30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Monday, May 19, 2014

Flea Market Finds #64: Vintage Oddballs and a Bobble

It finally cooled off in the Bay Area and the timing couldn't have been better.  I decided to set up at the Branham High School Flea Market on Saturday in an effort to put a few dollars in my pocket, while doing a little Spring cleaning.

My buddy and I spent a little over 7 hours out there and I made a little over $20.  My buddy?  He walked away with less than $10 in sales.  Combined we barely covered the $25 fee they charged for the spot.

Luckily while were were there, I made a purchase that will hopefully pay off in the long run, plus added a few items to my collection.  Let's check out my purchases...

When:  Saturday, May 17th
Where:  Branham High School Flea Market
What:  Sports Cards and a Bobble Head
How Much?:  $28

Purchase #1:  1970 Topps Scratch-Offs Lot $10


Remember the guy who sold me the 1975 Topps Minis earlier in the month?  He set up right next to us, so I immediately went over to see if he had anything new.  The first thing that caught my eye were these 1970 Topps Scratch-Offs.  The lot contains 21 cards that are completely intact (no boxes scratched or writing), but unfortunately some of these were poorly cut.


The cards are little foldouts that were inserted into packs and intended to be a game for collectors.  The twenty-four cards in the set were made up of the twenty-four team captains around the league.  There are nineteen different cards in this lot, so I'll probably go ahead and chase down the final five.


Purchase #2:  1962 Post Cereal Lot $15


The guy also had a bunch of vintage Post cards.  At first glance these nine cards don't look like anything special.  Most of them are miscut and they all have tape stains.  But after doing a little research, I found out that the Sam and Dave Baker cards are pretty rare short prints and sell for decent money on eBay.  The Tarkenton is pretty cool too, since it was produced the same year as his rookie card.

Although I don't typically purchase cards with the intention of flipping... I'll probably sell a few of these and buy something nice for my collection.


Purchase #3:  2013 Chris Wondolowski Bobble Head $3


Wondo is pretty popular among Bay Area soccer fans... as he should be.  He's led the league in goal scoring twice over the past five seasons and tied the single season goal scoring record in 2012.  This bobble honors that accomplishment.

I saw it earlier in the day and the guy wanted $10 for it.  It was a fair price (since they go for around $15 to $20 on eBay), but I hadn't made any sales yet.  I stopped by again in the afternoon and the vendor offered it to me for $5.  I told him I'd think about it and he immediately dropped it to $3.  He left me no choice but to crack open the wallet.

Oh... and I also did a little bartering with my buddy.  I brought a few jackets to sell and since it's almost summer, nobody was buying them.  So my buddy offered me these two cards for three of my Nike track jackets:


He definitely got the better end of the deal in terms of value, but at least I don't have to worry about storing them anymore.

Well that's about it.  I hope all of you have a great week.  Happy Monday and sayonara!

17 comments:

Commishbob said...

You had me at 'vintage oddballs'. You got 4 Hall of Famers, Don Meredith and some short prints for $15. Well done! I wish I could help you on the Scratch-offs but the only one I have is Boog Powell.

Dawgbones said...

Man, go to make money, and spend more than you make!! Good finds though.

night owl said...

I don't know if I'd pull the trigger on any of that. The Scratch-Offs would be tempting.

Mark Hoyle said...

Picked up some post football recently. Great deal

Tony L. said...

I do enjoy the oddball stuff, and those scratchoffs...they would have been hard to resist. And, even though I don't collect football, I'd have been sorely tempted by Bart Starr and Georgia Bulldog Fran Tarkenton.

BobWalkthePlank said...

Good deal on the scratchoffs! I would have pulled the trigger too.

The Lost Collector said...

Had no idea Post made football. Havent seen those!

Man said...

If you ever see a large dark complected middle aged guy with grey hair and a goatee it will be me shadowing you :)

jacobmrley said...

Those Post football cards are amazing. I only have one of those in my whole oddball collection. Very nice pickup indeed.

Unknown said...

Never mind how much you paid for them, you scored with those Post football cards. The only one I've ever seen is the Starr, but the Hornung and Tarkenton are awesome as well.

Also, I say good for you for ditching the jackets. The way things are going, you may never need them again. Anyway, unlike baseball and football, relic hockey cards typically look so consistently great. I'm a huge fan of the "threads" and "titanium" releases, among many, many others.

Go, Fuji! Another well-spent Saturday at the flea market!

Greg Zakwin said...

Nice get on the Post football!

Fuji said...

I'm not in any rush. Honestly... it's just another set added to my list. Maybe one day I'll complete it... on the other hand... maybe I won't. ;-)

Fuji said...

I go to the Capitol almost every Sunday. If you're ever in San Jose on the weekend, hit me up and we'll do the tour.

Fuji said...

Thanks guys!

brian said...

love the flea market finds post

Jafronius said...

not my type of finds, but an enjoyable post nonetheless. did you ever do a post of the types of things you sell at your booth?

Fuji said...

Hmmm. Not sure if I have, but that's a great idea for a post. I'm setting up at De Anza two Saturdays from now. I'll try to remember to take pics.