30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Flea Market Finds #89: Dollar Days

When:  Sunday, July 26th
Where:  Capitol Flea Market
What:  Bobble, Bat, and Signed Memorabilia
How Much?:  $13

Purchase #1:  2003 Kids Club Stomper Bobble Belly $1


This is going to sounds crazy, but this just might be my favorite flea market find of 2015.  I have been targeting this bobble belly for a few years now, but they're always so expensive.  Earlier in the week, one that I targeted in my eBay sniper program, closed for $40 (+ $5.95 shipping).


I had entered a maximum bid of $15.05 and obviously fell short of owning it.  But the Bobble Gods were watching down on me and I found one standing on a lady's table for a dollar.  Yep.  A buck.

Thank you Bobble Gods!


Purchase #2:  Uncertified Autographs $2

Flea markets are similar to retail stores in the sense that there are hard working sales people and of course lazy ones.  My favorites are the ones who sing, whistle, or have soothing sayings like "pasale´, pasale´, pasale´", because they provide free entertainment.

One guy was singing "cheap, cheap, cheap... everything one dollar" to the tune of an 80's television show.  So I had no choice but stop and see what he had.  He had a variety of stuff like mugs, CD's, towels, and framed photos.  One of the photographs was this shot of Lawrence Taylor tackling Eric Dickerson:


Upon closer inspection, you can a signature that resembles LT's.  Is it real?  I have no idea, but for a dollar, it was worth the risk.  The guy also had this 49ers frisbee with five signatures on it:


I figured these were real, because there's no reason to forge any of these players' signatures.

If my buddy Mike thinks the LT is legit, then I'll have him submit it to PSA at the next major show.  As for the frisbee... I have a co-worker who gives me a lot of A's stadium giveaways.  She's a huge 49ers fan, so maybe she'll want this for her classroom.  If not, I'm sure one of my students will give it a good home.


Purchase #3:  H&B Grand Slam Bat Ed Mathews Model $5


I love bats.  Not sure why exactly, since they're a pain in the butt to store and display when you live in a 1,300 square foot townhouse.  But I've quietly been building a bat collection.  My first three were autographed by some of my favorite players:  Tony Gwynn, Kurt Suzuki, and Frank Thomas.

But this one isn't autographed and it's not a model of one of my favorite players.  It is however cool looking, so I grabbed it.


I wasn't able to find any information on this specific bat, but I'd guess that it's from the 60's or 70's.  It's obviously not a professional model, however it gives off a vintage feel and will serve as a corner decoration in my office.

It's just a shame that I didn't find it on somebody's dollar table.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

6 comments:

Tony L. said...

All of those finds are super cool! Great hunting, Fuji!

Mark Hoyle said...

Cool finds Fuji. Not a bat expert by any means. This looks like 70's to me. Very similar to a few I used to own and use.

Hackenbush said...

Judging by this guide your bat is from 1960-1963:
http://keymancollectibles.com/Louisvilleslugger.htm
$5 seems quite fair.

Matt said...

Cool!

BobWalkthePlank said...

I think bobble heads are the ultimate yard sale/flea market find. In my area I would always find them at yard sales for pennies on the dollar. Many people just see them as cheap toys, but as eBay will tell you, they hold significant value.

Jason Presley said...

I understand that more and more every time that Yakima Bears SGA Dave Henderson bobble head pops up and sells for over $200. That is one I will never own.