Surprise Gift From Noah - Sonny Gray Auto

I got an awesome gift recently from my great friend, Noah.  He sent me this 2014 Topps Stadium Club Sonny Gray auto as a gift, and it is appreciated.  Noah is a great guy, and I was so happy that he sent this.

My Gray PC is pretty nice, already.  I have quite a few of his autos, and this one looks so cool with the A's colors.  I'm glad it is a yellow and green jersey instead of white and green.  It really pops.

Thanks so much, Noah, it was really nice of you to hook me up like this.

Catching Up On Mail - Recent Instagram Pickups

It's crunch time at my place, today as I prepare for my first card show in a couple years.  I have to continue sorting and pricing cards and avoid burning myself out on them.  Never is a good feeling being sick of looking at cards.

I also have been really behind on posting recent mail, even with posting a post a day.  So, I condensed a few trades and deals down to one post, with the hope of catching up a bit.  Even by doing this, I still have a ton in my "to be blogged pile".  Thank you all for bearing with me.  I'm sure some of you are tired of the "I got this today, or dealt for that" posts.  Trading has never been busier for me, so I suppose that's a good thing.

I got the above Zach Britton snow camo parallel in a trade with a kid from Instagram who uses the handle sports.cards.24.  I sent him a Derek Jeter coin from the Turn 2 Foundation, and got this Britton that is numbered 38/99.  It looks pretty cool, and will stay in my collection.

In exchange for a Bowman Chrome blue parallel of Dawel Lugo and a Jonathan Gray die cut, a kid named Barton (topshelf_graphs on Instagram) sent me this 2014 Topps Chrome Jose Fernandez black parallel numbered  21/100.  The card is really nice, and I think I can sell it at the show tomorrow.  If not, it'll be posted on my trade bait page.

Being in a hurry is never good, especially when you are scanning cards.  This Nick Kingham was obtained (along with an Orange Tim Cooney auto) in exchange for a AJ Cole Bowman Sterling auto.  I got the card from a guy named Christian (Primesportscards on Instagram).  I picked them up specifically for trades and the Cooney has already been claimed by Andrew.  I can probably get a little bit out of the Kingham as well.  We'll see.

I traded for this Justin Verlander a while ago, and when I traded for it, I had no idea it was a patch card (and numbered to 9).  It's about the saddest patch card that I have seen, with the bare minimum of the patch showing.  Yet, it is still a patch card, and two colors for that matter.  I have had a lot of folks ask about it.  I'm going to take it with me tomorrow, and set the price pretty high and see what I can do.  I'm not too worried about this one, though, because I know I have a market for it when I get back here.  I also might end up keeping it, though.  It is a pretty cool card.  I would like to get some more patches soon.

Finally, I got some set needs from my good friend, Jet, recently when he was trying to raise some money for a trip that he wants to take later this summer.  He sent 7 1959 Topps cards that I needed for my set.  Some of them will fit in nicely, and a couple of the others will be placeholders until I can upgrade them.

So, thanks for all of the deals, guys.  I really appreciate them, even if I wasn't able to dedicate standalone posts for them.  Hopefully you all understand.  It'll be nice to get caught up, but I don't know if I can.  I'm just hoping I can get some stuff cleared out tomorrow and maybe make a little money in the process.

Awesome Care Package From Andrew

I got a package in the mail the other day from my good friend, Andrew, that had a few cards that he and I dealt for, and also some unique items.  Andrew, unbeknownst to me for a long time, is quite the artist.  He recently began doing some pencil sketches of baseball players and showed them to me over Skype.  I was amazed by how talented he was and requested that he draw me something.  Funny thing is, he had already drawn some for me.  This Nolan Reimold sketch is really amazing.  So much so, I took a quick picture of it and sent the picture to Nolan's wife, Jenny.  She, too, thought it was awesome and said that she would show Nolan.  I know that this was a pretty cool moment for Andrew.

This is actually the second sketch that he drew for me of Chris Davis.  Apparently, he had one completed after several hours of painstaking work, only to spill a drink on it.  Ouch.  Thankfully, Andrew re-drew it and here it is.  This one is awesome, as well.  He really is talented.  I hope some folks go on his blog and request some sketches from him.  He really needs to utilize this talent.

Andrew and I HAD been working on a trade for some trade bait on both sides, so I sent him something he could flip elsewhere and I took this 2014 Topps Supreme Chase Whitley that I could take with me to this weekend's show.  I think I can sell it for a decent price, especially since there are a ton of Yankees fans in Raleigh, for some reason.

Finally, Andrew found me another Nolan card that I needed in my collection, this 2006 Just Minors auto.  The card is numbered 12/50 and looks really cool.  I had no idea that Andrew picked this up for me, and I was really happy to receive it.

Thanks so much for the great package, Andrew.  I hope some folks commission you to do some sketches.  I think you can make a little money off of them, if you so choose.  You sure have a talent!

Everyone, go check out Andrew's blog, and put him to work!  You can access his blog HERE.

Trading For Trade Bait

I have been working hard recently in picking up stuff in trades that aren't necessarily for my PC so I can flip stuff as trade bait.  I have my first show in years coming up this weekend, and I needed some stuff I could put out to sell.  I had refrained from setting up at shows for a while because I felt like I didn't have enough stuff to justify paying for the table fees.

This Preston Wilson card might not carry a whole lot of value, but I picked it up because it was a sharp looking card, and I thought that it might get a few looks and sell for a little bit.

Another piece of trade bait that I got in this trade was this Manny Ramirez relic from 2008 UD Sweet Spot.  Manny really shot himself in the foot numerous times at the end of his career.  He went from being one of the greatest (and most eccentric) players in the game, to one of the most reviled.  His multiple suspensions have shot to crap any chance he had of getting into the Hall of Fame.  I think I can still get something for this at the show.  We'll see.

Finally, I got this 2009 UD Sweet Spot Trevor Hoffman relic in the deal.  I know Hoffman is a future Hall of Famer, and this is a pretty cool card.  I have quite a few relic cards from this set, and I think I have multiple Adam Jones ones, but the're scattered in my PC box and I haven't organized that one yet.

So, this was a pretty cool trade.  I apologize, but the guy I traded with gave me his mom's name to ship to, so I don't know his name.  He did include a really nice note in the package, and I know he and I will trade again.  I told him right away as we were making the deal that all of this stuff was to populate my for sale/trade pile, and he was cool with it.  It bothers me sometimes when someone messages you saying "I just HAVE to have this" only to find out they sold it two days later.  So, I made sure to tell him my intentions right away.

I have two more days to prep for the show, and I am so wore out from work, that I wont be touching my cards tonight.  I hope I don't get home too late tomorrow night, because I really need to price some stuff.

Oh well, I'll get it done.  Thanks for listening to me thinking out loud.  You can tell that I'm tired!

Mail From Trevor - Awesome Relics and More

I got a nice trade package in the mail the other day from my buddy, Trevor.  He got a bunch of nice Reds cards from me, and in return, I got this awesome Manny Machado relic card that has a snag on the jersey piece.  Pretty cool card.  I like these cards, and the flaw on the jersey piece makes it even cooler.

I've done a lot more picking up of trade bait, recently.  I got this Molina relic with the intention of offering it to my buddy, Andrew.  He already has a deal he's working on with me, so this one may have to hold til the National.  We'll see.

Trevor added what I think is the entire Orioles team set of 1997 Pacific.  I don't think I have this Cal in my PC, but who knows by now.  The cards are really sharp, even though the names are tough to read on that foil.  Yikes.

Trevor sent me this Zach Britton gold parallel out of 2015 Topps that I needed to go along with my pink parallel.  I might go for the rainbow of this card, but I'm not sure if I will.  We shall see.

Thanks so much for the deal, Trevor!

Instagram Trade With Gavin - 2014 Panini Immaculate Chris Davis Patch

I completed a trade with a kid named Gavin on Instagram that sent a Chris Archer auto and a Dominic Smith Sterling Auto his way.  In return, I landed this awesome Chris Davis patch from 2014 Panini Immaculate.  The card is numbered 20/25 and looks really cool in person.

I really appreciated the deal, and was happy to add another Davis patch to my collection.  The more and more stuff I pick up from Panini, the more I enjoy them.  I will always be a Topps fan, but Panini really has some strong offerings that have come recently.

My Davis PC really has blossomed over the last year.  I like all of the patch cards that have come in and I feel like I can get a few more.

Thanks for the deal, Gavin!

Autograph Care Package From Michael

My buddy, Michael, hooked me up the other day with a nice care package that had a few autographs that he thought I would like.  I really needed this 2015 Topps Career High Adam Jones auto in my Jones PC.  The auto is nice and crisp, and looks awesome.

This 2013 Topps Archives Charlie Hough auto is really nice.  On-card autos are great, and the 1987 design just makes it look really sharp.  This was a cool card to get from Michael, for sure.

Surprisingly, when I posted on Instagram that I got this package, this Jason Motte auto was the most commented card in the group.  I guess I know a bunch of Cardinals fans.

Finally, Michael sent me ANOTHER 2011 Bowman Sterling auto of Mychal Givens.  Givens is still a part of the Orioles farm system, having converted from an infielder to a pitcher.  He has a shot to be called up from AA Bowie and work out of the bullpen.  I'd like to see him make it.

Thanks again for the care package, Michael.  I always appreciate all that you do, far beyond the free stuff you give folks, but also the friendship you provide that is worth much more than baseball cards.