About two years ago, I blogged about how bad the scribbles that many young athletes call autographs had gotten.  In some recent products, I can see that for the most part it has stayed the same or gotten worse; which lead to my tweet last night and Upper Deck's subsequent response...

The sad part of this, to me, is that it's actually been brought up and this is what we still see on cards.  This means that many of these players don't really care, and they're just scribbling their way to a fast payday with the card companies.

The other thing I've noticed is that some of the bigger stars in sports actually have a halfway decent signature, at least by today's standards.  I wonder what statistics would show if you compared quality of signature to on-field performance?  Are star signatures nicer because the player is more confident in what they do for a living?  This could make for an interesting statistical analysis, but would likely be subjective as to what one considers a good quality autograph.

Just some random musings on a quiet Tuesday night...

Last week, Topps had a blowout sale of their 2014 Mini release on their website.  This product was originally released at last year's National and then sold only on Topps.com after.  

With 2015 products on the horizon, I guess Topps needed warehouse space; so they offered 3 boxes for just $49.99, and they sold out fairly quickly.

My three boxes arrived and I have to say that it was a fun rip.  It was almost nostalgic, at around ~$17 box it brought back memories of collecting in the '80s.  It's hard not to like a product at that price point; in fact, I'd go as far to say that this is the "correct" price point for a niche product like this.  And if Topps wants to release a 2015 version at that price, I'd gladly buy some boxes -- maybe even a case.

That's not to say the product is flawless.  For one, they're mini cards.  I ended up spending $15 for a box of sheets to store the set in; because I don't have anything for this size of card (same size as 1975 Topps Mini).  Secondly, the collation was not very good in my three box sample.  I ended up 100+ cards short of a base set (660 cards).  Three boxes was supposed to yield 720 cards, plus or minus a few in packs that had relics; but I ended up with 732 cards. Not sure how that math worked out, but it did.  So while I had 100+ to go for my set, I also had 100+ duplicates (and even some triplicates).  Although, it's hard to be that upset when some of your dupes are Jose Abreu & Masahiro Tanaka rookies.

I also did fairly well in the "hits".  I've included pictures of them below.  I like the gold/pink/black parallels as they don't add that much cost to Topps making the product.  In fact, if they could keep the price under $20 a box, I'd say this product could lose some of the relics/autos -- maybe one every other box?  This truly is a set for set builders, in my opinion -- a set for collectors and not investors.  That's something we could use more of in the hobby.

 

According to Wikipedia, compartmentalization is an unconscious psychological defense mechanism used to avoid cognitive dissonance, or the mental discomfort and anxiety caused by a person's having conflicting values, cognitions, emotions, beliefs, etc. within themselves.

So if I admit that I need to compartmentalize different parts of my life, does that make me some sort of case study for psychology?  Actually, if you ask some of my long-time followers (cough Dale cough); it makes me a flip-flopper -- and I guess I can admit that they'd be right.

When I started on Twitter, I had multiple accounts because I kept my collecting separate from the rest of my life.  It's not a "shame" thing -- it's merely because the majority of my friends could care less about the cards and memorabilia that I've accumulated.  On the other hand, many of the people who follow me to talk cards and about the hobby, couldn't care less about the hockey game I'm watching or the food truck serving lunch outside of my office.

So if you want to follow me for collecting, @edthecollector is back.  If you want to follow the rest of my ordinary life, @heyyoeddie is still there.  Follow one, follow both, unfollow at will -- the choice is yours; because if you need to compartmentalize too, who am I to judge?

Welcome to my new blog for 2015.  I'm collecting sports cards and autographs, and will be using this site to also track my collections of vinyl records and Xbox One games.

I'm going to attempt to blog at least once a week going forward, and will touch on a variety of subjects.  I feel that there's a bunch of things I'll have to re-educate myself on in the sports card world after taking most of the last year off. EDIT 1/24/05: I've also gone back and added as many of my older blog posts as I can find.

As for what I'm collecting, I'll be chasing autographed cards and rookie cards from my favorite teams (the New York Mets, New York Rangers and New York Giants); as well as some UFC & WWE stuff too.  I've had some people tell me that my focus is too broad -- but I don't want to pigeonhole myself into something too narrow, either.  

What's different this time around, is that I'm collecting on a budget, and won't be chasing any and everything.  I'll wait to get the pieces I really want to add to my collection.  On-card autographs will still be a preference for me, and I'll be looking at PSA & BGS graded rookies too.  While I can't deny the thrill of ripping open packs now and then, or the thrill of buying into a group break; I'll probably try to buy more single cards in 2015; as that will give me the best bang for my buck.

This page will evolve over the next couple of weeks and I'll be adding more pages with scans of autographs, cards, albums & games that I currently own.  If you see something you'd like to trade for, be sure to message me.

One of the things that was a staple of collecting sports cards as a kid was trading.  I would have an album of cards that came with me to school, summer camp, when I went to hang out with friends, whenever -- and I was always ready to trade dupes for cards I needed.

When collecting hit the internet age, trading came with it -- but there were always bumps in the road.  How trustworthy was this stranger?  What if the item wasn't as nice as they said it was?  It took way more research than just trading a Mattingly for a Hernandez with the kid who hated the Mets and lived around the corner.

As I re-entered the autograph realm, I've been posting my successes and scans over at StarTiger (the best subscription site I've seen for this hobby); and out of the blue had a trade offer in my inbox this week.  I arrived home from work tonight to find a couple of autographs in my mailbox. One of them was this nearly 40-year-old issue of Hockey Illustrated signed by Guy LaFleur, and it may be one of the coolest ever additions to my collection.  Not only does it have a clear, crisp signature on the front; it's chock full of stories and ads that are just fun to read in hindsight.

So, no, trading isn't dead -- it just takes a little more legwork than it used to; unless you have a Met-hating neighbor around the corner who happens to collect autographs.

$100+ for an autographed card.  That's not really that bad, right? That's pretty much what a mid-range box of cards would cost. But yesterday, NFL.com had 11x14's of "The Catch" with a Mounted Memories COA for just $99 (they've since sold out).  They also have 8x10's for $89 and mini-helmets for $149.  Steiner Sports has a 16x20 of "The Catch" for $159.

Now I know that this memorabilia isn't as small or easy to store as a card; but it's something that can be displayed more prominently.  And while it may not be as much fun as ripping into a pack and finding the autograph of one of your favorite players, there's also less of a "chase" -- there won't be a better or more limited version made by another manufacturer this year.

In my 2015 world, there's room for both methods -- the question remains which one will get an OBJ autograph into my collection?

I just wanted to send a very sincere thank you to everyone who has reached out over the past few days since my mom lost her battle with breast cancer.

All of your prayers, concern and well wishes have been very much appreciated by myself and my entire family.

A very special thank you to Joey, Steve, Chris, Joel, Paul W, Larry, Paul S, Dale, Mark and Travis for their thoughtful gift and donation in my mom's honor.

It's another indication that the good people in the hobby are concerned more about "big hits" and eBay sales -- we are all part of an extended family.

So once again, thanks to everyone and apologies if I left anyone out but please know that I appreciate everything you guys and gals have done.  Oh, and #FuckCancer.