30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Saturday Night Five: Card Show Purchases

I've been avoiding the flea market the past few weeks in an effort to save money... just in case I found things at the Serramonte Mall Sports Card, Toys, and Collectibles Show.  It comes around three (maybe four) times a year and is easily my favorite show to attend.  I love the fact that there's a little bit of everything, so it's rare that I walk away empty-handed.

Today was no exception.  Tonight I'll list out my five favorite purchases.

Now if you're familiar with my personality, then you know that I'm sort of a bargain hunter and a dime box kind of guy.  In fact, 90% of my time at the show was spent digging through dime boxes.  However none of those purchases were able to crack today's list.  I was actually really surprised when I laid everything out on the floor and started ranking my purchases.

It's getting late, so let's jump into it.

#1:  1967 Topps Posters Set $30


The guy I've been buying all of the '75 Topps minis from didn't bring any minis for me.  But he had recently purchased a small vintage collection that contained this set.  


Most of the posters have two or three pin holes, but overall the set is pretty nice.  The Boog Powell is the only poster that will need to be replaced, because it's been taped.  As you can see he was looking to get $40, which seemed like a fair price to begin with.  But since I'm a regular, he dropped it to $30.  I couldn't resist picking up so many vintage hall of famers for such an affordable price.


Purchase #2:  Barry Bonds Autographed Ball $55


I'm the furthest thing from a San Francisco Giants fan, but the fact is... Barry Bonds was fun to watch.  Back in the day, I'd drop everything just to watch him step up to the plate.  And regardless of whether or not people think he deserves to make it into the hall of fame, he's one of the greatest hitters of all-time


My friend purchased several of these PSA/DNA autographed balls and was nice enough to pass the savings down to me.  The ball will go nicely with my autographed hat.  Now all I need is an autographed bat to go with them.


Purchase #3:  Bruce Lee Bobble Head $25


Here's another piece of San Francisco Giants memorabilia.  This time it's a SGA featuring San Francisco's very own Bruce Lee.  I have wanted one of these since they passed these out in 2012, but they've always been way out of my price range.  A guy had a pair of them marked at $30 each.  I offered him $25 for one and he accepted.


Purchase #4: Masanori Murakami Statue $18


I'll wrap up my San Francisco Giants purchases with one more SGA that was passed out last month honoring the 50th Anniversary of Murakami's MLB debut.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, he was the first Japanese player to play in the MLB.


I purchased it from the same vendor who sold me the Bruce Lee bobble.  His asking price was $25, but he gave me a $7 discount since I purchased something from him earlier.


Purchase #5:  2013 Five Star Yoenis Cespedes Auto $15



It's taken me over six months, but I've finally added this card to my collection.  I was so surprised at the guy's price, that I didn't even bother haggling with him.  Cespedes has been showing off his cannon a lot this year and is currently on a twelve game hitting streak.  I'm very excited to finally cross this card off of my wish list, without breaking the bank.

Well that's it for tonight.  I'll share my dime box and other smaller purchases in another post on another day.

Until then... happy Saturday and sayonara!

17 comments:

arpsmith said...

Great stuff, especially the Giants stuff! I need to make it up north for one of these shows.

Stealing Home said...

Digging the HOF posters.
Bonds: BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

night owl said...

There's no way I'd buy anything connected to Bonds.

The'64 Topps Giants is a terrific looking set. I just got my hands on a couple of them recently and they're beautiful.

Hackenbush said...

Love the 1967 Topps posters. I think the only one I have is in my Ron Santo collection.

Tony L. said...

I like that Murakami statue. It's a really neat celebration of the first Japanese player in the major leagues.

Nick said...

I had no idea Murakami got his own statue. Nice way of honoring a guy who doesn't get remembered a while lot these days.

Commishbob said...

Love those posters! Great star power for that price. I think I only have the Brooks Robinson. I need to find the Frank Robinson. I'm jealous.

Greg Zakwin said...

Great gets, congrats on crossing off some white whales! The Bonds ball and Cespedes were great steals. Barry actually has a really nice John Hancock.

And it's always great when a dealer has something priced so reasonably you don't even feel the need to haggle. Rare, but awesome.

Mark Hoyle said...

I was just at a flea market today. A guy had a pile of the 67 posters ... He also wanted 40 bucks. I passed. I already have the few I want

jacobmrley said...

Oh my, that Cespedes is SWEEEEEEEEEEET! And those posters for $30? Damn...

Fuji said...

I don't think you'd be disappointed. There's a ton of SF Giants stuff @ Serramonte.

Fuji said...

There's a bobble that I want even more. Unfortunately it's more than twice the price.

Fuji said...

Very true. This set is very affordable, so Frank shouldn't set you back too much. Best of luck on your purchase.

Fuji said...

Oh man... I'd be all over that stack!

Fuji said...

Lol... I should have known I'd receive a little heat for the Bonds ball from Dodgers fans. I'm sure Giants fans will boo when I show off my Kershaw autograph.

Fuji said...

Yeah the 64 Topps Giants are very cool. A little more pricey than the 67 Topps posters for sure.

Fuji said...

Yeah... it doesn't happen very often.