Flea Market Finds #48: Dollar Deals

Last weekend, I went out to the De Anza Flea Market and the Capitol Flea Market with one agenda:  EXERCISE.

Yup, that's right.  I'm no longer going to buy everything I want or grab every good deal that crosses my path.  Instead, it's about getting out there, breathing in the fresh air, and getting a little exercise.

In fact, I found a bunch of dealers with sports cards and sports memorabilia... but I didn't cave.  After two days, I spent a whopping $8.  That's less than what I spent on gas, parking, and admission.  And guess what?  I'm absolutely okay with that.

When:  Saturday, November 2nd

Where:  De Anza Flea Market

What:  Kenner Starting Lineups

How Much?:  $3

Purchase #1:  Three Kenner Cooperstown Collection Starting Lineups $3

I almost left De Anza empty handed, but there's no way I can walk away from dollar bin SLU's.  Each of the figures had slightly damaged packaging, but that didn't bother me.  As soon as I got home, I opened them up and freed them from their plastic cells.

1997 Cooperstown Collection Josh Gibson

1997 Cooperstown Collection Carl Yastrzemski

1998 Cooperstown Collection Warren Spahn

Three new additions to my baseball shelf, along with three new additions to my Kenner SLU card collection:

I really like the 1997 Cooperstown Collection card design and Kenner did an excellent job with photo selection on these two players.

The Spahn turned out to be an error card.  The first thing that I noticed was that the card back was upside down, but upon closer inspection a bigger mistake stood out (see for yourself).  Yup... that back belongs to Frank Robinson, not the hall of fame pitcher.

When:  Sunday, November 3rd

Where:  Capitol Flea Market

What:  Indiana Jones and the Trash Can Trolls

How Much?:  $5

Purchase #1:  Indiana Jones DVD $1

Normally I don't buy my DVD's at the flea market, because I'm they're often scratched or not originals.  But every now and then, I'll stumble across a movie that I want to watch.  And if the price is right, I'll pick it up.

I've wanted to see this movie since its release five years ago.  The seller looked like he was selling his personal collection and the case was in good condition.  So I popped it open, checked the DVD, and handed over my dollar bill.

Unfortunately... the movie wasn't as good as I had hoped.  It wasn't terrible.  But it wasn't amazing either.


Purchase #2:  1992 Topps Trash Can Trolls Wax Box $4

What can I say?  I'm addicted to ripping cheap wax.  I'm not going to lie.  I hate trolls, but I love Garbage Pail Kids.  And actually it was the fuzzy hair on the box that caught my attention, so I asked the guy how much he wanted.

He told me he'd take $5, so I countered with $3.  He told me the lowest he'd go was $4... so I quickly did the math in my head.  Thirty-six packs at four dollars breaks down to nine packs for a buck, which is around 11¢ a pack.  I can live with that.

In the end, I was able to build one complete set of 88 stickers plus have a nice start on a second set (which I won't be building).  If you're interested in learning more about this set, see my post on A Pack To Be Named Later.

So there you go.  Two flea markets without breaking a ten spot.  And although I didn't find a 1965 Topps Pete Rose for my collection, I managed to pull a 1992 Prickly Pete.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Symbol of Generosity

I'm sure most of you have experienced first hand the generosity that travels around our cardboard blogging community.  And as I write this post, I'm still in a state of shock when I reflect on the package I received six days ago.  I'm sure most of you know fellow blogger:  Commishbob.  He's the guy who leaves amazing comments on your blog that aren't your average, everyday comment.  They're mini history lessons.

And so are his blog posts.  Please take a few minutes to head over to blogs and see for yourself:  The Five Tool Collector, '59 Topps: One F/G Card at a Time, and 1963 Topps Baseball.

Okay...now that you're back, let's continue with today's post that highlights a few of the cards The Commish sent to me last week in a very generous "just because" care package.

I'll start off with a card from one of my favorite sets... of a hall of fame player on my favorite baseball team:

1972 Topps #435

Next up is a card that I've been meaning to add to my collection for awhile now.  It's a rookie card of two fan favorites and a huge addition to my Oakland A's PC.

1970 Topps #21

When I was a kid, The Brady Bunch was my favorite show to watch.  And one of my favorite episodes was the one with this guy:

1969 Topps #400

If you're interested... you can view the episode on Bing.  Go on... check out The Big D... Don Drysdale.

Okay... moving along.  Are you a fan of Cardboard with Character?  Then you'll love this Frank Robinson card with a nice dark stain on the back.  

1970 Topps #700

It's pure awesomeness!  I actually sniffed it to figure out if it was oil, chocolate, or something else.  Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out what that dark matter is.

The following card inspired me to do a little research.  After my investigation... I discovered that this isn't the famous blogger.

1976 Topps #568

But it's still a sweet card.  I love those old school Astros uniforms and the way Topps utilized pink during the 70's.

What the heck is Carlos Carrasco doing among all of these awesome, vintage pieces of cardboard?  Well... it's the final puzzle piece for my 2013 Topps Mini set:

But the generosity didn't end there.  If everything above wasn't already totally awesome and appreciated... he threw one more card into the care package.  It's a card that fits into several different PC's and until last week was listed in my Top 10 want list.

Without further adieu...

1959 Topps #550 Roy Campanella

When I pulled this card out of the package, I sat there at my desk starstruck.  I have wanted this card since I was a little kid and I'm still amazed that I'm now the proud owner of it.

Thank you so much for these amazing cards Mr. Commish.  You sir are a Symbol of Generosity and I will definitely be gathering up and shipping out some Baltimore Orioles for your collection.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: Bay Area Treasure Trove

Remember the Treasure Trove of Goodies?  Well... I finally sifted through the boxes and produced three piles:  one for my students, one for the flea market, and one for my PC.

Here's a look at five "lots" I decided to keep for myself...

#1:  Tony La Russa Autograph Lot

I'm in the mood to start off with the big ticket item.  It's an official MLB baseball signed on the sweet spot by the former Oakland A's manager with the 2nd most wins in franchise history.  According to the note that was tucked inside of the box, this ball was sent to A's season ticket holders in 1995.

There were also several incomplete sets of Mother's Cookies trading cards, including several team albums.  In one of the albums there was another Tony La Russa autograph.  Both of these are amazing additions to my Oakland Athletics PC.

#2:  Small Collection of Super Bowl Programs

Before this, I owned one Super Bowl program.  Now I own six.  I probably won't chase down the other forty-one programs, but one of these days I'd at least like to grab the ones involving the Packers and Seahawks.

#2:  1976 Coca-Cola Pocket Schedule

This is probably the most unique item in the bunch.  It's a pocket schedule (w/ stadium maps) featuring the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, SJSU Spartans, Stanford Cardinals, CAL Bears, and Santa Clara Broncos.

#3:  1982 Stanford vs. CAL Football Program

If you're a fan of college football, then you probably know the significance of this particular game.  Just in case you don't know... here's the play that made the game famous:

#4:  California Golden Seals Memorabilia

I've been debating on whether or not to start a California Golden Seals PC.  These two items have solved that dilemma.

First up is this cool team poster from their final season in Oakland.  There was also this cool Seals Booster sticker in the box.

#5:  1994-95 Upper Deck BAP Igor Larionov Autograph

Last, but not least there was this Be A Player autograph.  There are only two San Jose Sharks who have been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  This guy was one of them.  Unfortunately, he's mostly remembered by hockey fans for his years with the Red Wings and the time he spent on the KLM Line.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Blog Trade #34: Chuck's Used Cards

I recently completed a blind trade with Chuck over at Chuck's Used Cards, who ended up sending me a smorgasbord of cardboard.  Here are a few of the cards that really stood out:

However my favorite in the lot was this 1973 Topps card of Mr. Hendrick:

Hendrick never played for the Oakland Athletics in 1973, but was part of the deal that brought Ray Fosse to the club.

Thanks for the trade Chuck!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

This Isn't A Trick...

And unfortunately... it's not a treat either.

After much deliberation, I've decided to end my monthly contests.  I'd like to call it a break... but I'm not 100% positive that I'll start them up again.

What's my problem?  Well... I have sort of been in a funk lately.  And it's left me feeling tired and lazy.  To be completely honest, it'll be nice to have one less item on my plate.

I'll still give away things from time to time, but it'll be more of a "reply to this post" sort of thing.  And who knows... maybe one day I'll bring it back.  Heck, maybe I'll go back to my "summer contest" format.

Until then... let's find out who won the last of my monthly contests.

Step One:  Choose a "post of the month" using random.org:

Yesterday's post on my 1986 Topps Tattoos wound up being October's Post of the Month and five people happened to leave comments:  Baseball Nut, Brad's Blog, Greg Zakwin, Jafronius, and Play at the Plate.  Each of these guys received four additional entries.

Step Two:  Contest randomization.  After plugging everybodys name into the randomizer, Greg Zakwin was on top.

Congratulations Greg!  You've won the following lot of 90's inserts and parallels:

Greg - Please email me your mailing address and I'll get these out to you ASAP.

Everyone else - Thanks for participating!

Happy Friday and sayonara!