Like Free Money?

 Do you like to earn free money? Free money you can use on cards? I know I do.

@onemillioncubs has tweeted out a few times an app called the Fetch Rewards App where he said last year he earned $700 in eBay gift cards for free. FREE.

Let me spell that out for you. SEVEN...HUNDRED....DOLLARS....E....STINKIN....BAY FOR F..R..E..E.

Instead of going by his article on the Fetch Rewards app like I usually do yesterday, not an app kinda guy, this time I read his article and said you know what, I am going to give this a try. At this point with the look of my hobby funds this year, I will try anything especially for free. So I did and downloaded the app.

I am not a tech kinda guy so I was worried about figuring out the app. But, it was so easy.

To earn points, just upload receipts. That's it. There is a camera in the app, you just click on that, and take a picture of the receipt, hit submit and that's it. If you need to take a picture of long receipts there is a plus button where you can chunk it up and take pictures of the whole thing. You earn points for every receipt from anywhere. Local grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, Walmart, Target, and even that quick Dunkin run. Any receipt and even online ones if you don't go to the stores. 

The app reads your receipt and gives you points based on what you buy. Some may be worth 5 points, some may be worth 1000 and some up to 5000. It all depends on what items you buy or what specials they may be running that day where you can earn extra points. Either way, you can achieve some kind of goal. We all get receipts.

If you're going to get a receipt for shopping, why not download this app and take a picture of it before throwing it away and earn yourself some money for cards? It's a win-win.

You can also get points for referring a friend and even using their referral code. That's where I am hoping because I gave you this info that you will use my referral code WHICH IS 8TB9M. Earn BOTH OF US some points by using it please :) Oh, and you must upload one receipt before either of us earn it. Thanks in advance!

The only thing I haven't figured out is when they distribute the rewards out. I am guessing it runs like eBay bucks where you gather your points for a few months before they give them out. Also, if you are curious how many points you have to earn to land let's say an eBay gift card, there are tons of other choices as well to restaurants and stores and apps, it's 5,000 points (you get 2,000 just for doing my referral code) for a $5 eBay gift card and 50,000 points for a $50 one. There are $10 and $25 options as well.

So to sum this up, FREE CARD MONEY, FREE APP, EASY TO USE, TAKE A PICTURE OF A RECIEPT YOU ARE TOSSING AWAY ANYWAYS. FREE CARD MONEY. FREE MONEY FOR SOMETHING YOU THROW AWAY. Can I just keep this one repeat??? 

Join today and PLEASE USE MY CODE and help us both out!!!

The One

*it's time for a fresh cup of coffee and some cards. Sounds like a great start to the morning don't you think?*

Every Friday on Twitter, @collect_sport, I put up a I Want/Need Thread where you comment a specific card need and I will retweet it in hopes someone will Sell, Trade or even RAK (I have seen this) the card to you. Some people use the thread the way it was intended while others make a team/set demand. I just go with the flow regardless as long as it helps the collectors commenting.

On the thread every week, I also give an example of a specific cards I Want/Need. I have had some success in doing so, but one card I have tried a few times without any luck up I put up again and this time to my surprise had a response.

That's when I met @MattyBW who had what I wanted and so much more.

*takes a sip, gets excited about showing off these cards and takes another sip before doing so*

It wasn't too long after he had replied to my tweet about that specific card need that we had a nice conversation. The biggest point of the conversation was to make sure I got that card but we talked about much more that led to a trade as well.

I recently just started collecting more Jasson Dominguez for my Yankees PC. This was my second add to the collection.

This along with a few newer Cal Ripken Jr cards I forgot to take pictures of were the "newer" cards of the group. The main focus was on the 90's basketball. And if you know me, that hits the sweet spot and in comparison to coffee is the king of the cups.

John Starks adds. I always find it both saddening and odd to see John Starks in any uniform that's not a Knicks one. He was a fan favorite and a favorite of mine.

Finest Shaq. Don't ever let him post up, guy was unstoppable unless he had to shoot free throws.

Hakeem with the block!

And then Hakeem with the shot. Well, the Best Shot. These fell 1:12 packs and also had refractor parallels as well.

My first picture wasn't the greatest at showing how cool this card actually is. So I held it up to a window.

Now rolls in a beauty....

1996-1997 Bowmans Best Honor Roll Refractor! These bad boys fell 1:192 packs but it's not only the beauty of the card that grabs my attention, its the players. Patrick Ewing was one of the trio of Knicks I liked and Karl Malone I enjoyed his game and tried to mock it when I played with my friends back in the 90's. If I was to try that now, my body would ache for weeks.

*takes another sip before the coffee gets cold. I like Iced Coffee okay, but not my hot coffee getting iced. While I am it, I might as well toast a couple of english muffins*

I haven't even gotten to the main card of this post yet and I bet you are sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for me to show it off. Hold your mugs, we are almost there.

For now, I will tease this card as an intro....

Yup, a 1995-1996 Spx Gold Jason Kidd. Anyone who has followed me knows my deep passion for 90's Spx. I own set all three NFL Sets, one MLB Set, Both NASCAR sets, One and a half Hockey sets, and now......

Hold that thought.

*takes a sip of coffee*

I don't normally like jelly on my english muffins, I am a fan of bland so butter is my usual choice, but I will take a bit more excitement today when I show off the exciting card.

*takes a few bites, sip of joe and now onto the big reveal*

I think I have made you wait long enough to finally show the main card of this post. Not that the other cards above aren't sweet.

To finish up where I was with my Spx set chase, I also have one and a 49th basket....hold your horses...

What's this...

BOOM! You guessed it. The MJ has finally come home to finish up my second basketball set. He is smiling like I was when I finally got to hold this card.

 

And here he is resting peacefully among his Spx teammates.

With this set finally now complete, I am only missing the 1996-1997 Spx basketball set to complete the trio. That one also has my favorite design of the three but is also a dream set. I don't ever imagine myself being able to complete that one.

An obvious huge thanks goes out to @MattyBW for helping me finish up this set. It was a long time coming and it feels good to finally get there.

If you have Twitter, check out my Friday Thread and see what project you might be able to complete. You just never know what you may complete or who you may meet and become friends with. Isn't that the point of this hobby?

Coffee Card blogger out.

Rodney's Cardboard:1995 Collectors Edge 22K Gold Die Cut

@CardPocalypseNC has been a huge help of recent in helping me add some Rodney's I don't have.

Today's is a "rare parallel" by 90's standards as there are only 500 made of them.

The card has a zig-zagged die cut top, 22K gold foil on the  front 

 

and on the back of the card is it's numbering.

I don't have a lot of info such as odds on finding this card as Collectors Edge wasn't really straightforward on those, but, since this is the only one I have ever seen I can't imagine it's easy.

Thanks to Tim again for the assist on this Rodney.

The Holidays Are Late

*takes a sip of coffee, yup, it's time for Cards Over Coffee*

Sorry about the hiatus on this blog and don't worry, I didn't take any breaks from coffee in the meantime. How can anyone do that and be sane?

A couple of weeks ago, my father timed it right and arrived at Walmart when the vendor was there. It never happens and is once in a blue moon when it does. So he called me and asked if I wanted anything and listed off a few of the products.

There wasn't much to choose from in terms of variety or even amounts brought, but here were my options.

• 2020 Panini Contenders Football both blasters and rack packs (great hobby, but terrible retail product with autograph offerings from undrafted free agents)
• 2020 Topps Heritage Baseball Hangers (bleh, not really a huge fan of that product)
• 2020 Donruss Football Hangers (already opened some)
• 2020 Topps Holiday Baseball ( hold on say what?!)

Yes, 2020 Topps Holiday baseball. Exactly what the Dr ordered. That's Dr. Cards of course.

So he grabbed me a box of holiday and I worked out a trade for it. Of course nothing in life comes easy and I had to sell my soul to the devil for the box, but knowing how much I like Topps Holiday, I happily obliged and signed on the dotted line. In other words, I gave up a decent card to land this box so it better be worth it.

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

There are 10 packs of 10 cards to be found in every 2020 Topps Holiday Mega Box. Each box comes with a guaranteed autograph, autograph relic or relic card. 9 times out of 10, be ready for that relic card. Boxes go for $25-$30.

Each box also comes with new-to-the-product cool ornament as well. I will say its not as awesome as the ones in the late 90's-early 2000's Pacific but I really like this addition to the product. I pulled the recently traded Nolan Arenado.

*takes a sip excited to have a new ornament for the tree next year, not sure how the wife will feel about it but I will sneak it on*

The base set for Topps Holiday is a spruced up version of the base with touches of Christmas joy and some snowflakes. Not bad to fish this out of the first pack.

Topps All-Star Rookie Cup. I would expect another big year from Tatis Jr and the Padres could make a run with the team they have assembled.

A couple of Yankees for my PC. I was especially happy to find Aaron Judge.

A few solid rookies as well in this break.

Overall, there are 200 cards in the base set to collect. I know a lot of collectors like to land the base set but with the product release so late this year will be interesting if it is as popular of chase as it was in years past.

I like the base cards and design this year, but for me, it's not the base cards I was after. I wanted the short prints with the unique Santa Hats, Presents, Stockings, Ice Skates and other Christmas related items that aren't as plentiful this year.

 

I only pulled two in my box which was disappointing. There was this Pete Alonso, the one on the right is the base and the one of the left is the Rare Presents Above The Dugout that falls 1:20 packs. If it wasn't for the codes, I never would have seen this one. Its really hard to see those presents.

Then there was this Super Rare of Alex Bregman that falls 1:161 packs. Candy Cane stockings, kinda cool. The card was backwards in the pack so I had a feeling this one was an Sp before I turned it around to see it

*takes final sip of cup one, immediately pours cup two and continues on with today's post*

The metallic parallels, unless you have Super Vision, are really hard to spot. I didn't think I pulled a single one when I was opening the packs, that was until I read they landed 1:2 packs so I checked back through and found some.

 

This Tim Anderson is one believe it or not.

I tried to capture it in the sunlight...nope.

So I tried the sun again, blew up this picture a little more and added a red circle to try and show it. I think if you click on the image you might be able to see it. Years past they were a bit more glittery so they stood out more.

There is one card left to this break to show off and that was my hit of the box.....

Danny Jansen relic. I like the design but not tootles of excitement with the player pull.

That was fun, but felt a little weird opening up a holiday themed product after Christmas. I may have tried to trade for another but with it being past Christmas it's not as tempting to.

Not sure I got my soul's worth out of this box in terms of value, but the fun I did and that's what matters most.

*takes a gulp of delicious coffee before closing*

Now that this post is done, I need to grab some breakfast. I promise the next post won't be too far down the road. 

I hope you enjoyed this break with some breakfast and a cup of coffee yourself.

The Week In Pictures: More Snow

 

This week in pictures is brought to you by the letter S again, as in more Snow.

Another round of snow came through, once again not as much as we have seen in past storms, not that I am complaining, but it was enough to cover more ground. So far this year I have yet to shovel any of the white stuff off from my deck....knock on wood it stays that way.

If you look closely you can see the flakes falling.

My wife had to drive through the storm on slippery roads to work but made a stop along the way and snapped this amazing picture that captures the storm.

 

At least I had these to end the week to distract myself from the snow. These are chicken wontons with chicken, sauce, red cabbage, green onions and plenty of cilantro. I am not sure if I am alone with this, but more cilantro the better. It brings out any dish.

I am only doing one more week of this segment which is next week as this segment hasn't taken off that well and I have another idea to replace it. It doesn't mean the segment will be gone forever, just taking a break for awhile.

Leave your thoughts on snow or cilantro in comments!

CARDBOARD REVIEW:2020 Playoff Football

Playoff football is here and so isn't Playoff football.

I may or many not have saved this review for this time of year. Nothing is more exciting than the NFL Playoffs, especially when the Patriots are out of them.

Let's see if this box break ended up being just as exciting as that,

Every box of 2020 Playoff football comes with 12 packs of 8 cards each. There are 4 hits in every box and boxes are currently running around $220. Which is probably twice what they normally would but looking at how the hobby is going, I can only imagine where these prices are hiking to next.

BASE:

The base set is built up of 300 cards that feature veterans

Legends of the past

And stars of the future. Speaking of stars of the future, you only find one-per-pack and it feels like long odds of actually pulling the bigger stars. Love was my by a mile my best player of the box.

PARALLELS:

You can find the following parallels, Goal Line, Kickoff, Red Zone, 1st Down #/99, 2nd Down #/49, 3rd Down #/25, 4th Down #/10, Touchdown 1/1.

 

1st down is /99

2nd down is /49

3rd down /25

INSERTS:

Inserts offer the following parallels, Blue, Pink, Purple, Red, Silver, Gold #/10, Touchdown 1/1.

I like the chrome technology used on this years inserts. They really stand out, though in some ways, feel out of place with a non base chrome product.

Behind the Numbers has 30 cards to collect. Can't go wrong with the three guys I landed.

Call To Arms has 20 cards to chase

20 cards to fill up Thunder and Lightning set. That Saquon and Slayton is pure fire.

30 cards makes up Rookie Wave. I really like these, especially finding a Burrow.

HITS:

Changing Stripes is made up of players who played for multiple teams. I dig this Dickerson.

Turning Pro. Tua played well and almost led them to a Playoff game up until they met the Bills in Week 17. Wowzah.

Harrison Bryant Rookie Auto

And a really tough SSP pull of a Preview Contenders Rookie Ticket auto. This one is /23

There we have it!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The hits were fun, but for me, Playoff was all about those shiny inserts. I really liked those and looked forward to finding them.

When it comes to box price vs what I pulled however, it isn't pretty. Now if that Higgins had been a Burrow that would have changed the story on this one.

RATINGS BASED ON THIS BOX BREAK

Design ⭐⭐

Inserts ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Parallels ⭐

Hits ⭐⭐

Value  ⭐ 1/2

Fun Factor ⭐⭐⭐

Quick Blogging Notes

Hey! If you are reading this, I hope you are, here are some updates on blogging.

1. I have pulled down my want lists for now for sets, players, etc. They need updating badly. If there is anything specific you need to ask me about in the meantime, just email me at sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com or message me on Twitter. I can provide that info.
2. I finally decided that having two emails was a pain when it comes to trying to blog. So I have brought Cards Over Coffee into the fold with my this blog and my NY Giants card blog that way I can just sign into my main email and control all three blogs.
3. Speaking of Cards Over Coffee, I haven't done many posts with that blog recently as I am trying to decide what to do with it and whether I want to continue on with that blog. I like how that blog gets the comments, but it doesn't get the views. It also is a lot of work compared to running this one for such little success. I kept hoping the more content I added the better it would be, but with only an average of 15 views a day, not sure it's worth it. Have considered other options with the blog as well.
4. Speaking of my Giants card blog, Big Blue Cardboard, I have revamped the blog, deleted all older posts and have been putting up new material when I have time. I am using it now to celebrate big PC completions, show off player PC's and to seek help on projects. Check it out if you haven't yet, add it to your blogrolls to and find the blog HERE.
5. For the first time since the pandemic, this blog has taken off in January in almost doubling the total views from December and most months of 2020. It feels like old times again but hopefully the bubble doesn't pop for February. It has motivated me to stay on this blog and continue it for now.
6. Backtracking some to pages, I have added some new ones I think you should check out as well to see what you may be able to help me out with so we can possibly do some trading. I have started some fun new projects.

I think that's it for now. As always, I welcome all feedback in comments on any of the topics I covered today and/or maybe some stuff you have been working on with your own blog(s).

The Mosaic Chase

I know..I know...I have posted a lot of Eli Manning cards on here to kick of this blogs re-birthing but I promise to show off other Giants as I go along. Right now as I type, well not literally, I am gathering cards to post and to show off.

However, for now, here is another Eli post and another side project I have of his.

I wasn't too much of a fan early on when I saw images of Mosaic release, but when I started adding a few of the cards to my Giant collection, specifically my Eli Manning PC, I really started to dig it. The only problem I have with it is identifying all of the parallels. So I usually take my research to eBay to help.

The six Mannings above were the kickoff to see how many of his Mosaic cards I could add without breaking the wallet, thanks to Burbank Sport Cards for the good deals on those. 

As for the latest add that arrived yesterday, this Red parallel, it was added thanks to my good friend @Brent3323 who not only sent along some Eli's I knew were coming but this one as well.

Here is the start of my Rain....no....here is the start of my collection of Eli Mosaic cards. Well, the base. I have some of the inserts and parallels of those as well.

Thanks to Brent for the assist on a new Mosaic add.

I am not sure how far I will run with this but hope to add a few more of the cheaper ones would be nice.