TRADE POST!!!!! Phungo and Dayf: Come on down! You're the next contestants!

Alright, so this really isn't a game show or competition, but I'm always a sucker for the Price Is Right... So I got two trade packages in the mail, one from David over at dayf at Cardboard Junkie; I'd seen his name all over the place and was finally able to work out a trade with him after my two Topps 2011 blasters yielded me some shiny-ness. I sent them his way and in return I got a bunch of cards from my want lists including THE HAWK's second year card, in total 19 cards scratched from various needs list (including getting my 2010 Series 1 list down to 1 card! 1 CARD PEOPLE, HELP A DIMWIT OUT!!!!!):

Next we have Paul, A.K.A. Phungo! I got my first ever pack of the rare Phungo cards. I was very excited to open the pack and find these treasures:

Sorry about the sideways Berkman down there, but that's the only way I could fit him in with all the other awesomeness going on. The Bourn, Boon and Schilling are great because they  are all former/current Astros. The Golic is great because I listen to his morning show every day on the way to work. The fact that this pack is loaded with Astros makes me wonder a bit about Phungo's collation, but by all means I'm not complaining... just glad I didn't end up with a pack of Cardinals or Cubs... Haha, thanks Phungo... also, he sent me along a few hits in exchange for the few autos I was able to send his way. I saw the Castro as his card of the month and sent him an email to work out the details... it turned into a much bigger trade! Thanks again Paul!

I really like the look of the Bowman Sterling, especially since at it's price point I probably will never buy it! The Carlos Lee auto is the first of his that I have and since he's now stealing millions from the Astros on the backend of his contract, I guess it's about time I add him to my collection.

Thanks for the trades guys, and if anyone would like to wheel and deal, I'm always up for taking in any lonely Astros cards you have in exchange for whatever team/player you collect!

I'm sure some of you may have noticed a new sponsor added to my blog. I have a package of goodies coming my way from them, and as soon as I get them I will be doing a review. Additionally those who trade with me will be getting an extra prize in/on their packages... more details to come! Have a great weekend!

Sponsor Post for CSN Stores!

Hey everyone see the video for what I got this time courtesy of CSN Stores, I guarantee it's a video you'll enjoy watching or your money back! Haha!


Review:

Shipping - It was free shipping, so I can't complain! It took a day longer than expected but that was due to cold weather and no fault of CSN Stores. Shipped with plenty of padding, in original shrink wrap. A+
Product - Came exactly as described and unadulterated. The price was EXTREMELY fair, even if I had paid full price, it was listed at around $65 per box, which I was very happy with. A+
Website - As with all my dealings with CSN Stores' websites this experience was simple, easy and quick! They provided a UPS Tracking number that was linked to the UPS Site for easy tracking. Communication regarding the order and shipment was excellent as always! A+

The only problem I had was that two cards in the product were mangled pretty badly (again, no fauly whatsoever with CSN Stores) because Topps' quality control measures aren't the greatest. It shouldn't be a problem replacing these two at some point, it was Ian Snell and Kelly Johnson so I'm not too terribly worried that I'll be out big money in replacing them. Overall I got 120 base cards toward the 350 card set, two relics and as this was a retail box I was guaranteed only 1, 12 base minis, 5 A&G backed minis, 1 Baseball Icons mini, 2 black bordered minis, 3 world leaders minis, 1 warrior king mini, 1 World's Greatest Victories insert, and 10 player/state inserts. Overall I'm very happy with the cards I got. If there are any people out there who want to trade for any of the inserts or relics, please let me know! Thanks again to CSNStores.com for providing the sponsorship!

2011 Topps - TRADE-A-THON!

Alright, so some of you may have watched the videos, some may not have. Whether you have or not, they may be worth a second look, because if you give your FULL attention, you might find something worthwhile... ;) ;)     ****UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER! CONGRATS NATHAN H.!**** (Note: the clue to winning the unannounced contest was at the very end of the second video!)

So, here's the results of what I got from my boxes: 1 complete set of Series 1! WOO HOO! Won't have to trade for any! I got probably 275-ish cards of a second set, so if you're looking to fill out your set, let me know I've got plenty of duplicates! A complete set of Topps Town cards. Excited about this because these are the best looking (in my opinion) Topps Town cards yet and I wanted a complete set! 11 gold border inserts and 19 diamond foil inserts! And of course a plethora of other Topps inserts.

Here's what I'm keeping - 1 full set of Topps Town, All Kimball Mini's, assorted Astros and player collection cards, non-duplicate of the vintage reprints, Lost Cards and Dynamic Duos. Here's a want list.

Here's what I'm making available to trade:

All diamond foil cards** - I know several are chasing these. There are 14 that I am offering up, as I have kept a few and other have been spoken for. So, these 14 will go as a LOT to whomever offers me the most cards from ANY of my currently posted WANT LISTS in the side bar. I wait and see what the various offers are in a few days and let everyone know individually if I took their offer or not.(AL ERA Leaders, Headley, Ichiro, Ordonez, Oswalt, Halladay CY Award, AL Batting AVE, Duke, Descalso, Hudson, Eckstein, Garcia, Dempster, Wolf)

All gold border cards** - There are 7 which are not already spoken for. Same deal, they go as a lot to whomever shows the most love and offers up the most cards from my want list for them. (Trumbo, Sale, Arroyo, Jimenez CL, Gee, Morneau, Morel).

All other inserts and base cards - Let me know which insert set you're collecting and I'll work out a trade with you for specific cards you may want or provide me a want list and I'll pull what you need.

Hits - The Fukudome has been claimed by Matt at Cardboard Conundrum but the Lew Burdette is up for trade, let me know if you're interested.

Please e-mail me if you want to work something out or to make an offer on my diamond foil and/or gold border inserts. (*Note: I will take cards from any of my want lists for these deals*)

I will also trade for the Commemorative Patch of Hunter Pence if anyone has pulled one that they are willing to trade! Thanks everyone!

**DISCLAIMER: I don't want to come across as a jerk or anything, I just can't think of a fairer way to offer up these insert cards to those who are trying to collect the full set. I want all of my readers to have a fair shot at them if they want them, while also acknowledging the fact that these cards did cost me something and I'd like some kind of return-on-investment, I sincerely hope no one is offended and that I don't come across as greedy, which certainly isn't my intent.

Oh the sweet joy of busting wax!!!!!!!! 2011 Topps vs. ME!

There was much wax bustin' today... they didn't stand a chance! My local card shop FINALLY got their shipment of 2011 Topps, and since I got my paycheck situation sorted out today, I also finally had some money to burn. I picked up two boxes, here are two videos... one for each box! Also, I used my camcorder and converted the files on my PC rather than using my webcam and methinks I finally got it right! So, enjoy!



Here is the video for box 2:



For any of you looking for a free contest to enter, head over to Things Are Funner Here for a chance to win $50 gift certificate or other great prizes!

Monday Will Be a MASSIVE MAIL DAY!

Provided I get things worked out with my employer (who just happened to forget to approve my time sheet and delay my pay check) I will be making a BIG trip to the post office on Monday to mail out 10 packages! There are a few of you who have been waiting, but I'll get these out soon enough. So, Phungo, Ben H., Captain Canuck, Dawgbones, dayf, Matt W., Jonathan from Australia, Colbey (flywheels), Sarah and Wicked Ortega... you should be expecting mail this next week!

Thanks everyone! These are either contests or trades so I appreciate your readership either way!

Thoughts on several subjects... and "Electrocuting Cheerio Bowl" is armed...

Waiting for my local card shops to get their shipments of cards in is driving me crazy. I want to open packs of cards... I want to do it now... I do not have the patience for this. Tomorrow I will not be able to go to the store, as there is supposedly 1-3 inches of snow on the ground here in Houston and we all know that snow to Houstonians is like kryptonite to Superman. And I may not be Superman but I am definitely not going to go play in the snow with a 1/2 ton lump of metal and flammable liquid. I'll just stay at home and enjoy the fire and/or rolling blackouts. Gotta love living in a southern city so unaccustomed to dealing with snow. I've been going back and forth on whether to get the hobby jumbo box, or just the regular hobby box. 3 guaranteed hits or 1? $120+ or $70-ish... hmmm... can't decide...

Alright, I want to set a few things straight. I'm a huge Andy Pettitte fan. He was a great pitcher. Yes, he did admit to using HGH. Do I believe he only did it once? Doubtful, but that's not the point. Ever since the word of his impending announcement came out today, the first few articles and radio talking-head conversation was centered around one question: Is he a HOF'er? Here's my one word answer: NO! Alright, let's take Andy and move him from New York to say... Kansas City. Take a look at Bret Saberhagen's career stats. Now, I'm NOT saying they are the same pitcher. But with a hundred more games than Bret, Andy's career stats aren't THAT dissimilar. I'd say Andy has a more historically significant career, especially since he was part of actual championships in New York and became one of the best lefty starters in NY history. But the facts reamin that he was never the most dominant pitcher in the league any year of his career, no Cy Young awards. He rarely led the league in any relevant or significant statistical category. He'd be a great candidate for the "Hall of Greatness" but definitely falls short of the Hall of Fame, in my humble opinion.

Regarding the title... I've read a bunch of blogs the past day or two that are very critical of the 2011 Topps set, both the cards and the collectors who are buying them. Well, STOP PISSING IN MY CHEERIOS! It's ok not to like a release, believe me I've been there, but why SO negative peeps? Is it a perfect set? No. Is the Diamond Giveaway going to end up being a pain in the rear at some point? Probably. Are we going to have to pay a second time for "free" cards? Most likely. But so what? It's a new set! It's the next domino to fall in the grand journey from depths of winter to the start of spring training, and ultimately the season! Just open some packs, put a smile on your face and enjoy the bling-bling diamond foil! 

Alright, I'll wrap this up by letting you all know that I got a LOT of positive feedback regarding the idea of doing a collector's podcast. So, once this 2011 Topps craziness dies down, I'm going to start getting the hardware and software needed to pull this thing together. I would like to know if any of you have ideas for a name for the podcast. At first I thought "The Dimwit and Company" but I figure for iTunes purposes, it may be smart to have the title related to sports cards collecting. Also, I am planning on doing it in segments... the first of which would be a sort of interview with the weeks co-host. The other segments, well I have no clue. I was thinking of doing a "my greatest pull" or "my favorite set" or "how I got into the hobby". Anyways, I guess it can be fluid, but do any of you have ideas about what kind of segments you'd like to hear on a regular basis.

That is all... have a great evening.

Group Break Package Recieved!

I got a package in the mail today containing the contents of my group break prizes from over on Too Many Grandersons! Dennis does a great job on these breaks and if he does another one, I'd definitely recommend you all getting involved. They are a lot of fun and you get to draft the cards that you want!

I was lucky that 4 either current or former Astros were part of the set and each of the four were pulled. The big catch was Jason Castro, but there were also Brett Wallace, Jay Austin and our next big prospect Jordan Lyles who happens to have an outside shot at the 5th starter slot in Spring Training. I picked up Justin Smoak mainly because of his Texas Ranger ties, but also thinking there might be a Mariners collector interested (yea I'm talking to you Mariner 1)! The last card I picked up was Brett Devall from Atlanta. I honestly know nothing about him but it was numbered 14/20 and was one of the few numbered cards left so I took it. The Smoak and Devall are up for trade (with magnetic card case included) if someone would like to make a deal!

Dennis was also very kind and included two Jeff Bagwell cards that I know I don't have and hadn't even seen before! Thanks again Dennis for the great break!

Highlights from the Blasters of 2011 Topps plus a Trade Vid...

Just a quick post to show off a picture of the highlights from the blasters I opened last night... most of all the Roy Halladay patch card. But the diamond foil cards sure do scan well! See below, enjoy...

I'd also like to post a quick trade video, this time with Spankee over at My Cardboard Mistress (awesome blog name by the way)... this was his part of a three way trade between himself, Rhubarb_Runner and myself! I needed to test out some new video software due to the problems yesterday and this was the perfect time to do so! Enjoy!

2011 Topps... 2 Videos, 1 Post...

2011 Topps is here... and there's free cards at stake...

****UPDATE: FREE CARDS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED**** Congrats to Captain Canuck (Walmart cards) and Dawgbones (Target cards)! 



Oh but wait... the wife granted a dying man's wish... (ok, so I wasn't dying but I was going through withdrawal already...)



LET ME APOLOGIZE, I'M HAVING COMPUTER PROBLEMS WITH MY VIDEO AND THE LAST 2 MINUTES OR SO OF THE SECOND VIDEO WAS OMITTED SOMEHOW. I RECEIVED A ROY HALLADAY PHILLIES MANU-PATCH CARD THAT I'LL SCAN IN TOMORROW SO YOU ALL CAN SEE IT'S AWESOMENESS! It also cut out that I was going to give away the black borders in the same fashion as the Target cardboard-backed cards. However, I went ahead and gave the black border cards away to the second responder. I apologize for any confusion.



Overall impression:

1) Collation - out of 3 blasters and a rack pack, I only had 30 duplicates/triplicates while getting 119 of the base set, roughly a 20% duplication rate. I got a few duplications of inserts (16 total including ToppsTown inserts). Not too bad and about what I expected I guess.
2) Inserts - LOVING several of the insert sets in this year's set. The Kimball mini's are SWEET and with only 50 of them in the set, shouldn't be too difficult to collect them all, same with ToppsTown cards. Their design is the best ever in my opinion. Finally, my absolute favorites are the manu-patch cards. Sure they are manufactured, but they look freakin' SWEET. Can't wait to find a checklist to see if they have an Astros (doubt it) patch and if they do, please take notice, I will TRADE FOR IT!!!!
3) Diamond-a-tion - I do like the diamond foil cards and can't wait to redeem my diamond giveaway cards. Out of the 3 blasters and 1 rack pack, I pulled 5 cards which beat the odds on the guarantees on the boxes. I'm happy! Hopefully they unlock something nice.

In conclusion, I give this 4 out of 5 stars... can't wait to get the hobby jumbo box on Friday and hopefully complete my 2011 series 1 set early!

Gypsy Queen WANT List

Gypsy Queens - Tarot Back:
13

Gypsy Queen Autographs:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19

Green Framed Parallels:

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 27, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 98, 100

AUTOGRAPHS - Here's a google spreadsheet with what I have and need. Please let me know if you see any errors.


Updated 3/7/2017