Some Swag Among The Slabs

I made a trade last week on the TCDB with a guy named Eric.  Turns out he lives near Hagerstown, MD which is just about 20 minutes from me.  So we met up about halfway in between to swap packages.  He primarily collects Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Travis Hafner. We had a good conversation about our collecting habits, etc. before he had to get back.

He texted me later and asked if I knew about the show going on in the Silver Spring Civic Center, which is about an hour to our south.  I knew there were shows that rotated through there, but wasn't planning to go.  I have so much to put away around Hivemind Headquarters, plus the two piles of stuff for sale, I probably didn't need to add to any of it.  But I decided to go anyway. 😀 

So we made plans to meet along the route and made our way down there.  Upon arrival, I realized that I had been there once before.  It's a smaller venue, with a main room in the middle, and two other rooms at each end, plus a hallway between with a few more tables. 

A previous year's show

There was a LOT of slabs.  And several tables - especially in the outer rooms - of Pokèmon.  But I did manage to find some treasures among them.

I should have put this at the end, so as to not give away everything I got, but here you go.  The first thing I found (that I could get into - it was wall to wall people in the narrow aisles) was some vintage singles.  I found four of my '65 commons for a buck a shot (center above).  They're nice, though I left a couple sketchier ones there. 

At the same table, I picked up this set killer / upgrade to finish my '73-74 set.  The top corners are a bit weathered, but it's half the price of similar ones on COMC right now.  I think it's much better than the one I started with.

There were a few hockey-centric tables, though I wasn't looking for much in that realm.  I came across these fancy shiny SP Authentic inserts.  For this price and the presence of a parallel Ovie, I said what the heck.

Lots of tables had rows of toploadered singles sorted by team.  This one corner dealer had some that he hadn't priced, but instead was asking customers to make him an offer.  And he was taking pretty much all of them it seemed.  I figured I'd get these Jordan Addisons for about a buck a shot or slightly less, but it worked out even better - after I also picked out these:

Jayden Daniels was very present in a lot of showcases at this show.  I saw these initially and did a quick bit of market research to see how other dealers compared - or at least one other.  I asked the guy at the table across the room what his prices on the same Mosaics and a different insert were, and he said $10 each.  I immediately went back and pulled these out.  They totaled $20 with another Terry McLaurin card.  I handed them to the dealer and he replied "Just make it an even twenty".  I had to check later to verify that I basically got the Addisons for free.  I should have gotten that guy's business card or contact....  That brings my JD5 total to ten cards so far.

And the grande finale was this, the second set killer of the day.  Mantle/Mays "Managers' Dream" is the last card I need to finish my 1962 Topps set.  I don't usually buy graded cards, but lately they have bucked the trend that I always assumed they cost three crooked numbers just for being graded.  This one was nicer than any of the same grade on COMC and fits my set very well.  For a "4", it's well centered and has nice corners and no major flaws that I can see.  

Eric had a family deadline (that we didn't quite meet), so we left the show after a little over two hours.  That was enough.  We got lucky that the winter weather forecast was wrong, so it was clear sailing all the way there and back.  My thanks to Eric for the invite and ride.

Ginter Gap Cards #4

The fourth installment of Ginter Gap cards - custom A&G cards with subjects that Topps didn't include - uses the 2024 design.  

It's unfortunate that this tribute comes at the time of Bob Uecker's passing.  I won't go into his career and biography, since almost everyone that knows baseball knows who he is.  Just check out some of his appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson via YouTube if you want a good laugh.

I took a bit of a liberty and moved the Topps name from between the subject name and the A&G wordmark.  It seemed so crammed in there.  

This picture is somewhat more square, so there's a lot of headroom (and background to fill in when I removed the player that was in the original template image.)

You can see that Kirby is shown from halfway to his beltline, while Uecker's image stops just below the collar.  It didn't take me nearly as long as it typically does to create the framework and then integrate the image in it.  

I actually started with the name.  I moved the "U" on top of the "P" and then copied the "E" into the space that was created.  That gave me "UECKE", so I just had to find an "R".  It came from Gunnar Henderson.  That "R" was out in the middle of a bright background of the same color, so it pasted right in.

Then all that was left was to adjust and fill in the background around him.  And paste over the side "rails" where the image covered them, or extend the blue areas of his jacket to meet the side edges.  And voilà!

State Of The Collective Part 3: Distributions And ... Sales?

I briefly mentioned at the end of my last post that I have been trying to move two large batches of cards out of HiveMind Headquarters.  

The first was documented here and the major revenue has come from a COMC shipment, including a $350 graded Michael Jordan PSA 7, and a few unopened box and set sales.  There are still some sets left (of early 90's Classic 4-Sport and mid-90's basketball series) and a lot of bulk singles (a little baseball and football and a whole lot of basketball, all through the 90's decade).

That pile is on the second floor of my house.

 

The second is a stockpile of complete sets - factory and hand collated, and including traded/update sets in many cases - of baseball, primarily from 1988 thru 1990, with a few older single sets, plus Topps football sets from '87 thru '89.  The itemized list is below

1984 Topps set - verified and sold.
1985 Topps - no Gooden.  I have an agent hunting that one down.
1986 Topps - 2 hand collated sets, unverified.
1987 Donruss set - factory sealed.
1987 Fleer set - factory seal broken but set intact.
1987 Topps set - hand collated, unverified.
1988 Donruss - 10 sets, selling well
1988 Fleer - 10 sets and 10 Updates, selling well
1988 Score - 6 cases (8 sets each)!  10 Rookie & Traded sets
1988 Topps - 10 hand collated, 10 Traded sets, and 2 unopened wax boxes
1989 Bowman - 10 hand collated sets
1989 Donruss - 10 factory sets, 10 Traded sets
1989 Fleer - 10 factory sealed sets, 10 Update sets
1989 Score - 10 factory sealed sets, 9 Update sets
1989 Topps - 10 hand collated sets, 10 Traded sets, and 4 wax boxes
1989 Upper Deck factory sealed sets - sold first
1990 Donruss - 10 factory sets
1990 Fleer - 6 factory sets
1990 Score - 10 factory sets
1990 Topps - 9 hand collated sets

1987 Topps football - 10 hand collated sets
1988 Topps football - 10 hand collated sets
1989 Topps football - 9 factory sealed sets - sold in one purchase

Not everything is currently listed, but you can see what I have available by searching for my seller name qaplagca (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fss=1&_saslop=1&_sasl=qaplagca&LH_SpecificSeller=1)

Those are all still stacked in my living room on the ground floor as they were when they arrived.  My house is now officially full of cardboard, since my collection and tradeables fill the middle floor and these two hoards occupy the other two.

I'm amazed that sales have been so steady since I started listing things after New Year's.  1988 sets are the most popular so far - especially Fleer and Donruss.  I would have never though that was possible.  Not sure what the draw is except that I think I'm about the only seller that pairs the Fleer base set with the Update.  Plus, I assess what each item has actually sold for and set my prices accordingly.  A lot of these are bringing less than $10 each after eBay fees and me paying for shipping.  But it all adds up.  The original owner said just get what you can for them, and the revenue is already approaching what I thought the whole shebang would go for. 

It's a lot of work though.  Every day or two, a couple more sets sell.  So then I pull them from the boxes, and cut a bubble envelope flat and wrap it around the set.  Then I cover that in brown bag paper and print the label sticker.  I've had a couple orders of multiple sets - one was all nine '89 football sets, and another was three '88 Donruss sets.  Had to find the right size boxes for those.

Most sets are listed individually, but I did also offer a couple bundles of all the sets for a particular year.  I will probably do the same for the Traded/Updates.

I'm just glad the stuff is moving.  I was afraid I had burdened myself with a whole pile of unmovable merchandise for the next ten years.  Though at some point, I will take what's left of both batches to the local dealers I know to get rid of them.  

For the longest time, I thought the worst thing I could try to do was sell something, even if it is cards that I know so much about.  The one time I set up at a show, I didn't sell a damn thing.  So this has been a revelation.

I'm also doing halfway decent in my COMC sales as well.  Half of my total revenue was from the first batch above, but I had sent two submissions of my own stuff before that (and took back a portion of the first one that didn't sell).  Here's my progress:

Excluding the graded card sale, I'm averaging around $4 a sale.  And they're constantly trickling in all the time.  I put up 20% discounts on Thursdays that run through the next two weekends every few weeks.  The best part is I've exchanged 186 extra cards for 672 cards that I wanted for myself.  I had $400 store credit at one point until I put in another order.  (I paid the owner of the basketball stuff from my own fundage.)

I'm going to take a week off from work since I didn't really get a break during the holidays.  That way I can catch up on managing all this, plus my TCDB trades, and clearing off all the incoming singles I have for my sets and other collections.  And maybe thin out some of my total collection to make room for the stuff I don't have boxes or space for .

But that about wraps it up for what's happening at HiveMind Headquarters.  Stay tuned for the previous 200+ card COMC order, and other recent activities.

State Of The Collective Part 2: Assimilations

My last post pointed out so many things that I'm not doing in the hobby.  This one is about all that I actually am doing.  And regardless of what it felt like in the previous read, it's a lot.

Vintage Sets

1957 Topps

My main man Marv in Michigan steadily supplied me with most of the remainder of my 1957 list.  I still lack a few, including Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Brooks Robinson's RC, and several of the scarcer mid-series.  (273 JDavis  276 Pyburn  313 Parnell 339 Speake).  I'm looking for the right prices on the big ones, and just to find decent copies of the others.  They are elusive.

1962 Topps

When I finished my 1964 set, I officially started '62.  Marv provided so many nice cards, and did so basically on a monthly schedule, that '62 passed the '57 set and now stands with only the Mays/Mantle combo card left to finish it!  I think that's the fastest I've completed a vintage set, like ever.

1965 Topps

So then I found a binder at Chantilly that started me on 1965 Topps.  I got a big head start on the set, including many stars and almost all the team cards.  I only needed 12 of the 40+ high number short prints (they're not all SP's), and promptly got them from you know who.  I picked up a handful of the HOF'ers at the same show, and then got two more installments from Marv.  So now I'm down to Clemente, Spahn, Mays, Gibson, Oliva, Carlton RC, Banks, and Bob Uecker, plus a bunch of commons.

1961 Golden Press

I got a handful of these from a trade on the Database.  They were nice and that guy had amassed a pile of them.  Then I started finding them at the Chantilly show.  This is one set I'm only tracking on the TCDB, so you won't see it on this site.  I have 18 of the 33 cards.  Haven't tried to pay more than $5 each for them and still get nice looking specimens.  At some point I'll have to track down the book they go into, but for now, they're a stack of Card Savers.

Vintage football

I haven't added much of anything significant to my football setbuilds lately.  But I've got a few sets still plodding along.  A couple of them fall into the "wait until prices come back down to 2019 levels" category ~ namely 1958 Topps (Jim Brown), and maybe 1971 Topps (Bradshaw).  But I'm down to just a few on all four sets: 1958 - 4, 1968 - 5, 1970 - 1 variation, and 1971 - 2.

Vintage Hockey

Picked up a few big stars here and there this year, including the Mario above.  Still need a Parent for the '74-'75 set.  Also down to one on '73-'74 (Orr AS upgrade), '75-'76 (Orr again), '86-'87 (Roy RC), and '79-'80 (that Gretzky guy).  I actually haven't finished all the '80s hockey yet.  And I'm still working on tons of newer sets too, and Capitals.

More Modern Sets

The bulk of my wants are, of course, newer products.  Every trade, COMC order, shop visit, and show add to the tallys.  

These are some of the sets I have going that I don't even have boxes or shelf space for any more.  Most of these have stacked up via trades.  A couple of them are Database only....

...As are most of these.  I have built the bulk of the 1985 inserts from 2020 Series 2 and Update, as well as a damaged block of 1988 Score, plus the 2008 Update baseball and full set of football.  Recently I threw on the 2015 A&G set since I have almost none of it.  Did the same for 2005 Upper Deck too.  They have all been wildly successful and haven't cost me a dime.  All I give is my extras that I want to move out anyway.

One of the little set-ish collections I started this year was all the parallels from 2019 Topps that show the World Series champion Nationals.  I'll start a binder with all these down the line.  I've traded for a few, and got a bunch on a COMC order. 

Player Collections

My favorite hunt at shows and shops is for my player collections.  Almost every time, I get a few more odd things for them. 

This is why I wish there were more sets with retired players in them.  But then I might complain about having too much new stuff to chase.

There are a few guys that I try for EVERYTHING.  But usually they have short checklists, or I got lucky and got a head start.

Two of my most thorough PCs are football players.  I added several new ones to my Priest Holmes collection on the last COMC order - which I'll post after the conclusion to this series.  I started another one for local guy Jordan Addison this year.  I've been getting his stuff in chunks too.  Buys, trades and show purchases have built up my total to nearly 75 initially, but then in that same recent COMC order, I just about doubled it to 141.  He's only tracked on the Database too.  There are WAY too many to keep straight any other way.

The latest addition was also originated on that order.  Rashad Ross has played for three teams that I follow in his career - Washington Redskins, the AAF's Arizona Hotshots, and the 2020 XFL's DC Defenders.  He was drafted by the Bears, so that's what most of his cards depict.  He's only got 144 total cards, and a lot of those are rookie autos and 1/1's etc. with Chicago - most of which I'll ignore unless cheap.

I also dabbled into the comic realm.  I have a co-worker who loves Captain America, so I search out his cards for her when I can.  And in the course of that search, I have found a few of my favorite cyborg soldier along the way.  He's only got about 16 cards that I want, so it's a very finite PC.

That's not the complete list of collections I'm working on, but it's all the major highlights.  Most collectors would probably specialize in certain parts, but I'm just crazy this way....

Auspicious Beginnings And A Melancholy End

It usually doesn't take a whole lot for me to collect a certain player.  But in the case of Brian Matusz, it was a lot more than usual.  I never met him in person, but the connection was closer than most other players I follow.  He wasn't a superstar, but I rooted for the guy more than anyone else I ever watched.

Brian was found deceased in his home this past Monday, January 8.  Phoenix authorities are still investigating and have not released the cause of death.  

As described in the linked article above and many others, Matusz was an Orioles starter for a few years and did OK, but then extended his career in 2012 by moving to relief.  He continued in this role for a few more years.  He was well known for being able to strike out David "Big Papi" Ortiz 13 times out of their 29 matchups with only four hits and no homers.  He was traded to the Braves after his numbers declined in 2016, but didn't last long.  He caught on with the Cubs just enough to earn a World Series ring.  He spent a couple more years in the minors and Mexican League before retiring in 2019.

I first saw him when he was with my hometown minor league Frederick Keys.  I was at his debut game there, and then also happened to be at his major league debut in Detroit while visiting Stuart.  Ironically, that was also the same date (Aug 4) as the debut of another of my Oriole PC's Mike Mussina.  During his time here, Matusz lived in the neighborhood in Frederick that was managed by another good friend of mine.

So all that inspired one of my first "supercollections".  Here is my attempt to show it all to you.  Please forgive the reflections.  I can't ever take photos without reflections fogging up the images no matter what angle or lighting I use.  I'll highlight some of the more interesting cards.

I've got most everything in top loaders in chronological order.  These are minor league and Team USA issues from Razor, Upper Deck, and Obak among others. 

I've got the whole name in these signed Lettermans.  Though it is a hybrid of both sets.

These were some of the first autographs I found of his.  This particular one came a bit later than the rest, since it's only numbered out of 25.

I've been lucky to find almost all these UD USA baseball jerseys, patches and autos.  Even the low numbered ones.

I found these Obak printing plates at their table at the National one year.  They had almost every card in this series along with all the plates for each.  Not sure if they do that regularly, or they were shutting things down.  I'm glad to have them either way.

A lot of these parallels take me a minute to figure out the differences.  This one (and the green one like it) are die cut versions.  (Again, the reflections on the penny sleeves).

His 2010s start with a bunch of Bowmans.  

...and continue with Topps issues including Chrome and eTopps.

I got one without and one with the sealed case. 

Sorry for the blurry shot of the Bowie Baysox team set.  He's on top, so there's no reason to open it.

Transitioning from 2010 to 2011 starting with Upper Deck, then back to Bowman and Topps again.  

That Triple Threads jersey auto really caught the light.  The Futures Game swatch is how all GU's should be.

Haven't seen many other gold Upper Decks after this one.

He got on the checklist for these online 2011 Diamond Die Cuts.  

Lots of colorful shiny-ness in the 2011's too.

Some really fancy stuff in the 2011-2012 range.  A little bit of everything.

Don't remember where I bought this A&G printing plate for that year's mini.  These are really nice looking, though.

These are all logo- and photo-less issues by Upper Deck.  Not sure what ostriches have to do with Baltimore baseball, but this is what you get with exclusive contracts.

My 2013's include more printing plates, colorful parallels, and minis.

Here are the standard size plates...

...and the mini one.  (Could have put a reference card in the photo I guess.)

Angled this shot to keep the reflections at bay.  Rainbows are pretty cool.

Probably should have tried that with these too.  Ah well, you get the gist.

Ooh, shiny...

And a closer look at the stamps on the lower ones. 

To cap it all off - his bobblehead in the box.

I'm number one on the Database among Matusz collectors, of which I don't imagine there are many who seek him out specifically.  His passing just fuels my ambition to find everything they made of him.

Rest In Peace Brian.  You've been immortalized in cardboard at the very least.