30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Don't Call It A Comeback

I'm still enjoying my vacation.  However a few things have happened over the past month that I wanted documented for personal reasons.  Plus I wanted to make sure I didn't completely drop off the face of the blogging world... so here's a brief life update post.


Back on March 11th my best friend's family said goodbye to their eleven year old Bernese Mountain Dog.  I was fortunate to see Chibi the week before.  I will forever treasure the last time we hung out as she wagged her tail in excitement when she saw me and tunneled between my legs.



She lived a good life, was well loved, produced many great memories, and will always be remembered.  I was truly lucky to have been a small part of her life.  Rest in peace, Chibi.

In other news... I recently received my second vaccination shot.  It's perfect timing, because the school board voted a couple of weeks ago and we'll be returning to our classrooms in the near future.  It'll be nice to be back in front of students for the first time in over a year.

As for hobby news...

I've been taking advantage of this hobby boom and unloading some stuff taking up space.  Plus a few duplicates and singles that don't really fit into my collection.


I'll start off with some old Junk Wax Era basketball boxes I had sitting in my classroom for years.  They were used for a "mean", "median", and "mode" lesson I'd teach during summer schoolA few months ago, I noticed that the 1990-91 Fleer boxes were selling for almost $200 each on eBay.  That's when I went to school, picked them up, and listed them on Craigslist.

Can you believe someone paid me $400 for this lot?  I assure you that I'm not a flipper, but there was no way I could pass up that opportunity.

Moving along to eBay sales...

2018 Topps A&G #83

Thanks to Nick over at Dime Boxes... I discovered that people are going nuts over this Cryptocurrency card.  It inspired me to dig through my Ginter box where I found this lone copy and flipped it within 24 hours.

People have also been paying good money for 1990 Marvel Universe holograms...

1990 Impel Marvel Universe Holograms #MH1

A few years ago I purchased a bunch of these sets for around 25¢ each.  The past few weeks, I've managed to sell two sets ($200 & $220).  It looks like these sets are starting to settle... as I've been forced to lower my asking price, but I hope to move most of these at a huge profit margin to help recoup some of the money I've spent on card purchases over the past 40 years (without digging into my personal collection).

My two largest eBay sales were PSA 10 Shaquille O'Neal rookie cards that I purchased on COMC about a decade ago for under $3.50 each.  Each fetched over $300.  I'm hoping to move a few more, but like the Marvel hologram sets prices have begun to slowly drop.

It would be cool to flip a few more of these, but I'm honestly not in any rush to move them.  It's not like I'm trying to liquidate my collection or anything.  That being said... I have significantly cut back on hobby purchases.

In fact... this Hideo Nomo is the only card I've purchased since the first week of February:

2004 Topps Chrome Refractor #92

I have wanted a refractor version of this card for at least ten years... and a recent post over on Night Owl Cards motivated me to track down this copy on eBay for $3.60 (tax & shipping included).  It's funny... if I saw this sitting at a show in a box with a $3.60 price tag... I probably would have walked away.  But my recent eBay sales have allowed me to splurge a little.

Although I haven't been purchasing cards doesn't mean I haven't added some new stuff to my collection.  I'll round out this post with a trio of PWE's and a couple of care packages from some fellow bloggers and a supporter of the blog.

Let's kick things off with the infamous Menendez Brothers' rookie card:

1990-91 Hoops #205

This is one of those cards that became an overnight sensation a few years ago.  I was hoping to stumble across this card in a dime box when I eventually return to walking around flea markets and card shows.  


But thanks to P-town Tom (Waiting 'til Next Year) I don't have to live in hope.  He's generously donated a copy to my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder.

Next up is an awesome custom card created by Gregory (Nine Pockets):


Back in September, he showed off some of his 1974 Topps All-Star non-sports customs and I had suggested he create a Battlestar Galactica version.  The result was these two beauties on one card.


And another nice addition to my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder.

Gregory also sent along a few wax stained gems:


My Damaged Card PC is starting to get out of hand, so I've had to be much more selective in what I add to the binder.  None of these managed to bump any of the current cards, so if any of you are interested in any of these... just let me know down in the comment section and I'll send them your way.  Just make sure to thank Gregory.

The final PWE was sent to me by Elliptical Man (The View from the Third Floor).  Inside were a variety of cards, but the one that stood out to me the most was this card:

2020 A&G Reach for the Sky #RFTS-2

It was the last card I needed for my Reach for the Sky set:


When it comes to card collecting, there are few things more satisfying than crossing off the last card you need for your set build.

Here are the other six cards he sent in the PWE:


I'm in the process of creating a late 80's binder... and the Carlton will be one of the inaugural additionsAnd who doesn't appreciate a new Ryan Leaf rookie card?

Next up was a 400ct. box sent to me by another Tom, who I'll refer to as Reader Tom.  The box contained 106 cards for my 1984 Topps baseball set build, including these big names:


With Tom's help, I was able go from 76.3% completed to 89.7.  Just look at all of the red:


And rounding out my new card acquisitions is this beautiful hall of fame autograph for my Lefty PC:

2003 Topps Retired Signature Edition Autograph #TA-WS

Gavin (Baseball Card Breakdown) held a contest that involved a little investigative work and the movie The Shining.  If you're interested in reading the details, click here.  Simply put... luck was on my side and I won.

He had three different prize packages to choose from, but to me this card was a no-brainerWarren Spahn is one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all-time.  Unfortunately... he passed away in 2003... so there aren't a ton of certified, pack pulled autographs oh his out there.  The good news is he was one of those athletes who enjoyed signing for his fans, so there are plenty of autographs out there at very reasonable prices.

As cool as the Spahn is... the highlight of the package was this bonus autograph he included:


I'm not sure of the story behind this card, but it's the latest addition to my Blogger Autograph PC.


It's extra special, because it comes with some of Gavin's artwork.

And rounding out his care package was another one of Gavin's customs:


This is probably the 20th custom created by Gavin that's been added to my Sports Card Smorgasbord binder over the years.  You've gotta admire his creativity... and of course generosity.

Thank you P-town Tom, Gregory, Elliptical Man, Reader Tom, and Gavin for these generous additions to my card collection.  And thank you for all of those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to come back and check out my blog.

I'm not ready to come back on a regular basis, but my plan is to write "life update" posts from time to time.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

27 comments:

Brett Alan said...

As a fellow teacher (although goodness knows when/if I'm going to teach again, as I decided not to go the online route), I'm always up for a good mean/median/mode lesson! One of my students even taught me a song, to the tune of "Frere Jacques":

Mean is average,
Mean is average,
Mode means most,
Mode means most,
Median's in the middle,
Median's in the middle,
Range: High-low,
Range: High-low.

Then there was how I would teach remainders with Pixy Stix.

Athena will always mean Sharon Valerii to me!

The Lost Collector said...

Smart to take advantage and make some $$ from things that were easy to move. Nice work!

Sorry to hear about the Bernese.

Jafronius said...

Congrats on getting the second shot and those big time profits! I knew you couldn't stay away too long...just a "how you doin?" post is good enough!

The Diamond King said...

Glad you could get vaccinated and make some $$$! Good to hear from you.

night owl said...

I've never been a hoarder of packs and boxes, this is the one time I wish I was. People are nuts.

That Warren Spahn card is odd.

Thanks for posting!

P-town Tom said...

Yes, congrats on the second shot! (And flipping 90s junk wax bball cards for a huge profit!)

Peter K Steinberg said...

You blogged!!!!

gcrl said...

You've been here for years...

Glad you got some time with your friends dog. Losing pets is tough.

You don't have to be a flipper to take advantage of the market. Well done.

Jeff B - Wax Pack Wonders said...

Yeah I've been selling some on ebay too. Starting with football and basketball singles. I don't collect them so it's not hard to part with them.

sg488 said...

I had a bunch of unopened junk wax I got sick of looking at, so I sold about ten years ago,didn't get that much for them .I should have sat on them for another decade lol. Sorry to hear about Chibi,didn't the Warriors draft a player from China in the early 80's named Chibi?

SumoMenkoMan said...

Sorry to hear about your friend’s dog. Losing pets is tough. Glad to hear you are doing well!

bbcardz said...

My condolences for Chibi. Love the pictures. And good for you for getting rid of some unwanted product on CraigsList and Ebay. And also, congratulations for completing the Reach for the Sky set.

baseballcardstore.ca said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vimZj8HW0Kg

Matt said...

glad to see you back in some form. I wonder if all of us should take advantage of these crazy sales. I will be blogging on it to

Jon said...

Sounds like this is becoming a paid vacation :)

Fuji said...

brett alan - that's a great song. i'll have to keep that in mind if i ever teach 5th graders in summer school again. remainders with pixy stix? love to hear about that as well. and i just picked up an autograph of sharon valerii (well... earlier in the year. i'm a huge fan of grace park.

the lost collector - yeah, cleared some excess stuff that i didn't really need, while adding to the retirement fund

jafronius - thanks. i've actually considered writing a few posts, but i don't want to return for a week and then disappear. figured maybe a monthly or bi-monthly update post is the best approach until i'm ready to dive back in to things

the diamond king - thanks. i actually think i jinxed myself, because i haven't made a sale in over a week. oh well... it's just some side action.

night owl - lol. is it the side facial shot?

p-town tom - thanks on both fronts... and for the mark jackson card too.

peter k. steinberg - yeah. missed my keyboard and writing about cards ;D

gcrl - yeah... chibi was definitely a huge part of my friend's family and she was so cute and entertaining. i miss her a lot

jeff b - congratulations! my buddy has started selling basketball singles and is raking in the dough. i might start listing all of the rookie cards i've been hoarding from quarter and dollar bins purchases over the years.

sg488 - i hadn't heard of that golden state warrior, but you are right. the guy's name was yasutaka okayama. i wonder if he has any trading cards.

sumomenkoman - thanks bud. she will be missed. hope work wasn't too crazy this week. make it to any card shops in florida?

bbcardz - thank you for the kind words. my goal is to get some more stuff listed this week

baseballcardstore.ca - yup. definitely the inspiration for the title of this post

matt - everyone should do what they feel comfortable doing. i've always been that guy who bought stuff just because it's a good deal and not because it fit my collection. figured it's time to let someone else enjoy them now

jon - lol. yup. to top it off, i'm on spring break... so even if i don't sell any cards this week... i'm still on a paid vacation.

CrazieJoe said...

Prices for some of the stuff is crazy, but good timing for you to get rid of some stuff - nice! If I had the time, I'd probably do the same - we will see if it stays crazy as the year goes on, but then again, I'd just as gladly trade the stuff I don't want for stuff I do.

Brett Alan said...

>>>remainders with pixy stix? <<<

This was for the old SAT, where they had to deal with some odd remainder stuff, like what's the remainder when 4 is divided by 5. As I would say, they had learned to do remainders, then a few years later were taught the REAL way to do division and pretty much forgot about remainders.

So I'd put a bunch of Pixy Stix on the desk and just do some basics. You know, we've got 9 Pixy Stix, I want to make groups of 4, how many can I make? 2. How many are left over? 1. That's the remainder. After a couple of those, I'd go, OK, we've got 4 Pixy Stix, I want to make groups of 6, how many can I make? None. How many are left over? All 4. That sort of thing.

Of course you have to have enough to give everyone in the class at least one!

Hackenbush said...

Congrats on making the big bucks. Great Spahn! I'm guessing he's more forgotten than he should be. I'd never blog if my posts were as long as most of yours. Don't know how you do it.

Swing And A Pop-up said...

Nice job finding somebody to pay ridiculous money for those boxes. I was at a card show and junk wax boxes of baseball that you couldn't give away 2 years ago were selling for $60. Not to me though.

Bulldog said...

Sorry to hear about your dog. Always tough. I don't blame you for flipping the Fleer. Congrats on the win and great Spahn card. Can't go wrong with the lovely Itaharo. Fun post and cards.

Matt said...

Sad emoji for loss of a beautiful dog
Happy emoji for vaccinations and a return to the classroom
Surprised emoji for the ridiculous amount of money people are buying stuff for

Chris said...

Hey, stranger! Good to see you back to blogging (if only for a day)

Way to cash in on the basketball wax, and the Crypto card. I love that Chrysler building insert, those Reach for the Sky cards are fantastic!

Sad to see you and your friends had to say goodbye to Chibi :(

Jongudmund said...

Nice to catch up. Thanks for continuing to comment on my blog.

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

Congrats on the sales and vaccination, will be nice to get back to previous routines.

Anonymous said...

Nomo had this thing where he’d eat a small bag of candy before a game and sometimes he’d leave the partial bag out. You had to see Lasorda when he’d find a half eaten bag of jelly beans and he’d playfully pour them on Nomo and remind him to pick up after himself. One day at Wrigley, Nomo leaves a bag of Junior Mints near the bullpen gate and right before game time there’s a swarm of bees that begins to chase people from the stands! People were just screaming and there was so much chaos, I remember Eric Karros biting his tongue during an interview from all the surrounding pandemonium. The whole time Nomo is in the dugout all nervous looking as Lasorda is standing next to him shaking his head as a single bee wizzed by their faces. Dodgers took that thing in 17! Wooooo!

Fuji said...

sorry about the 2 year delay... but thanks to anonymous for commenting, because it made me realize i hadn't responded to all of these other comments. plus i had a chance to skim this post and think about chibi

craziejoe - now that i've had almost two years to reflect on this comment, i can say i'm glad i moved the stuff when i did. i actually wish i had moved more

brett alan - love it. my niece is approaching the age of division... so i will share that with her mom.

hackenbush - i'm honestly trying to cut down the size of my posts, but i have one big problem. i'm a rambler.

swing and a pop-up - i kinda wonder what the guy who purchased those boxes did with them. i actually sold them with plenty of room for him to make a profit. hopefully he didn't hold onto them

bulldog - chibi actually belonged to my friend's sister... but i loved her like she was in my immediate family. she had the best personality and was super lovable

matt - can't believe it's been two years since we return to our classrooms. seems like we were in distance learning a few months ago. but so glad we're back in front of the kids

chris - lol. i guess i was in a blogging funk two years ago too. trying to hammer out a post at least once a week now

jongudmund - where have you been? hope things are going well

steve @ 1975baseballcards.com - yeah... distance learning was not fun, but very memorable.

anonymous - thanks for sharing the nomo and the bees story... and for commenting. it let me know that i hadn't responded to a lot of other commenters