Flea Market Finds #95: Bringin' on the Heartache

Depending on the time of year, I average anywhere from two to five trips to the flea market each month... and I've certainly had my fair share of cool finds over the years.  But I assure you that the Bay Area isn't exactly the flea market mecca of the world.

For every Flea Market Find post published, there are at least one or two trips where I leave empty-handed or walk away with only non-collectible related items.

Sunday was one of those days.  I walked around the Capitol Flea Market twice and came home with only one item...

Purchase #1:  Def Leppard High 'n' Dry CD $1

Def Leppard was one of my favorite groups back in the 80's.  I still remember writing their name all over my Pee-Chee folders.  Pyromania is hands down their greatest album, but for the past thirty years I've wanted to add High 'n' Dry to my CD collection too.  And Sunday I finally found a copy for a reasonable price.

Unfortunately... that was the only deal worth purchasing and to prove to everyone that my local flea markets aren't loaded with '52 Mantles, here are a few Flea Market Flops I found...

Flea Market Flop #1:  1990 Donruss Wax Box $10

Fuji's Fair Market Value: $2 to $6

Is this the worst deal ever?  No.  But I honestly wouldn't have bought it for five dollars.  I'm not a huge fan of this design and this might be one of the most overproduced products of all-time.  And to make matters worse... Donruss completely dropped the ball and left The Big Hurt off their checklist.

Flea Market Flop #2:  Matt Millen Display $150

Fuji's Fair Market Value: $20 to $40

I'm sure this custom display wasn't cheap to build.  It features an autographed photo and football of 4x Super Bowl Champion and would be a nice addition to any Matt Millen fan's collection.  However this is the flea market, not a memorabilia store... and $150 seems a little steep for any 49er not named Montana or Rice.

Flea Market Flop #3:  1989 Topps Factory Set $10

Fuji's Fair Market Value: $1 to $2

On eBay, these factory sets seem to sell in the $10 to $20 range.  Unfortunately this particular set was missing about a third of its cards and the box was torn up.  And due to the fact that it's 1989 Topps, I didn't even bother to sift through the remains.

Flea Market Flop #4:  Binder Full of Pogs $25

Fuji's Fair Market Value: $1 to $3

Believe it or not... I actually wanted to buy this binder.  It was filled with at least 200 pogs and 50 slammers, plus some of them were pretty cool looking.  However... who in their right mind would spend $25 on pogs?

Well that's it for now.  This weekend I'll be heading to the De Anza Flea Market... where I hope to find more treasures than flops.  Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Flops #3: Factory Sets and Bobble Heads

I've made some key changes in the way I collect the past few months.  Lately, I've been targeting mostly vintage cards and hard signed autographs for my collection.  Who knows how long this trend will last, but that's currently what I've been craving.  Most of the vintage cards I've purchased have been pretty good deals.  However the autographs have definitely sucked up a big part of my cardboard budget.

In fact, not only have I used up my hobby budget three months in a row... I've actually been going over it by a few dollars each month.

Unfortunately... this month is no exception.  With a few days still left in the month, I'm already $8.57 over my budget and there are several auctions I've targeted on my sniper program that end this week.  That's why I knew in advance that I would need to keep my wallet in my pocket this past weekend, when I walked around the Capitol Flea Market.

Some of you might be wondering... what's the point of going to the flea market if you're not going to buy anything?  Well... believe it or not... shopping is only one of the reasons I go to the flea market every weekend.  I also go out there to walk around, interact with people, and get some fresh air.  Plus... it's also entertaining to see what people are hoping to get for their stuff.  I took a bunch of pictures of overpriced items this past Sunday, but ended up narrowing things down to three items.

First up...

1989 Topps Baseball (Incomplete) Set $10

I actually bought this set twenty-five years ago and probably paid $20 to $30 for it.  These days, I wouldn't pay $10 for it even if it was factory sealed.  This particular set had about 100 cards missing from it.  I'd be surprised if someone is willing to give the guy $5... let alone $10.


More Topps Sets $50

Another vendor had the same exact set, plus a 1987 Topps Baseball set.  According to the guy, both sets are complete.  He even mentioned that these were a steal, because I'd end up owning a Barry Bonds rookie card.  I guess he doesn't realize that you can buy an 87T Bonds off of COMC for 35¢.

2001 Carl's Jr Barry Bonds Bobble Head $25

Believe it or not, I actually was interested in this Bonds bobble.  I've seen them at Capitol in the past, but this is the first time I've seen someone ask this much.  Usually vendors want $5 to $10 for them and since I still don't own one, you can probably figure out how much I want to spend.

Here's a hint... not $25.  Instead, I'd rather save my money and buy this...

Purchase #1:  2011 Willie Mays SGA Statue $10

There's definitely an aftermarket when it comes to San Francisco Giants stadium giveaways.  I have seen these for sale a few times and people usually want $20 to $40 for them.  I offered the guy $10, because the box is wrapped in tape, has water damage, and doesn't come with the styrofoam padding.  He countered with $15, but I told him $10 was the most I was willing to spend and he accepted.

On my last leg of the flea market, I ran into one of my former students.  His family was selling a bunch of stuff... ranging from clothes to furniture to toys.  I ended up buying from him...

Purchase #2:  Ronald Reagan Figure and Die Cast Cars $8

I've never been into Hot Wheels or die cast vehicles in general, but a few years ago my buddy told me to buy Johnny Lightning cars if I ever found them at reasonable prices.  My former student offered them to me for a buck each.  Or I could take all seven cars for five dollars.

He also had this 2003 President Ronald Reagan 12" talking action figure:

He threw it in for three bucks, since I was going to purchase all of the cars.  If I didn't know the guy, I probably wouldn't have purchased this stuff.  But I figured it was going to a good cause.  And maybe... just maybe I'll be able to flip them when I set up at the De Anza Flea Market in two weeks.

That's all I've got for today.  Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Flea Market Flops #2: Pogs, Becketts, Bobbles, and Packs

Round two... ding, ding.

I have to admit... I dropped the ball on this series.  The plan was to start documenting my not so positive flea market experiences.  In other words, review items I was interested in, but ended up passing up for one reason or another.

A few days ago, I wrote about the new flea market I walked around on Saturday and the pretty cool purchases I made.  However, I failed to mention that I also went out to my normal venue on Sunday (Capitol Flea Market) and ended up walking away empty handed.  

Here are a few of the items that caught my attention.

Hand Painted Barry Bonds Bobble Head $10

I know that there are a lot of people who can't stand Barry, but living in the Bay Area... I'd have no problem finding a home for this bobble.  Unfortunately, I wasn't willing to pay over $5.


Pail of Packs $10

Let me clarify.  It's a pail of opened packs that contained two or three inserts with some base cards of players like Jeter and A-Rod.  But the guy's price was a little to rich for my taste.  I didn't bother to counter his offer, because I didn't want to offend him.


Binder of Becketts $30

I love reading back issues of Beckett... especially if they're from the late 80's or early 90's.  They're a great way to go back and get in touch with the past.  But this vendor was not very realistic.  $30 for three Becketts is a little steep.  This was another situation where I didn't even bother to counter, but when I put the binder down he told me that he'd take $15.  I just waved goodbye and walked away.


Collection of POGs $40

I know what you're about to ask.  Why in the world would you want these?  Well... I'm not really sure. But if the price was right, I would have grabbed them.  As you can see... the price was wrong.  Very wrong.

And finally...

Stacks of Gentlemen's Magazines $???

I have no idea how much the vendor wanted, but I immediately thought to myself... who the heck buys 2nd hand magazines of this nature.  Just saying.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Flops #1: The Inaugural Edition

It's a crapshoot every time I grab my backpack, water bottle, and pistachios and head out to the local flea market.

Sometimes I find new items for my collection.  And other times I walk away empty handed.  Either way, I usually only write about my flea market success stories.  But that's about to change.  I figure it's probably just as interesting to reflect on the stuff I didn't buy too.

So here's a look at some of the stuff I walked away from over the past month or so:

Binder Full of Los Angeles Dodgers  $100

This was from a few weekends ago.  I came across this awesome binder full of 70's and 80's Los Angeles Dodgers cards.  Obviously... a few bloggers instantly came to mind, so I asked the guy about it.  After a two to three minute conversation about how rare some of these cards are, he told me he wanted $150... but I could have it for $100.

I'm sure if you're a fan of Beckett values... it might be in the same ballpark.  But I wasn't willing to pay over $20.  Sorry Night Owl, Zakwin, Stealing Home, and GCRL.


Cards One: Bringing Back The Oldies 80's Packs $2 each or 3 for $5

How addicted am I to cardboard?  I'm so addicted that I considered picking up these repacks from Cards One... which probably contain a bunch of 1988 Topps baseball.  Anyways... I was willing to give the guy $2 for all three packs, but he kindly shot down my offer.


Rubber Band Wrapped Sports Cards $2

I flipped through these and didn't see anything I wanted.  But I had figured the least I could do was entertain the lady and ask her about the cards.  She told me that they were left behind in her classroom by a former student... which led to a conversation about teaching, schools, and of course "education" in general.

In the end, she told me I could have them for $2, since I was a teacher.  I passed... even though I appreciated the $3 educator's discount.


Baseball Card Binder $50

I'm not going to lie.  I really, really wanted this binder.  It had a bunch of 70's stars in it, including Pete Rose, George Brett, Reggie Jackson, and Tom Seaver.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough in it to justify spending $50.  I offered $20 (which I though was more than fair) and the guy laughed at me.


Ichiro Suzuki Bobble Head $7

Seven dollars isn't a terrible price for a hand painted bobble head, but it was just a little out of my price range.  I wanted to pay $3... but was willing to go up to $5.  The good thing is that I've seen this bobble on three different occasions.  Maybe one of these times he'll drop his price.


2000 McFarlane Big League Challenge Mark McGwire $10

Do I really need a Mark McGwire logo-less figure?  No.  Do I really want a Mark McGwire logo-less figure?  No.

But I had to ask about it... and the Jeff Garcia bobble sitting right next to it.

The guy wanted $10/each or $15 for the pair.  As I walked away, he asked how much I wanted to spend.  I told him a buck and he told me not to waste his time.  Well... that's how much I wanted to spend.  My parents told me to never ask a question, if I didn't want to hear the answer.


9-Pocket Pages w/Baseball Cards $10

This is probably one of the more intriguing things I walked away from, because within this packet of 10 to 12 9-Pocket pages, there were inserts and rookie cards.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a great look at them, because they had taped the pages together.

Ten dollars was kind of high for a mystery package that only guaranteed me a Russell Martin rookie card and a low end insert of Derek Jeter.  I was willing to give the guy up to $3, but didn't say anything because I didn't want to offend the guy.


Dave Dravecky & Wally Joyner Autographed Balls $225

I had to save the best for last.  In all honesty... this might be one of my all-time favorite flea market stories.

As a child of the 80's, I would love to add autographs of both of these guys to my collection... but seriously... there's no way anyone is giving the lady $225 for the pair.

But hold on... it actually gets better.  She wanted $150 for each of them individually, but was willing to give me a package discount.

Wait... it gets better.  When I picked up the Dravecky to see if it was certified... she YELLED at me.  Not just a "loud" voice... it was a sharp, unsuspecting, ear piercing scream.  Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what the drama was about.

It was awesome!

As she yelled at me, I immediately began thinking to myself... how should I react?  Well... I took the high road... put the ball down... took out my phone and snapped this picture... then walked away with a huge smile on my face.

The event definitely got the blood flowing... but I can't wait until the next time I see her.  Because I'll definitely be fondling her balls again.

Happy Friday and sayonara!