2009 Upper Deck Football Box Break

Yeah Yeah Yeah this has been out a while but who cares when you live close to a thousand miles from the nearest card shop you take what you can get.

OK here's the break down got a box of 2009 Upper Deck Football Hobby.  It advertises 3 jersey and 1 auto per box, two 3D cards and 320 cards total per box.   I bought the box for  52 bucks with shipping off of ebay and got it about 3 week later.  They sent it Parcel Post and for a buck more they could have sent it priority??!!

Some sellers just don't get it I guess.  I was well packaged though and shipped 2 days after I paid so not too bad on that end. 

The regular cards look like this if you haven't seen them.

There what you call full bleed.  That means that they don't have any borders.  Upper Deck does this alot with there cards.  I'm middle of the road some of the cards look great especially the action shots, while some of the posed shots look kinda hooky.

Each pack also boasts 4 rookies.  They look like this.

These are also the 4 SP rookies I got.  Nice pull on the Stafford.  Not too shabby, plus I got 64 more rookies.  Some of the packs had 5 rookies in them and I don't remember any having under 4.  So way to go Upper Deck on that one.

I got two 3D cards as advertised.

There were rookie Aaron Curry and a Tom Brady/Randy Moss.

I like these cards and I like the rarity.  Although why bill it as 3D?  When there not.  I guess you can't say hey were using decades old technology to bring SportsFlics back. 3D just sounds cooler. 

I also got the 3 jersey cards.

Anquan Boldin, Game Jersey, Andre Caldwell, Game Day Gear, and Rhett Bomar, UD Rookie Jersey. 

Nothing super specactuar although the Boldin's a nice card.  Nothing numbered. 

But my big hit came with the auto.

A LeSean McCoy Premier Jersey Auto numbered 1/10!!

Pretty sweet.  According to the latest issue of Tuff Stuff it's aroundd 65 bucks!! Hell this card alone was worth the box.  Damn just wish I was an Eagles fan.

All in all I got a great return for my investment. Not counting all the rookies.  The 4 SP, plus the jerseys, plus the auto come to over 100 bucks of stuff. Of course I would have to get close to high book to realize any of that and that's just unrealistic.  Especially with the season winding down.  But it does put a big dent in completing my set.  This is probably going to have to be my set to build next yeat now that Topps is out of it.  I guess I could just go low ball and put together a Score set. 

Until next time.

CB

Still Waiting for Santa

So my girlfriend is complaining about the clutter in my "man cave" which is really just a corner of the bedroom I'm taken over as mine.  And so I spent most of this afternoon cleaning up cards, organizing, sorting, and really having a great afternoon.  And along the way I found somemore great cards I thought I'd post. 

First I'm putting away some football cards and find this gem from 2005.  As as matter of fact all these cards were from 2005 and were pulls I got.  I was buying a lot of wax back then and not as  many boxes as now.  The thing is back then I was living in Anchorage and had access to card shops and so i'd stop in and buy a pack or too.  Now living out in the middle of nowhere it's just easier and cheaper to buy boxes online.  But I digress. 

Here we have a 2005 Donruss Elite Carnall "Cadilac" Williams rookie die-cut gold parallel numbered to just 24.  Never seen this card offered for sale online and the guides don't price it do to the scarcity but I check the Tuff Stuff price guide and his regular rookie is around 20 bucks so there you go.  Too bad he hasn't really done much to stand out in the NFL.

Next we have another awesome pull.  I almost fell over when I pulled this back in 2005 and then almost sold it for 200 bucks to a rabid Dolphins fan but unfortunatley the deal went bust and I have since held onto the card.

Why it's none other than a 2005 spx Ronnie Brown Auto/Jersey numbered to 250.  I really wish I had unloaded this back then no you can buy them for about 60 bucks on ebay probably less if your patient.  But still a cool card.  And my first Jersey/Auto card too.  I also pulled a another jersey auto from the same shop, a Ryan Moats.  I ended trading it to the shop owner for more packs of spx. He had a guy he knew that would buy it.  I think I got the better deal I know I got more than 20 bucks worth of packs for it so that's cool. 

Now on to baseball. 

I still had some cool stuff left over from the other day's digging too and here is another really cool card from a HOF I pulled back in 2005.

I really like the design of the artifact cards.  Nice large picture of the player, in this case, the great Rod Carew.  And look at the piece of jersey.  Small, yes, but a huge 2 color with stitching.  Numbered to 50.  Wow what a great card.  And from his days with the Twins.  A little closer to home.

Finally I end with this little gem.

Kinda a let down I know but it's such a great eye pleasing design.  I really like the old Timber and Threads stuff.  Plus I'm a Frank Thomas fan.  He's not a player I readily collect but I do seem to have a lot of his cards and rookies.  Which sadly are really cheap to pick up.  Oh the ups and downs of the "Big Hurt".  He was so fun to watch.  I like the nice big picture and old timey border.  Too bad this one's not numbered, but still a nice piece of bat in there.

Alright one more why not.  In honor of the 206 craze going around now it seems.  I haven't bought any of the new stuff.  Still want to.  The reviews have been good I'm just waiting till after Xmas I guess. 

But back in 2002 Topps put out a nice set of 206 and I bought a lot of it.  I must of busted like 4 boxes.  And got some great hits.  A Joe Mauer Rookie Auto and Barry Bonds jersey, and this.

It's a Frank Isbell buyback card.  Nothing like getting a hundred year old card to add to your collection. Who cares if the cards beat up and a player no ones ever heard of.  Almost makes me want to break it out of it's Topps shell to be all by itself.  It also as a Red Sweet Caporal back. 

Until next time. happy holidays

CB

Just Passin' the Time

I was rummaging around in my box of cool cards looking for stuff I'd want to get rid of maybe and just passing the time till Christmas really. 

Now I'm a player collector I have no reservations about that.  I love me Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, and yes still Brett Favre.  I'm also a team collector.  Being a Wisconsin boy I like to collect the Brewers and Packers.  Not necessarily team sets but unusual cards ect.  I just happened upon this card not to long ago on ebay.

This is the cyan printing plate for Brad Nelson's card fromt the 2009 T 206 collection.  I feel like I stole this card when I got it.  I literally only paid 5 bucks for this 1 of 1.  Yes it's Brad Nelson, yes it's the brewers but hey cool is cool.

Next my rummaging brought me to these two cards.

These numbered cards are actually entry cards from the 2007 Topps Baseball for the Home Run Derby Contest.  The grand prize was for a game used jersey from the game.  You don't see too many of these.  I pulled these from a couple wax boxes I bought cheap long after the contest was over.  If you can't tell who they are it's Paul Konerko and Carlos Beltran both numbered to 999.

Then I found one of my most favorite pulls EVER!!

I'm not a huge Yaz fan, but this card is Awesome.  I pulled this from a pack of Leaf Century way back in 2005 and after I saw it I knew this would be in my collection forever.  It's got a 70 year old baseball centennial stamp and a piece of pants with a seam and all numbered to 39!! I know all those Red Sox Fans are Jealous!  The guides put it at 40 bucks but I've never seen one on ebay.

Next  I pulled out some pulls from this years Upper Deck baseball. I can't remember which if any series it came out of but since this is Upper Deck 20th anniversay they are doing lots of stuff to celebrate.  From a huge insert set that many claim has some of the worst cards ever made in it to these buyback cards.

I also got a Mark McGwire that I posted on ebay and I was shocked that it went for over 40 bucks!! But I haven't seen the insert ratio of these cards if they inserted the whole set or just select cards.  They can't be too rare I pulled 3.  The two I still have are the Upshaw and Chris Bosio that's in my Brewers collection.

And lastly but not leastly and hopefully one of this years HOF inductee's the Hawk!!

Like I said before sometimes cards are cool enough that you just have to keep them.  I only wish that the jersey had some color in it.  Another great pull from 2005.  This is from the Donruss Classics.

Well that's all I got.  Until next time keep collecting.

CB

2009 Red Hot Rookie Redemptions Come In !!!!!

Well it only takes about 9 months for Topps to fufill there redemptions and this time it's still no different but I have to say I'm super pleased with what I got. Series 1 had WBC redemptions and of the 3 I pulled they were all the SAME!! Lame. But in Series 2 I pulled 3 different redemptions 2, 3, and 6. At first I played with trying to sell them on ebay even before they were announced. Seems a lot of the time people will pay more not knowing what they might get. And I always get tired of waiting for the cards to come. But after Topps announced that #2 would be Gordon Beckham and that 1 in 10 would be an auto variant I had to redeem and boy am I Glad I did. Because here is what I got by certified mail today!!! I live in Alaska so I know that others had already gotten there's and gone live on ebay. This card is already being bid up to over 100 buck and the cheapest buy it now was 149, with others asking as much as 250!! crazy. I think I might have to hold onto this one. Plus I also got my other 2 redemptions a couple of days ago. One Andrew McCutchen and Neftali Feliz. Check them out pretty sweet.

I'm still waiting for my 1 of 1 sketch card I redeemed in March and Topps sent out an email telling me that they got the cards in and they should be sending them out soon. Only to look online to see that they have been delayed again!! Ah Topps, at least your not Donruss only took a year to get my last redemption from them. Maybe Panini will do a better job or just do away with redemtions all together.

You know I actually like the fact that Topps did a Auto Variant again this year. It might even be nice if they did a relic variant too, maybe numbered, as well, that would be really sweet.

Well I should be getting a box of 2009 Upper Deck football soon in the mail and I'll do a box break when I get it in. Until then keep collecting.

2008 Topps Allen and Ginter Box Break

So as promised for the one reader who I know is all excited about me doing a box break from a product over a year old. Here he go. I got the box off of eBay for about 50 bucks not too bad seeing as this was going for close to double that and according to Tuff Stuff boxes still are worth about 110.

Pretty uneventful pulls I got the 2 relics. A Johnny Damon Bat card and a Carlos Marmol Jersey. ho hum. Not bad cards just nothing specatcular.

I also got 2 black border mini's Oscar Wilde and Chin-Ling Hu (rookie). Two world leaders both asian oddly enough Lee Myung-Bak from South Korea and Samak Sundavaveh from Thailand and one Pinoneers of Flight the Ornithoper. And one code cards the world's greatest victories - Battle of Thermopylae. Yeah 300. That's about it. But I do love the base cards and I'm putting together a set so we'll see how far I get wether or not I break down and buy another box or just do pick lots off of eBay. I haven't looked to see if I got any SP's or not.

CB

A lot of AmazingPacks.com's All Sport $1,000,000 Packs

Howdy All,

We'll I meant to do a box break from a 2008 Topps Allen and Ginter Baseball box but I decided to talk about the other box I got in the mail yesterday.

So I was perusing eBay. Because I'm bored and currently between jobs and have a lot of free time and I say this lot from AmazingPacks sold by dailybonus and it was for a lot of 10 $1,000,000 collection packets like the one pictured. Now it was a buy it now for 25 bucks and I kinda laughed because we all see these kinda deals on eBay. Estate sale huge lots who know's what your gonna get!!! I know what i'm going to get nothing!!! At least nothing I want. But I was curious so I went to their website and looked around at all the pretty pictures of jersey and auto cards. I decided to look at what else they had for sale at daily bonus and I say they had the same lot up at a live auction. mmmmmmmmmmm. So I said what the hell bid on one and got a lot for 12 bucks plus 8 bucks shipping so for about 20 bucks I got to see what was going on. Now this is a really good savings because the buy it now price also had a 8 dollar shipping fee. So onto what I got. These packs were multisport (Baseball, Football and Basketball) no hockey. I have to say it was mostly new panini basketball in the packs nobody in particular but I have some scans of my "hits" A bunch or 80's and 90's rookies some stars from that era too. Some older topps. I think the 79 dawson is my favorite. But I also like the 80 schmidt and 85 gwynn. There were some other nice inserts too.

Now for the real "hits" I got a nice 97 Press Pass Auto of John Thomas, A double jersey numbered to 199 from Sweet Shot of Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy, A nice clean jersey from topps DDP of Garrett Mills, a PSA graded Gem mint 10 2004 Fleer Tradition Green Roy Williams card, and I think my best pull was my favorite Baseball player of all time a 78 topps Robin Yount. Unfortunatley it wasn't in the best of shape but it'll be added to the rest of the 78's. All in all I figure I got over 30 bucks worth of good stuff and a lot of filler that I'll probably just throw in some random box never to be seen for 20 years. I got my moneys worth only dropping 20 bucks total including shipping. I might even go in for some seconds if I can get a lot cheaper than the last one.

I'll probably be posting my A&G box break later this afternoon seeing as it was fairly unspectacular.

CB

Keeping your card collection safe and valuable

So after getting numerous packages from people I have bought cards from on eBay I thought I'd sit down and write a little bit on protecting and storing your collection and if you sell on eBay how to ensure that what you sell reaches your buyer in the condition you meant it to.

So first we'll start with basic protection, because as with collecting anything, the basic value of that thing is first and foremost based on condition. And decent protection of your card can also help with displaying it as well.

The first most basic line of protection is the penny sleeve. It's called a penny sleeve because it costs about a cent a piece and you usually buy them in packs of 100. You can usually pick these up at any card or collectibles store and you can get great deals on bulk lots on eBay and at TCBullk.com to name a few. I've got a Ultra Pro pack right here but there are lots of other brands all equally as good just make sure they are acid free and archival safe.

The next basic line of defense is to put that card WITH a penny sleeve on it into a top loader of some sort. Here again there are lots of different brands and they make all sorts of thicknesses to accommodate all size cards.

I prefer the rigid toploaders over the semi rigid simply because allow the card to stay flat.

If you have any cards of value this should be the least of your steps in protecting them. Again I'll stress that you should always put your card in a penny sleeve first before putting it in a toploader to protect the card finish and corners.

Now we can take the protection a step farther buy putting that top loader in something to protect the card from spills and moisture, by simply putting it in a resealable team bag.

Since the top of the toploaders is open this helps prevent liquids and other stuff from going down in with the card.

And then you should have a nice packaged card as illustrated by my man Robin Yount here.

Of course this is only the most basic route to protecting your investment and collection. There are lots of other options besides that. Like single and multi screw down holders. Some that have recessed corner areas to protect card corners. These come in a wide range of card thicknesses, as well as holder thicknesses too. I've seen some Lucite ones over an inch thick!! There are holders that use magnets to keep there lids on and mini snaps. There are holders that come with stands for displaying your cards. It's also a good idea to put a team bag around the screwdown to help keep it from getting scratched up.

And of course the ultimate in card protection would be to get your card graded by a reputable card grading company. I highly recommend and like PSA I've never had a problem with them and I find there grading to be awesome. I've never bought a card that was PSA graded that wasn't what it was graded. Not like some of the other companies I have cards graded from. But that's a whole nother rant. You can find info on PSA at there web site http://www.psacard.com/

You can see from the scans I've tried to include multiple companies that make storage products. There are lots and it all depends on what you like and you can get in your area.

For long term storage I always recommend storing you collection in a box rather than 9 pocket sleeves. For short term and display reasons 9 pockets are great just be careful not to damage your cards putting them in and taking them out.

Now on to eBayers!!!. I've done my far share of selling on eBay but to be honest I'm much more of a buyer. And for a player collector or even someone like me who lives far from a card store it's a great place to buy boxes of cards, lots, and storage supplies. As a seller and buyer I have come to expect some things when I pay $3.00 for shipping a card or cards to my door. First the card or cards should be well protected(see above). I really like having the card in a team bag when it's shipped rather than putting tape over the top of the toploader. This guarantees that the card won't come into contact with the tape and potentially ruin the card. I can say this from experience. Second it should be mailed in some kind of rigid or bubble mailer. If I pay a buck for shipping I don't usually expect a bubble mailer but I do expect the card to be well protected in a toploader. My one pet peeve from sellers and I never do this to my buyers is when I get charged 3 buck for shipping and all the seller does is put it in an envelope with a stamp and send it off. I understand that eBay and Paypal seller fees can get high but any auction house is going to take 10 percent of the sell price, try talking to a real brick and mortar auction house if you don't believe me.

So in conclusion. There are lots of ways to store and protect your collection and investment. You can extreme if you like and have the money to do it but you can easily protect your cards on the cheap too.

I should be posting a box break in the next few days I see online that my next box should be here today. Yeahhhhhh

Until next time I'm the cynicalbuddha

2009 Topps Chrome Football 2 Box Break

Howdy All,

Well as promised I got my 2 boxes of Chrome Football I bought off of ebay from ccardz who i highly recommend. Great service, fast shipping, and great prices and has never disappointed me.

Unlike Topps who seems to be disappointing me at every turn.

So the good the chrome and refactors look so cool and the first box I opened had 2 rookie autos in it.

The Bad I got no rookie auto's in the second box. Boo for you Topps and your misleading " a rookie auto in every box. " And Yes both boxes were still factory sealed. It says right on the box " One Rookie Auto card in every box!!! " not " One rookie auto card on average." They even have and exclamation point at the end of the sentence. I bought two jumbo boxes of update not to long ago and was jipped there too. Got both my autos but not my relics.

Any who, I did get 3 rookie copper refactors numbered to 649 in that box but i don't think that makes up for the non auto.

Here are my two autos. And the 4 copper rookie refactors. To Topps credit all the copper refactors where rookies!! Boy Rey Maualuga looks scary in his photo. I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley or on the football field. I be honest I got more cool stuff out of the retail blaster box I bought from Wally world. And no Blue refractors here either, although they might be a retail exclusive like the xfractors.

So over all I think it's a wash. I did get 2 autos and lots of refractors.

It also seemed like I got lots of doubles in the boxes too. Well

I'm off to do some set building.

Until my box of 2008 Allen and Ginter get here I will remain as cynical as ever.

It's been awhile........

Well the title says it all. It's been awhile since I posted. Since the last post I've been turned down for a new job, went to vegas and had a lovely time playing World Tavern Poker, almost got married, spent a week in Juneau getting my girlfriends car fixed, became unemployed for awhile, and got to buy a shit ton of blaster boxes of cards at Wal-Mart and Fred Meyers, seeing as there is no card store anywhere near me, that's as good as it gets.

I just ordered 2 boxes of topps chrome football because i like it so much and a box of last years allen and ginter because it seems to be on sale all over ebay and it rocks.

Which brings me to my rant for the day. Why is it that card company's today can't make an original product that looks awesome like Allen and Ginter without having to rip off an old design??? Don't get me wrong I like the new Allen and Ginter ect. but let's face it some of the stuff coming out is not that great. I have to say though the mass produced stuff of the early to mid nineties takes the cake like 91 Score and 91 Fleer.

I mean look at this card of CC it's awesome and if you where an autograph collector this would be a great card to get signed.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. I would love to know if anybody out there reads this and if you agree and what are your favorite and least favorite sets of all time. Until next time I remain the Cynicalbuddha. oh and i'll do some box breaks of the stuff I get I love to see what people pull out of there boxes.

2009 Topps Baseball Update & Highlights Box Break

Howdy all,

Maybe someday someone will read this but until that day...

Anywho, I just got 2 Jumbo Boxes of 2009 Topps Update.

So here's what I got:

Vladimier Guerero Career Best Auto

Ryan Perry Career Quest Auto

Jimmie Fox Legends of the Game Team Letter Patch #d to 50

Pee Wee Reese Legends of the Game Team Letter Patch #d to 50

And That's It!! For a box that exclaims 1 Auto and 2 Relics per box I got gipped. It doesn't say ! auto and 2 relic on Average!! It says 1 Auto and 2 Relics exclaimation Point!! Literally.







The first box I opened was fine with the 1 and 2 and the odd thing was the the two replica letters where in the same pack??!!?? I don't know if this is the way it all is or not. I was excited for a while till I opened the rest of the box thinking I might get another relic and that the double insertion was an error.







The second box was very disappointing with only the one auto in it.
I mean that's the whole reason to buy the jumbo box is to get the 2 and 1.
Enough bitching on to the rest of the box.




I got 3 variation cards Tris Speaker, Babe Ruth, and Rogers Hornsby




















The 2 box topper Rookie Refactors where  Xavier Paul  and  P.J. Walters






I also got 3 black parallels numbered to 58, 20 gold number to 2009, 20 Ring of Honors, 20 topps towns with 10 gold, 20 propoganda cards, and 20 legends of the game.

Plus about 900 baseball cards. I haven't put the set together yet but i'm hoping to get 2 complete sets.

I have to say I'm pretty disappointed in the product especially with the two missing relics. I don't think topps counts the black cards as rellic inserts. I know I don't and it would be pretty crappy if they did. I'm email Topps customer service to voice my disapproval.


Well collect on! I've been surfing and there are a few other box breaks of this product out there. They did much better than I.

Why grading comics is bad.

Welcome back my lost and loney friends.
Lets talk about CGC, Certified Guarantee Company, you can find them at www.cgccomics.com

You may say hey buddha why give out the web address for something you don't like, and I'd reply with I don't hate they company at all. I just think that the basic premise of what they do in grading and encasing the comics takes away what a comic book is and is for. Plain and simple a comic is for reading and when you encase it in a rigid sonic fused hard case it's a little hard to read. But what we have going on now is quest for perfection in collecting. With anything that is collected the mantra is condition, condition, condition. So for that I have to hand it to CGC they do a great job at grading and protecting comics. Unfortunatley they also make a comc less of what it is. Once it's encased all it is a pretty picture.

This basic precept is the reason I don't have a problem with sports card grading companies, at least the reputable ones. And for my money PSA is the only way to go. Because you don't have to open a sports card to enjoy it or gleam the information from it.

I personally don't own a single CGC graded comic for those reasons.

I guess it all comes down to what you collect or own your comics for. Is it enjoyment of reading the story and then hoping the issue goes up in value or is it an investment where you want to make sure it goes up in value, or at least doesn't decrease. I myself have been collecting comic since I was 12 so for me it's a continuation of the love of the stories and characters.

Now don't get me wrong I truly believe in keeping my collection in the best shape possible and well protected. In comic bags with boards and in a good storage box.

Nuf said until next time, cynicalbuddha out.

Not another blog about collecting?!?!?! Well yeah.

Howdy all. The bored and lonely. I hate to say it but this is another blog about collecting stuff. But not just baseball cards or comic books. I mean it is about that too but I didn't want to pigdeon hole the blog so its about all our legal addictions. I know people that have drug dealers and even gun dealers, but I unfortunatley have a comic book and baseball card dealer. I think a drug addiction might be cheaper. So that's it. For now.



Until then I'm the cynicalbuddha.