That's me.
About a month ago, I wrote a post announcing the end of my relationship with the Capitol Flea Market. After a very uneventful visit, I had an epiphany and realized that it was no longer worth my time.
Fast forward a few weeks.
My buddy Mike was in town for the Serramonte Mall Show. The mall doesn't open up until 10am on Sundays, so he asked me if I wanted to walk around Capitol to kill time. I probably should have passed, but...
I couldn't resist the temptation.
The worst part is I enjoyed it and actually found stuff to buy. The question is... will I go back?
Let's see if my purchases are worth future visitations...
Purchase #1: Two LP's $4
Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy (1973)
I'm not a diehard Zeppelin or Beatles fan, but I appreciate both bands and their contributions to music history.
The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)
Both of these album sleeves are iconic in design... and at two bucks a piece (paid $5 for my other copy of Abbey Road).. it was a no brainer.
Purchase #2: Two boxes of Cards $10
I found a guy who had close to twenty thousand baseball cards ranging from the early 2000's to a 2015 Topps.
After 30 minutes of digging through his stuff, I filled up two boxes (550ct/800ct) worth of baseball cards.
More than half of the cards were 2007 Topps Moments and Milestones (btw... I hate this product:
There was also a bunch of 2005 Donruss Leather and Lumber, some 2005 Topps Chrome, and a handful of 2005 Topps Finest commons.
The rest were hand picked inserts, parallels, a few base cards of players I collect, plus a small stack of autographs and memorabilia cards.
Honestly there weren't any high end cards in the lot, but I was able to add a few cards to my Prime Number PC:
Plus anyone who reads these posts knows that I lack the willpower to resist framed parallels and shiny refractors:
Purchase #3: Six Card Lot $10
There's a guy who buys storage units who always has cards at Capitol, but I'm so used to his inflated prices that I don't bother to look at his stuff anymore.
However this time around, Mike saw a 10 box case of 1996 Finest Star Wars boxes. The guy wanted $100 for them and after a quick eBay search, he took him up on his offer.
Mike also spent another $400 with the guy on a collection that featured a Derek Jeter autograph, a Peyton Manning autograph, a PSA 10 Steph Curry rookie card, and an MLB authenticated Mike Trout signed ball.
He brought out more cards, which I was hesitant to dig through... but he kept insisting he'd give me a good deal. So I pulled out these six cards:
After going back and forth, we settled on $10. I was especially happy to pick up the 1960 Topps Don Larsen for my vintage binder. The front looks amazing...
But the back has seen better days.
Purchase #4: 1996 Finest Star Wars Boxes $20
Until then... let's get back to the initial question... will I go back?
No and yes. I don't have any immediate plans on returning. My feelings on this flea market haven't changed and I'd rather catch up on sleep or grab breakfast with a friend. However... I have a few friends who still enjoy this flea market, so if they were to go... I'd consider tagging along.
Well that's it for now. I hope all of you enjoyed a safe 4th of July holiday.
Happy Thursday and sayonara!
17 comments:
Love those LP's Fuji
Tell your friend I'll take a box of Finest too!!
Great buys on the albums! Love that $10 deal.
I agree that 2007 Topps Moments and Milestones is an obnoxious product but if you paid only $10 for all those SN cards I'd say that's a great price, no matter the set.
I know addiction well: I, too, am trying to come to grips with the fact that the glory days of my local flea market are pretty much over. But I'm still considering going back at some point over the next couple weeks. And did I mention I just went to a card show four days ago? Addiction is real.
Nice pickups, especially that Bo refractor.
You got some great deals, the albums alone were worth the trip.
I work with a bunch of addiction doctors. I can pass along their numbers :).
All those deals seem pretty good. While expensive, the $400 for the Jeter, Curry etc lot that your friend purchased seems like a good deal. Curry stuff is outrageously expensive.
2005 Leather and Lumber was a fun set to collect.
Big Macs-my addiction-I swear them off but I find I am unable to resist. The Topps M&M is a horrible set but I am drawn to picking up all of the Pujols ones-but man did you score on the inserts-well done.
There could be worse addictions. Ha! I love the stuff you dig up.....maybe all us followers to your blog should stop reading and getting jealous....so you stop buying and making us so envious! If anything, your "addiction" is appreciated as we get to live vicariously through you.
mark hoyle - thanks. it was tough to pass them up for $2 each. only downside is the guy wrote his initials on the cover. i think most of us did that back in the day.
jedijeff - he's already started flipping them on eBay. when i checked earlier in the week, he had already sold a box.
john miller - thanks john!
ketchupman36 - yeah... my thoughts exactly. i dislike that product so much, i've thought about getting my frustrations out in a post
nick - maybe we need to start card collectors anonymous ;) can't wait to read about your flea market finds should you decide to go
corky - totally agree. between hanging with my homie and the album... everything after that was gravy
matthew scott - let me know if any of them have siblings in california. if you need singles from the 2005 L&L let me know your wantlist.
Brady - Are we talking McGwire or actual McDonald's Big Macs? I love both.
SumoMenkoMan - Nice. I'm planning on living vicariously through you as you walk around those German flea markets. Can't wait to see what kind of deals you dig up.
My addictions are plentiful. I've beaten most of them and still battle the rest.
The vinyl is a steal. I've been a fan of the Beatles since they hit this side of the Atlantic. I still listen to Zep on occasion.
I've have several vintage with that same glue dot 'pattern' Looks to be a thing back in the day.
Your purchase inspired me to listen to "Houses Of The Holy"... and then to listen to the first disk of Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" because I wanted to hear the *song* "Houses Of The Holy". Not sure why the song isn't on the album of the same name, but that's the way it is.
commishbob - i also have a few of the black dot vintage... and was thinking people would glue their cards to some kind of scrapbook or photo album page. maybe someone out there knows.
shlabotnikreport - now that's some serious zeppelin knowledge. i have physical graffiti too. that was my first zeppelin tape i ever purchased. i'd keep playing and rewinding "kashmir". still my favorite song of theirs.
2 bucks each for 2 classic albums? Nice job on the finds!
Thanks! It definitely started things off on the right note.
I know all about the collecting addiction. I've drifted away from sports cards a little bit. Everyone that I collected has retired and I haven't found anything to draw me back in. Also, Panini has killed two of the sports that I enjoyed collecting. I have been having a lot of fun with WWE trading cards. Topps is doing a great job with those.
My main collecting focus has shifted to Funko Pops. They're cheap, they're fun, and they hit a ton of my interests. The only problem is that they take up a lot more space than baseball cards do.
Hey Offy! Glad to see you're still around. Funko Pops are cool. I got into it either last year or the year before. Had to quit buying them, b/c of space. Took most of them into my classroom. The only one I keep at home are the ones from my Smuggler's Bounty boxes.
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