This does not seem sustainable

As I have come back to the card collecting world, I have been somewhat amazed at prices I am seeing for newer cards.  Of course, Jordan cards are the current rage, but prices for many other players have been leaving me amazed!!  Every time!

Kobe.  When he died, I heard there was price gouging.  I didn't go look, but in the last month or so I did.  Prices still high, I was impressed.

So then I went looking at Lebron prices.  Figured they'd be high.  Um, yeah.  They were much higher than I would have thought!  My Bowman RC is now a big time card!

And it isn't just basketball, even baseball cards are popping!

Andrew McCutchen 2005 Topps Updates & Highlights looks like they are going for $8+ for raw, ungraded copies on COMC.  Is that for real?  I think I have several in a box somewhere...

And pretty much anything graded seems to be going for astronomical prices.  What do you think of this?

I only have a few graded cards, and they are better than an 84 fleer Oil Can Boyd (not that there's anything wrong with that) that is not even a 10, it's just an 8!

But all of that is just some minor ridiculousness.

Which brings us to....



Mike Trout

I have heard mention of Trout rookies going for absurd prices, and several people have made comments about Trout RC's in passing here on my posts. Since I had not looked in my big box of keepers in detail for a while, I grabbed the box and flipped to the Trout section.

An unassuming Trout RC stared back at me.  Kind of bland, couldn't be worth the big bucks.

But I was excited, and went to Ebay to look at completed sales and....

Holy %#&@%&!!!

Here is the card I have:

2011 Topps Update

The copyright on the back is 2011, so not a reprint.  I have no idea where I got it, likely at a card show many years ago.  I never spend real money on singles, so I can't imagine that I spent over $5 for it.  Talk about a good purchase!!




So here is the thing.  I know that many of us bloggers are not big on selling their cards. To those who feel that way, I apologize, but I need to at least think about the possibility of selling this card.  Possibility, not certainty. And really, I am leaning against it right now.  But if I could get the kind of moolah that they have been selling for, then my financial situation might demand it.

One reason to sell...

It seems like the current influx of money into the hobby may not be sustainable.  What do you, my wonderful readers think of that idea?  Could we be in a bubble, destined to pop?  Or could the prices keep rising?  Could the prices level off soon but not deflate?  I'm wondering if, in 5 or 10 years from now, that these prices might be a fraction of what they are now.

On the other hand...

I really do see Jordan and Trout being a lot like Mickey Mantle, with their reputations in the hobby keeping their card prices afloat regardless of the rest of the hobby.  And it is definitely possible, even if the prices plummet, that I would never be able to put my hands on this card again.



If I did decide to sell, it looks like I would definitely need to get the card graded.  It looks pretty good to me, but I have never graded a card before, and besides the expense, I would be worried that it would come back a 7 or something.

Looks like there are 3 real grading companies out there.  I looked at them and Beckett looks the most affordable and quickest on the turnaround.  What do those of you who have experience with the grading process think? (It also looks like the grading companies are swamped.  Could everyone be jumping to grade while the prices are so high?  Can I get a 'duh'?)

Maybe I could find a place where I could trade it.  Anybody got a 2012 Trout RC and a beat up Hank Aaron RC?  Just kidding, but kinda not?  Turning it in to a large number of smaller cards that I really want but would never be able to buy has it's appeal too.

Ugh, this isn't nearly as fun as going through dime boxes!!  But I don't want to make a bad decision when the stakes are this high.


Any advice??  Oh, and what other cards/players do I need to look up and see how they have gone through the roof?????

New collection - 2011 Topps Chrome refractors

I'm not a huge set builder.  Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of complete sets, and I have even built a decent number of them myself, but lately it just hasn't been on my radar.

However, I am going to try to build a 2011 Topps Chrome refractors set.

Huh?  Why?



Well, the main reason is that out of the 220 refractors in 2011 Topps Chrome, I already have 130 of them!!  Now I never bought a single pack or box of 2011 Topps Chrome.  So where did I get all of these????  Well, back in the old days, I did a goofy project where I tried to get 1000 refractors.  And as part of that, 2011 Topps Chrome was far and away the set with the most.

So now that I have time on my hands, I figured it was time to give it a go.  I have added the needs to my wantlist and hopefully someday I will have them all!

Any help is always appreciated!!  Here is the list I still need (this is also on the wantlists page)

2011 Topps Chrome refractors need

	4	Andre Ethier
	6	Zack Greinke
	7	Mickey Mantle
	10	Hanley Ramirez
	13	Evan Longoria
	14	Adam Dunn
	16	Jason Heyward
	17	Starlin Castro
	18	Ian Kinsler
	21	Carlos Ruiz
	22	Nick Markakis
	24	Matt Kemp
	29	Phil Hughes
	32	Yadier Molina
	33	Danny Espinosa
	45	Ryan Howard
	47	James Loney
	48	Jay Bruce
	50	Ichiro Suzuki
	51	Gordon Beckham
	52	CC Sabathia
	54	Ryan Braun
	59	Joe Nathan
	60	Josh Hamilton
	66	Neftali Feliz
	68	Aroldis Chapman
	70	Robinson Cano
	74	Nelson Cruz
	75	Roy Halladay
	80	Joe Mauer
	82	Franklin Gutierrez
	83	Adam Jones
	86	Drew Stubbs
	87	Todd Helton
	88	Joakim Soria
	90	Kevin Youkilis
	92	Jake Peavy
	93	Pablo Sandoval
	96	Hunter Pence
	101	Tim Hudson
	102	Jordan Zimmermann
	103	Shin-Soo Choo
	105	Felix Hernandez
	107	Clayton Kershaw
	109	Ricky Romero
	111	Marlon Byrd
	113	Jayson Werth
	115	Justin Verlander
	125	Roy Oswalt
	134	Grady Sizemore
	140	Mark Teixeira
	148	Derrek Lee
	150	Albert Pujols
	152	Josh Thole
	153	Jonathan Broxton
	157	Angel Pagan
	158	Curtis Granderson
	160	Troy Tulowitzki
	162	Elvis Andrus
	164	Jered Weaver
	166	Victor Martinez
	167	Chad Billingsley
	168	J.A. Happ
	169	Rafael Furcal
	170	Eric Hosmer
	173	Freddie Freeman
	175	Ben Revere
	178	Mark Trumbo
	179	Marcos Mateo
	180	Hank Conger
	181	Jake McGee
	183	Jordan Walden
	184	Eric Sogard
	186	Domonic Brown
	187	Scott Cousins
	193	Darwin Barney
	194	Mason Tobin
	195	Craig Kimbrel
	196	Lance Pendleton
	198	Eduardo Nunez
	204	Chris Pettit
	209	Cory Luebke
	210	Pedro Strop
	211	Jerry Sands
	212	Dee Gordon
	214	Brent Morel
	215	Kyle Drabek
	217	Mike Minor
	218	Hector Noesi
	220	Aaron Crow

Cards incoming - duck!

When you think of iconic cards, lots can come to mind.  Mantle rookies, Jordan rookies, Thurman Munson 1971 Topps, maybe even something a little funky like a Billy Ripken?

Well, high on my list is this Mickey Hatcher!!!  Even though it's obviously staged and very cheesy, I still love it.  I had the card as a kid and recently thought to put it on my wantlist.  And what do you know, everyone's friend grcl from Cards as I see Them popped up and sent it right over!!  Thanks grcl! 

Mickey is 6'2".  Mickey looks 4'2"!

Next up, an unsolicited PWE from Rod at Padrographs showed up.  W. O. W.!!  If you have been reading Rod lately, you know that he has made a TON of custom cards.  And this is one that is right up my alley!!  I looked it up, and according to TCDB.com, McGwire has ZERO Padres cards.  That makes this one that much more valuable to me.  Thanks Rod!!

And of course, can't forget Johnny from Johnny's Trading Spot!  These are my very cool winnings from his weekly Big Fun Game!!  He holds them every week, head over and check it out.

And more!!  Yes, I have been blessed via the post office lately!  These come courtesy of Jay over at Card Hemorrhage.  Quite a variety with three sports represented.  At first I was a little confused, since these guys don't really show up on my wantlist, but I am very pleased anyway! I especially like the Drexler shiny and the Torre.  I have several of the 68 Topps game inserts, and the Torre adds to that.

And even better, some sweet regional issues!  If you are from the southwest, you probably know this set, but here in the northwest, they are rare.  And a great selection too, Garber and personal fave Pascual Perez!!  Thanks Jay!

Thanks everyone and keep em coming!!

I want to look through cards!!!

It's been a blast to come back to the blogging community.  I never completely stopped reading, but it was definitely put on the back burner for a long time.  But now I'm back, and surprise, surprise, I'm getting sucked back in to the sports card whirlpool!

In my time away, I occasionally looked at my cards, mostly the 8 large boxes that house what I think of as my 'keeper' collection.  These are cards that I have no interest in trading away, and I treat those boxes like my 'real' collection.  But I have a lot of other cards.

And that's where I'm going today!  Though I don't remember where I got them, I recently went through two 5000 count boxes of dime box level basketball.  Maybe only nickel stuff, I'll let you decide.

***I apologize for the pics, I really need to get better with my photography skills!

The actual boxes in question

I had a blast!  There were lots of reasons why I had such a good time.  I picked a few of those reasons to highlight.  The reasons I chose are Nostalgia, Photography and Presentation, Insanity, Flabbergastedness, Fleer Metal, Bulls and Rookies.  Here they are!


Nostalgia - Most of these cards were from the nineties.  Some were more recent.  But overall, they hit a lot of old timey feels from when I was still a young buck. Too many years, sets and cards to show much here, but here are a couple of pics:

Some Ultra inserts - there were lots of these, but only 2nd level stars

Some Fleer inserts - tons of these too

A few young guys all dressed up

Photography and presentation... Basketball cards are a great canvas for action shots and interesting framing.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to pull good examples, but here are a couple I went back and grabbed real quick.

I especially like the Ray Allen.  Perfect release, every time!



Insanity (weird cards) - same thing, only a couple of examples, but there was a TON of funky stuff

Shaq looks like a goober in both of those cards.  Rodman looks like he is in a cartoon and a piano is about to fall on his head!  The Fortson card confuses me.  Is the shadowing supposed to highlight his muscles?



Flabbergastedness (*not a real word, do not use in sophisticated conversation!)

Soooo many Elton Brand RC's.  I got all flabbergasted.  The pic below is all Brand, probably 90% RCs.  And that is only about half of what was in the boxes.  When ESPN makes a 10 part Elton Brand retrospective, I'm gonna be rich!

Fleer Metal - I read on someone's blog (maybe Fuji?) that Fleer Metal was getting some extra love lately, mostly because of the insane prices that Metal Jordan's are going for.  So I pulled some out.  No real reason, I am not going to try to make sets, just... fun!

Bulls - The Last Dance and it's impact on the hobby has been discussed a lot.  I won't add to it other than to say I pulled out a few Bulls to go through later.

Tons of Pippens

Some Rodmans

Kukoc rcs galore

And lastly, a couple that caught my eye.  That horace just looks nice to me.  Holding off a sepia tinted Dan Majerle.  Cool.  And then there is the Pink Panther.  Um, I guess I missed that one!  Did you all know that Kukoc was called the Pink Panther?????


Rookies!!!  Tons and tons of rookies, even a very few that are a little bigger names...

That covers all the reasons that I enjoyed myself so much.  But wait, there's more...

I even found a few cards I will keep!  Check out this Slick Watts!  Slick is and was a beloved Sonic.  Maybe he's not as appreciated outside the Pacific Northwest, but up here, he has a small, but borderline cult following.  When I saw the card, I did a double take.  It immediately struck me that I didn't have any cards of Slick in my collection.

I looked up cards of Watts from his playing days, and it looks to me like there are no cards from then with his nickname of 'Slick' on them.  They all seem to use his given name, Don.  No matter, I still might see if I can get one or two.


So, lot's of good reasons, eh?

But the biggest reason is that I really enjoy cards.  I enjoy looking, sorting, reading, researching and classifying them.  I really wish I had 25 boxes like these basketball boxes to look through.  By the time I got through with them, I'd be perfectly happy to start over with the first box again.

But I don't have any more, I'm out!!  And I'm jonesing for more! I even got a little crazy and considered picking up some random boxes of cards off of Facebook Marketplace to feed the urge. I really wish that the card show scheduled for later this month could actually happen.  It sounds like heaven to just spend a few hours picking through dime boxes.

But that reality is probably a long way off.