Cards From Around The Blogosphere

A bit of a shorty this week, since I am WAY behind on the scanning and the posting. If you sent me cards in the past few weeks, and haven't gotten anything in return yet, your cards should be shipping out no later than Wed. Hopefully I don't miss anyone. Typically, I am on top of this stuff, but life has bee stressful the past few weeks, and as a result my writing, or at least the frequency of it has suffered as a result. Sorry dudes!

First up to bat are a couple of cards from Grant, the Old School Pack Buster. Grant and I have traded before, and he is a very generous trader. Along with a fat stack of random O's were the following 2 cards, both of which I really like:

2009 UD Goodwin Champions Brian Roberts black printing plate 1/1

This is now my 3rd one of one, and all 3 of them are printing plates. Brian Roberts wears #1, and this card is not only his jersey number, but the print run is also his jersey number. By eBay standards, this is a triple 1 of 1, which means it's value is infinite. The national debt could potentially be repaid with this card. I am now the most powerful man in the world thanks to the power of this card.

2009 Topps 206 Adam Jones Old Mill back mini

Why do I never remember to scan the back of these things, when that's all that matters? I now have the regular and Old Mill back versions of this card. It would be cool to try and complete myself a little rainbow, but odds of finding the Magician back are slim to none, especially since there are only 8 of them. I've got a feeling Adam Jones is going to have a VERY big season this year.

Next up is a card from Mike, of JD's Wild Cardz. I sent him a crummy Papelbon sticker auto (ewww!) and in return got this sweet Ichiro relic that is already on it's way to Bud, of First Day Issue, to satisfy a trade from a couple weeks back.

2009 Topps 206 Ichiro Old Mill jersey relic

Last up are some cards from I Am Joe Collector's group breaks. Along with my monthly Orioles slot, I also participated in his UD Premier Football break, and picked up a second monthly slot at a discount. The Athletics were offered up for $10, and I jumped all over it. As per usual, I didn't exactly "kill it" this month, but it surely could have been worse.

2009 Topps 206 David Hernandez Piedmont autograph

It's a shame that Topps had to include a second auto set into 206 that uses those horrible rainbow stickers, especially since these framed mini, on-card autos look so damned good. Hernandez had a decent rookie campaign last season, and will either be the 5th starter, or possibly a long reliever this season. He has a plus fastball, and with another season or two of grooming, could be a decent if not good starter somewhere.

2007 UD Exquisite Erik Bedard gold parallel #'d /75

Wow, what a stupid card this is. It's about as thick as a patch card for essentially no reason at all. Why Bedard was in a product called Exquisite Rookies in 2007 is absolutely beyond me. I tthink his rookie season was 5 years earlier, in 2002.

2008 Upper Deck Premier Ed Reed Premier Stitchings silver manupatch #'d 8/30

Speaking of stupid cards.... This is the second Premier football break I've participated in, and the second crappy manupatch I've received as a result. At least it's a Raven this time. These cards would have been infinitely better with on-card autos at the bottom.

2009 Topps 206 Jimmie Foxx short print

Look who finally remembered to scan the back. I got a whole bunch of Athletics base cards from this break, if anyone is interested, and I also received 2 copies of the card pictured above. Having already owned one prior to this break, I now have triples of this card. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Well, there you have it, this week's edition of cards from around the blogosphere. I'm hoping to post quite a bit over the next few days, and there will be another Pristine video break, along with a major announcement thrown in there somewhere. Stay tuned.

Trading With Myself.... Sort Of

Since right around the beginning of this year, I have been selling some cards on checkoutmycards. While progress has been slow, I have managed $28.50 in sales so far, and this is how I spent it (including shipping).

1969 Topps Johnny Unitas

Sheer perfection on cardboard. This is a great looking card of one of the games greatest quarterbacks. I was fortunate enough to meet Johnny U a few times, shortly before he passed, and he was a very kind man.

2006 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Derrick Mason autograph #5/99

Truly a signature that could not be contained by any stinkin' sticker. As you can see, Mason's scribblings venture outside of the signing area, but at least you can still see it. I heart on card autos.

2005 Fleer Patchworks Dontrelle Willis/Josh Beckett dual patch #21/25

The D-Train on the front, with a great looking 4-color patch

Beckett on the back, with a great looking 3 color patch. If this isn't the ultimate Marlins fan trade bait, I don't know what is.

2008 Topps Chrome Ichiro Trading Card History refractor

A card I have wanted since the first time I laid eyes on it. The Trading Card History subset was pretty solid, and the refractors are particularly awesome. I believe this card is based on a Japanese Menko design from the 1950's.

2002 Bowman Chrome Reprints 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. refractor

This will most likely serve as trade fodder for one of the 2 Mariners fans I owe cards to.

All in all I think this is a stellar haul for $28 delivered. Lately a lot of people have been ranting about the excessive shipping costs on COMC, especially when compared to Sportlots & eBay. While shipping may not be cheap, in my opinion you are able to find better deals on checkoutmycards, especially on higher-end "hits", than you are on either of the other 2 sites. If I had purchased these cards individually on eBay, shipping would have easily exceeded $10, and may have been in the $15-$20 range. For instance, the other day, I picked up a Markakis/Adam Jones dual relic from Unique for $7.50. The card has a stated BV of $30 (ha!), routinely fetches over $10 on eBay, and would most likely cost a minimum of $2 to ship. I just saved almost $5 by picking this card up on COMC. Sportlots is another name that people often bring up. To be honest, I don't have that much experience with them, but I know that they do not give you the option to submit an offer for cards you want. You are stuck paying whatever the seller is asking, which in some instances, is simply too much. I've also found that a lot of listings on Sportlots don't include a scan or picture of the card. This might not be a big deal to some people, but if you're purchasing a patch card made by Upper Deck, don't you at least want to know if the edges are clean? They most likely aren't.

Opinions are like Gellmans (no offense).... and everyone is entitled to think whatever they'd like, and obviously shop wherever they want to. For me, right now, that place is checkoutmycards.

Old School From COMC

You've heard me sing the praises of checkoutmycards.com in the past, and I will spare you the plug this time. The cards should speak for themselves. Lately I've been looking to beef up the retired player team autograph collection, and will always pick up vintage cards for a good price, especially those of guys enshrined in Cooperstown.

1959 Topps Red Schoendienst

For $2? Are you kidding me? No. Brainer.

2004 Upper Deck Legends Eddie Watt "Timeless Teams" autograph

I detailed Eddie's career a bit in a post from earlier this week. It's cool to have his autograph, and it didn't cost me more than a couple of dollars. I really like this release, even if Upper Deck did just recycle the design for '08 Timeline, and it's a prime example of an autograph card done right. The signature is on card, and there isn't a ton of gaudy foilboard or shiny crap to distract from the excellent photo and clean autograph of Mr. Watt.

2004 Upper Deck Legends Boog Powell "Timeless Teams" autograph

Same set, better player. There was a giant hole in my autograph collection that has now been filled. Booger is a Baltimore legend, and anytime you can pick up an on-card auto of a former league MVP who also happens to play for your favorite team....

2001 Topps Archives Paul Blair Rookie Reprints refractor autograph

This is my second Paul Blair autograph. The other one is also a refractor, but is from 2003 Finest. Both of them cost me less than $2, and both of them are on-card. Can't beat that! I am DONE with sticker autographs, and the majority of them are being sold and/or traded from my collection.

Also picked up this beaut, which while not being vintage, or an auto, and despite containing Miguel Tejada, who is one of my least favorite O's of all time, is still a pretty sweet card.

2006 Topps Triple Threads Tejada/Murray/Robinson triple relic

Check out that 3-color Brooksie goodness! I've said it before, and I'll say it again... sticker autos do not belong in high-end products, and that's while Triple Threads autos suck. The relics however... are pretty nice, and this is a perfect example of that point.

Enjoy these posts while you can, cause you never know when they may be gone. Read whatever you would like into that extremely vague statement. Chances are it means nothing.... or everything. It's all subjective.

My Favorite On Card Autos

A response to Dinged Corners. Here are my favorite "on card" autographs in the ol' collection.

The first 3 are in no particular order.

2003 Topps Finest Brooks Robinson Finest Moments autograph

Apologies for such a small image. These are old scans (pre blog) and the resolution setting is a lot lower. Almost nothing looks better than sharpie on a refractor. Look at that, it's beautiful!

2001 Topps Finest Fusion Frank Robinson autograph

Once again, lo siento for the small scan. This is my only Frank Robinson auto, and it also happens to be on-card. Images do not do this card justice. It's much more stunning in person.

2007 Allen & Ginter Nick Markakis autograph

What list of top on-card autos would be complete without at least one A&G card? It's my favorite autograph, of my favorite player. It even comes in a pretty frame.

Honorable Mention:

2009 Allen & Ginter Burke Kenny red ink autograph

It's a red ink (novelty) auto. Nothing else need be said.

Sticker auto exemption:

At least it's a clear sticker. You probably can't even tell from the scan, but trust me, it's a sticker.

So, there you have it, a few of my absolute favorite autographs. While some of us (me included) believe all autos should be on-card, it is a reality that we are (sadly) VERY far away from. The good news is that there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, and some companies are starting to realize that collectors don't want a piece of scotch tape that's been scribbled on and then stuck to a card.