2007 Turkey Red Hobby Box Break #1

As a long time fan of the Topps Turkey Red Series of cards, I pre-ordered 2 hobby boxes from one of my favorite eBay sellers at a great price. I was very impatient waiting for this product, but upon opening the first of the two boxes I was more than impressed and happy.

The box topper, was a Dick Perez signed Vlad card numbered 21/25 which made me very happy without having to see any more. Now aside from the fact that I am convinced that I got a "hot" box, it was like the packs never ended. Topps made a great product once again, with 24 packs per box and 8 cards per pack, you just can't go wrong here.

I did happen to win another hobby box on ebay for $66.00 which should be coming next week, and I am hopeful that one of them might contain my Pujols AU. Hopeful, but pessimistic none the less.

Here is the breakdown of the first hobby box:

Presidents: Clinton, Wilson
Road to 500: #324

Almost all RC'S including Hughes, Clippard, Dice-K, Dice-K checklist, Gordon, Kouzmanoff, Owings, Young, etc etc.

Box Topper: Vlad Guerrero Cabinet, Dick Perez Auto 21/25

Chromograph Refractor: Tony Gwynn, Jr.

Refractors: Ramirez, Hanley; Mantle

Chrome: Beckett, Oswalt, A-Rod, Miller RC, Gallardo RC, Slaten RC, Jones,

GU: Cantu BAT, Beltran JERSEY (2 color)

Silk Collection: Jason Bay 40/99











Hobby Box #2 break to follow shortly......

My Mailday

I got some other cards, but these two were by far my favorite. The UD Elements Auto is 15/15 as well. I love it.

Bubble Mailer Day 09-19-07

In today's mail I had a glorious package. I received the following 3 cards, for a decent shipping rate. Although high, I still got 3 cards for the price of most shipping charges for one card.





The seller of these cards was refractors4sale, and he is currently offering free shipping on the second card. Anyone looking for refractors, he had a decent selection at last look.

The Rookie Card and eBay

For the past several years I have been putting aside all Rookie cards, and first year cards into separate boxes from their respective sets. In doing so, my intention was to decide who I was going to seek out as a collection and try to complete it as best as possible with the funds available.

However, the problem with this comes shipping and handling charges. Recently, I have decided to start collecting Adam Lind cards because I figured they would be relatively easy to find in the tri-state area, and he wasn't a "Pujols" type of player, where his cards would be sky high on eBay and Beckett's website. I purchased one autographed card today on eBay, and the only reason I purchased it was because I can't go wrong with $4.99 for the card, even though the shipping is $4.00!!!! It is costing me $4.00 for standard First Class mail. Though that makes me very angry, in this case it evens out in my book. I will be scanning my Adam Lind collection once I get the cards that I have ordered, and put together my collection that I currently have. I am also willing to trade cards with any readers for multiple players, as would Sooz I'm sure

The point to the blog essentially is that sellers on eBay think that because the United States Postal Service raised their prices slightly that it gives them the right to overcharge the customer even more to compensate for the additional nickel it costs them.



Now if you go onto eBay you will see dozens of sellers charging $3-$5 for shipping one card. It is outrageous to think that these people do this with a clear conscience. My partner here purchased a card recently, and paid I believe $2.50 OR $3.00 for shipping and the card came in a regular white envelope with a $0.41 stamp. That seller should be disciplined by eBay since you can not take any action other than reporting them for excess shipping charges.

My advice to everyone is this: Try and buy what you can on Beckett from one or two sellers to save on shipping costs, and if you buy on eBay be very careful of the shipping cost before bidding, and if possible purchase from the same seller. Do not be afraid to report people for excess shipping charges as well.

Belated Birthday

I got a giftcard from Covered in Wrappers for my birthday to BC. I decided today was the day to get some cards. I picked up seven Topps Chrome ($2.99/pack). Just a little something to get through the day.

I wasn't too thrilled with these boxes from everything I heard. I decided to go for it anyway. Technically, they were free anyway.

The first pack I got a Mickey Mantle story card. Not too shabby, but it was in the second pack that I got a good card (finally!). Alex Gordon autograph refractor 155/500.

I also got a Mickey Mantle story card refractor. Those were the two biggies. Out of seven packs, I'm not complaining.

News from AP: Collection fetches $1.6 million

BURR RIDGE, Illinois: An octogenarian's collection of rare baseball cards fetched $1.6 million in a suburban Chicago auction, officials said.

Lionel Carter, 89, of Evanston, Illinois, began his collection as a 15-year-old when he eschewed a nickel candy bar for a pack of 1932 Delong cards. His stash of pristine cards ballooned to 50,000 strong with an estimated value of $3 million and became one of the most renowned collections in the United States.

"We don't say this lightly — he's considered one of the pioneers of the hobby," said Doug Allen, president of Mastro Auctions, which sold the collection in a three-week auction that ended Saturday.

Carter's mint condition Mickey Mantle rookie card sold for $165,000, three times more than similar cards have commanded. A set of 1938 Goudy Gum cards sold for $280,000 five times more than similar sets.

"I think people are paying more because it was owned by Lionel Carter," Allen said.
At least 5,500 cards were sold in this auction, and the rest will be sold at other auctions during the year, officials said.

Carter opted to sell his collection out of concern for his safety. Thieves broke into his house just north of Chicago last October and stole cards, although most were safely recovered by police.
"It was very sad," he said. "I didn't want to see them go. To me, it was part of my life. A big part of my life."

2007 Topps Moments & Milestones Break

Yes, I was sucked in to all the hype of this product. Normally I am very cautious about spending $9.99 for a pack of baseball cards, much less buying a box for $150 retail. I did buy quite a few packs over a couple of weeks, and picked up one auto card from the single packs, being Miguel Montero. Not as exciting as I had hoped for ten bucks, but such is life.

After buying more single packs than I care to admit I went on an eBay hunt for a decent discounted box. I found one for $102 plus $7.95 shipping. What a deal! In this box I pulled an Andrew Miller RC AU, and Martin Prado AU. There were no 1/1's or Printing Plates, which was disappointing.

A week later while searching eBay, I saw an auction for 2 boxes of Moments & Milestones at a Buy-It-Now price of $209.95 and $10.00 shipping. Yahoo!! $105 a box is the steal of the century. The first box I pulled another Andrew Miller RC AU (very odd to get two I thought), Jonny Gomes AU, and a Billy Wagner 1/1 Red Saves card. The second box I pulled an Adam Lind RC AU, and a Mike Napoli AU. Again, no 1/1's or Printing Plates. I did get 3 black Pujols and 3 regular ones, which made me happy. 6 Pujols in the final box was more than I pulled in the first 2 together of him.

While I don't feel like I will make my money back selling the cards I don't collect, I am hopeful I will come across someone who might trade me for some Albert Pujols cards, or Robinson Cano cards. If you are one of those people please get in touch with me by all means.

Another Gwynn Auto

Here's just another Tony Gwynn card with Jr's auto on it. Really, that's annoying. If I paid $300 for just one pack of cards, I would really expect better than this.

I hope Upper Deck does something for all the people that got hosed on this one.

UD Quality UnControl

Look closely at the autographs. Tony Gwynn Sr., (that's dad) has his son's autograph sticker. Tony Gwynn Jr., has his dad's auto sticker. If I got the bottom card, which just came out with UD Premier I would be pissed. But seriously, whose job is it to take the stickers off a sheet of paper and make sure it goes with the right person?

I get that it’s father and son, but the quality control should be a little better.

Well, a lot better.

2005 Topps Turkey Red Box Break

Once upon a time I bought a hobby box of 2005 Topps Turkey Red. By once upon a time, I mean I bought the box 2 years ago on eBay for a great deal.

I tend to be a squirrel of sorts, so it took me two years to break it. Let me remind those of you who do the same thing, if you have them from 2005, OPEN THEM! The reason I say this is, the autograph redemptions will expire around Ausust 2007 and you will no longer be able to redeem these. Thanks to Sooz, I made it in time and thank goodness.

In this hobby box, I received a Mariano Rivera autograph redemption card. I very rarely, if ever, pull a great auto card. Now, don't feel bad for me because I don't buy expensive boxes so it's my own fault. At any rate, I sent in the card and within 2 weeks I had my Rivera autographed card. Also in this box I got a Red game used Jersey Card of Alex Rodriguez which made it that much sweeter.

I think at the time I paid $58 for the box, and it was well worth it from those two cards and it was loaded with Yankees base cards, as well as a couple of SP's.

Now the question is..... Do I send out the auto card to get it graded?

Best Card Ever...

This is one of the best cards I’ve ever pulled. Usually, I tend to buy low-end boxes, so the game-used or autographs I get don’t tend to be anything grand. Such as, I recently bought a 2007 Upper Deck box and got a Ben Sheets jersey card.

Really, there isn’t any Brewers GU I want, but if I were to pick, it would have been Prince Fielder. However, it was Ben Sheets.

The Daisuke Matsuzaka card wasn’t even a game-used or anything. Just a rookie.

Well, not just any rookie. He has plenty of experience in Japan and the Red Sox paid an awful lot of money for him.

So, what did I do with my brand new card?

I sold it for $200. Got double the money I paid for the box of 2007 Topps Moments and Milestones and put that money toward cards I want to collect. Yes, I only paid $100 for the box.

A great price. Today I went to the local over-priced card shop. I have never bought a single baseball card from this store. They were selling the wax boxes for $190.

I think I made out well.

About Us

We are two women, yes, women not girls, who have a serious addiction to cardboard of the baseball variety. We have been collecting since we were children, mainly Yankees players, and both of us have branched out broadening our collections with players we have grown to love.

Sooz collects Derek Jeter, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Alex Rodriguez Road to 500 cards, Francisco Cervelli, and Jesus Montero.

Marie collects Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Adam Lind, Russ Martin, Francisco Cervelli, and Yankee Stadium Legacy.

We are always looking for trades to enhance our PC's, and we definitely have enough cards to trade in return.

One small note on the trading..... We don't like the phrase "book value." The value of the cards is determined by the two parties trading.

E-mail us for trades, or to say hi, and if we don't answer it's probably because we are in Target or you're a Red Sox fan . ;-)