Flea Market Finds #187: Superfluous Stuff

Saturday's trip to the Branham Flea Market was picture perfect.  Great weather.  Tons of vendors.  And a guy with dime boxes.

Let's jump into my finds...

Purchase #2:  Old Newspapers  $5

I'm gonna start with my second find of the day, because my first purchase was arguably the best.  A vendor I hadn't seen before had a stack of 80's local newspapers.  This one was sitting on top and stirred my curiosity enough to take a peek: 

San Jose Mercury News (10/10/89)

The 1989 World Series will always be special to me.  It featured both Bay Area baseball teams which divided friends and family for a brief period.  

San Jose Mercury News (10/15/89)

San Jose Mercury News (10/16/89)

It's often remembered for the Loma Prieta Earthquake that was captured on live tv about thirty minutes before Game 3 was about to start.

San Jose Mercury News (10/29/89)

The Argus (10/29/89)

And it's the last time the Oakland A's were World Series Champions.

Why are these items superfluous?  Because I'll never really do anything with these newspapers.  If I owned the copy of the Oakland Tribune celebrating the A's win, then maybe I'd frame and display it on my man cave wall (when I buy my dream house).  But these will remain in a box in the garage.

Purchase #3:  Topps Card Locker  $5

Remember when Topps would offer up these sports card lockers on their wax wrappers?

I'm pretty sure I begged my mom for one, but I don't think I ever got one.

I had one of the knockoff brands you could find in those Sears and Service Merchandise catalogs instead.  It took me forty years, but now I can say that I'm the proud owner of an official Topps one.

Why is this item superfluous?  This is one of those items that can no longer function as it was originally intended.  The card trays inside are cracked and even if they weren't, there are much better ways to store your card collection.  But don't worry, it's not going into cold storage with the newspapers.  I proudly have it on display in my office.

Purchase #4:  Comic Books  $2

Image Deathblow and Wolverine #1 (1996)

Image Deathblow and Wolverine #2 (1996)

These two comics were actually part of an eight comic book lot.  These were the only two that I was semi-familiar with.  I knew the vendor and we were catching up for a few minutes.  The least I could do was buy some quarter comic books sitting on his table.

Why are these items superfluous?  I don't really collect comic books (unless they're too cheap to pass up).  I bag and boarded the two pictured comic books and added it to my comic book box.  The rest are headed into the classroom for my students to enjoy.

Purchase #5:  Signed Baseball  $10

Kurt Suzuki is one of my all-time favorite Oakland Athletics.

When I saw this sitting on this guy's table, I immediately recognized the signature and asked for a price.  The vendor wanted $15, which is probably fair.  But it was a little more than I wanted to spend, so I walked away.

When I came back down the row... I asked if he'd take $10 and he accepted.

Why is this item superfluous?  It's superfluous, because I already own a TriStar authenticated signed baseball of Zuk.  Do I really need two signed baseballs of his?  Of course not.  But for the price, I figure I'll bring this into the classroom with the comics and display it on my collectibles shelf.

Purchase #1:  Dime Box Cards  $35

I got to the flea market a little after 7am and found these dime boxes within ten minutes.  Unfortunately, another guy had already purchased all of the baseball cards.  Honestly this is probably a blessing in disguise.  As much as I would have enjoyed going through boxes of 10¢ baseball cards, I honestly don't have a lot of free time right now.

That being said... I found a little over 350 singles.  Most of them were NASCAR, UFC, WWE, and non-sports inserts and parallels.  Here's a look at a few of my favorites:

There was a ton of Japanese wrestlers:

My favorite?  This shiny yellow parallel of Asuka:

2021 Topps Chrome Attax Yellow Refractor #9 (#'d 63/99)

Why are these items superfluous?  Outside of a handful of cards for my collection and some care package filler for fellow bloggers, most of this stuff was purchased because they were too cheap to pass up.

But that's the thing about collecting stuff like cards, comics, signed baseballs, and newspapers.  It's all superfluous.  I can't think of a single thing in my collection that is a necessity.  It's all extra items in my life that aren't needed or necessary to survive.  But they're a huge part of my life and have the power to turn a frown... upside down.  So I'm going to keep hunting for superfluous stuff at my local flea markets.

The next one is less than two weeks away, so stay tuned.  Until then...

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Round 2

Last weekend I showed off the big box filled with presents that Ryan (SumoMenkoMan) sent me.  It's literally a handmade advent calendar that he put together for me.  I honestly have no idea what I've done to deserve this generosity and thoughtfulness, but I'm truly grateful.

My goal was to follow the advent calendar rules and open up a present each day of December leading up to Christmas.  Unfortunately, this week was a little busier than normal, so they all sat in the box until this afternoon.

Today's post recaps my advent calendar binge busting with the next seven days in the calendar...

Day 8:  NPB Snack Packs

At first glance, these might look like packs of baseball cards.  They are actually snack packs filled with Japanese rice crackers, sometimes referred to as "chili bits" or "arare":

I've been snacking on these since I was a kid.  In fact I just bought a bag a few weeks ago and they're sitting in my desk at work.  These were from the eight bags that were in the advent calendar.

Each snack pack came with one pack of cards attached to the back:

I opened all eight snack packs and seven of the card packs.  I kept one pack intact for my unopened pack collection.

Each pack contains one card that looks something like this:

2024 Bandai Pro Baseball Deforme Card Collection #BDC1-HO1

This one has a gold refractor tint to it, so I used it for the sample.  Here are the other six cards I pulled:

The only name I recognized is Tsuyoshi Wada.  He pitched for the Chicago Cubs a few years ago.

If you're interested in reading more about this set, click here.  Sean over at Getting Back into Baseball Cards... in Japan wrote a post about them back in July.


Day #9:  Antique Tin w/Cards

Next up is an antique tin:

According to Ryan, kids in Japan would often store their cards in tins like these.  If you're wondering if this one contained any cards... it did:

Let's start with the really old stuff:

I have no idea who these gentlemen are... but I'm guessing they celebrities.

He also included two more vintage cards and seven phone cards from Japan:

Here's a peek at the back of one of these phone cards:

I've seen these on Ryan's blog and YouTube channel and I'm stoked to add them to my collection.

Day #10:  Non-Sports Promo Cards

He knows that I'm a big fan of 90's sports card promos, but he wasn't sure if I collected non-sport promo cards like these:

The simple answer is "heck yeah"!  I collect promo cards of any subject from any decade.  But I'm especially fond of promo cards from sets I'd actually love to own like this one:

2021 RRParks Ultraman Series One Promo #P1

Like those rice crackers... I've been a fan of Ultraman since I was a little kid.  I had no idea this set existed, but now that I know it's out there... I want one.

Day #11:  Japanese Calligraphy

This is a canvas board with some Japanese writing on it.  It says "Destiny".  I believe that certain things in my life have happened for a reason.  Can't say for sure if starting a blog and building a friendship is one of those things, but regardless I'm very grateful that's the way things played out.

Day #12:  Twelve Vintage Planes

My interest in Japan transcends trading cards... which is why I was stoked to find this:

It's a sealed package of decals/stickers that look older than me (and I'm old).  I could open it up and look for a date, but something this old should be preserved.

Day #13:  Ohtani Tea

One of my favorite beverages is green tea.  Ryan sent me two bottles of it:

These are extra special, because they're endorsed by this year's National League MVP... Mr. Ohtani:

I've already opened up one of these bottles.  It paired well with the chili bits from Day #8.

Day #14:  Potentially Rare Insert Cards

Ryan write a note for each present in the box.  His message on this envelope said "People threw these out so now they are more rare than the regular cards".  

Kinda makes you wonder if Tom over at The Angels, In Order is onto something.

Here's my favorite of the bunch:

1996 Upper Deck Meet the Stars Trivia Challenge #72

Do you know the answer?  

Perkins started his career in Dallas.  Payton and Kemp hadn't been in the league for ten years when this card was released, so McMillan would be the correct answer.  Unfortunately this contest ended over twenty-five years ago.  I wonder if anyone ever got a chance to meet MJ.

Well that wraps up the Part 2 of Ryan's 2024 Advent Calendar.

Thank you Ryan!  Love the variety of gifts, the tasty snacks, and appreciate the time and effort you put into this advent calendar.  Totally awesome bro!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Problem Solved (Well Almost)

I think one of the reasons I've enjoyed card collecting for over three decades is my OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder).  In fact one quick look at the characteristics that many people with OCD share and it's pretty obvious.  Many of us like to sort, count, put things in order, clean, organize, and follow a strict routine.

For example... for years I've had a very strict routine on how I store my autographs and memorabilia cards.  I put the card in a penny sleeve, then slide the penny sleeve into a top-loader, and finally insert the top-loader into a team bag.

This system has worked for years, but it always bothered me that the team bags were too wide, which forced me to store them in an angle in my BCW Super Monster Boxes (right column):

 

Then a few months ago, I watched a video on YouTube and the guy showed off something called Perfect Fit sleeves.

They're similar to Ultra Pro team bags, except for the sleeve is a little thicker and is much narrower:

Here's a side by side comparison:

 

It may not look like that much of a difference, but the Perfect Fit sleeves are almost one centimeter narrower, which makes a huge difference.

Unfortunately... my OCD issue hasn't entirely been solved.  Transitioning from Ultra Pro team bags hasn't been cheap.  Each 50ct. package is $2.49.  Plus the BCW Super Monster Boxes that I use are designed for top-loaders that aren't bagged.

So even though the Perfect Fit sleeves are narrower, they not quite narrow enough.  The good news is that I no longer need to store all three rows at an angle.  The bad news is that the middle row's angle looks a little more severe than before.

Overall the Perfect Fit sleeves allow me to fit more top-loaders into each box, but there's still room for improvement.  However that's really up to BCW and their Super Monster Boxes design.  If their rows were a tad bit wider all of my OCD issues would be appeased.

What about you?  Do you use top-loaders?  If so...

How do you store them?

Happy Saturday and sayonara!