30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Buy What You Wanna Buy

Whenever I think about high school, I cringe just thinking about wearing bolo ties and Z Cavaricci's.  Deep down inside, I was more of a jersey and sweats kind of guy, but I played the game to fit in.

These days I could care less what others want me to wear.  I'm the one spending the money, so I'll decide what to wear.  Discovering that you don't need to wear expensive or nice clothes to get people to like you was a game changer for me.  I only wish I had figured that out sooner.

The exact same principal applies to our hobby.

I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to collecting oversized cardsMost collectors don't want to deal with the storage issues that arise when acquiring them.

Personally... I say bring it on.

A few weeks ago, a HUGE card popped up on one of my eBay searches.  I've been looking for this card for quite some time and after a last minute bidding war, I triumphantly walked away the proud owner of this:

2007 UD Masterpieces 5x7 Box Topper Signatures #MP-18

Although I wouldn't classify this as a rare card, they're not exactly easy to track down either.  Each box of 2007 UD Masterpieces contained a box topper, but only one per case was autographed.  There are twenty different cards in the set with two of them being Griffeys.

Here's what the other Griffey looks like:

2007 UD Masterpieces 5x7 Box Topper Signatures #MP-2

I purchased this copy back in 2015 for $98 (+ $2.99 shipping).  The one I purchased a few weeks ago set me back $103.74 (+ $3.50 shipping).

I realize some collectors would never spend that much for a single card, while others would never buy an oversized card.


Warning:  Explicit Language

But that's the point of this postIt's your money and your collection.  Buy what you want to buy and don't let other dictate how you dress or collect.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

23 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Amen!

Chris said...

Great looking Griffey autos! Do you have a way to store/display these beauties? I have been buying some oversized bot topper cards lately, and I'd buy more if I had the right storage supplies. Some of my Brett Favre box toppers are already damaged from my inability to find Ultra-pro pages or top loaders that will fit non-standard sized cards.

Adam said...

Nice looking cards! Oversized cards have never really bothered me. I'm not really a box topper collector but the ones like Topps Big, 89 Bowman, and the early Topps cards I'm completely fine with. My storage solution for them is to keep them in top loaders or to put a penny sleeve on each end of the card when it goes in the box.

shoeboxlegends said...

What a beautiful pair Fuji. I have the same question as Chris as to how you protect these. Would be awesome if Ultra Pro made 5x7 One Touch magnetic holders!

Sean said...

Those are pretty awesome. Actually oversized cards are way better than standard ones for autographs, and Griffey has a great one.

I have a small collection of oversized Japanese cards and while they are a pain to store, the big size adds to their appeal to me.

Nick Vossbrink said...

Nice piece. As long as it fits in a binder sheet I'm happy to have it in my collection. I'd rather have something oversize on thin stock than something regular size and an eighth-inch thick..

Angus said...

Great purchase!

I have no problem buying oversize cards if they fit my collection. I'll store them however I can. This also applies to the thickness of cards, not just the size.

Commishbob said...

Preach it... collect what makes you happy.

Those are some sweet Griffey sigs. I would have figured that they would have cost more than that.

Twitch said...

Griffey autos are way out of my price range, unfortunately. While I don't actively seek them out because of the storage difficulty problem, am known to pick up the random oversized item, be they cards, old sell sheets in the form of uncut cards, or even signed photos, from time-to-time though.

Twitch said...

*I* am known... #TwitchMakesTypos

Matt said...

Wow, those are some nice Griffey cards! Congrats on the purchase!

Fuji said...

john miller - hallelujah!

chris & shoeboxlegends - these two are stored in 5x7 ultra pro top loaders. ultra pro also makes 2 pocket pages that store 5x7 cards if you're a binder guy. a few years ago, I bought a variety of ultra pro pages at my lcs for my player pc's. Although there are oddball sized cards that don't fit perfectly, there's typically something out there that's close enough. as for magnetics, i'm probably one of the only guys who doesn't use one touch magnetics ;)

adam sanders - plus they make 330ct. (or maybe it's 300ct.) boxes that fit the topps big and 89b cards perfectly.

sean - i agree with your autograph statement. plus it's just something different.

nick vossbrink - they make 2 pocket binder pages that fit these perfectly.

angus - i don't discriminate against size either... which opens more doors for us in the hobby. unfortunately i have other things that hold me back like non-licensed cards and sticker-graphs.

commishbob - i was hoping to add the ripken too, but that sold for about 30% more than the Griffey.

twitch - the good news is they're much more affordable these days than 10 years ago. maybe in a few years they'll come down a little more. #imaketypostoo

matt - thanks!

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

I also wouldn’t let the size stop me. I’m surprised how many people don’t know about the 5x7 pocket pages. They make storing these easy, I’ve got some Cardboard Icon cards in those. I’m a big fan of one touch but even if they existed I don’t have anything expensive enough to put in one, like these excellent pickups (nice score!) I like the UD Masterpieces series too).

Reds Card Collector said...

Those are some nice Griffey's Fuji!

SumoMenkoMan said...

Heck yeah. Otherwise, why are we in this hobby?! Nice Griffey!

Collecting Cutch said...

Awesome cards and 100% agree with you. My collection is 1 massive player collection, flagship and heritage pirates cards, and a pair of pitchers that pitched in the Burgh. Long term value....nope...not really, but Damn am I having fun.

The Lost Collector said...

Excellent pickup! At some point soon I’m going to fly past my record for $ spent on a single card when I snag a Jeter autograph.

arpsmith said...

Those cards are great looking, his auto is like a piece of art.

bbcardz said...

Seeing that you paid about $100 per card made my wallet ache. But I'm still with you on that because this might very well be the year I buy a decent 1969 #500 Mantle (non-auto, of course) for significantly more $ than that. Congrats!

Jafronius said...

Those are very cool! It's too bad I wasn't really collecting when Masterpieces was released (just buying retail sporadically). I would have enjoyed getting those packs.

night owl said...

I could never spend $100 on an autograph or a card that wasn't more than 50 years old. To each his own.

Baltmoss68 said...

Great autos! I have so many oddball sizes that I have a plastic drawer for them. They’re low end but things that I like.

The Snorting Bull said...

I love anything out of Masterpieces. Modern classic.

Could I spend that much money on an autograph? I have spent more than that, but it has to be a HOFer, or someone I think is a future HOFer. I don't understand spending $100, or more, on some of the Bowman products for a card of a player in A Ball.