Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Clayton Kershaw Mini Tall Boys Autograph (2/25) BGS Graded PRISTINE 10 and eBay Bucks Quarterly Purchase

Sadly this post is being written up a day after the Dodgers were eliminated from this year's playoffs and would have been perfect for my #kershawday card post for yesterday as he would have pitched game 2 in the NLCS but it wasn't meant to be. Instead it will just start off a new week with a bang.

The past 3 months went by like a blur which meant another quarter of eBay bucks had been earned by me. Thank yous go out again to my friends and family that have me buy them their stuff on the bay so I can earn even more bucks for me to use every 3 months. The last quarter saw me acquire 2 cards with one being another Clayton Kershaw graded autograph so this time around I wasn't really looking to add yet another Kid K John Hancock to the collection but as the quarter was ending (late September) I wasn't seeing anything I really wanted that was non Trout or Kershaw so I circled back around to my favorite pitcher to see if there was something really unique that would perk my interest. After a couple of days of searching I found this bad boy on a BIN auction with best offer :

A perfect 10. Pristine baby!

A pristine graded Kershaw autograph which also happens to be limited to just 25 copies. With all my graded Kershaw cards, autograph or not, I had yet to acquire a pristine 10 for my collection whether it was one I submitted to BGS myself or one like this that was already graded. Now with this card being my focus for the bucks I wanted to see how low I could get it for. With that I sent over what became multiple offers and when I exhausted that route the seller and I communicated in emails. Back and forth it went for almost a week until we finally agreed on a price to both our liking. With the agreed amount settled between us we also agreed that I would send payment payment once the bucks became available.

Finally 3 weeks after I first discovered this card I had it in hands and even though it doesn't sparkle or it being a 1 of 1 it is a beautiful "mini" of the best pitcher in baseball. Nothing out of pocket and I finally have my first pristine Kershaw card in my collection. Maybe I will acquire another in the future or maybe I won't and even if the latter is the case this is a fine one to be the only 10 in my collection. Another quarter done and the next one is already being worked on and with it being the Christmas quarter that means I will have some gift cards to add to the eBay bucks total. Can't wait to see what I "win" in January.

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Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Delino DeShields Fan Favorites Autograph

I am going to pretend here that since Delino is shown in an Expos jersey that he never ever played for any other team in baseball, especially the Dodgers.

Sigh... but my brain is too smart for that and I know that Delino played for the team in blue in the WORST trade, or at least in my opinion, that the Dodgers have done since I became a fan in 1981. While Delino was not a terrible player by any means, what we traded (mortgaged) to acquire him is still hard to fathom but that is what happens when you have the short sightedness of one Tommy Lasorda maneuvering the deal.

Nonetheless, Delino is another pick up for my collection due to me reading Up, Up and Away. While I would have preferred to have Delino in a Dodgers jersey it is fitting that I now have my one and only autograph of his depicting him in Expos colors. Plus with the measly $2 I paid for the card on eBay how am I going to complain about it?

Welcome to the autograph collection Delino.
Delino > Pedro ?
Sigh...

Thank you for ready and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Dave Parker Fan Favorites Autograph

While reading books can and usually fill your brain with knowledge or enlightenment it can also cause you to part with some pocket change and in my case especially if the book is baseball related.

I completed Up, Up and Away which is a book about the Expos franchise and Dave Parker of the Pirates played a prominent role in tormenting the young team during its early years. As I was reading the book I realized there are plenty of players being mentioned that I don't have an autograph of. Dave was one of many that I felt I needed to acquire. Off to eBay I went.

Even with 2700+ hits of this two time World Series Champion there wasn't much demand it seemd for his autograph cards. This was the first card that caught my attention and in the end the only one I had to search for. While Beckett has a value of $25 for the card sales of it on eBay are nowhere near that amount as I was able to pick this up for less than what it cost me to go to lunch.

Great on card autograph of a player that was feared in the 70's.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph (10/25) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Nope this doesn't look like a graded card much less a mini frame.

Nicer looking card than the first but still not what the title states that this blog entry is about.
Hmmm . . .

Ahh...There we go.

So what are the two cards up top doing in this post? Well I went and did what some people would call dumb and most would just say why? I did what probably only a small group of people would do but I have no regrets that I did it.

As long time readers of the blog probably know I truly hate sticker autographs. When I first re entered the hobby I just went out and acquired any and all and didn't really care if the autos were sticker or of the on card variety. Now I just can't stand them and that includes Kershaw autographs. Again, I can see people say, your're crazy. Well call me crazy I got rid of those two cards up top and washed my hands of another sticker autograph. I have two sticker autographs of Kershaw left but one I will be keeping just for the fact of all the effort I went to acquire it in a contest. It holds a spot in my heart.

So I went on one of my Kershaw searches and found this gem mint beauty from 2013 Topps Archives release. At the present moment it is one of only 3 that have been graded and with only 25 total copies in existence there might not be many more in the future. Its on card and already graded. What more can I ask for? Well I wanted it but didn't want to pay for it. Isn't that how it always is? Anyways, I wanted to see how I could swing it then I remembered I had those two cards up above ready for grading as I am in the process of getting all my Kershaw autos graded.

Well the Five Star one might squeeze an 8.5 overall and I was not overly hopeful it would receive that grade but more concerning was the autograph as you can see it stretches to the end of the card which BGS hates. So I could have it returned to me with a 8 or 8.5 grade coupled with a 9 autograph. Not really enticing in my opinion. Well the Triple Threads card looked like a good candidate to earn a mint 9 with a gem mint 10 grade on auto. The problem was that it is a sticker. Nuff said. So do I submit the two cards to get graded and potentially hate the returns? And even though one is an on card autograph the other one still irks me as it is a sticker. Well what if I could sell both on the bay and use those funds to purchase this already gem mint on card of Kershaw? Well why not?

I purchased the Archives card and since the seller didn't require payment for 10 days that gave me a window to sell the other two to pay for it. I put both up on 3 day auctions and both sold at the necessary amount to off set the Archives card. A little money my way, a little money that way and in a week I received the Archives card. I couldn't be happier with the transactions as the other two graded would have been a disappointment and I am now one less sticker autograph in my collection,

Again, I know some people would call me crazy to do a 2 for 1 but I am happy and at the end of the day and when it comes to this hobby you have to do what makes you happy and leaves you satisfied.

Nothing like a nice gold label attached to a Kershaw autograph

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Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Nolan Ryan Mini Frame Autograph (22/25) BGS Graded Mint 9 AND eBay Bucks Quarterly Purchase Number Two

The second of three eBay bucks purchases and this one also falls under the reacquired autographs banner.

Nolan happened to be the 1st card of the 3 to be "locked" in for purchase as the seller and I were able to agree that I would "purchase" the card in mid December but not pay for it till the eBay bucks became available to use on January 3rd. I have done this numerous times and have been very fortunate to do business with sellers that work with me.

Yesterday's Carlton card was picked up with the remaining bucks and a measly $10 out of my pocket. The bulk of the eBay bucks were used for this card which made this acquisition FREE for me. Man I love this time of the year with "free money" being thrown at you and cards just begging to be purchased.

This card was actually on the bay for quite some time with the price fluctuating on a BIN auction for well over 3 months. It always stayed on my watch list and when the calendar turned to December my eyes were firmly on it to see if I could finally acquire it. Nolan was in my collection at one time but as most players he was included in the ball purge of 2014. Always wanted him back and now was the time. I would have preferred him in an Astros or Rangers jersey but an on card autograph trumped those desires. Most raw cards I saw of Nolan were trending almost at the cost of this card which was already graded as mint. Again, would have preferred a gem mint card but if I could score a guaranteed mint card for free why not?

The seller kept lowering and raising his price until one day I saw it sitting at such a low price that it was finally time to contact the seller and see if I could do my patented purchase now, pay later transaction. Within an hour of contact he responded with a "yes" and with that I hit the purchase now button. Waited a few weeks till the 3rd of January was upon us and once it was I sent over the payment for the card and within literally a couple of days I had the card in hand.

Hall of Fame player
On card autograph
BGS graded
Mint
FREE !!!

Nothing on that checklist is bad.
Thank you again to the seller for working with me.
Two down and one to go.

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Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Davey Lopes Autograph

Current coach and former All Star Dodger player Davey Lopes has an autographed card in this years Archives set and surprisingly it was going for over $15 right out the box. Way too much in my eyes for good old Davey even though I did not have an on card autograph of him yet. Waited for the prices to drop to a decent amount before pulling the trigger and finally found this copy on eBay. Buyer had a low starting price and in the end won the card for a little over $7. That to me is a tad more reasonable for Davey. Nice crisp blue autograph on a photo of back in his playing days is now part of my collection. Welcome back home.

Dig the Stache.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Hyun-Jin Ryu, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier

Ah, the Archives set. I have seen past year's versions and they look so much better than this year's and I think mainly it's because this year they picked designs from year's that were bad in their day and don't look any better now. But, there are still Dodgers to collect so the beat goes on.

Picked up the numbered gold parallel of Ryu a little while back but still wanted to pick up the normal version as well. Saw this auction up on eBay and while it had my Ryu it also included Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Knock out 3 birds with one auction stone. At the time of the auction there were still no published book prices just completed transactions so I was not going to overbid. In the end I won all three of these cards for just a tad over $3. Whatever the guide says later won't matter to me as that is only a buck a card with one rookie card which will be at least $2 on its own. Nice additions to my collection for each player. Now that I got these I need to acquire the other Dodgers. The hunt continues.

Traded three dollars for these three cards. Kemp in happier times.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Archives : Hyun-Jin Ryu Base Gold Variant

This card I don't know if it was a good buy or not.

At the time of purchase the card was going for $15-17 and I won it for that price as well. Not two days later I saw the card for $5 on most auctions with some as low as $3. What the hell? By far my worst buy so far.

But the last couple of days I have seen some sell again at that higher price so I guess I will see when it comes out in the price guide on how well or bad I did on this transaction. It is a numbered card so that always is a nice addition to perceived "rarity". Either way I really wanted it as it is a variant of a rookie card of one of our Dodgers that looks like he will be performing at a high level for years for our team.

Gold Ryu 82 / 199