Thursday, April 14, 2016

Latest Goodwill Finds- #1

With how slow things have been going in finding treasures from Goodwill stores these days. I thought why not start posting finds in a way similar to the way Fuji does his swap meet discoveries. Some of these probably had stories that went with them when they were originally purchased. That day has long come, and gone.

Phil Knight Bobblehead

Bought for $3.99 when I first saw him the decision to buy took some thinking. Phil was originally given away in 2014 at a basketball game between the Ducks, and USC. Finally seeing one of these at Goodwill was quite a surprise. The few times I had seen these they were on Craigslist for an insane amount of money.

Taz Salt And Pepper Shaker

Finding these had me baffled originally. Each was priced individually for $2.99 instead of banded together like they normally do their salt, and pepper shakers. Throw in that they were in the nic-nack section, and not with the other shakers. All this left me perplexed on what they were, and forced me to grab the phone for a search. After the search I went from deciding to buy just the pitcher to both.

Hillsboro Hops Ball & Daytona Shot Glass

The cheapest items in this group at .99 cents each. The shot glass is an item that I'd come across over a year ago, and walked away from. Since then my NASCAR collection had grown so the time to add the glass felt right.

The Hops baseball despite being something I've been trying to avoid buying more of was too cool to leave behind. The picture of game action on the ball was what convinced me to bring it home.  Eventually I'll start going through all these baseballs, and clear out the least favorites in the collection. 

I might be coming home with less items these days as I've been trying to be a bit more selective. There have been many an item that has been left behind as the thinking of where something will go if it's bought crosses my mind more often than it used to. 



Monday, April 11, 2016

3rd Show Of The Year, But In Beaverton

In the last month, and a half I have logged so many miles in driving that I can't wait for a slow week. I'd even go as far as to say that there hasn't been one weekend that I haven't logged over 350 miles in driving.

This weekend wasn't any better as I took the long drive north again for the Beaverton card show. If it sounds like I'm complaining I'm not. This was a show I'd wanted to hit for the last month when I saw it was coming up. The reason is while it gets a large amount of the Mall 205 dealers. It does get some new dealers that usually makes it worth the time I spend going there.

Coming home with a ton of cards that has just left me shaking my head, and wondering why I bought the cards. I did manage to come home with a decent amount of set builders as well. Any time I can find a bunch of set needs I consider that a successful trip.


If you haven't been around, and heard me talk about the 2004 Studio Stars subset. I love the look of this set, and was pleased to find two cards for the subset. Finding two cards was like hitting a jackpot being I found one originally, and added another not long ago.


These are another of those things that if you've been around you've heard tons about. After adding these into the wants, and decided to build the entire series recently. Best of all the four you see above aren't the entire find for these. The total find was eight new cards, with all being for this one set.

The crazy thing about these eight cards was I almost didn't find them. They all came from a nickel box, or 25 for a dollar. Originally I picked out ten cards, but the dealer didn't have the change. Trying to get change he sent his helper out, and while he was gone I dug into the football better than my initial search where I found these.


Closing out the finds were these 1995 Silver 'You Crash The Game' cards. Found in a quarter box where I bought eight. After getting home I learned that maybe I should have done a better job looking through the wants for these. Maybe I would have gotten something else useful instead of five doubles. Not a total loss as I'm thrilled to be crossing these three of the wants.

Overall it wasn't a bad show despite me spending more than I probably needed to. I had more money than usual, and instead of smart spending I went buckwild. Normally I'm much smarter with the budget, and try to stick with cards that either fit the set wants, or have a home already in mind. The next card show won't be for quite awhile, but it's been a great ride in the three I've hit.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Pat Is Definitely No Fool

With today being April Fools Day I have to admit that it's a tradition that is lost on me. I've just never been into the whole thing of playing pranks. Be that on April Fools Day, or any other day to be honest. Don't get me wrong though. I'm not one who will bash others who enjoy the day with a prank. Heck, if a great prank is played I'm one to give props. It is just not something I go in search of any day of the year.

This all leads me to a small package of treasures that I got just over one month ago from fellow TradingBases member Pat. What I learned from this package is Pat doesn't joke around when it comes to sending out some sweet cards.


Included was a note asking if I still collected Tex cards, or if it was a long gone player collection? It seems I have never updated the collecting desires at the TradingBases site. Something that I guess needs to be done in the near future.

While I haven't been actively seeking out Tex cards I still haven't torn the binder holding all the cards apart either. Maybe I'll toss these sweet looking cards in there someplace until I decide if I want to eventually tear it down. Who knows, maybe Tex will get back to his old form minus the injuries he's been plagued with since joining the Yankees.

Closing out the package Pat showed he was serious.


Despite all the player collecting changes I seem to go through each year. Two that have remained a constant is the Kyle Seager, and Mike Trout collections. Both guys will remain in the player wants until the day my collecting stops. Seager has a long term deal with the Mariners that will keep him in Seattle for awhile. He's even considered by many to be the teams franchise player. Some might go with Cano since he's joined the team. For my money I'll join the crowd saying Seager is that man.

Thank You, Pat for some awesome cards that I'm proud to be adding into the collection.