Video Post #2: Post-Vacation Mail Day, TTM successes & trades

I am posting up another video post simply due to time constraints. It is easier to talk and flip through cards for 10 minutes than build a post with meaningful content and good looking pictures. Again, it may seem hurried but I have a volatile 4 year old that is always ready to blow. So time to myself is rare. I will post some pics after what hopefully is a working video or link to one here:

I was on vacation for 4 days so I came home to a decent pile of packages. 

I sent this request to Dusty Baker on 02/14/2017! It came back exactly 2 years later. A little worse for the wear but thats the TTM game. I am just glad the card stayed in somehow!

No idea what happened with the Isaiah Thomas return. He kept my card and signed the small index card note I put in and then folded it and sent it back to me. TTM autos are always interesting. 

I can see why people steal cards. I felt so frickin' cheated buying a $5.49 pack of 2017 Topps Update just to open them later and find EVERY CARD RUINED. What a complete waste of $6, especially when my hobby funds are so low. That is my one purchase of new cards for the month.

How am I able to send a PWE with 6 cards to Hawaii undamaged yet Topps can't sell me a sealed pack of cards that aren't dented or bent?!

TTM returns, Lions Signing, Box Breaks, and Hobby Schtuff.

TTM returns are fun because as long as they are out there you never know when they might show back up at your door. Here are two examples of the extremes; CC was sent out YEARS ago and RoFlo returned within 5 days of me sending and both showed up on the same day.

CC caught up on his correspondence and sent back everybody's TTM requests from years past!

MLB Central is my favorite show! Its so perfect it makes me sick thinking it could be changed or dropped ever. Robert made the show way more laid back and fun. Plus...Lauren. 

Roar. My brother talked me into hitting a free Lions signing. It was originally supposed to be Ziggy Ansah but he is hurt so Pro Bowl-bound Darius Slay stepped in. The only problem was the store had Ansah stuff ready not Slay but still posted only in-house post cards would be signed. Ultimately, you did need to bring something yourself. We ended up running too late to find anything to take just in case anyway. I bought a Lions Calendar with this pic in it to get signed and my brother bought a ball.

In hobby news, Mark Jackson was all the rage on ebay. I saw this post on a facebook group. Topps sent this guy two of the Topps Living Set art prints that are serial numbered. BUT, he only ordered 1 and got two with the same numbering. Just another example of Topps not even close to having it's shit together.

More shitty Ebay shippers. This card came in a penny sleeve inside a shipping envelope used for adding paper work to a box in a PWE. Just when I think there is not another way I could receive a card shipped poorly. I guess you get what you pay for with a free shipping 25 cent auction win on this photo variation SP.

Card showed up okay and is available. 

I had $1.00 burning a hole in my paypal pocket so I entered a 1 box inception team break with the Orioles. I was hoping for one of their many rookies. Got this base Machado instead. I have quite a bit of Machado cards available. I hate the guy so hit me up on here or TCDB (pjdionne12) if you collect Manny.

Catching Up: TTM Returns!

I have had some really great TTM successes in the past few months. Not pictured are two returns from Clayton Kershaw. Both were sent over a year ago. He sent back a small card explaining his charity and a couple cards. I will have to dig them out. I must have sent at the perfect time because both cards are different so he probably ran out of the first style before he got to my second request.

First off is an amazing return and my new all time favorite card in my collection. I am such a fan of Lauren Shehadi for obvious reasons but I also think she seems super cool and makes MLB Central on MLB Network worth watching and the greatest show ever made. Her and DeRo together make an awesome show! It honestly took me 100X longer to find this card via trade then it did to get a scribble from her. Awesome woman and my one and only celebrity crush. 

Nick Solak was nice enough to drag his sharpie on a card for me. Funny thing is; since getting this return back I have pulled 2 of his autos from packs. Weird.

Rusty is my dog. I think I mentioned in a long lost post that my brother and I were sending 5 TTM requests to secret recipients in the other's name. He has received back Kaline and a denial from Adrian Beltre. I received this Carson Fulmer auto that he sent out in my dog's name. I like it anyway. Carson has a great signature and I will always think of my dog when flipping through my TTM binder.

This is actually a denial. I was lucky enough to get Salty to sign this card TTM a while back and then sent it to Josh Hamilton. It got returned unsigned. I am just glad it came back. I am sure Hamilton will be working the card show circuit someday and I can get the other half scribbled on.

Haiku 1/1, 4 TTM Returns, and a Big Assist

The talented, and dare I say ahead-of-his-time blogger Matt at Diamond Jesters put on a contest and I was lucky enough to be one of the winners. He gave me a couple of topics to pick from and created my own personal haiku from it. His poetry has to be one of the most unique continued post topics on any blog I have seen. It makes his site one of my favorites. I chose the Portland Sea Dog topic as I had an apartment in Portland Maine for a couple of months overlooking Hadlock Field. He also tossed in a handful of PC player cards, all of which I needed. He is one of the best out there! Thanks Matt.

A BIG ASSIST 

 I don't blog 1/100th of what I used to. It want to but just can't invest the time that often anymore. I give huge credit to The Lost Collector aka AJ. He posts more often than 99% of bloggers out there and always quality content. Mostly drool-worthy Tino cards and some Yankee scrubs. I spent way too much money trying to pull this Aaron Slegers card this year and finally asked for help. AJ was my savior and sent me one PWE practically overnight. I owe this return to him. Thanks again AJ!

 

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A

 After a looooong lull of no TTM returns, I had 3 sitting for me on my last trip to my return address. These two follow the USA theme as Royce Lewis is in his red, white and blue gear and Tanner Roark was masterful pitching for team USA in the last WBC.

I like personalized autos, not enough guys do them.

Oh, Canada...

Not to be outdone; I received TTM and got in person one autograph from two Canadian born athletes. Alex Delvecchio is a Red Wing legend and I was finally able to get him on this vintage card at a local card show. TTM hall of famer Pat Neshek has been throwing Nick Pivetta's name out all over social media as an up and coming card freak. I sent him a hockey auto I had found deep in a nickel box a few years ago in return for his scribble.

A masterpiece.

I love combo Rookie cards, for some reason.

One Million Cubs?! & LOTS of Recent Additions

 I Am Alive

Well, its my turn to have the "Blogging Yips" where I can't get myself to sit down and post or find the time to. Unfortunately, my hobby activity is probably at an all time high right now and I have too much to post about and can't; or won't. I am not sure which. This post will be blog-vomit but enjoy the pics.
I have succumb to twitter trading. It seems I am always one step behind. As soon as I got this blog back up and running and found and friended other bloggers for trades it seemed they all started trading via twitter and trading via blogger went stale. I finally have made the jump to posting and looking for cards on twitter and that is one reason this blog has been a ghost town. The other reason is that I have a good grasp on how The Trading Card Database works now and have completed 2 trades and have 5 processing right now. I love it. I will have a post coming up soon on tips for getting more trade offers on there.

 

 

WARNING: @onemillioncubs Is Hoarding Shawon Dunston Cards

@onemillioncubs is owned/operated by Beau Thompson and has a website (www.onemillioncubs.net) and I am sure you can guess his collecting goal by the name. I had been watching his twitter from the shadows for a long time and finally reached out to him for a trade. We swapped 650 Cubs for 650 Tigers. It was a great trade for both of us. I recommend trading with Beau if you have a bunch of team sorted junk wax sitting around. Its for a good cause and I got a lot of great cards not just team set fillers.

Beau threw in a /299 Verlander and the Kaline variation from 2018 Donruss.

EBAY BUCKS Y'ALL!

I had enough Ebay bucks to get this sweet Omar Vizquel Detroit card for half price. See it in all it's glory below:

Speaking of Vizquel

I paid my favorite Ebay breaker a visit and bought into a 4 case player break of 2018 Topps Tribute for Omar Vizquel and Michael Fulmer and then a 4 case player break of 2018 Diamond Kings for Jacoby Jones. I have come a long way from a junk wax collector in a very short time. Never dreamed I would be holding cards like this. Here is the haul:

TRADES!

The Trading Card Database has been my best friend lately. pjdionne12 is my profile if you want to browse my stuff or be friends.

Courtesy user name:  alanschwarz

Via NACHOS GRANDE

 

Via Kenneth Kizzer on Facebook:

Via Collin J Rae on Facebook:

Via @connorkelly4222 twitter:

 VIA Wallgreens and Rite Aid $5 boxes"

Pretty sweet "game used" relic /150 shows Angels, says Red Sox

Via Ebay:

Via TTM:

Via Target box: