$1 Yard Sale Boxes Breakdown Part 3

I showed off a garbage bag containing some cards a couple weeks ago and said I would break down what was in there, well, here we go.

2 more days you will to see what was found.

Today, we continue on this time off a box of 1991 Leaf baseball

 

Inside the box, there were 4 big stacks of 1991 Leaf and as I expected, some of the good players were pulled leaving behind a few stragglers that I will use for my PC.

 

Once again, no Jr. But, just like with the last box, a few more star stragglers were found.

 

And out of all of these, there is simply something about the Oz here that stands out. I think it's the red of the Cardinals uni and the photo being different than the rest.

 

 

Overall, a better box than the first just because more of the bigger names found. But, still not as good as I was hoping and still no diamonds in the rough.

Thoughts on Part 3 are welcomed below!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?! PART 3

WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!!! I yelled, well, quietly yelled to myself making a movie reference from the ending of Seven. Cause honestly like Brad Pitt, I had no idea what was inside this shoe box.

Midway through the box, I discovered a couple of box toppers I had pulled from 2003 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition. The cards were called Materialistic and were printed images on jersey type material. This particular one is for my Yankees PC and of Roger Clemens.

How come box toppers aren't as creative as this anymore when we do find one? I think having something like this makes a box even more tempting to try as it's like pulling an extra hit.

Well, there you have it for Part 3. Still more parts to come. Who knows what I will find next........

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Topic:
Would a card designed like this as a box topper lean you more towards a product? Are you interested in box toppers in general? Let's hear your well thought out answers!

THIS vs THAT Battle 3

Time for Part 3! In Part 2, Stadium Club survived the lack of votes but it's the photography that seems to be advancing it. Will Stadium Club up it's win streak to three? Will they fall? Who will win is ALL UP TO YOU!!

So here is the lowdown on this NEW fun card game!

I thought it would be fun to do a BATTLE OF THE..... CAAAAAAAAARDS (picture a deep voice and drawn out ending). If any of you watch SportsCenter, you would know they have a segment called the Best Of The Best where they pin two of the best plays against one another. One play may have been from previous days in a row against a new one. The goal is to narrow down the best. Well, I want to do a Best Of The Best card version but mine is called This vs That.

Here is how this is going to work.

1. I will put a post up such as this one and you will have one week to vote on one card or the other by telling me in comments which one you like more. 
2. There will be one card from the 90's, one card from the 2000's. 
3. There will be a variety of sports versing one another. This contest isn't to pin sport vs sport. 
4. Voting is based upon the OVERALL card and looking at things such as design, creativity, photography and eye appeal. Don't judge a card because it's an autograph or jersey card vs a base card. This "contest" is to see which card is OVERALL better and not just because it's signed or has someone's memorabilia. Same goes for the inserts vs the base. I will try my best to make them the fairest I see possible.
5. After a week of voting, the card with the most votes moves on to face another card. 
6. A card that loses cannot be brought back nor can its design.Example is if I use the 1993-1994 Stadium Club hockey card design, I cannot use the 1994 Stadium Club football card design later on as they are most likely the same thing. The designs on the cards must be different.
7. I will keep a tally on which cards have won and how many times they have won at the top of the next weeks post.

I am not sure when I will end the overall "contest", maybe by the end of the year, let's see how many voters show up first. But, the goal is to see which card ends up being the best and which era gets more wins.

Now let's move onto the next round of This vs That!

90's vs 2000's
90's 2 Wins
2000's 0 Wins

STREAKS
1993-1994 Stadium Club First Day Issue        2

THIS
1993-1994 Stadium Club First Day Issue

VS


THAT
2014 Topps Fire

Put your vote in below in comments on which card you like best, OVERALL.

2014 Flair Showcase Football Set Part 3

For the first time in awhile, I am trying to chase down a set BIG TIME. Yes, for those of you who are wondering, SET COLLECTORS STILL DO EXIST!

I have had half attempts at sets in recent years, some I completed, some I ended up giving up in the end. This time however, I will continue to build upon this set from time to time when I can afford to pick up the missing pieces or can find them. I really want to accomplish this one since I am pretty close and the fact that I really dig the design as it throws me back to what I consider the good years of collecting, the 90's.

I have paged all of my set so far, so I figured I would roughly show off three pages at a time of what I have so far. In the meantime, I may post updates of missing numbers I bring in and will continue to cross them off my checklist that resides on the right side of the blog if you haven't seen it yet.

Flair Showcase is set up similar to the one in the 90's as it's broken down into three sections Row 2, that come most per pack. Row 1 that comes a couple per pack and Row 0 with veterans and rookies falls at toughie at 1:6. The set will be a challenge with the Row 0's, but one I am willing to accept.

Yesterday I showed you Part 2 with some name and no name players. Today's about the same.

Without further ado...Part 3:

Keep checking in on these posts and more updates! When and if I can complete it, wait for an all out post on the ENTIRE SET all at once!

Collecting Basics 3: Reading Your Packaging

Now that you have chosen your sport, made your pack and/or box purchases, and are sitting down at your table ready to open, you all of a sudden notice all of this mumbo jumbo on the outside of the box. Not something you really looked at when you made your purchase. What's this "Gold Parallel 1:4" even mean? Well, that is where Part 3 of Collecting Basics comes to help.

First off, here is a blaster box of Topps Baseball 2014. All boxes and packs will have that mumbo jumbo. Some on the back of the box, back of packs, side of box. Either way they all have it.

The front of this box tells you what the product is, how many packs/cards are within, what special cards are included and what ones you might find. However, on the side of the box is this:

And you may be like whaaaaatttt? Well, the bottom part is easy. It just gives you the checklist of players you can find of the manufactured patch cards included not all of the boxes have it but this one does.

 However, the top part you may question more. I know I did when first collecting. The top part, usually has things like refractor 1:7, Top Of The Day insert 1:12, autographed cards 1:111. You may think these are math equations but they are odds. 1:7 means, 1 in every 7 packs of these cards in this box this insert should fall. So if you have a box of 10 packs, this type card should be in there once. That may not always be the case however as the card odds are spread out over the entire production and not just one box. So you may score 2 or none.

The middle writing on the box tells you about the No Purchase Necessary. This is how you COULD acquire these cards for FREE at the same odds you would by buying the box by following instructions below and mailing your info in.

I hope this helps you understand the writing on the packaging. If you need any other help reading it, just ask below.

As always, HAPPY COLLECTING!

How To Improve The Hobby Part 3: Target Hobby's Future

A new 4 Part Series here on Sport Card Collectors is giving our opinion on how to improve the hobby and its weak points.

In a day and age of video games, television, music and movies, the hobby of card collecting seems like a distant idea to most kids not unless they are brought up in the hobby by a parent. Card companies are trying their best efforts to engage the youth into the urge of collecting. But it's not as easy as it once was. 

Some companies like Topps and Panini are attempting to draw kids attentions by doing sticker books hoping that will lead to their interest in cards later on as they grow. This is a great idea and start. I also like what Panini did by adding basketball cards to Taco Bell kid's meals. If only Taco Bell hadn't gotten rid of their kids meals recently. Panini also brought back a very kid friendly, cost friendly product in Triple Play which is both fun and cost efficent.

Upper Deck has also done some attempts at getting kids involved with help from the members of their UDVA members and some fun at The National. And Upper Deck also works with Cards2Kids an organization dedicated on donating cards to kids in which they donate base cards  to.

These are all great starts by companies but here are some other ideas that I have:

1. Try kids meals more. Why not make more of an attempt at this. Panini started it again, lets keep it going more. Parents like to take their kids out to fast food restaurants, so you know you will be reaching a good crowd. Kids movies and shows are always in these meals for toys. Why not put cards in once in awhile. The best time I think to do this is near the start of each sports season. And get the specific fast food company to do a commercial saying "only at so and so we have your favorite players for the start of the (sport) season! Collect all 12 (company) cards today!"
2. Cereal Boxes. For me, when I was a child (and a little bit still now), I loved digging through the box of cereal for the treasure. Why not have that "treasure" be a card collectible? Kids love cereal and you know no breakfast is complete without Lucky Charms or Cheerios. And to find a bonus treasure inside, exciting. Or you can also put them on the back of the box again. Make it a bigger set that way. So the cereal company sells more cereal with kids trying to get the set and the card company getting the word out on sports cards.
3. Video Games. If video games are all the hype, add a couple cards inside the game cover. So when the kids open up the video game, boom, trading cards! And don't make them bland either. Add some pizzazz to the cards. In sports games, add the specific sports cards related to it. If it's non-sport, do the same. Kids love video games and will buy them over pretty much anything. If you can find the balance between game and cards, this would be a great start.
4. TV Commercials. Remember when Upper Deck did this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO7IaPJeWsA why don't more companies try this again. Target top channels like Nick, Disney and Cartoon Network. Kids watch TV and this could be a great way to spread the word
5. Do a rewards program. In every pack of cards put in a code where kids can go online (another fun thing kids like to do) and have them play a fun online sports game (again combining cards and games) to earn points to win big prizes. Autograph memorabilia, meeting a player, video games, game machines such as PS3, Xbox,etc, dvd players, Itunes cards, iPod Docs could be some of the prizes. Obviously make the points reasonable for both the companies and for the kids. Cause companies don't want to pay too much on the side, but parents don't want to either.

Loved Finding these in my Post Cereal's back in the early 90's

These are just some ideas at trying to target the future of our hobby. I am sure there are others. And I am sure some of you will agree or disagree with the ones I mentioned. But as always, Sport Card Collector is open to your opinions and comments!

How To Store Your Sports Cards Part 3: Good Rookies and Autographed Cards

800 ct box

 

If you don't know what a TopLoader or a Penny sleeve is, well here they are.  The best way to store a thin and valuable card is to put it first into the penny sleeve, bottom picture, insert it slowly and then get a TopLoader, above picture, and put it in there slowly as well. The thickness is great for protecting cards and they are thin enough that you can store hundreds easily..