank and Sons and wait two weeks to get the full grade treatment but I found out that South Bay Sports Cards is holding yet another in store BGS raw grade event at the end of September. What to do? With a few more cards coming in the mail from eBay auctions and Topps in the next couple of weeks I decided to submit 3/4 of my stack to Frank and Sons and the rest I will hold off till the raw grading event. Now I had to decide which cards I wanted to submit first. I went with my gut and research on which ones I think might possibly grade out gem mint and all my Kershaw autograph cards even though I know only one has a possibility to earn gem mint status. The ones I held off for the raw grade event are of less importance and ones I think might only grade out to mint 9.0's. I will have results in hand on September 4th and cards in hand on the 6th when I go back and pick them up and meet Joc Pederson for his autograph appearance. With that said here are the cards in the order of the possibility of earning a gem mint grade (if applicable) Any and all well wishes are appreciated as always.
I have decided to get all my autograph and SP ( photo variations / limited parallels ) Kershaw cards graded as even though I want a high grade I really just want them in a nice case for storage. I expect all the cards I submitted to at least earn a mint grade and this one is no exception. While the centering is good as I can tell it is off centered a tad and the corners while sharp are not gem mint crisp. I think it will earn a mint grade and I am OK with that.
Up next is the young man many are deeming the next "Fernando". That's a lot to put on a young man but from what I have seen in person and in the box scores he is capable of doing something special when he does make the big leagues. This blue parallel while not my prize piece of Urias cards ( that one is in route to me via Topps ) was one I wanted to get graded at some point and even though the odds of it earning gem mint status is minimal I believe mint is well within reach.
The least favorite of all my Kershaw autograph cards. Design is not visually appealing to me and the autograph is of the sticker variety. The fun thing about going back through your cards is to see if their value went up or down. When I acquired this card back in 2013 as seen HERE I only spent $13 for it and the book value was $30. How times have changed. It now books for $80 and eBay sales have for the most part been north of $50. I am almost 100% sure this will not get a 9.5 but I think a mint 9 is well within reason.
The Dodgers future at SS/3B and even though he is only 20 he might be up to the big league team as a September call up next year. I have been trying to acquire as many Seager autographs before that happens and with him no longer on the Quakes team IP autographs won't be happening anytime soon. I picked this up and a twin in an eBay auction and while they both look at least NM this one looks to be a mint or at least in my eyes. Everything looks good other than the corners as they seem just a tad less than pointy sharp. I see mint in its future with an outside chance of gem mint if the other 3 sub grades come back 9.5.
Back and forth we go with Kershaw autographs. I picked this up on a steal of a deal a few weeks ago and that is probably because it is off centered. Everything else looks good but with my history with Allen and Ginter cards I don't expect anything more than a mint 9 grade for this card and I would be more than happy with that result. This card will look great in a BGS case.
Trying my luck with another red ink variant from the Allen and Ginter brand. This is my second submission (Ryan Braun was the first) and I am hoping for a better result but I am not sure how this will fare as there is "blemish" on the surface per se. Centering is good and the corners are crisp but next to the 9/10 there is a small red blotch that is probably from Josh's finger. Not sure how this will affect the overall grade of the card. I am hoping for a 9 on surface and 9.5 on everything else but would not be surprised nor overly disappointed in a mint 9 overall grade.
Long time readers might recognize this card as I was the lucky winner of a contest that was held by fellow blogger The Dutch Card Guy . A quick recap on that. I had to put a comment on every single blog entry he had published (400+) and then I had to be lucky enough to be randomized as the top pick out of a group of 4 that posted comments. Thank you again for holding the contest. This card has only gone up in value since I won it and I knew I would submit it someday. I don't know what grade to expect so I will be happy with a mint 9. I say that because clearly to me it is off centered on the front but I have seen the same card slabbed and graded by BGS with the same "issue" and the sub grade for centering was a gem mint. Everything else looks fine to me so it will be interesting to see what it earns.
Well hopefully Bo knows gem mint. These final 6 cards starting with Bo here I expect to grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Bo though is the only one I am worried about as one corner seems a little rounded but everything else looks perfect so I still think it grades out to a 9.5 overall. Knocking on wood and hoping I can keep my Five Star luck going.
A beautiful card with my lucky marriage number (7) attached to it. A card that doesn't need to be encased in a BGS holder but one I think will look even better in one. This is my favorite and most limited Adrian autograph and to me it looks gem mint. No streaks in the autograph, well centered, corners are perfect. We shall see but anything less than a gem mint grade will be disappointing.
The second and last Seager in the batch and other than my autographs of Corey this is my favorite card of his. I love Bowman Chrome, I love minis, I love black and when you combine all that you come out with this great looking card. Another great steal for me on eBay for this card as it wasn't described in the auction with the other cards in the auction. Woo Hoo. The card is ever so off centered but everything else is perfect and I wouldn't be surprised if all sub grades come back 9.5. Only 25 in existence and this would be the second gem mint. Hoping and wishing.
With no luck on the blue parallel of Puig from the regular issue of Bowman Chrome I am not trying my luck with this blue beauty from the Draft Pick set. It is more limited (99 to 250) than its base twin so if and when this comes back as gem mint it will help me swallow the bitter pill I took when I forgot to look on the back of the other blue one and didn't see that it was so off centered that it dragged the grade from a 9.5 to a 9. This card looks to be void of any major defects and I expect it to come back as a gem mint.
Second to last submission and we have a sure hall of famer in the form of Miguel Cabrera. When I laid my eyes on this card and as it looked perfect on the computer screen it looks even better in person and I knew I had to have it. Had to replace my Cabrera autograph baseball and this was the perfect card to do that. I knew when it came in I would eventually submit to BGS and now was the time. Anything less than a gem mint grade will be a major disappointment. Don't make me sad Beckett.
And I finish off the biggest submission ever with the best pitcher on the planet. Clayton makes his 5th appearance in this batch with what I believe to be his best conditioned card. Though not as visually appealing as the Allen and Ginter card it is a very nice on card autograph of the Dodger great. When I bought it on the low end price-wise last year I thought it had a very good chance to grade out to gem mint and that belief still holds. Hopefully that comes true at the end of next week.
Well that does it. 13 cards with at least 6 with a very good chance to acquire a golden banner grade. I will still be doing the Beckett raw grade event at the end of September but with those I am not as confident of them earning a gem mint grade but I am still curious on what grade they do earn.
Thank you all for taking your time to read this if you gotten to the end of this long post. Have a good one.
2009 Topps T-206
I have decided to get all my autograph and SP ( photo variations / limited parallels ) Kershaw cards graded as even though I want a high grade I really just want them in a nice case for storage. I expect all the cards I submitted to at least earn a mint grade and this one is no exception. While the centering is good as I can tell it is off centered a tad and the corners while sharp are not gem mint crisp. I think it will earn a mint grade and I am OK with that.
2014 Bowman Inception Blue Parallel
Up next is the young man many are deeming the next "Fernando". That's a lot to put on a young man but from what I have seen in person and in the box scores he is capable of doing something special when he does make the big leagues. This blue parallel while not my prize piece of Urias cards ( that one is in route to me via Topps ) was one I wanted to get graded at some point and even though the odds of it earning gem mint status is minimal I believe mint is well within reach.
2009 Topps
The least favorite of all my Kershaw autograph cards. Design is not visually appealing to me and the autograph is of the sticker variety. The fun thing about going back through your cards is to see if their value went up or down. When I acquired this card back in 2013 as seen HERE I only spent $13 for it and the book value was $30. How times have changed. It now books for $80 and eBay sales have for the most part been north of $50. I am almost 100% sure this will not get a 9.5 but I think a mint 9 is well within reason.
2012 Bowman Sterling
The Dodgers future at SS/3B and even though he is only 20 he might be up to the big league team as a September call up next year. I have been trying to acquire as many Seager autographs before that happens and with him no longer on the Quakes team IP autographs won't be happening anytime soon. I picked this up and a twin in an eBay auction and while they both look at least NM this one looks to be a mint or at least in my eyes. Everything looks good other than the corners as they seem just a tad less than pointy sharp. I see mint in its future with an outside chance of gem mint if the other 3 sub grades come back 9.5.
2012 Allen and Ginter
Back and forth we go with Kershaw autographs. I picked this up on a steal of a deal a few weeks ago and that is probably because it is off centered. Everything else looks good but with my history with Allen and Ginter cards I don't expect anything more than a mint 9 grade for this card and I would be more than happy with that result. This card will look great in a BGS case.
2013 Allen and Ginter Red Ink Variant
Trying my luck with another red ink variant from the Allen and Ginter brand. This is my second submission (Ryan Braun was the first) and I am hoping for a better result but I am not sure how this will fare as there is "blemish" on the surface per se. Centering is good and the corners are crisp but next to the 9/10 there is a small red blotch that is probably from Josh's finger. Not sure how this will affect the overall grade of the card. I am hoping for a 9 on surface and 9.5 on everything else but would not be surprised nor overly disappointed in a mint 9 overall grade.
2007 Bowman Sterling Refractor
Long time readers might recognize this card as I was the lucky winner of a contest that was held by fellow blogger The Dutch Card Guy . A quick recap on that. I had to put a comment on every single blog entry he had published (400+) and then I had to be lucky enough to be randomized as the top pick out of a group of 4 that posted comments. Thank you again for holding the contest. This card has only gone up in value since I won it and I knew I would submit it someday. I don't know what grade to expect so I will be happy with a mint 9. I say that because clearly to me it is off centered on the front but I have seen the same card slabbed and graded by BGS with the same "issue" and the sub grade for centering was a gem mint. Everything else looks fine to me so it will be interesting to see what it earns.
2013 Topps Five Star Rainbow Parallel
Well hopefully Bo knows gem mint. These final 6 cards starting with Bo here I expect to grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Bo though is the only one I am worried about as one corner seems a little rounded but everything else looks perfect so I still think it grades out to a 9.5 overall. Knocking on wood and hoping I can keep my Five Star luck going.
2014 Topps Museum
A beautiful card with my lucky marriage number (7) attached to it. A card that doesn't need to be encased in a BGS holder but one I think will look even better in one. This is my favorite and most limited Adrian autograph and to me it looks gem mint. No streaks in the autograph, well centered, corners are perfect. We shall see but anything less than a gem mint grade will be disappointing.
2013 Bowman Chrome Mini Black Parallel
The second and last Seager in the batch and other than my autographs of Corey this is my favorite card of his. I love Bowman Chrome, I love minis, I love black and when you combine all that you come out with this great looking card. Another great steal for me on eBay for this card as it wasn't described in the auction with the other cards in the auction. Woo Hoo. The card is ever so off centered but everything else is perfect and I wouldn't be surprised if all sub grades come back 9.5. Only 25 in existence and this would be the second gem mint. Hoping and wishing.
2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Blue Parallel
With no luck on the blue parallel of Puig from the regular issue of Bowman Chrome I am not trying my luck with this blue beauty from the Draft Pick set. It is more limited (99 to 250) than its base twin so if and when this comes back as gem mint it will help me swallow the bitter pill I took when I forgot to look on the back of the other blue one and didn't see that it was so off centered that it dragged the grade from a 9.5 to a 9. This card looks to be void of any major defects and I expect it to come back as a gem mint.
2013 Topps Five Star Rainbow Parallel
Second to last submission and we have a sure hall of famer in the form of Miguel Cabrera. When I laid my eyes on this card and as it looked perfect on the computer screen it looks even better in person and I knew I had to have it. Had to replace my Cabrera autograph baseball and this was the perfect card to do that. I knew when it came in I would eventually submit to BGS and now was the time. Anything less than a gem mint grade will be a major disappointment. Don't make me sad Beckett.
2013 Topps Tribute
And I finish off the biggest submission ever with the best pitcher on the planet. Clayton makes his 5th appearance in this batch with what I believe to be his best conditioned card. Though not as visually appealing as the Allen and Ginter card it is a very nice on card autograph of the Dodger great. When I bought it on the low end price-wise last year I thought it had a very good chance to grade out to gem mint and that belief still holds. Hopefully that comes true at the end of next week.
Well that does it. 13 cards with at least 6 with a very good chance to acquire a golden banner grade. I will still be doing the Beckett raw grade event at the end of September but with those I am not as confident of them earning a gem mint grade but I am still curious on what grade they do earn.
Thank you all for taking your time to read this if you gotten to the end of this long post. Have a good one.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Base Blue Refractor Parallels ( Multiple Players )
Same old song and dance.
I have to take the time to see how close I am to being half way done to completing this project but it seems to me that I have to be getting close. Right?
Anyways, just another small batch acquired on the bay for a measly 75 cents a card.
It seems that more and more sellers ( I do the same ) are putting the cards in these rigid holders which makes the price of the auction that more of a win. I know the holders are just pennies but not having to use your own just means you can hold on to them and use them for other cards.
Anyways, the beat goes on and the project continues. Again, if anyone has spare blue parallels I would love to work out a trade with you. Till then its eBay for me.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Base Blue Refractor Parallels ( Multiple Players )
Went back to COMC.com to see if there were any deals that could be had on some blue cards and I found these that were going for just a little over 50 cents each.
I think I am starting to reach the point were unless I am lucky on eBay that all the cheap players to acquire in the set have been had by me. The only good thing is I already have all the high priced ones as well ( Puig, Trout, Fernandez etc. ). Just like my 2008 SP Kemp project I think this set will take a long time to complete unless I get help. So if anyone has any of these that they don't need please contact me and let's make a deal. Till then 8 cards for a little over $4 is always a good bargain.
I think I am starting to reach the point were unless I am lucky on eBay that all the cheap players to acquire in the set have been had by me. The only good thing is I already have all the high priced ones as well ( Puig, Trout, Fernandez etc. ). Just like my 2008 SP Kemp project I think this set will take a long time to complete unless I get help. So if anyone has any of these that they don't need please contact me and let's make a deal. Till then 8 cards for a little over $4 is always a good bargain.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Card of the Day - 2001 Topps : Ralph Branca Autograph
I have had my eyes on this card since I got back into the hobby last year. The problem was that every time it came up for sale on eBay the ending price always exceeded $10 and that was just not in budget for this particular card.
Saw it once again on the bay and added it to my watch list. Like most times there were no bids on it till the final day but unlike the previous times the high price was lower. I put in my acceptable amount and this time I came out on top for the cost of less than seven dollars. Glad to finally add this Brooklyn great to my collection. I am still looking for a black signed ball of his but till then at least I have representation of Ralph in my collection finally.
Saw it once again on the bay and added it to my watch list. Like most times there were no bids on it till the final day but unlike the previous times the high price was lower. I put in my acceptable amount and this time I came out on top for the cost of less than seven dollars. Glad to finally add this Brooklyn great to my collection. I am still looking for a black signed ball of his but till then at least I have representation of Ralph in my collection finally.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Paco Rodriguez Base Black Refractor Parallel ( 34 / 100 )
The only thing I like better than blue parallel of cards are black parallel of cards. The only problem with that is the black versions are usually more limited which means the price is usually out of my range. With that said I know I will probably never acquire Puig or Ryu in black form in either Bowman Chrome or Topps Chrome due to the high price. I can though concentrate on the other Dodgers and I have been able to put together a nifty little set so far. I finally was able to pick up Paco at a reasonable price.
With the black versions being numbered to 100 I have not seen many of the Dodgers up for sale and Paco only here and there. Another search brought this beauty to my attention. A traditional 7 day auction was in store and at the end of the week I happily added this to my collection. Now I am down to just Crawford and Magill in the affordable category.
With the black versions being numbered to 100 I have not seen many of the Dodgers up for sale and Paco only here and there. Another search brought this beauty to my attention. A traditional 7 day auction was in store and at the end of the week I happily added this to my collection. Now I am down to just Crawford and Magill in the affordable category.
34 of only 100
Friday, August 22, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Matt Kemp Refractor Parallel plus Friends
Top row, center card. That was the target for acquisition. Another day on the bay and I was yet again looking to fill in holes in my BC collection and still needed a Kemp refractor. Saw various auctions to bid on but like a previous auction I won from the same seller he once again had the card I needed in a lot of other players. And like in the previous auction win he had it as a buy it now auction for the small amount of just $1.25. So with that I bought some trading pieces and added another Kemp card to the collection. Always a good day when you get the chance to kill two birds with one stone at a low price.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Card of the Day - 2012 Topps : Jackie Robinson Historical Stitches
This is one of those rare cards that I acquired. Not due to its own scarcity but that it is a non autograph card from a year other than 2013 ( my self appointed starting year point for card collecting ). This card is an interesting addition to my collection as it is unique but the price was right so why not acquire a card I don't normally search out for.
My Jackie card collection is still lacking and I still aim to fix that and this card helps that out. I came across this card and for some reason it hadn't sold the multiple times that the seller had posted it. Well I inquired to see if he was willing to negotiate a lower price to get it off his hands and he was welcome to it. A few bucks to him and this card found its way to me. Though the card is entirely made of manufactured material ( not real jersey material ) to me it still looks cool.
My Jackie card collection is still lacking and I still aim to fix that and this card helps that out. I came across this card and for some reason it hadn't sold the multiple times that the seller had posted it. Well I inquired to see if he was willing to negotiate a lower price to get it off his hands and he was welcome to it. A few bucks to him and this card found its way to me. Though the card is entirely made of manufactured material ( not real jersey material ) to me it still looks cool.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2014 Bowman Inception : Julio Urias Base Autograph Blue Parallel ( 16 / 75 ) and 2013 Bowman Sterling Base Autograph
The third of 3 Bowman Inception blue parallels is finally in hand and with it came a bonus card.
Urias was/is the big name on the Dodger front from this year's issue of Inception and he was the last one I needed to acquire but each time I tried to buy this card I was out bid at the last moment. There are only 75 copies in existence and with a $40 book value the demand is high and copies are limited.
Well I had a 2013 Bowman Sterling card of Urias that I got graded as recapped HERE but it earned a disappointing mint 9 on the autograph and even though the overall grade was gem mint it still bothered me. Well I saw this auction for this Bowman Inception card and though I wanted/needed it the auction had another card that drew my interest and made me want to win this auction even more.
16 of 75
If I could be the high bidder ( which I was obviously ) I would not only win the coveted Inception card but I would also win this other card :That's right, another Sterling autograph card. My thinking was if I could sell my "disappointing" Urias graded card that would help if not pay for most of this auction. I ended up selling said Sterling card the day before the 2 card Urias auction was to end and with known amount of funds that I had access to I knew what my ceiling would be. Thankfully the auction did not get too close to it and I came out the winner for both cards.
The Inception card would probably grade out to a 9 with an outside chance of a 9.5 ( going to submit it either way ) and the new Sterling card has a flawless autograph ( no 9 here ) but the card itself is like the Inception one and will for sure grade out a 9 with an outside chance at gem mint. Still debating if I am going to try my luck again with BGS on the Sterling card.
Swap out one Urias autograph card for two. A win any day of the week.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Card of the Day - 2012 Allen and Ginter : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph
It has been a long while... too long...that I have acquired an autograph of the best pitcher on the planet, Mr Clayton Kershaw.
I still can't believe I was even thinking of selling one of the precious ones I do have to acquire a Corey Seager autograph but with that out of my system I wanted to add not subtract to my Kershaw collection. The prices on his cards keep going up and up so I better get a move on it if I expect to score a deal.
I will no longer be going after any sticker versions of Clayton's autograph even though they are of him and any Kershaw autograph is a good one. Guess I am getting kind of snobby in that aspect now.
Most copies were going too high for my tastes but I did find this 2012 A&G on a BIN auction with a best offer option. This particular year is my favorite of all the A&G issues as the autographs are black bordered. Well I saw that another person put in an offer so I put in one as well and noticed that the seller countered with the other person so I had to wait out a day till he ended up countering my offer. Surprisingly it was $25 less than his asking price and only $10 more than my offer. Wasn't going to pass that up so I accepted his offer and had the card in hand within the week.
I can tell that the centering would get a mint grade of 9.0 but everything else looks great. Not going to submit it for a full encased grade but I found out South Bay Sportscards is having another in house raw grade review by BGS in a few weeks so I will go that route and see how it grades out.
Even with a mint 9 I couldn't be happier with acquiring another Kershaw autograph for a very reasonable amount.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2012 Bowman Sterling : Corey Seager Base Autographs
I'm seeing double and I couldn't be happier.
I already have a Corey autograph in my collection and also still waiting on a Topps Redemption for another but these blue beauties have always caught my eye and I wanted one. Problem was/is that a lot of other people want them too.
Like a lot of autograph cards I lost out on my fair share of eBay auctions for this card as with a book value of $25 I set my ceiling in the low dougble digits. I never expected to win one but just kept trying in case something slipped through the cracks. One day I saw these two ( it was actually four but two already sold ) on a BIN auction with a best offer option. Decided to throw an offer for both at just a little more than what I was looking to spend for one. Surprisingly within a few minutes the seller accepted and I became the proud owner of 2 autographed Seager cards. They came in a week later and are in great condition.
I really have no need for two Seagers so I am open to trading one if anyone is interested. Contact me if interested.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Five Star : Bo Jackson Base Autograph Rainbow Parallel ( 18 / 25 )
Long time readers of the blog might know that I have had issues with in person autograph sessions with Bo Jackson.
In 2013 I went to the Raider Fest at Frank and Sons and got Bo to sign an All-Star baseball. A great piece then shortly after the signature started to bleed. Ugh. So I sold it off as I found out that Bo would be attending the next Raider Fest.
Now its 2014 and I head back down to Frank and Sons and decide to try to get Bo to sign a black baseball with gold ink. I bring my own pen but he declines to use it and uses his own which is dry and in turn makes the autograph dull and ugly. Ugh again. Didn't even wait a day and sold it on eBay and thankfully it sold for the amount I paid for the Bo's autograph.
I have found out that Bo will be attending Raider Fest in 2015 and I am not sure if I will be trying my luck a third time but I still wanted a Bo autograph for my collection. Enter Topps Five Star.
This set has really become my own person gold mine for me to acquire autographs of players I never had or like Bo here reacquire ones that I once had on a ball. With still enough funds from the ball purge I was on the look out for this card. I lost out a few times but still held out hope.
A seller had this card up on a traditional auction with a BIN option. I contacted the buyer and asked how the condition of the card was as I wanted no fraying of the corners or surface issues which Five Star is known for. He finally contacted me back and said all was clear but when I went to buy it someone had bid on the card which took away the BIN option. Now I had to play the bidding game.
The days went by with a few bids put in but at the end of the week I was top dog with a top bid that was 7 dollars cheaper than his buy it now option at the beginning of the auction. Guess I saved a few bucks. Woo Hoo.
Bo is back once again in my collection. Let's see if I can get a gem mint grade by BGS on this one.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Chrome : Zack Greinke Base Blue Refractor Parallel ( 23 / 199 )
Back to Topps Chrome to work on my blue parallel refractor set of the Dodgers. Still need a few and with Puig being priced to high for my taste right now I focused on the supposedly easier to obtain cards.
I love everything blue but Topps in my opinion is a step below its Bowman Chrome sibling. BC is a true blue while Topps is more of a light, pale version of blue. Nonetheless I need all the Dodgers and Greinke was up on the bay for a measly $2. Rather pay a little less than that but as I haven't seen many copies I thought I should snatch it up now rather than hunt for it later at a possibly higher price.
My blueish Greinke card arrived and has found a home in my collection.
I love everything blue but Topps in my opinion is a step below its Bowman Chrome sibling. BC is a true blue while Topps is more of a light, pale version of blue. Nonetheless I need all the Dodgers and Greinke was up on the bay for a measly $2. Rather pay a little less than that but as I haven't seen many copies I thought I should snatch it up now rather than hunt for it later at a possibly higher price.
My blueish Greinke card arrived and has found a home in my collection.
23 of 199
Friday, August 15, 2014
Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks : Yasiel Puig Base Blue Refractor Parallel ( 52 / 99 )
As long time readers know I am working on the blue parallel set from the 2013 Bowman Chrome issue. The base set has 440 cards and then Bowman always comes up with a draft pick set towards the end of the calendar year. I had been focusing on the main set with minimal interest in the draft pick set until I finished the other one. Well a few factors came into play on acquiring this card and I went across the big pond to get my hands on it.
The main reason that I wasn't looking to acquire this card yet was that it still has a $120 book value attached to it. Due to being numbered to 99 only while the base set blue Puig is numbered to 250 obviously is the main contributor to the higher price. I placed a bid here and there on this card through the year but always came up short with some auctions closing over $110. I used my eBay funds elsewhere. Well I sent in the base blue Puig that I had in my collection to get graded and it came back with a "disappointing" mint 9.0 grade. That was my fault as I didn't check the back for centering. All of that can be seen HERE .
I decided to go back onto eBay and see what the current market was on the draft pick blue Puig and the prices had come down since he has cooled off a tad in the past few weeks. I really want to have a gem mint blue of Puig and tried to narrow down my search to a good candidate for that. I found this one which looked pretty clean and the seller was nice enough to include a picture of the back of the card for people like me that forget to look at that. Looked good and I decided to go after it. The one thing that really popped out for me and made me believe that I had a good chance of picking this up at a very reasonable price was where the card is originating from, Japan. For some reason a lot of international auctions seem to scare off a lot of people. Less competition is fine by me.
On the last day of the auction the high bid stood at a little over $25. A lot less than I expected for this card. At the end of the day I came out on top with a winning bid at way more than 60% off of book and no money out of pocket ( again, thank you book sales ).
Surprisingly the card arrived in less than 10 days and other than a very slight "issue" on the back side lower right corner it looks to me like it might grade out to a gem mint 9.5. Centering is good ( even on the back ), surface is clean, edges sharp and if the corners get a 9.0 I think the others will off set it. We shall see but till then thank you to Japan for supplying me with a nice limited card of Puig.
52 / 99
Knocking on wood for this lower right corner
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome Mini : Corey Seager Base Black Refractor Parallel ( 20 / 25 ) and Some Other Thrown In Friends
Bowman Chrome came out with a very late addition for a 2013 issue. These cards were released in 2014 but as a 2013 factory set. They are not sold in packs. I love me some minis so to acquire these I had to wait for people to buy their factory sets and then crack them open and sell them online. Same parallels exist as their bigger brothers ( blue, black etc ). With a few Dodgers in the set I had to see what I could get my hands on first.
20 / 25
I think I ended up with a great deal on this card. A seller had this in an auction with 3 other black refractors from the same set but didn't really describe Corey in the auction. Comparing other cards from the same set and what they have been selling for I would think it is safe assume that book value on this card alone will probably come in at the very minimum of $35 if not higher. I paid a click over $10 and that included 3 other refractors. Great way to start the mini project of 2013 Bowman Chrome.
** Edit - Card has a $50 book value assigned to. An even better deal.
The three "throw ins" in the auction. All for trade or purchase.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Inception : Chris Anderson Base Autograph Blue Parallel ( 30 / 75 )
The second of the three Dodgers that I am pursuing within this year's Bowman Inception set has now been acquired.
I had already gotten my hands on Guerrero and now needed Anderson and Urias. Surprisingly enough the Anderson card was going for way more than I was willing to spend. Book value has it at $10 but most of the auctions that I partook in ended at or over that amount. eBay is supposed to be bargain hunting right? Ha Ha. Anyways, with only 75 copies of this blue card I had to keep my eyes open for any new copies that might show up. Finally this one came up for sale and had a reasonable asking price on a tradition auction. Had to wait a full 7 days but at the end of it I was the one and only bidder on the auction and became the proud owner of the card.
I have missed Chris the few times at Rancho Cucamonga so I have yet to acquire his autograph in person but considering the season he has had ( average at best ) I suspect he will start next season there so hopefully I can get him then. Till that happens though I have this nice blue copy to tide me over.
Two down with Urias the final one to acquire and my mini project will be complete.
30
of
75
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Five Star : Miguel Cabrera Base Autograph Rainbow Parallel ( 19 / 25 )
Still trying to reacquire player's autographs on cards that I had on baseballs that I sold and Miguel Cabrera is/was a main one to get again and with this Topps Five Star of him I .... hold on, don't I have this card already?
If you recognize it from a previous post that means you actually looked on the blog on a semi continuous basis and for that I thank you. Well seen HERE is the card I "purchased" with my quarterly eBay bucks just a few weeks ago. So why did I go and get another one? Because I wanted one that would possibly grade out to gem mint by BGS.
As stated in the other card's post I believed it would grade out as a 9 due to an issue here and there and the autograph wasn't as crisp as I would like it to be. A great card still but if I could do "better" I would try my best to acquire it.
Well this beauty went up for sale and it is the rainbow parallel which means its only numbered to 25 unlike my 1st card which was numbered to 50. The autograph popped on screen and I went back and forth with the seller on potential "issues" with the card and I was pretty confident from what he told him that this copy would be better than the copy I already had. His auction was a BIN with a best offer option so he and I agreed on a price which was just a few dollars higher than the non parallel that I already had. I now had to sell the other one to use those funds to pay for this one as I wanted it to be an even swap. I waited till all Cabrera Five Star cards were sold to put mine up so it was the only one on eBay at the time. Action ensued within the hour and after its 3 day auction was over it sold for a $5 less than what I "spent" for the rainbow card.
Paid the seller and within a few days I had this new Cabrera card for my collection and it is definitely a step up from my 1st one. Only issue with the card is that one corner is slightly rounded but with my personal projection of 3 other 9.5 sub grades I think I might have a gem mint autographed Cabrera card. If not I still now have a more limited one that books for a little more than what my 1st one did.
19 / 25
Monday, August 11, 2014
Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Inception : Alexander Guerrero Base Blue Parallel Autograph ( 20 / 75 )
Another new set recently was released and like Allen and Ginter, Bowman Inception was collected by me last year but this year it was cut from my list of brands to hunt for. But just like Allen and Ginter I will never pass on autographs of Dodgers.
There are 3 Dodgers of note within the set, Julios Urias, Chris Anderson and Alexander Guerrero. I will not be pursuing the base versions of any of their cards but I will be hunting down their blue parallels that are numbered to only 75. Alex here in fact has a black collection autograph card within the set that is numbered to only 25 but unless I score a major deal then I will be passing on that one.
Julio is my primary need/want from this set but Alexander is a close second as unlike Julio this is Alex's first certified MLB autograph on a card and since I sold my Alex autographed ball I had no representation of him in my collection.
I was surprised at the high sales of this card as he isn't even on the team and is 27 years old. But everything Cuban nowadays seems to be hot so I had to bide my time and wait for the right time to win this card at the right price. Finally that day came when someone put this up on a buy it now for less than every closed sale prior to that day. Didn't wait and snapped it up and within a week it came in. It will not be a candidate for grading as I can tell it would only grade out as a mint 9 which is not bad per se but I so do love my gem mints. No biggie as I am just happy to have his autograph back within my collection.
20 of 75
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Update : Sandy Koufax Commemorative Copper Coin Insert ( 64 / 99 )
I am really digging these manufactured commemorative cards that Topps continue to do. They are quite eye popping and I love the thickness of the cards. I have already picked up multiple Kemp cards but I have been on the look out for two classic Dodgers, Roy Campanella and Sandy Koufax. One down and one to go with the acquisition of Sandy here.
I had seen this card up on eBay for months and with it being numbered to just 99 it seemed like every one was up for sale during that time as I constantly lost each auction as I just wasn't going to go over my set amount. There are 3 versions of this coin, a copper one like this one numbered to 99, a wrought iron one numbered to 50 and then a steel one numbered to a mere 10 copies. Though I preferred the color of the wrought iron one I set my eyes on the copper due to me just wanted any version I can get my hands on and with 99 copies I thought it would be the easier of the two.
Beckett has this valued at $50 and each auction I lost was at least $28 with some topping $32+. Frustrating but I wasn't going to bend and the patience paid off as I won this one for almost 70% off of book. A great buy of a great player on a great looking card. The coin itself is heavy and detailed and a very welcome addition to my collection.
I had seen this card up on eBay for months and with it being numbered to just 99 it seemed like every one was up for sale during that time as I constantly lost each auction as I just wasn't going to go over my set amount. There are 3 versions of this coin, a copper one like this one numbered to 99, a wrought iron one numbered to 50 and then a steel one numbered to a mere 10 copies. Though I preferred the color of the wrought iron one I set my eyes on the copper due to me just wanted any version I can get my hands on and with 99 copies I thought it would be the easier of the two.
Beckett has this valued at $50 and each auction I lost was at least $28 with some topping $32+. Frustrating but I wasn't going to bend and the patience paid off as I won this one for almost 70% off of book. A great buy of a great player on a great looking card. The coin itself is heavy and detailed and a very welcome addition to my collection.
Front view showing off his 26 wins from 1965
Back view celebrating the Dodgers winning the 1965 NL Pennant
64 of a scant 99
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Card of the Day - 2014 Topps : Jackie Robinson Black Framed Reprint ( card #10 )
Finally done.
The day I won this card on eBay the book value prices were released on the set and with the black frame versions coming in at $20 that made this final card acquisition feel all that much better.
The hunt was on for this final piece to the Jackie project and even though I wanted it to be done I was not going to overpay just for that privilege. Surprisingly there were no copies of the card on a BIN auction so I was left to the traditional ones to get my card. Couple of them priced themselves out as they went over $10. 50% is a good deal but I wanted more. A couple days went by with a couple more loses till this one was nearing its end and there was only one bid placed on it with 5 minutes to go. My last minute bid became the 3rd overall as someone else had the same idea as me but I came out on top with a winning bid of just a little under $7. A good buy.
A week later the card arrived and joined its 4 brothers in cases in my collection.
Another small project is now complete and I can now go back and try to find all my blue parallels of the Dodgers within the main set.
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