Some More Purchases

I added a few more Hall of Famer autographs to my collection by bidding on Tom Orr's eBay auctions.

I needed these two Tony Perez cards signed for my 1975 and 1978 Topps set collections.  The 75 is smeared just a little bit, but not too bad.

I very casually work on the 1979 Topps set.  Which means, I have the complete, unsigned set and include a card in my requests if I have room for it.  So, if I am sending out a 75 and a 78 Topps to a player, I'll also include a 79 Topps if the player has a card in the set and they appear to sign at least three cards based on their history on SCN.  I have about 225 cards signed from the set.  Buying this card for $5.99 was a no brainer, since I wouldn't pay Jim Kaat's ttm signing fee ($25) to get it done.  And his 1968 Topps Checklist card was an impulse buy for just $7.50.

Finally, this Orlando Cepeda 1982 K-Mart card was also an impulse buy.  It pictures his 1967 Topps, which was the year he won the MVP Award.  At $7.99, this purchase was cheaper than sending it to him ttm when he was still with us.

I'm surprised and disappointed to realize I never sent Cepeda a copy of the 1972 Topps card that memorializes the MVP Award.  Towards the end of his life, I was struggling to find cards to send to him that I hadn't already sent, and the MVP card should have been on my list.  I 've only sent that card out to eight players, so I need to make more progress on that one.  The players include:

1. Andre Dawson
2. Bobby Shantz
3. Dennis Eckersley
4. Denny McLain
5. George Foster
6. Jim Rice
7. Rollie Fingers
8. Steve Garvey

Here's Bobby Shantz's signature on the card:

I should be getting back some mail-in signings returns this week, including some Central-American players and also a couple cards that I paid someone to get for me at TwinsFest (Pablo Lopez and Glenn Perkins).

A Bunch of Autograph and Storage Case Purchases

Yesterday I received a bunch of autographs that I bought from a seller on eBay.

These are mostly Twins players from the 80's that I didn't yet have, as well as a few that are upgrades to existing cards in my collection.  There is nothing rare or expensive in this lot, but it's a quick way to fill some holes in the sets I'm working on.

Besides the monetary investment for a purchase like this (which was about $3-$4 per card), there is an investment in the time it takes for me to catalog and document these cards for my collection.  It's been a while since I discussed this, and it hasn't changed, but for each card I get, I:

1. Scan the card on my flatbed scanner.  I can scan up to 9 cards at once, but then have to "cut" each card from the scan so I have individual cards of each one.
2. Update the directory page of my web site, to either add or update the player and add them to the "Recently Received" section.
3. Update the individual's page on my web site to include the scans of each card and details such as how it was obtained (purchased or ttm), the cost (sometimes) and sometimes the source of the purchase.
4. Upload the new pages and scans to my web site's servers.
5. If the card was obtained ttm:
1. Update my spreadsheet that I use to record every single ttm request with details such as when it was sent and received, what cards or other items were sent and received, any donation included, and any miscellaneous notes about the request or response.
2. Update SCN to log the return with the details of the return and upload the scan of the item(s) returned.
6. If the card belongs to a set that I am working towards completing, I update the "wantlist" section on SCN for that set to mark off that I now have that card in my collection.
7. Update this blog to share the return with the world.  Or at least the 15-25 people who read my blog each day.  Thank you to everyone who reads my blog!

Most days it doesn't take very long to do all this.  Maybe 10 minutes if I received 1-2 returns.  But, if I have 15 new cards, it probably took me closer to 25-30 minutes.  This was mostly scanning and updating the web site because these weren't ttm requests that had to be logged.

You can view my personal web site which I use to catalog my entire collection here.

Today, I received an order of four Vevor hard-sided cases in which I intend to store my slabbed cards.  I bought these from Temu, so I was suspicious of the quality.  I read a bunch of the reviews but take those, especially the positive ones, with a grain of salt as they can easily be manipulated.

I wasn't too concerned about the cases being super sturdy though.  I just intend to use these to store my slabs in my home.  I don't plan to use them to travel with the cards or to ship the cards inside these cases.  I currently put my slabs in the same two-row "shoebox" cardboard boxes in which I store all my autographed cards, which are each also inside an Ultra-Pro semi-rigid card holder.

The quality seems pretty nice.  Better than I really need, as long as the hinges and other hardware hold up over time. I think I can store about 112 slabs in each case, which is 28 cards in each of the four rows.  Each case includes a very generous number of foam divider pieces to help keep the slabs from moving around if the row isn't completely full.

They weren't super cheap at over $35 each, but I used a lot of credit card points to bring it down to nearly half of that.  There are other, cheaper options on Temu (and eBay, Amazon, etc), but many of those had negative comments about the build quality and a general lack of sturdiness right out of the box.  You also need to be absolutely positive that they hold graded cards.  Many options on Temu had descriptions that included graded cards, but then commentors/reviewers said that graded cards would absolutely NOT fit in those cases.

I've been watching these cases for many months, and never really wanted to spend the money on them when I could use the money to buy more autographs instead.  But my latest grading submission return pushed me over the edge with no good location to store them.

Bill Mazeroski-Signed Vintage Pirates Bobblehead

Several months ago, I bought this vintage Pirates bobblehead along with a vintage Reds version in what was advertised as a "display lot".  Similar terms and phrases ("looks good on the shelf", "displays well", etc.) means it's far from mint, but still has enough eye appeal to enjoy having it.  In a vintage car context, these bobbleheads would be "20-footers".  Get any closer, and you start to see the flaws.

Anyway, this was the perfect bobblehead to risk sending through the mail to have Bill Mazeroski sign it.  Up to this point, I have resisted having the vintage nodders signed, but this one seemed like a good opportunity.  This signing was arranged by my collecting friend Chris; the same person who helps Manny Sanguillen handle his ttm requests, as well as Bryan Trottier.  I'm not a hockey collector, so I haven't sent any requests to Trottier, but I have sent to Mr. Sanguillen several times, which is how I became connected with Chris.  He's a great communicator, takes great care of your items, and is prompt with returning them after they get signed.  I feel much better knowing that there's someone like Chris helping out behind the scenes to help out an older player like Manny make sure things don't get mixed up, overlooked, or poorly packaged for the return trip.

He's also not promoting himself in the process like some guys do.  He's focused on helping both the collector and the player have a smoother experience and enjoy our hobby a little more.

Maz did a nice job signing what had to be a bit of a challenging item.  I try to stuff the inside of the head with tissue paper, and use a slice of pool noodle around the neck to try to stabilize it as much as possible, both during transportation as well as while it is being signed.  I'm very happy with how it turned out, and probably wouldn't have bothered to try if it weren't for Chris helping out.

Chris was kind enough to also take a picture of Maz signing it for me, and he gave me permission to post that picture here as well.

TwinsFest Rant and Vintage Bobbleheads

Before I post the latest additions to my vintage bobblehead collection, I need to vent about TwinsFest. TwinsFest used to be a HUGE deal for my family.  We'd go all three days, and spend 90% of the time getting autographs.  There would be tables with 3-5 current players or a similar number of alumni for $10 - $20.  Stars for $20-$35, and Hall of Famers for $35 to $50.  Later, the HOF costs went up depending on the item being signed.  We got to meet a good portion of the current team and the minor league teams.  I had Killebrew sign his rookie card, Carew sign a bobblehead, and Molitor sign a bat.  Those were the days.

Now, it's just one day (Saturday).  A table with both Carew and Oliva is $200!  Are you kidding me?  That's not a FanFest/Charity event price.  That's a premium price.  I recently mailed Carew's rookie card to be signed at a Tom Orr signing for $65.  Who is paying these TwinsFest prices?

Molitor and Morris: $150.  Crazy.  

Mauer is $75 which really isn't too bad, especially if he'll sign a premium item for that price, but I'm not sure what the restrictions are, if any.  

Pablo Lopez: $50!

Anyway, needless to say, I won't be going and TwinsFest is a shell of its former self.

Between the four of us (me, my two sons, and my wife), we used to get well over 100 autographs.  At the end of the weekend we would put everything out on the dining room table to take a picture.  This one is from 2009, when my boys were 10 and 12 years old.

Anyway, I got around to photographing the latest additions to my vintage bobblehead collection.  I added one more mini in the form of a Yankees version, and one more football nodder with a Bears addition.

I added another oddball bobblehead with an inexpensive jockey.

And several more baseball versions.  A couple of these are duplicates/upgrades, but I couldn't resist them at the prices I got.

This Dodgers bobblehead came with its original box.

My bobblehead buying has slowed down because my collection is growing and it's becoming tougher to find some I don't have at a price I'm willing to pay.

Lou Brock 1972 Topps

I'm on a Lou Brock streak lately, after realizing how many of his cards I'm missing in my sets.

Today I received a 1972 Topps signed nicely and slabbed by Beckett.

Twins 1986 Season Ticket Party Autograph Sheets

I love oddball memorabilia like these three autograph sheets form the 1986 Twins Season Ticket Party.  I bought these from a local former-coworker who is also a sports card dealer.  

Despite the Harmon Killebrew autographs on two of these pages, the autograph that really stood out for me was 1965 MVP-winner Zoilo Versalles.  His autograph isn't the easiest to come by and his ttm requests were often ghost-signed.  He passed away in 1995, less than 10 years after this event.

Page one has autographs from Ray Miller, Bert Blyleven, Zoilo Versalles, Randy Bush, Mike Smithson, Frank Viola, Tom Brunansky and Harmon Killebrew.

Page two has autographs from Gary Gaetti, Randy Bush, Ron Davis and Kent Hrbek.

And page three has a solo autograph from Harmon Killebrew.

I thought the price was very reasonable at $49.99 for the set.  Not bad for Zoilo alone, but also two Killebrews and another Hall of Famer in Blyleven.

I received another bunch of vintage bobbleheads but have not even had time to open the box yet.  I might not get to them until this weekend.

I previously purchased my early-60's Twins mini-bobblehead from this same friend/dealer/former co-worker, which is one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia in my collection.

Wayne Causey TTM Return on 1966 Athletic's Yearbook and a Couple Lou Brock Purchases

I added a fourth player to the 1966 Athletics Yearbook I've been working on with today's Wayne Causey return.

As requested, he signed the cover as well as the interior page with his bio on it.

He also signed four cards for me, including the 1966 Athletic's team card.

I had enclosed $30 with my request.  He kept $10 and returned the $20, writing a short note thanking me for the money and that he only kept the $10 for some coffee money.  

I'm not sure who I'm sending it out to next, but I want to keep it moving so I'll do it soon.

I also received a couple Lou Brock cards that I bought to fill some holes in my 1963 and 1971 Topps sets.