From Card Cave to a Cardboard Haven, Trade of the Year

I have made some recent transactions that have transcended my basement from cardboard hoarder's rat nest into something that looks almost like a respectable collector's trophy room.

Trade of the Year

No picture has ever represented a moment in my life so accurately!

The forums on The Trading Card Database are pretty entertaining. Other than the monthly idiot who creates a login and tries selling cards or pitching his website 10 minutes later, you can always find something good to read. I saw a post for an old lamp and from there ended up with a legendary swap. BOBSCARDZ on the site is a very active member posting to the forum often. I was able to work out a deal with him to swap a box of cards for his Upper Deck hockey lamp.

Picture the "FRAGILE" crate being dropped off and opened in A Christmas Story. This lamp is totally from the era I began collecting. I love it. Bob even included 6 hockey cards from 90-91 in a team bag in case I wanted to keep the lamp accurate to the time period. He is an awesome guy and I hope he is as happy with the cards I found for him as I am with this sweet beacon of nostalgia! I am still filling a box for him to hopefully send sometime in January as an extra thank you. 

I have followed @GypsyOak on twitter for a long time and admire the pieces of art depicting baseball's history in a modern way. To be honest I don't know if its one guy or a cooperative team that makes this stuff but with a black Friday deal too good to pass up I made my first order. I ordered the Pat Neshek print and the Ty Cobb print above. Everything pictured is what came to me today. The extras they were sending in this sale are unbelievable. Even cooler in hand than online. The post card print, stickers, cards, its all amazing stuff that I am going to have to display in a shadowbox or something. Someday when my wife is done with her residency and we get into our "forever home" I am going to order one of Gypsy Oak's bigger pieces for my hobby room. 

Secret Santa 2018

I know I just posted recently about trying to post more but here we are. I haven't opened Blogger in weeks again. Busy times for me. I have a ton of stuff to post about but it is just quicker to tweet something short and dumb than to sit down to think up a post and scan pics.
Anyway, Secret Santa is on for 2018. Here is the link:

https://pennysleevethoughts.blogspot.com/2018/11/introducing-secret-santa-30.html?showComment=1541684579413#c2325288127925363670

We are so blessed in this blogging community to have such thoughtful people involved. Jon from A Penny Sleeve for Your Thoughts blog recognized the need and stepped up to run Secret Santa this year. Matt from Bob Walk the Plank ran it last year and I had fun shopping for someone else and met some new trade partners through it.
In the minuscule chance that some card blogger visits my blog that hasn't seen others posting about it, click the link and get in!

My First Panini Redemption

I hate to be that guy. I bitch enough on this blog about the state of our hobby but I need to vent about my recent Panini package. I bought a redemption card off of ebay and redeemed it. I was less than enthusiastic about the Panini website and even more confused as to why it took two months to fill an order that I knew they had ready to ship. I had seen other versions of the same card /25 posted places. Meaning they had been made, signed, and ready to be redeemed.
I told myself to chill; Panini is probably a busy company. I see posts all the time about people waiting crazy amounts of time for their redemptions. I guess I just assumed those cards hadn't been printed or they couldn't get the athlete to sign them. I figured as a company they understood the business and did the best they could.
Today, though, they lost my benefit of the doubt. I noticed my redemption status changed from open to closed suddenly about 2 weeks ago. I nervously waited for any other information but none was posted. Under the "View Shipping?" button (the question mark should have been a red flag) there was no information other than it had been sent 10/17.
Surely, a company, nay, a thriving business like Panini would upload a tracking number if not email me one soon. Silly, naive little collector me.
Today I received a beaten-to-hell ripped package in the mail. I repeatedly said "please don't be from Panini" in my head as I turned it over to see the sender...It was.

Now, my postal service around here is atrocious. I get rough packages all the time and NEVER receive anything on time. Typically the sender knows how to package well and I rarely have issues. Surely Panini, a freaking card company knows how to ship. They have to, right? This package obviously got stuck and burned for a while in the sorting machine's wheels but the creases and tears are what worried me. Creases = Bends and Tears = Moisture.

THE CARD WAS OKAY. I should get that out of the way now in case anybody wants to bail on this post thinking "the card was fine pansy, quit whining." BUT... There was no cardboard, no paper, no tissue, no team bag, no protection inside at all. Just my card in a penny sleeve and toploader left to dance around inside a cheap bubble mailer. I know guys who automatically give negative feedback on ebay for this or will stop trading with you.
NEXT...There was no tracking! With all the scumbags taking advantage of the good guys in our hobby right now what is to stop anyone from getting their card and saying it never showed. Would Panini send a replacement? THEY PAID $3.50!!!! The same amount it would have cost to send first class with tracking and give us both piece of mind.
The straw that breaks the breaks the camel's back is the piece of scotch tape on the top of the loader. We all preach painters tape or nothing within the better side of the hobby. How can this be acceptable?! What a joke. I have stood by Panini when others leave them for not having logos and even when they have players put on 4 XXXL sized jerseys for 30 seconds just to make swatches like this one for cards.
I have a real bad taste in my mouth after this one. I'm still in shock.