A Mixture Of Mail Days

The mail days I get don't come as many as they used to.

I only get a few handfuls here and there.

I used to blame my lack of funds, but, I think now I am more to blame the way of the hobby society has turned.

Trading has always been the centerpiece on how I add cards to my collection. With the lack of traders and a big chunk of the hobby being focused on money and the next big thing, this has really put a dampen on my trading. Twitter which was my hotspot for trading has gone colder than ice. There is either people who don't trade, people who are asking for too much or people looking for newer stuff within the last two years I don't have since I can't afford to rip wax. All of this together has made trading for me impossible. 

Trading with bloggers has cooled way down as well. Most don't have football or non-sports and others trade directly on TCDB which I have had zero success in doing. It doesn't like my approach of wanting to send pictures instead of having to upload an entire trade account which would take me weeks to months of time I don't have. When I have mentioned my approach to the TCDB members when I have tried to trade on there, I have been greeted by rude members which has driven me from the sight because of that. I still use the site for my collections, just not for anything else.

Trading on Facebook is a no. Full of scammers. Trading on Blusky I haven't really established myself there and it feels way too political.

Trading in person isn't an option. Nobody collects here. My father is only looking for stuff to flip now so he isn't even an outlet anymore.

With all of this being said, when I do find a trade mate and get a mail day, I truly treasure it.

Here are a couple recent mail days I have gotten,

First up a trade with fellow blogger Dions IP Auto Only blog. Our trade had a nice mix of sport and non sport.

My second mail day is from a Twitter stack seller. I won $10 worth of funds to use at his sale and I used them wisely.

 

I needed a nice Shough for next year, because you just never know.

My first Carter relic and a team color match.

And I wasn't going to let this Knicks card slip by.

The final mail day was a RAK from a fellow Twitter member I have known awhile. I don't remember his @ sadly for this post.

(Nabers 1/1)

Likely rookie auto!

and a Dart Chrome rookie!

Well, that does it. It's all I have for now to show off until the mail day drought ends.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and let me know in comments where you like to trade.

Stars Of Today For Stars Of Yesterday

In today's hobby, there is a lot of hustle and bustle when it comes to collecting the next big thing.

Everyone wants that next big prospect money return. Some buy low, sell high. Others will pour their life savings into one prospect they feel could be the next Mike Trout. Even though that sometimes works out, probably only 10-20% of the time (I am looking at you Baker Mayfield and Shohei Ohtani collectors in 2018 and 2019), it's a huge risk to take.

One I am not willing to.

For me, collecting is fun and nostalgic. I don't rip and flip. I don't buy all in on one player, unless it's a guy on my team but that's not prospecting. I don't buy just to sell. I collect plain and simple.

So if I happen to land one of those big name prospects, I usually trade it off for what I consider an upgrade.

When looking for an upgrade, I look for players who are in the Hall Of Fame and ones that I have had a history somewhat with.

Being a huge fan of the 90's, I saw a lot of Hall Of Fame players play in that era spread across all sports, so those are the guys I am typically drawn to getting autographed cards of.

I have already picked up autos of guys such as Ken Griffey Jr, Kobe Bryant, Steve Young, Dan Marino, and many others and have been weaning my search down as I go. My recent prospect trade off took two more off from my list of needs.

 

Tony was atop my baseball list needs that includes guys like Mariano Rivera still to get.  Gwynn played 20 seasons all for the SD Padres. He won 8 batting titles and is one of the most consistent. hitters in MLB history He also was an 15 time All Star, seven time Silver Slugger award winner and five gold gloves as well. Solid player who has a place in my collection. When I saw also this was a 90's autograph I was acquiring it made it an even more beautiful sight.

 

The Big Hurt stars in commericals now, but when he was on the baseball field he put a hurt ont all baseballs. He was an MVP, Five time All Star, AL Comeback Player Of The Year and won a World Series. Not quite the list of accomplishments as Gwynn, but one heck of a player no matter. If only injuries hadn't take a toll on him throughout his career we may be talking more about him.

Usually I don't like unlicensed baseball cards like this, but I have been needing an autograph of Thomas so this fits the bill.

I still have many more needs across multiple sports to acquire so when I hit that next big prospect or if I already have, I will turn that into players who are more established careers. That's just the way I roll.

A News Breaking Rodney's Corner: Trade With Me!

Today's Rodney's Corner is Breaking News special edition.

It's been two weeks since I have posted up 100 plus cards for trades via PWE with no takers. NO TAKERS. Well, a couple but still there is so much to claim! Maybe it's because none of you have noticed them or the fact I haven't pointed them out til today.

I previously had them off to the side of the blog under pages, but now since have moved them to the top of the blog where I hope they are more noticeable but so far it hasn't helped.

How do you propose a PWE trade with me and what am I looking for in return? That's simple! Have a U.S. shipping address, pick out some cards you want and grab one or more of these Rodney Hampton cards below in exchange for them.

Most of the time I will trade in your favor just to get some of these cards knocked off from my want list that have been sitting in my watch list on eBay forever.

The Hamptons above have a wide range of values for all budgets and there is a ton of trade bait from multiple sports including a lot of autographs I have to offer.

I JUST ADDED IN ANOTHER 50 PLUS CARDS OVERALL MAINLY FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!!

So it's simple, comment on the pages, DM me on Twitter, or send me an email with the list of cards you are claiming that I will ship PWE (as a heads up I ship 6 cards at a time so if you claim more than that I will ship in multiple envelopes) and which Rodney Hampton item you want to snag for me in exchange for them. I currently have roughly 10 stamps waiting on your claims and I will ship them ASAP. It's probably best on your end if you have the Hampton shipped directly to me so you won't have to pay for shipping twice.

Thanks for reading and let's get to trading! (if not I will probably pull those pages down in a week or two if no action)

The Low Budget Collector Part 4:Trading

I cannot stress how important trading has been to my collecting the last few years with my low, low budget. I wouldn't have been able to finish sets, add new Giants cards, add Rodney Hamptons without it. It's probably the biggest part in this series.

I wanted to save this for the series finale, but knowing I just came off from the PWE post, I think this is an important part to post next.

The only part money becomes a role in a trade is paying for shipping. Shipping costs continue to rise so I think it's very important to find a balance in your trading partners. I have trading partners who both accept PWE and packages. It helps me be able to mail out more at a time and enjoy trading to it's fullest.

 

I can get out seven PWE for the cost of one package. So sometimes I will send out seven trade PWE's  knowing I should be getting seven returns. The more returns, the better, as it keeps your mind busy from the fact you can't afford to add any new cards to your PC without these incoming mail days. So you are focused on that mail box and the mail man coming with all of that built up anticipation.

As for packages, I try to save those only for higher end bigger trades. Those are exciting as well even though less in number vs the PWE because you know those will come packing with lots of goodness. Sometimes these packages I put together for bigger trades can sometimes lead to a $8-$10 shipping range so I try to keep those trades to a minimum of only a few time a year.

A few things to keep in mind when trading,

• Shipping costs outside the U.S. are nuts. I currently only trade with U.S. buddies because I really can't afford otherwise. I feel terrible about it but it's what I gotta do for now.
• Do not ship relic/jersey cards PWE. I have gotten some bent to me before because of the postal machines. If trading relics, make it a worthy trade so you can put them in a package to mail.
• Make sure you tell your trading partner how you are shipping to them ahead of time before discussing a trade
• Make sure to give your trading partner the tracking number. I know I always appreciate getting mine and I am always sending mine to those who are expecting. It helps everyone know the packages location in case of any emergencies
• Trade with people you know and trust. I do add newbies to my trading circle once in awhile but they have to come backed by someone I have already traded with. There are many, many people out there looking to rip you off but also many just looking to trade. Just be safe that's all

I hope Part 4 of this will help you in some way today to keep on collecting no matter the circumstance. This is the point of these posts and even though some may be obvious like this one, it will hopefully still get you in the right direction without wanting to quit the hobby. I am also hoping it may give you a new way to save money and collect.