Flea Market Finds #150: Cheap Cards & a Pricey Car

Last Saturday was the third Saturday of the month.  What's the significance of this special day?  It marks the monthly Branham High School Flea Market.

This weekend was pretty busy, but after weighing the pro's and con's... I decided to go.  I won't say it was well worth the trip, but I did manage to pick up some cheap cards, a few unopened packs, and a new toy for my collection.

The first guy in the first row is a regular vendor who had some boxes with baseball, football, and basketball cards.  Ignore the signs on the boxes.  As soon as I walked up, he told me anything in these boxes were 6 for $1.

Purchase #1:  Fifty-Four Cards $9

I'll save you a few seconds and calculate the price for you.  Six cards for a buck translates to just under 17¢ per card.  In other words... somewhere between a dime and a quarter each.  I grabbed some singles I figured I could turn into a blog post as well as stuff for my binders or care packages.

Here are a few of the keepers:

1984 Fleer #46

1984 Fleer #638

On the heels of Night Owl's 80's Fleer post, I figured I'd scan these two cards and show them off.  Can you believe that in a few months, it'll be the 39th anniversary of the Pine Tar Incident?

Next question... have you ever wondered what would happen if you combined Dufex technology with tie-dye?  Well now you won't have to...

1994 Score Select Rookie Surge #RS2

This card stood out like a sore thumb and I had to toss it into my stack.  It's not the famous 1996 Pinnacle Bob Hamelin... but it's still pretty cool.  

If you enjoy Pinnacle Dufex, then you would have had fun digging through these boxes.  There were tons of singles.  I pulled out a few...

1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection #29

This Ventura is gorgeous.  You know how much I love a well-cropped action shot.  Here are a few more Dufex cards...

1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection #193

1997 Pinnacle Museum Collection #87

1994 Church's Chicken Show Stoppers #8

The Caminiti goes into my SJSU PC.  I hadn't seen the Church's Chicken insert before, but it's a nice looking card.

1997 Bowman Chrome International #97

I'm a big fan of the Bowman Chrome International parallels.  He had ten to fifteen of these sitting in the box, but Walker was the only name that I collect.

I'll wrap things up with three more cards from the 80's...

1984 Topps Traded #70T

This card features some mystery stains, but I couldn't leave it behind in the box.  Langston is one of the most successful SJSU alumni in MLB history.

1989 Classic Update #71

Like the Hamelin, this card's bright colors stood out.  Gotta imagine this was one of the last MLB licensed baseball cards of Charlie Hustle.

And on the other end of the spectrum, this is one of Jamie Moyer's earliest cards:

1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs #NNO

Moyer pitched in his final game in 2012... at the tender age of 18,088 days old.  I'll be reaching that age in a few weeks.

Purchase #2:  Three Cards $1

Same vendor.  Different box.

After pulling out $9 worth of cards, I asked the guy if he had any dollar cards.  He pulled out a small shoebox where I found these two cards:

1984 Topps Nestle #300

This card has a dinged corner and is miscut, but it's not often I get to add a Nestle card to the collection.

1985 Topps #760

This was the last card I added to my stack.  I doubt I'll target Nolan Ryan for my Topps Base Card Run project, but if I do... I have the 1985 card ready to go.

The other card in this purchase will be shown off in a future post, because it's related to the current MLB labor negotiations.

Purchase #3:  Non-Sport Packs $5

After leaving the first vendor, I found another guy with cards down the same row.  He had some pretty cool Nike Michael Jordan sets, but they were a little out of my price range.  He also had a box of random non-sport wax packs that were a buck each.  I asked if he'd do six packs for $5 and the deal was made.  Here's what I grabbed:

1988 Leesley BIGFOOT Trading Cards

1978 Fleer Jet Set Stickers

I saw a pack of these over on A Pack To Be Named Later a few years ago.  I'd love to add the Japan sticker eventually to the collection.  Maybe there's one in this pack.  Maybe there isn't.  I won't find out... since I need it for my Unopened Non-Sport Wax Pack collection.  Actually I don't own any of these packs, so they will all be kept intact.

1990 Classic Monster Trucks

1995 Bon Air Native Americans: An Epic Struggle of Blood and Courage

1991 Panini Wings of Fire

This is another pack, I would have enjoyed buying multiples of... since one of the cards features the SR-71 Blackbird.

1995 Authentix Hagar the Horrible

If I see this guy again, I'll probably dig through the box one more time.  It's been a long time since I've written a post over on A Pack To Be Named Later.  I'm sure there's some stuff in that guy's box that hasn't been featured on the blog before.

There were at least two other dealers with cards, but now that I'm on a very strict budget... I didn't find anything I couldn't live without.  But I did manage to purchase one more item...

Purchase #4: Overpriced Diecast $3

2021 Hot Wheels #178 (Yellow)

My recent car purchase has me on the lookout for diecast versions of the MK5 Supra.  I'm not sure if values of Hot Wheels have soared since the pandemic like cards... but they never used to be this expensive.

Well that wraps up my first Flea Market Finds post in five months.  Now that it's starting to warm up, I'll do my best to hit up Branham every month from here on out.  The competition is much stiffer than it used to be.  And now that every non-collector has heard about the hobby boom, they think their 1991 Fleer Barry Bonds card is worth a fortune.  So I don't anticipate stumbling across the awesome bargains of yesteryear.  Regardless... it'll be nice to get out there, breathe in some fresh air, get some steps, and talk cards with other collectors who are also looking for that ultimate flea market find.

Until then... happy Tuesday and sayonara!