Just like my stacks of unsorted cards and care packages sitting on my desk in the office... my flea market posts have begun to pile up. Considering they're usually the most popular posts on this blog... I hate the idea of combining them. However I'm at the point where I don't see any other option.
This is a partial recap of my past four trips. Two of them were at the De Anza Flea Market on 9/7 and 10/5. The other two were quick trips to the nearby Branham Flea Market on 9/21 and 10/19.
Since recapping multiple trips isn't the norm, I figured I'd do something differently and utilize a countdown format where I rank them based on my excitement and overall value of each purchase. Without spoiling too much, the #1 item is easily my favorite purchase of the year. Unfortunately... I won't be revealing that purchase today.
In an effort to keep posts at a reasonable length, I'm going to break these four trips down into three posts:
Part #1: #22 to #14
Part #2: #13 to #6
Part #3: #5 to #1
Let's get the ball rolling...
#22: A Cringy Cassingle 25¢
Flea Market: De Anza on October 5th
Informer by Snow (1992)
This vendor had a box of cassette singles for a quarter each. I was hoping to find at least one song I really liked, but came up short. However for the price, I grabbed this single from the early 90's, because it a memorable.
One day I'm going to buy one of those Ikea display cases and fill it up with nostalgic pieces from my youth. This one can go on the 90's shelf next to some pogs, Pokemon cards, Kenner SLUs, and one of my mom's Beanie Babies.
#21: PS4 Video Game $5
Flea Market: De Anza on October 5th
Injustice2 (2018)
Although I don't regret this purchase... I'm not excited about it either. It's a fighting game (like Street Fighter) which is a genre I have little interest in. That being said... I do enjoy collecting video games... especially if they are brand new and the price is right.
#20: Oakland Raiders Binder $10
Flea Market: Branham on October 19th
Picked up this binder for a few of my 4th period students who are diehard Raiders fans.
The only card I pulled out was this kicker:
2009 Score Inscriptions #217
One of my friends is a Raiders fan. She named her son after this guy, so whenever I get Janikowski cards... they go to him.
#19: Another Cassette Single $1
Flea Market: Branham on October 19th
This Used To Be My Playground by Madonna (1992)
#18: A Banned Book $2
Flea Market: De Anza on October 5th
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss
I'm a sucker for controversy. That's why I enjoy collecting cards featuring the middle finger or the F-word written on the end of the bat.
It's also why I picked up this book which was pulled from publication back in 2021 for this image:
As an Asian male who has spent his entire life dealing with Asian stereotypes... I am not offended by this picture at all. But it's not my place to tell others how they should or shouldn't feel when they see an image like this.
#17: An Informers Autograph $20
Flea Market: De Anza on September 7th
I'm sure some of you were wondering if there were going to be any baseball card purchases. Well here you go:
2024 Topps Archives Signature Series
1999 Topps Traded #T83
Not much to get excited about... considering it's Jose Canseco. But the fact that he's with the Rays is what caught my eye. I don't have a lot of his cards from his Tampa Bay days and I actually like the well-cropped action shot used on this card.
Canseco signs a lot at local card shows, so there's no shortage of his autographs around here. But this purchase was about half the price he normally charges... plus I didn't have to wait in line.
#16: A Premature Purchase $5
Flea Market: De Anza on September 7th
The guy who sold me the Canseco, also had these two Shota Imanaga rookie cards:
2024 Topps Chrome #121
2024 Finest #45 (Common)
I should have been patient... but in the moment I was stoked to add my first cards of the 31 year old MLB rookie.
#15: A Small Card Collection $30
Flea Market: Branham on September 21st
It took me over a week to sit down, sort, and figure out what I had actually purchased. I'm not exactly an expert on either sport, but here are some of the cards that stood out to me:
UFC Cards
Soccer Cards
I love shiny cards... and that's really what attracted me to these boxes. Plus I have been looking to add some singles of Messi to the collection.
#14: A Deck of Cards $1
Flea Market: Branham on October 19th
1999 U.S. Playing Cards Major League All-Stars
One vendor's deck of cards is another man's set of cards.
This deck wasn't new, but I needed that McGwire/Canseco card for the collection. I ended up adding seven other cards into my collection as well. The rest will be tossed into care packages eventually.
Most of the people who read this blog are baseball fans... so this is a good spot to stop. Stay tuned for Part 2. It should be published in two days.
Until then... feel free to share your thoughts or opinions on any of these purchases... or this "countdown" format down below in the comments.
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
13 comments:
Man all kinds of great stuff.
"Informer" is a damn good record. I remember when it was big, when I got in the car I'd punch up all the top-40 stations hoping to catch it.
Lots of variety thus far. I'm interested in the leftover playing cards. That Canseco auto is probably my favorite of the gets.
I think the MLB All-Stars playing card set is the best deal.
The Messis and Mbappes are the best items without regard to price.
I thought it felt like it had been a while since you did a Flea Market Finds post, and I was definitely missing them! Awesome variety of stuff here. I hope you had fun flipping through that collection of non-major sports. I'll try to keep an eye out for Janikowski cards for your friend's son.
👍
the angels in order - there was a brief moment when i considered not writing about a lot of this stuff like the book, cassingles, and video game. but gotta document everything, right?
brett alan - i remember the song being really popular... but i just couldn't get into it. but it'll be a conversation piece for sure.
johnnys trading spot - the playing cards are yours
elliptical man - i was pretty happy to add a bunch of cards to my collection with that deck of cards... and definitely can't complain about the price. messi and mbappe are two of only a handful of guys i recognize. wish i knew more about the sport
dennis - it was fun... but honestly... i don't know much about professional soccer. and my interest in the ufc peaked a few years ago. but i was stoked to add some old timers (guys from 10 years ago) to my collection. if you collect any particular soccer or mma fighters, let me know.
mark zentkovich - thanks for checking out the blog.
Great idea with the flea markets and presenting it in a fun countdown. I like it!!
Excellent variety of products. I always find it fun to go through a box of cards to find out what you actually got. I haven't done that for a very long time, when I did, I always was on the lookout for any Minnesota team related cards. Nice post and organization of it.
You always find the coolest stuff at the flea markets you go to. Love this post! The favorite item for me though isn’t card related. That Snow “Informer” cassette single was a hit in my neighborhood back in the day. I’m pretty sure my cousin Michelle who lived right next to me growing up had it and would blast it from her stereo in my parents front yard while we laid in the grass trying to figure out what the heck the guy was saying in the song. The Canseco is a beauty as well. Great finds!
I would've loved to have been able to look through those cassette singles. I have such a strong attachment to them courtesy of many childhood memories. I'm never fortunate enough to ever find them in the wild though.
sumomenkoman - thanks buddy.
rj sahl - i really enjoy sorting through boxes of cards too... especially if i'm not strapped for time. and i do the same thing as you... only pull out bay area teams
bryan - decades later i'm still trying to figure out what snow is saying :D
jon - they've only recently started popping up. i was surprised to see them at back to back flea markets. now if i could only find some singles of songs that i really, really like.
Fun? fact: Snow wrote some of the lyrics for Informer while in jail, charged with attempted murder. The charges were later reduced. The track was released just before he was back in jail, this time for assault.
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