Owed Thanks

The month of December was a crazy mail day time for me. I planned some of it that way while many others were surprises. I knew I wasn't going to be getting any cardboard for Christmas so wanted to make sure I had something to open and nailed it!

Today's post is 50/50 in terms of surprise and a known mail day. 

Up first, I gotta say thanks to Billy over at Cardboard History for sending me these pages. I was in desperate need of them and he was just looking to ditch them. Thank you! I have already sadly used all of them to catch up.

For the surprise part of this post, man, I was bombarded with a flat rate box by Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders with some reading material and some cards.

First up, some NY Yankees Tuff Stuff reading. I actually don't remember any of these covers or reading any of these. This should be fun. I didn't buy a lot of Tuff Stuff back in the 90's because most collectors used Beckett for they pricing calling card. Even though I preferred Tuff Stuff pricing layout since they priced all base cards and their values were a bit higher

Speaking of Beckett, a couple of throwback mags, also two I haven't read, and a couple of Sports Illustrated as well.

This Mantle Beckett I do remember reading and owning at one point, but no longer. It's from one of my favorite years in the hobby in 1995 so I look forward to flipping through these pages. There was also a Topps magazine in the mix as well. I never bought one of these but I did buy an Upper Deck one once that had a special Lebron James rookie card cover once, I wonder where that is in my house lol.

Sport Collectors Digest. Never read a single one and look forward to checking them out. My father used to read Baseball Weekly and would hand me the copies once he was done. I think we had the Dimaggio at one point but that got lost in a move. Welcome back old friend.

If that wasn't enough of a surprise, Dennis also tucked some cards into the side of the box he had sent.

Here are some guys that capture the glory years of Giants football. Back when they used to win. I hope they look at these type of guys this year in the draft and free agency. The Rodney I had, but I am always welcomed to any Rodneys regardless.

Shiny Jacobs and a numbered Shockey. Guess I never bought any of that Upper Deck brand.

There were even some Yankees tossed my way. Most of which I didn't have which is really the surprising part. Dig the Mantles and the Jackson.

Speaking of digging a Mantle, look at this amazing photograph on this Fleer card. Does it get any classier than this? Fleer did such a great job picking images for their products and this one is probably now my most favorite Mantle card I own.

Man, seeing cards like this Mantle reminds me how much I miss Upper Deck in the MLB industry. Not that Topps hasn't done a good job, but Upper Deck brought something to the industry as well.

Then on top of those cards above, he hid some more in the mix I didn't see til I dug it all out of the box. Tons of new Jeters for that growing PC. I should have well over 300 cards of him now. A lot of favorites from the 90's mixed in as well.

And on top of all of that generosity, he snuck some hits into the bottom.

Super Bowl 46 hero Mario Manningham Spx football patch. I totally loved this product and busted three boxes of it back then. Wasn't cheap but I have always had a heart for Spx.

Mr. Wilson! Out of all of the David Wilson hits I own, this wasn't one of them. Love the design and shine. However seeing this card and the previous one makes me sad with those two no longer in the NFL market. I still think the NFL market would be so much more exciting with competition.

And finally, a mind blowing 1/1 plate of Brandon Jacobs from Elite. Only my second NY Giants printing plate.

 

I was left speechless in the end. It was like digging through a treasure chest with lots of jewels.

A big thanks goes out to Dennis for this amazing mail day. I have a stack ready to send back to you when I get the chance.

How many of you read Tuff Stuff or Sports Collectors Digest back in the day?

Review: BCW Vinyl Double-Sided 9 Pocket Pages

Up until recently, I didn't know that BCW makes vinyl double sided 9-card pocket pages. This means that each sheet holds 18 cards!! This also means those of us who store a lot in binders and want to save space may want to give these a look.

The pages first of all come in a few different colors such as green, red, blue, black and white. I gave examples of the green and red ones. THEY ARE BOLDLY COLORFUL!

 

This pic shows both sides of the page. For those of you who worry that the cards are touching each other being opposite sided, BCW actually has a backing for both sides.

Red pages...very bold!

I find this product very handy. I think the only people who wouldn't like these are ones who like to look at the back of the cards in the slots. Obviously when you have cards back to back you can't see the back of the card. Other than that, I didn't find any major issues. The only issue I had was the backside of the pages in the middle were a bit tight to fit cards into, but other than that, they are perfect. I know I might go back for more as it may help me save some space in an already overcrowded card room.

I am also going to save you some time as well. Follow this LINK to check out these pages and more of what BCW Supplies carries.

Review: BCW 9 Pocket Card Page Sheets

This review could have been written awhile ago. Because long before they sent me the products to try out, I was already using the 9-pocket sleeves they put out. Why..you may ask. Because they are by far THE BEST I have ever used.

Here are many reasons I like using their 9 pocket card page sheets. One, they are thicker than most I have used. Pages don't bend as easily in a binder when the binder is laid down or standing up. Two, you can slide the cards in very easily. Some pages are made too tight so you end up damaging the card before sliding it in. Three, the pages are crystal clear and you can see the cards well displayed like in our picture above. And so far, we have had no problems with scratches on them. And on another note, the slots don't rip when you pull them open to put your cards in.

I have collected for almost 20 years and I have used many 9 pocket card page sheets. Some are too tight, some rip on the binder edges and pockets (this drives me crazy when my pages are falling out of binders), some just scratch when you touch them, and others have many problems. I have never used any like these and I don't plan on ever changing. If you want your cards protected and unhurt, use these.

To Find These Products And More Check Out The BCW Website: http://www.bcwsupplies.com/

How to store your Sports Cards: Part 1 Binders and 9 Card sheets

I like to use this type of  binder. The sturdiness keeps the cards really protected. In binders I usually put my favorite players, lower end rookies and inserts and my favorite team gets their own as well. Not to mention, you have got to use one for each sport you collect.

The plastic sheets below I have found are the best and most safest ones to use. There are a few other low end brands that work, but most of those are not very sturdy and your cards might warp in them over time. There are also low end ones where your cards will stick in them over time. I have found this out by experience. It took me many hours to get my cards out very slowly without taking the gloss off or damaging the card. I now only stay with  these knowing my cards will not get damaged. You can buy both of these items online.

Tips collecting on a budget/fullest extent collecting Part three:Getting the most out of what you buy

In part one I gave you tips about shopping online and also buying hobby. In part two, I told you some places to buy cards where you might or might not expect to be able to buy from. In part three, I am going to tell you what to do with the purchases you make to get the most out of what you buy.

                I will break this down into sections. The first one is giving you tips on how to sort your cards out. The second one I will tell you what to do with those annoying thick white blank cardboard inserts and then what to do with your wrappers and empty boxes.

Section 1

                I like to split my cards up into parts. I take all of the rookies, my favorite players, my favorite teams, inserts and jersey and autograph cards and I put them into a pile. Next, I take the remaining cards otherwise to known as commons and I separate them by brand, sport and year. Then they get sorted by number, doubles getting put into another pile, and then I put them into a while 800 count box and use an index card to mark what they are.

                The pile of rookies, favorite players, favorite teams, inserts and jersey and autograph cards gets sorted. I take each section and sort them into piles by sports. After getting them into piles, I take a quick look through for doubles and put them next to the double pile. The only ones I don’t mind having doubles of are rookie cards because I feel this hobby is completely built around them and always has been. They are the one consistent thing to go up and down in value.

The next step is putting the inserts and the favorite players into 9 card page sheets then into binder for each sport.  Then my favorite teams each get their own binder. The jersey and autographs get put into special snap down cases (which I find more efficient then jamming them into soft and hard sleeves) and later placed into a safe no matter the value. I have also seen people put them into 9 card page sleeves and into a binder but I don’t recommend it. That’s how you damage corners. Then the rookie cards get put into binders by sport and by team to make them easier to find.

                Of course there is one exception to what you put into the binders. I find that any card from any of the piles valued $10 gets put into a penny sleeve then into a hard sleeve. I put those into Tupperware containers or a box. It depends on what resources you have. Then the cards that have a value of $25 that are not jersey or autographed also get put into soft and hard sleeves then get placed into the safe.

                This can also be ten times easier when you only collect a sport or two and not everything out there such as myself. My sorting ways can be used the same for non-sport collectors as well. These are just some ideas that you may or may not use, everyone collects their own way. That’s what makes the hobby so special.

                Now after sorting these out, you are left with the pile of doubles. These are how I get more cards. I use all of my doubles to sell in a yard sale. But, I am not greedy about it. I want to help those are cannot afford to be in the hobby and I mark most cheap. I figure it’s the best way to keep the hobby alive.

First I take the common double pile and sort through for any popular teams or players and put them into the other doubles pile. Then I take the rest and put them into any form of box that I have. Whether it’s a shoe box or an old 800 count box, and when the box is full I tape it shut and mark it between one to three dollars depending on the size and what type of cards they are.

I then go thru the second pile, putting popular teams in a pile and then placing them into Ziplocs by piles of six and marking them a dollar a bag. Then I take the inserts and popular players and I put them into soft and hard sleeves and mark them one to four dollars each depending on the value and the player. Any card in this double pile that is valued ten or more I use to trade with other collectors. If you don’t know any other collectors, go to the closest hobby shop you have and trade them there. You could still try to sell those ones at a yard sale, but if too high priced they won’t move.

 Another idea would be to randomly put one or two of those into a common box and make a sign guaranteeing there would be one box containing a card valued at ten or more dollars. This also helps move the common boxes faster because people would be willing to spend to try and find it giving you more room in your house and some money in your pocket.

All of the above ideas I do and they are very efficient.

Section 2

                The fresh smell of an open pack makes its way up your nose. You quickly sort through your cards looking for “the one”, then you stumble across a thick white blank cardboard filler. You are still excited by what you got, but disappointed and not having a clue what to do with the filler. Well, I have an idea for you.

                A few weeks ago, my son and I were going to do an arts and crafts project. I had a bunch of those cards sitting around thinking someday I will find something to do with them. Then it hit me…what is more exciting then finding your favorite player on a card…finding yourself!!

                I grabbed the pile of fillers and decided we were going to make our own autographed and jersey cards. The only supplies you need are, a sharpie marker, a case cutter, an old beat up shirt, glue, a pair of scissors, and a couple of pictures of yourself you don’t mind cutting up.

                To make the autograph card, I cut the picture of myself to fill up half of the filler card. Then I glued it down, don’t use too much glue or it will wrinkle the picture, then I just signed the below the picture. Really simple! The jersey card took a little more muscle. I did the same thing with the picture. But this time I had to cut a square using the case cutter a few inches below the picture. Once, the hole is cut, you place that card to one side and grab another filler. With this one, cut a square a little bigger then the one you cut out of the first filler from an old t-shirt and glue this piece on the second filler where the first one with the hole will lineup on top of it. Now you must make a glue border around the second filler with your “jersey” piece is and place the top filler with your picture on top then you must place something heavy on top of that and give it a few hours to dry. When its dried, you will have your own autographed and jersey cards. Feel free to play around and try different jersey materials or combine your auto and jersey cards together.

A sample of mine. I threw these together as examples for the blog. I have nicer ones of myself.

However, you might be able to cut a better square then I did for jersey piece.

With that project just for daddy (especially using a case cutter), my son glued a picture of himself onto a card and I gave him different little craft things to glue onto it. Popsicle stick pieces, pipe liners, stickers, fuzzy balls. Whatever craft stuff you having lying around. The kids will have fun anyways and it’s a bonding experience for you and your child. Not to mention it may be a way to draw their interest to the hobby.

Section 3

                With the final section of this segment I will give you a basic idea of what to do with those empty wrappers and boxes. I use them to decorate my “card den”. I take the empty boxes and I put a tack on the inside of them and push it into the wall and close the cover after. I have also just taken the cover off and tacked it up and recycled the bottom part. If you don’t like to use a lot of tacks, sticky tack also works very well. That is what I use on the back of the wrappers when I hang them up. The most colorful and shiny wrappers look the best. You may also use the empty boxes for storing doubles in or storing the cards you put into hard sleeves as well.

                In the end, out of a box or even a few packs of cards, you will feel like you have gotten your money’s worth including the empty boxes or packs you paid for. All in all my ideas are now for you to use if you would like. You may already have your own ideas. I just wanted to share mine. I hope in this three part series you have read that it will help you get the most of collecting.

                Til next time, keep busting wax