Saturday, April 27, 2013

Props v2...a little later than thought.

It's amazing how quickly time goes by.  Here we are approaching the end of April and I have made all of one post for the month.  Time to double that output.  This edition is all about giving props to a trading friend from a few weeks gone by....http://cootvealandthevealtones.blogspot.com/.  It's not every day one comes across a trader that is looking for a 60 year old card that you have doubles of and has similar cards to trade back.  Now mind you, my collection from way back then is sparse and finding anyone to trade these is few and far between.  But I was meandering through some blogs and found something that caught my eye.  As background, I lived in the Detroit area for the past 20+ years so my collection of older cards that I'm happy to acquire sometimes is limited to Tigers.  The card shows that I used to attend regularly at Gilbralter Trade Centers put most every other shows to shame.  You could spend the entire weekend and not really see everything.  For those that used to and possibly even still do attend them know of what I speak.  Hundreds upon hundreds of dealers packed into tens of thousands of square feet with nothing but sports cards.  It was a collectors dream when you knew you could find most anything you wanted.

As I bring myself back to the present and more specifically to this trade, I revel in being able to help a fellow collector in completing something that is not the common type of trade.  So here I sit with an extra 1950 Bowman Tiger and 1952 Bowman high # Tiger card that has made it to a wanted list of this fellow trader.


Are they perfect, no.  Are they beaten up, no.  So I make contact and find that the trader has some Yankees that are on his trading block.  We go back and forth and decide on a good trade.  My return, a couple of 1951 Bowman Yankees, a 1952 Bowman Indian and a 1956 Topps Yankee.


For me, this is kind of hard to turn down, but more was to be had.  Upon further review, we noticed a 2007 Bowman Heritage want list on each others blog as well.  Not that I have a ton, but enough to help out.  Just for the record, I try to only trade cards of which I have doubles.  I made an exception this time on the Bowman Heritage as I figured I had so many needs that helping a fellow collector out is something I'd enjoy being on the receiving end in return at some point.  So at the end of the day, 50-60 cards later going in each direction, I received more than a 1-1 trade for the Bowman Heritage plus other needs on my ever expanding want lists.  I gave what I had of 2007 Bowman Heritage along with specific player cards on his want list.  An ever expanding pile of cards....nothing but satisfaction.

It's hard to find these kind of trades but when they spring up.......you sit back and wait for a miracle of a package to appear.  And one surely arrived.....safe, sound and the cards now in their proper location.  Sorted in an 800 count box properly identified and in order by year.  If I am anything, I am a creature of dedication and order...at least when it comes to my baseball card collection.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Props v1

After a couple of weeks being busy with the holidays and such, it's time to get back to doing some good work on the card front.  This post however is one that is giving props to a fellow blogger.  This blogger has taken it upon himself to create a March Madness type of competition using MLB teams.  The person I speak of is http://www.uncledocscardcloset.com/.  I follow the blog as I saw an opportunity to do some trading in the fashion of Donruss.  I haven't had much Donruss related lists on my page but am slowly getting them up so that we can reduce the want lists from both of our perspective. 

I was fortunate enough to stumble across the page of the MLB tournament with but one team left, the NY Mets.  Being a Yankees fan, I had to swallow some pride in taking the Mets, but who was I to shy away from a fun way to root for a team that most of the time, I couldn't care less for.  Plus they are playing the Cardinals in round one and that makes it even better should the underdog 12 seed make their move early in the season.  As of this post, both teams are 5-4; so a tie going into Thursday's action.

I'm not sure where round 2 goes should I get there but hey it's fun whether I do or not.  So thanks to Doc for allowing me to take the reigns of the NY Baseball team, albeit from the National League.  Should you be so inclined to see the tournament, take a look at Doc's blog and maybe you'll find some treasures of what he has for trade and what it is he's seeking or just visit the latest tournament updates throughout the season.  I know I have.