Most of my posts these days feature cards donated to me by fellow collectors... but believe it or not I buy cards too.
One of my go-to online stores is Baseballcardstore.ca, which some of us used to refer to as the Online Dime Box. Sadly that name no longer applies, because most of the cards on their site are free. All you have to do is pay for shipping.
The concept is simple... if you live in the United States or Canada, you can fill up your cart with 1 to 40 free cards and pay the $5.99 shipping charge, then sit back and wait for the cards to arrive. Obviously the best deal is to choose 40 cards instead of less... which essentially means you're paying 15¢ per card... which is still better than a standard Sportlots order or the COMC minimum.
I'll routinely look for cards that I'll send in care packages, but sometimes I find something for me.
This morning, I got around to opening up two 40ct. packages from them and figured in the spirit of Canada Day, I'd showcase cards from my favorite online shop north of the border. I've narrowed down my stack in an effort to keep your attention...
#1: A Pair of Parallels
1992 Topps Gold Winner #531
I figured it was only right to kick things off with one of the greatest Canadian baseball players of all-time. Plus... you know I love my well-cropped action shots.
1992 Topps Gold Winner #535
Dave Stieb might not be Canadian... but he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays for almost his entire career.
#2: A Rare Pirates Pose
1987 Classic #34
Unfortunately... there aren't many cards of him in this stance. And this is the only card I know of where he's with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
#3: Sexy Stevie
Not gonna lie... I only watched this show for one or two seasons. I was more of a 90210 guy. So the fact that this set was never produced didn't bother me.
But whenever I can add a new promo card to my collection... especially for 15¢... I will.
1991-92 ProSet Super Stars MusiCards #176
Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite groups... and Stevie Nicks plays a big role in that. Pretty sure it was her Stand Back video that sealed the deal on my childhood crush.
#4: The Set That Never Was
1997 Sports Time Melrose Place Promo #P
#5: The Final Five
Here are the final five cards I needed for my 1992 Leaf set:
I actually bought this set complete a couple of years ago, but a handful of singles were damaged by the rings in the binder. I also purchased the Black Gold parallel set too... and had the same problem. I still need these eight to complete that set:
Well that wraps up today's post. Thank you Steven and Nancy for providing a very affordable online option for card collectors.
Happy Canada Day and sayonara!
Those '92 Leaf cards are everywhere but I've always liked that Black Gold parallel set. I need to get started on it.
ReplyDeleteHappy completed set!
ReplyDeleteThe Walker and Pena cards are great. I also like Fleetwood Mac.
ReplyDelete'92 Leaf is one of those sets in which the parallel set makes the base set look boring as heck.
ReplyDeletebaseballcardstore.ca is terrific. I've got a picked-for-me order ready to go whenever I say the word.
I do like their new model. 15 cents per card shipped is very reasonable and it's actually good that it's pick 40 and ship them rather than trying to decide when to pay for shipping. I picked 40 not too long ago, heavy on Mets parallels, mostly from factory set parallels of Topps sets. (In fact in my whole shipment, the only card which wasn't a Met was a Nolan Arenado parallel, just because if there's a parallel of a star like that going for 15 cents, and I don't have it, why wouldn't I?)
ReplyDeleteOnly downside was that it took them a while to pull and ship, but they've recently posted that they're addressing that problem, so I'm hopeful it won't happen again. I'll probably do an order every month or two, especially if I don't get to a show or otherwise buy much in person.
Thanks to your post Fuji, I scrolled around the Web site for a couple of hours to put a 40-card order in.
ReplyDeleteMaybe searching on the baseballcardstore.ca Web site has always been a little harder, so I mostly depended on going through their pages where they posted pictures rather than just listings of cards.
I am anticipating a wait, but hopefully they pull and ship sooner than never.
I am going to have to check out this website. I have seen other people talk about it, but it sounds like a really good way to close up some holes in sets. I love that Tony Pena card with his leg out to the side. I was talking to my middle schooler recently about him. We had run across Tony Pena in an old table top baseball game, and I was telling him about how he was a great defensive catcher and how he stuck his leg out to the side. We looked through my cards trying to find one with that type of picture without luck. I will add that one to the next card order I make.
ReplyDeleteI just boxed up a package for DEfGAv loaded with (Black) Gold 92' Leaf cards. I'm sure he'll have dupes , maybe they are the ones you need.
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian I appreciate the "happy Canada day"!
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a pretty good deal, love that Larry Walker 92 Topps Gold!
I haven't purchased from the baseballcardstore in awhile. I'm due...
ReplyDeleteI've got a good handful of cards waiting to be shipped from the Online Dime Box. I should probably stop dragging my feet and just get them sent to me already.
ReplyDeleteI was in a “Hot Wax of the Month” club that sent wax boxes throughout the 1990s and the bows were usually amazing. Most baseball and you’d get Stadium Club or even Signature Rookies. In 97 the guys and I decide to take a trip to a cabin in the Ozarks and I said “I’ll bring the box of the month with us and I’ll make it a surprise!”
ReplyDelete17 hours later and we’re dressed in jerseys and it’s time! I open the envelope and it’s MELROSE PLACE!
The worst thing was when Jared said “it’s not even 90210, dude”
Salt meets wound, bro
crocodile - i really like the set. if you're serious about building it and want to save money... look for large starter lots or just go out and buy a completed set. i bought both the regular and parallel set for $60 and this was in he heart of the pandemic when prices were high.
ReplyDeletejon - thank you
wax pack wonders - that action shot on walker's card is pretty cool. it was a nice surprise
night owl - picked for me order? that sounds pretty cool. i want one of those :D
brett alan - i can see the shipping delay issue being a downer for some. i just have so many packages to get to... i wasn't to bothered by it. glad you were able to get a jump on those parallels. i had a few stars in my shipments as well
laurens - glad you found some cards for your collection. hopefully they've shipped your cards by now (since i'm commenting two weeks late).
the snorting bull - it's funny that card companies didn't capture such a unique baseball stance. there's got to be a bunch of photos of him squatting behind the plate.
johnnys trading spot - it's a great looking set. not surprise that both of us are building it
sean - hope you and your fellow canadians enjoyed your special day.
matt - i haven't had any time to sit down and shop. i usually kill a couple of hours each time i do :D
nick - i've never held back on shipment. is there any particular advantage to doing that? like do they discount shipping?
jazzman - lol. hot wax of the month club sounds pretty cool. depending on the price, i might have signed up for it. i was really into signature rookies back in the mid 90's.