A Three Hour Tour

Adrenaline.  That is exactly what was rushing through my body as I stepped through the doors and into the Bay Area Sports Cards & Collectibles Expo this past weekend.  It was without any exaggeration the best card show I had attended in years.

The promoter advertised 200 tables... and I believe it.  It was held in an old Forever 21 store, so the venue was huge and dealers were plentiful and spaced out really well.

In fact, the only downside were two problems I encountered.  The first one involved a brief five minute period when some people joined me at a table and had zero regard for personal space or common courtesy.  The vendor had six to ten super shoe boxes lined up and these people decided to start digging into the same box as me.  Had I not been in the last box... I would have moved... but I only had two rows left and refused to budge.  I stood my ground as one of them bumped my elbow multiple times.

The other issue wasn't anyone's fault... but my own.  The show might have been the largest I attended in decades, however I only managed to check out five or six dealers' booths.  Why?  That's because I spent three hours with one dealer.  and by the time I was finished, I was tired and my back was sore.

I'm not complaining though, because he was the first dealer I stopped at and I'm glad I spent most of my budget with him.  This is the image that caught my eye and made me stop at his booth:

I'm a sucker for bargains and right off the bat, I noticed a dollar table with complete sets, Kenner SLU's, stadium giveaways, and other knick-knacks.  I ended up picking up eighteen items for $15:

  

Outside of the Hank Aaron media guide, I don't have plans to write about any of these dollar items in the near future.  However if there's anything you'd like to see in more detail, leave a comment down below and I'll try to accommodate you.

The vendor had a bunch of cards too.  I ended up focusing on his bargain boxes which were broken down into three categories: 8 for $1, 5 for $1 (or 25¢ each), and 10 for $4 (or 50¢ each).

On Sunday, I showed off this shoebox filled with goodies I picked up from his bargain bins.  There is honestly way too much to show off in a single post, so I'll be writing about the contents of this box throughout the summer.

However, here's a sampling of what I picked up...

The cards featured in the above 9-pocket page were pulled from the dealer's 8 for $1 boxes.  If you wanted to know how I could spend three hours at one booth, it's because I sifted through every single box this guy had.

Here's a look at some of the stuff I purchased from his 50¢ bin:

These boxes were mainly serial numbered cards, but there were some other items like rookie cards, autographs, and memorabilia cards.

Honestly the 8 for $1 and 5 for $1 boxes held way better bargains, so I focused most of my attention and money on those.

Most of the oversized stuff you see in this box were from the vendor's 5 for $1 boxes.

In honor of today being National Camera Day, I figured I'd show case this awesome Vladimir Guerrero card I purchased for 20¢:

1998 Topps Super Chrome #3

Thanks to bloggers like Nick and Gavin, this image has been on my radar for awhile.  This Super Chrome version looks exactly like his regular base card, but is almost twice as large.  Unfortunately, I had to restore it a little as all of the Super Chrome cards I purchased were a little hazy out of the box: 

But it wasn't anything a microfiber towel, some water, and a little elbow grease couldn't handle.

Here are the other Super Chrome singles I grabbed from his box:

In hindsight, I think the dealer had a complete set.... but I only pulled guys who fit into my Player PC's.

My favorite from the bunch is this Clemente:

1998 Topps Super Chrome #21

The original plan was to show off a few more oversized singles, but I think I'll just wrap up this post on a high note.  If you want to see more goodies from this box, then you are in luck... because there will at least be a few future posts dedicated to them.

In the meantime...

When you think of great photography, is there any card in your collection that immediately comes to mind?

I look forward to reading your responses.  Happy Tuesday and sayonara!