30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Flea Market Finds 157: Vinyl, Free Cards, and a TV

This post combines two trips to two separate flea markets over the course of two months.

However before we get into the purchases, I'll go ahead and warn everyone that there aren't any baseball cards in this post.  There were plenty of floating around at each of these flea markets, but nothing caught my eye... which means I either didn't want them or they were overpriced.

With that out of the way... let's start with my most recent haul that took place this past Saturday at the De Anza Flea Market.

This one is held in the parking lot of a community college and there was a time when there were hundreds of vendors with at least five regulars selling sports cards.  Unfortunately, the pandemic shut this flea market down and it just hasn't bounced back.  I keep hoping it will... but as of now... it's 30 to 40% of its peak and none of those regular vendors were there this time around.

I did find a few opened factory sets from the late 80's, various boxes filled with commons, as well as a guy with several binders of late 80's baseball cards, but I just don't need to spend anymore money on that stuff.

I also found a guy with a San Francisco Giants SGA set from the Bonds era... but $20 seemed a little steep.  So I decided to spend my hard earned money on more affordable items I'd treasure...


Purchase #1Michael Jackson Off The Wall LP  $5


I wouldn't classify myself as a Moonwalker, but I've enjoyed a lot of his songs since I was a kid.  Exactly six years ago, I purchased Thriller at the same flea market for $5.  This past Saturday, I added MJ's fifth studio album to the collection.  

Vendors usually want $20 to $30 for this album... which is why I happily handed over my five bucks.

Random Opinion:  Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and Rock With You are two of MJ's best songs.


Purchase #2Sony Watchman  $10


I'm sure this is a head-scratcher for many of you, so here's the backstory.  When I was a kid, I was kind of a Sony fanboy.  I loved their electronic devices.  Can't remember why I latched onto their products, but I'm guessing it had to do with my friends.

Random Fact:  The Sony Watchman arrived in North America in 1984.

That wraps up this past weekend's trip to the flea market.  Now let's flashback to the 3rd Saturday in April when I walked around the Branham High School Flea Market.  Sorry the write up is so delayed.  Honestly... had I not gone to the flea market last weekend and bought the MJ album... I probably would have just let this haul go undocumented.

But here's more vinyl I picked up....


Purchase #1Peter Gabriel LP  $6


This was the big ticket purchase of the day.  Unless it's a Beastie Boys or Beatles album, five dollars is usually the most I'll pay for an album.  There's no rhyme or reason for me spending the extra buck... other than the fact that I wanted this album... and the vendor refused my $5 offer.

He did let me have the next album for $4 though...


Purchase #2Go-Go's Vacation LP  $4


Jane Wiedlin and Belinda Carlisle were two of my childhood crushes and both are featured on this album cover.    With this album in the collection, I'll be on the lookout for their debut album.

Random FactWiedlin's parents met at Marquette University... right around the time my father was there taking a few courses while attending MSOE.


Purchase #3The Story of Star Wars LP  $3


This was my favorite find of the day.  I was five years old when A New Hope came out... and so I became a Star Wars fan for life.

The album cover is in poor condition and there is one noticeable scratch, which is why the vendor only wanted a few bucks.  But I've played it twice and it didn't skip, so I lucked out.

Random FactRoscoe Lee Browne narrated The Story of Star Wars.


Purchase #4Exciting Christmas Stories LP + 3 Other Albums  $5

The first and last guy I always hit up is a card dealer who always has oddball stuff like sports magazines, figurines, and this time... albums.


He was asking $1 to $3 for his records.  I immediately set this holiday album aside, because I'm a sucker for comic book related items and continued to dig through his stack.  Here are the other three I grabbed:


It's hard to go wrong with three albums performed by members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame... and each have at least two songs I really, really like.  Out of the four albums, the Elton John was the most expensive.  He wanted $3 for it and a dollar each on the rest, but let me have all four for $5.

Over the past decade or so, I've bought a variety of stuff from him... and occasionally he'll kick down some freebies.  This time around they came in the form of a small Junk Wax Era basketball collection.  Most of it will be taken into the classroom, but I did manage to add about 50 singles to my collection.  I also sent a few to Chris The Collector for some set builds.

Obviously there wasn't anything that would help cover this month's mortgage... just stuff like this:


The most interesting cards were these three 1990-91 Hoops singles featuring celebrity cameos:

1990-91 Hoops #205 (ft. Menedez Brothers)

1990-91 Hoops #223 (ft. MJ w/#12 Jersey)

1990-91 Hoops #235 (ft. Paula Abdul)

I've known about the first two cameos for several years... but only learned about the Paula card recently.  Sadly... I can't remember the source.

Well... that wraps up the last pair of flea market trips during the school year.  The next time I hit the flea market, it'll be during my summer break.  Only two more days of school!  Hallelujah!

So let's hear it...

Any summer plans?

I'll be hanging out with my dad a lot this summer... with a quick trip up to Ashland, Oregon and a quick trip down to Las Vegas here and there.  In between, I'm hoping to recharge the batteries before the next school year, take my dad on some local field trips, and fingers crossed... sit down and reorganize my collection.

Just need to survive the next two days.  Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

23 comments:

  1. No baseball cards!? I'm out! Jus kidding. Some great scores on those albums, pun intended. The Go-Gos debut album is awesome, it's a must have.

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  2. I was disappointed when you said there'd be no baseball cards, but you made up for it with the LPs -- the only thing I consider buying at flea market besides cards.

    I have the Go-Gos debut album, well my wife bought it back in '82. Nice grab on Off The Wall and the Elton John album. Most flea market LPs I see go for too much.

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  3. My brother had that Watchman portable TV. Does it still work? I watched Michael Jordan's return to the NBA on that exact device!

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  4. Kemp RC!! I want em all. Looks like a really fun time.

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  5. Hopefully we'll get over to Motown to watch the Tigers, and I'm hoping to get to a fre more shows, if possible.

    Lots of good stuff in there, enjoy the summer!

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  6. Those LPs and the Watchman look really cool. Is the Watchman still functioning?

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  7. My summer plans to find someone to help me re-organize parts of my baseball card collection. Sounds like you did pretty well at the flea market. LMK when you find the box in the box and figure out what it is. I'm curious to know.

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  8. Fuji, we all want to know if the Watchman still works. Sweet…love seeing that “Made in Japan” label.

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  9. Off The Wall is a really fantastic album.

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  10. That was a great nostalgic read! Haven't completely figured out summer plans yet.

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  11. Didn't know about the Paula Abdul card. Looked it up and found a blog post which mentions that the original source was a letter in Beckett magazine. You commented on that post so I guess that's where you learned it - https://rebelrandomrants.blogspot.com/2019/11/busting-box-of-1990-91-hoops.html
    I have 3 of those so I moved one out of my trade box to my very small basketball collection (I also have the Menendez brothers card).

    Roscoe Lee Browne was the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars radio dramas. Definitely worth a listed if you have never heard them. I wasn't familiar with the Story of Star Wars record - will have to find a recording on Youtube.

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  12. Great pickups. Looked liked a fun time. I had that exact superhero holiday album as a kid. Man that brings back memories.

    Have a great summer!

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  13. So I will be in the Bay Area this summer. Have fun in Ashland. I miss going to the Shakespeare Festival there.

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  14. Great LP pickups! $5 each is probably around what I would spend as well.

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  15. The Gabriel album you bought (his first solo) is called "Car" by the Genesis and Gabriel geeks (of which I am unafraid to admit being). He had no specific title on the first 3 solo records he released, so someone had to name them!

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  16. I got a Watchman at an estate sale about five years ago, which I think I paid ten bucks for too. I didn't have any connection to them, I just thought it looked neat.

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  17. I love old electronics, kudos on the Watchman purchase. I love messing around with stuff like that. The records were great too. As for my summer plans, I am sorting some cards and hanging out with the kids at the pool and museums.

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  18. Great MJ LP pickup! You actually gonna use the watchman or is it just for display?

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  19. the angels in order - hoping to find a copy of beauty and the beat eventually. not only did it have some solid songs, the cover is cool too.

    night owl - it's hard to find bargain priced albums (at least in my area) at the flea market, because vendors use ebay prices and because there are a lot of people who collect lps i'm competing with. the good news is that collectors tend to want their albums in really nice condition. i'm less picky as long as the record itself isn't too beat up.

    the lost collector & sean - yeah, it works. i couldn't find any stations to play, but I could listen to a spanish broadcast while watching snow.

    the diamond king - not sure if this kemp is a duplicate or not... but if it is, i'll send it your way

    john sharp - hope you get to a tigers game. i've got a couple of a's games planned... and one sj giants game.

    johnnys trading spot - now that i'm on summer break, i will definitely start opening up and going through packages. i'll keep you posted

    sumomenkoman - that made in japan label is really cool. i love that they also included the production date too.

    brett alan - hopefully i'll get it on the turntable in the near future and give it a spin

    steve at 1975baseballcards.com - hope you have a great summer whatever you decide to do.

    bo - thanks for the research. i totally forgot about rebel coyote's post. i think i might have seen a more recent post (or maybe a youtube video) featuring that card though. i say this because my memory isn't that good and 2019 might seem recent to some people, but to me it's a long, long time ago.

    i couldn't find a yt video with the album, but here's an 8 track version:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y71dlA4E6Es

    pretty sure they are the same... or at the very least similar

    reds card collector - thanks! finding way more vinyl deals at flea markets these days than cards.

    bamlinden - sadly the superhero album isn't in the best condition, but it was too unique of an album to pass up

    nick vossbrink - if you have some free time, hit me up. maybe we can meet at a flea market or grab lunch in japantown.

    matt - sadly... i'm even cheaper than that. i'll usually only dig $5 out of my pocket if it's an iconic album or something i think might be rare

    mr haverkamp - i discovered that when i was writing this post. i didn't discover that he was in genesis until the 90's or 2000's. that was kind of a shocker for me, because i really enjoyed peter gabriel and genesis music as a kid. but i grew up associating genesis with phil collins

    jon - i guess i need to start checking out estate sales. i'd love to find one of those larger watchmans with the 4 to 5 inch screens.

    the snorting bull - enjoy your summer with the kids. i'm hoping to sort some cards today :D

    jafronius - i put batteries in the watchman and the screen works. but it doesn't get any reception. just snow. so i pulled the batteries out.

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  20. I have three of those LPs-- MJ, Go-Gos and Elton. I bought them new!

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  21. I had the tape of "The Story Of Star Wars". Always liked Roscoe Lee Browne.

    My bet is the switch to digital broadcasting in 2009 is going to prevent the Watchman from picking up any TV stations.

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  22. I found that exact same Watchman when I was cleaning out my mom's apartment after she passed away in November. What a great old device...

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