New finds...

OK,

I really don't post here enough these days, but I really want to pay tribute to a blogger who I've really only discovered in the last month or so.

Most of you guys would know Nick from DimeBoxes, and I wish I had known about his blog for as long as it has been around. Here's what could well be a perfect example of my ineptitude when it comes to blogs that are not only pleasing to the eye, but also effective in linking others to my favorites:

Dime Boxes

If that worked, then I will be astounded!

Basically, this guy collects exactly what I collect. Cheap commons. And LOTS of them! If we were living in the same area & going to the same card shows, I would probably see him as some sort of 'Collecting Adversary', but since we're separated by about 12,000 miles, it's safe to assume we will never be in direct competition for the same pieces of cardboard gold.

It's a safe bet that both of our favorite sets over the years have been Topps Total & Upper Deck 40-Man, because each depicted cards of some relatively minor players suiting up for teams that most folks don't remember them even playing for.

I think that the two of us, apart from serious Kenny Lofton collectors, are two of the very few people who set out to get at least one of Kenny's cards picturing him in each team he played for. I managed to complete the collection a few months ago with his 2003 Upper Deck issue (Thanks COMC), the one card I wanted to own more than any other from the set, because Kenny is a Pittsburgh Pirate.

Hopefully I'll be able to check out my own cards soon, and possibly post a meaningful and card-picture-ful blog entry about another player who I have also collected in the same way as Kenny. Jose Canseco and John Candelaria are two that come to mind. I consider it somewhat of a grand achievement to have nabbed at least one of each card for each player in each uniform. Too many 'each'es there...

Thanks for all the great posts, Nick. I'll be sure to read every single one of them in the future!

Nick J


EDIT : The links worked! This is somewhat exciting for a blogging novice... I promise I will get better :-) NJ

Cheating?

OK... I'm really trying to keep updating my blog more frequently, but it's becoming increasingly difficult, due to the fact I'm an Aussie, and we have no card shops anymore, and our large-scale retailers do not sell cards of any kind.

It's E-Bay or die here!

And I choose to E-Bay. But only once every few months do I get the chance to buy some cards.

The worst part? We can't just buy random packs whenever we see them. There's shipping prices to consider, and we have to buy cards by the box or by the set if we're to avoid ripping ourselves off.

So I choose to buy complete sets.

Yes. Sets.

There's no real 'thrill of the chase' in buying complete sets, but since the ultimate goal is to complete a certain set, it's the best way to do it here.

2002 Topps Total & 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man are just two of the best sets I've somehow won over the years. I really wonder how many people hold a complete set of either, let alone BOTH!

I know there are guys out there who try to obtain a lot of these kinds of sets, and these are the guys who are the hobby's purists, in my opinion. I wish everyone in the hobby had the same kind of OCD that we do!

Time to shop around for some bargains on E-Bay - I'll hopefully learn how to upload some images of obscure cards in my collection soon, especially since I don't want to steal images from COMC.

I really enjoy reading other writers blogs, so if you know one that I may enjoy, please, let me know!

Cheers from Australia,

Nick J

112289 Cards and counting...

G'day all! I'm excited because I may actually be able to post an image here now. Not knowing much about html I was always stuck behind the others who knew what they were doing.

 If it works, here is my photo of the card collection as it stands today :

With more to come.

Let's hope it worked!

Nick

Complete Sets

G'day folks,

I've recently (almost) completed my lifelong dream of owning every Regular Issue + Update/Traded Topps card issued since my year of birth, 1979. I am missing a few cards here and there (1 from 1984, 2 from 1992, etc) but essentially, it's pretty much complete!

I will post a Topps Card Wantlist very soon (once I've gone through them all and confirmed missing cards) so please, if you know anyone who can help, I will make it worth their while!

Cheers,

Beef

2012 Topps Series 2

I'm excited about the release of this series. Except one thing.

Bryce Harper is card #661 AND it's short-printed. Just another way for companies to screw kids out of the market. How are 6-year olds in Washington DC and Las Vegas going to get their hands on a Harper (RC)? They'll have to bust a lot of packs, buy the card individually (Probably $30 +) or get very lucky and pull it early.

Not fair, Topps!

Bring 'em Back!

I love NightOwlCards, http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com.au/ not only because he Blogs about Dodgers cards, but because he actually knows what he is talking about. His thoughts on baseball cards are among the most educated and experienced that I've ever had the pleasure to read. I am hoping that fellow Baseball Card & Dodger fans out there, (especially here in Australia) get to know about this blog. Todays post is a perfect example of why :


http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/16-years-too-late.html


My main comment was :

I would suggest to Topps that they create a true 'heritage' set. No Paralels. No Short Prints. No Minis. No Patches. No Relics. No Autos. NO inserts of ANY kind. 15-18 cards per pack. Boxes with 36 packs. Cheap and old 'grey' stock. 25-30 players per team. 50c per pack. 792 or 924 cards per set. Even without the stick of gum, they would still be desirable. THAT'S how the kids would get back into the hobby. It's not that difficult!



It really isn't that difficult... is it???

Nick J

Dodgers Stats

OK,
I'm going to start posting the stats from my Dodgers card collection. As long as I can remember to keep doing it, it may be a bit of fun!

# of different Dodgers players on cards I own : 501. From Don Aase (3 cards) to Todd Zeile (12 cards) there are quite a few in there! Mike Piazza (230 cards) sits atop this list.

# of different sets that my Dodger cards come from : 277. From 2012 Topps to 1960 Topps, and I love them all!

# of Dodgers cards in total : 4706. None of these are doubles. I wish I could count those, I'd be up around the 10,000 mark. Heeey... maybe I will count those next time!

Time to put each and every Dodger card I have into alphabetical order. This could take a while!

Until next time,

Beef

2012 Topps Series 1

Gooooood afternoon!

It's exciting times in the Beef household. Well, for me, certainly not for the wife who is going to have to put up with 7 sets and a few packs of baseball cards coming to the door in the next few days!

I decided not to purchase a box of 2012 Topps series 1 this year, instead, I bought the 330-card set for about $30, thus avoiding the disappointment of opening a box with 500 cards, and only getting 324 out of the 330. Luckily for me, my folks are going to Hawaii next week, and I've placed my order of 10 'Fat Packs?' from the Wal-Mart near Ala Moana. Just as a bonus.

Incase you were wondering, the other set that I bought to bring up the total of 7? A complete set of 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man. Thaaaat's right : 1182 cards! I wish this set came out every year... Throw that set next to my completed 2006 Upper Deck set and that's nearly 2500 cards from just 2 sets. Oh yes!

Scans to follow, as long as the @%$#ing thing works...

Let's hope so!

Beef

Been away in the USA!

It's been a long time, but I will be back once my scanner gets some $$$$!

2002 Topps Total on its way,
1998 Upper Deck on its way,
2002 Topps Chrome Traded on its way,
2000 Upper Deck on its way,
and
2004 Upper Deck on its way.

All complete sets (hopefully!) and some scans of the best photos to come.

Beef