USABaseballCardsInOz

Bring 'em Back!

2012-04-02T08:41:00.002-07:00

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

2012-03-06T17:56:00.002-08:00

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

2012-03-06T17:44:00.002-08:00

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!

2012-02-18T03:40:00.000-08:00

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

Going to the States...

2011-08-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well...
Come November, I will be in the USA, purchasing as many cards as possible!

hehe

Beef

The usual crap...

2011-05-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, I got my 2000 Bowman 'set' in the mail today and it is no surprise to see that it has 31 cards missing. What is it with card sets from the USA? I have only ever received a complete set from ONE dealer in over 100 purchases of hand-collated sets. That dealer is Strictly Mint. They really do a great job in ensuring their sets are complete. That makes the slightly higher prices worthwhile to me. At least you're going to get what you pay for!

The worst part about my 2000 Bowman set? No Oswalt. No Zito. No Zambrano. No Francisco Rodriguez. I await the reply from the seller who is supposed to 'assume all responsibility'. Unfortunately that doesn't happen often enough.

I am rather angry right now, and also worried, because I bought the 1995 Bowman set from the same dealer. That set is supposedly in Ultra-Pro pages, so it would be difficult for them to leave cards out of that one... Let's see eh?

Nick J

New sets!

2011-05-17T02:33:00.000-07:00

OK...

Again it's been a month or so, but I haven't been too active on the baseball card market lately, despite the surging Aussie dollar.

I put an end to that a few days ago, with the purchase of the 1995 and 2000 Bowman Baseball sets for around $40 each.

I have always been fascinated by the 1995 Bowman set, mostly because I'd only ever owned 49 cards of it until this week. Running through the checklist, it looks to be a truly amazing set, especially for the key RC's within. Everyone knows about the Vlad and Andruw cards, but I didn't realise it had the Rolen card as well. Chris Carpenter was a nice surprise, as was Bobby Abreu, Stem-Cell Colon, Aussie Damian Moss, plus a couple of Dodgers, including Karim Garcia. I really wish he lived up to his potential, because he really had it all.

The 2000 set has a few jewels of its own, including Roy Oswalt, Aaron Harang, Ben Sheets, Brandon Inge, Carlos Zambrano, Eric Byrnes/Terrence Long, Lyle Overbay, Francisco Rodriguez, Brandon Phillips, Aaron Rowand, Brett Myers and Barry Zito. Most of them are pitchers, which doesn't mean much in terms of dollar value, but means a lot to the set builder.

I also bought a few more Piazza cards, which makes my collection of his cards in a Dodger Uniform total over 400.

Did I mention the 144 packs of 1998 Pacific Online that I got last month? They were/are awesome! I STILL didn't finish the set though. Bummer!

Till next time...

Ta
Ta

Beef

2011 Topps

2011-03-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Got some packs today - first thing I noticed is Gaby Sanchez has 2 cards : #59 and #312 - the one numbered 59 has the 'All Star Rookie' cup on it!

Back soon...

Nick J

Whoa...

2011-03-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Wow I didn't realise it had been so long since I posted here!

An update on some new cards would be good.

In the last 3 weeks, I've picked up :

1999 Fleer Tradition Update Factory Set
1997 Pinnacle Certified set
1997 Bowman Set
1993 Topps Traded Factory Set
1991 Donruss Rookies Factory Set
1991 Score Rookies Factory Set
1989 Donruss Best Factory Set
1989 Donruss Rookies Factory Set
1988 Donruss Best Factory Set
1987 Donruss Opening Day Factory Set
1987 Donruss Rookies Factory Set
1986 Donruss Highlights Factory Set (I HAD to have Steve Carlton in a Giants Uni)
1985 Topps Traded Factory Set
1981 Topps Traded Factory Set

plus

I also picked up a bucket load of Topps and Bowman cards from 1954 thru 1969. There's about 200 of them all up, and it cost less than $100.

Score!

All of the above sets/lots have arrived, with the exception of the 1988 Donruss Best set. That's the set known as the Halloween set, and it's probably the most exciting of all my acquisitions. Unfortunately, I didn't get either of the Barry Bonds/Johnny Ray errors from the 1987 Opening Day and 1989 Best sets. Oh well... at least they were complete, sealed Factory Sets!

Time to go searching for some more sets...

Happy collecting and bust some wax for me!

Nick J

1986 Donruss

2011-01-24T00:49:00.001-08:00

I couldn't help but notice, that in the 1986 Donruss set, they gave Jerry Koosman a Diamond King card, but no regular issue card.

Freaks!

BTW, that's where I'm up to in my Alphabetical Checklist Book from my recent purchases - Koosman is card 7468 out of the 15493 that I've received in the last few weeks. Long way to go! Back to it...

The Mailday... from Friday!

2011-01-24T00:13:00.000-08:00

OK folks well it's been a few days, but I've been busy opening and admiring my new stash. It includes the 1982 Donruss Factory set, 1984 Fleer set, 1985 Fleer set, 1985 Donruss set, 1993 Topps Factory Set (the biggest fricken factory set I've ever seen!), 1994 Topps factory set, plus the 2 boxes of Ultra - 1991 and 1994 Series 2.

Firstly, I wish I'd opened the 1993 Topps set in 1993, because I got a Topps Black Gold Winner card for the ENTIRE Black Gold Set! Sheesh... Calling Doc Brown... The Golds and other 2 Black Golds were nothing special though.

On to the 1994 Topps Factory set - I didn't know this was the 'Bakers Dozen' set that had 26 extra cards in it! I got the 1995 Topps Pre-Production set, with the Griffey card as the Spectralite parallel, plus the 3-card 'Superstar Sampler' was Frank Thomas. I checked my price guides, and this 3-card set was worth $100 as recently as 1999! Wish I got the Piazza...

The Black Gold and Gold parallels were, again, nothing too special. I really wish there was an easy way to differentiate between each type of Factory Set from the old days. I feel sorry for the guy who sold me this one for under $30.

The 1991 Ultra box was as expected, I needed about 200 to complete the set, which I did, plus I also got the other 200 again, so if you buy a box of 1991 Ultra, you will pretty much be guaranteed to complete the set. I got every team logo sticker, except the Rangers. If anyone has one spare, let me know! I will pay $2 for the hassle of sending it, plus whatever the postage is!

The 1994 Ultra II box was a little disappointing. I was hoping to complete the set, as I already had about 60 out of 300, but I am still about 50 short. 13 commons per pack over 36 packs should have covered me, but alas, they weren't all there. The Inserts were nice, though 4 of them were dupes within the box. I got 2 of the 1:36 Rising Star cards, so it made it worthwhile. I also got 3 different Piazza inserts (YAY!) and 3 different Frank Thomas inserts. It was a very Franky day.

All in all, the 6 sets and 2 boxes were definately worth the approx. $230 I spent to get them all here.

I have only one parcel due to arrive now : The 1980-1981-1982 Topps set run. I really can't wait, especially since they were $99 for all 3 sets, and the 1980 set will be the first complete set I will own that could be considered a 'Vintage' set. Very exciting!

Happy collecting, (amassing in my case)

Nick J

Exciting moments

2011-01-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love having a pick-up slip in the mailbox? I have to wait another 30 minutes before I go up to the Post Office to see which item arrived today. It's either going to be the 2008 Topps Factory set, or the 1980-1981-1982 run of Topps Sets. I hope it's the 2008 set, because i won it on Ebay nearly a month ago. Starting to worry! Although the seller is very reputable and I've waited over a month before. It can take anywhere from 10 days to 40 days to ship sets from the USA to Australia.

The next lot on the way is a nice pile bought from a guy in New York. The 1982 and 1985 Donruss sets, the 1984 and 1985 Fleer sets, 1993 and 1994 Topps Factory sets, and a box of 1991 Ultra, and a box of 1994 Ultra 2. Wow 6 sets and 2 boxes in one package... that's going to be the best mailday ever!!!

I guess the only items which contain random cards and the 93 and 94 Topps sets (Gold & Black Gold cards) plus the 94 Ultra box. I will list any good cards that show up in them! I'd love to accidentally find out that Topps made some 'hot sets' in 1993 or 1994. That is, Factory Sets of Topps Gold, instead of the regular issue cards. Almost impossible, but I'm still hopeful!

Happy collecting!

Nick J

83 T & 82 F

2011-01-10T21:20:00.001-08:00

Well folks it's been a busy couple of days, with the arrival of the 1983 Topps set yesterday, and the 1982 Fleer set today. Once I bother purchasing the 83 and 84 Donruss sets, that will be my goal completed - every main set from the 80's! I think I'll leave the 1984 Fleer Update set off my list for a while though...

Off to read some blogs!

Nick J

Waiting game isn't fun!

2011-01-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well it's after 2pm here on Thursday afternoon... so I guess it's another sleep before mailday. Considering what is on its way, it's going to be worth it!

Next project will be to obtain the 1998 Pacific Online Set. 780 (or 800) cards full. I'm still yet to ever see a complete set of it on Ebay. Or anywhere for that matter...

Is that a knock at my door...?

Topps... Please Make These Cards!

2011-01-04T19:10:00.001-08:00

I really hope that one year, Topps will make a 30-card set (hopefully a single boxed set) of standard-sized cards with each team's Logo pictured on the front. Almost like the Fleer Team Logo Stickers (1 per pack) during the 80's and up to 1991. On the back they should have the team checklist for cards in the regular Topps set that year.

Will my plea fall on deaf ears?

Bring back Team Logo Cards!!!

:-Þ

Cheers,
Nick J

Still waiting...

2011-01-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like it will be another day before I get any more of my 5 remaining sets. It's almost 2pm here, and the mailbox is empty, and there's been no 'guy in a postal van' coming to my door. Bummer!

Anyway, while I'm here, I think my favourite set this week is the 2006 Upper Deck set. I scored it for a little over $200 and it's freaking HUGE!!! 1250 cards makes it by far the biggest set I have. I really love having the cards of middle-relievers and back-up catchers that I've craved since the Topps sets went crappy in 1995 (Not having 792 cards in each issue.)

Even my own team, the Dodgers has 48 cards! I love this set. If only every card in the set was vertically oriented - HATE the horizontal cards!!!

Also, the 2010 Topps factory set + Update was a good investment - 3 Strasburg cards plus a lot of other rookies. Buster Posey is the pick of them all, he's going to be the best hitting catcher this side of Piazza.

Til tomorrow...

Nick J

Not yet...

2011-01-04T06:37:00.000-08:00

The eagerly awaited sets aren't here just yet.

I'm expecting :

2008 Topps Factory Set (Mantle Version + 10 RC Variations)
1983 Topps Hand
1982 Topps Hand
1982 Fleer Hand
1981 Topps Hand
1980 Topps Hand

I really can't wait to update the blog with set info as they arrive! My guess is, the 2008 Topps, and the 1982 Fleer sets will be here tomorrow.

Can't wait!

Nick J

2011-01-03T04:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, OK so It's been a very long time... but I'm back in my neighbourhood!

I thought I'd let the card collectors know that I've obtained some lovely sets over the last few weeks. I really really wish I had a scanner, so I could chuck some images on here, but those in the know, will know!

Here we go :

2010 Topps Factory (661 + 10 Factory Exclusive Rookie Variatons)
2010 Topps Update hand-collated set
2009 Topps Factory (660 + 5 Rookie Variations)
2009 Topps Update hand-collated set
2008 Topps Factory (Mantle Edition) - still waiting on the arrival, although it's not late yet!
2008 Topps Update hand-collated set
2006 Upper Deck Complete Set - Hand-collated (1250)
2005 Topps Update Factory (330)
2004 Topps Traded hand-collated + Bonds (221)
1997 Collectors Factory (506) I've always wanted this set for the Lee Smith card - not many cards exist with him in a Reds Uni.
1992 Score Rookie/Traded Factory (110 - Since I have all Score sets, I thought it was time to complete them all)
1991 Upper Deck Final Edition Factory (100 - Bought the regular issue 800-card Factory Set in Hawaii in 1991, took me a while to close the deal!)
1991 Ultra Update Factory (120 - I waited for the set to fall from overpriced to affordable. $8 - FTW!)
1991 Score Rookie/Traded Factory (110 - See 1992 Score R/T)
1991 Topps Traded Factory (132 - Basically the same as the Score sets - had to complete my regular & traded sets going)
1990 Score Rookie/Traded Factory (110 - See 1992 Score R/T)
1989 Donruss Traded Factory (56 - So cheap, yet it adds so much to the base set. A must for $1.50!)
1989 Score Rookie/Traded Factory (110 - See 1992 Score R/T - and, although I've never liked Griffey Jr, it's somewhat satisfying to own all of his RC's)
1989 Topps Traded Factory (132 - same as 1991 - and great to complete the Griffey Jr RC collection)
1987 Fleer Update Factory (132 - Just to finish the 1987 sets, along with...)
1987 Donruss hand-collated set (660 - Finally scored this set, complete and for a $20 price tag - pretty good when most boxes are selling for well over $50 here is Australia)
1986 Donruss hand-collated set (660 - Another set I've always wanted for a cheap price - like the 87 set, it was $20 and has by far the best photography of any of the 3 sets that year)
1985 Topps hand-collated set (792 - Another one I've been waiting for since 1989 - complete 85 sets are tough, so this one was great for $30 - considering that's the value of the McGwire Olympic RC)
1980-1981-1982-1983 Topps hand-collated sets (726-726-792-792 - for a total of $118, these are all on their way to my lucky lap. I still can't believe that they could go for such a cheap price, but they did. Actually, I got the 80-81-82 lot for $99, and the 83 set for $19. Pretty tidy I reckon!)
1981-1982 Fleer hand-collated sets (660-660 - both bought for $16 each, I know they're not great, but they have every player from those days, and it's nice to be able to have a set of cards almost as old as myself!
1981 Donruss hand-collated set - (605 - A pretty bad set, but when I spied it for $17, how could I resist? Now I have every MLB card from 1981, and that makes me happy!)

5 of these sets are still on their way...

I really can't wait for tomorrow!!!

Hope to let you all know once they're here,

Nick J

Recently Purchased Boxes

2010-04-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

OK thanks to my mate Sonny @ Southern Hemisphere Cards here in Australia for 2 boxes of 89 Donruss and 1 box of 90 Topps.

Firstly, the 1990 Topps.
Every packet I opened, 2 cards went straight to the "Keep only if absolutely necessary" pile - the ones at either end of the pack. One had 20-year old wax stains which had browned significantly over the years, and the other one had a 20-year old stick of gum stuck to it. So that's 72 cards already gone from the box. And hey, still no signs of the Thomas NNOF! But I'm only about 20 cards short of the entire set now, so definately worth the break!

Secondly, the 1989 Donruss boxes.
Nothing too special in here - a few Griffey RC's, and still about 15 cards short of a full set here, but the definitive highlight of my box busting came in one single pack. Among the 15 cards + Puzzle piece, were commons of Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Paul Molitor, Cal Ripken, Robin Yount, Mark McGwire and THE man from 1988, Kirk Gibson. Possibly the best single pack I've ever seen, let alone opened myself.

Hope to be opening a few more soon, and obviously I'm still in the market for the 2008-09-10 run of Topps Factory Sets.

Until next time, keep bustin!

Nick J

Australia's Best???

2010-04-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

G'day all!

I have just received all of my final boxes/sets etc. for the offseason, and now I must say my collection is very impressive for an Aussie. I have almost 95000 baseball cards, ranging from 1961 thru to today. I'm really hoping I can get my hands on a good 3-Year lot soon - 2008-2010 Topps Factory Sets + their update & highlights counterparts.
I'd really love to know how to put my "Baseball Card Sets" excel file up here for people to view, does anyone know how to do it?

Well, i'm off to EBay to score some more complete sets with low shipping rates!

Love to all,

Nick J

Not long now...

2010-02-21T01:04:00.000-08:00

Well it's been just over a week since the 6-Boxes transaction took place on some auction site... I can't remember what it's called... I think it's world famous though.
I expect my boxes to show up either tomorrow or by Wednesday this week. Also, once the dust has settled on those great purchases, I will be hitting that said auction site once again, in search of the great 2008 and 2009 Topps factory sets. Since I own basically every Topps card from 1984 onwards (save the 85 set), it will be with great delight that I add these to my collection, and of course, I eagerly await the 2010 Factory Set release (June/July?) once the season is well under way.
I'm currently sorting my 1994 Fleer cards, and although I've purchased about 8 boxes of this issue over the years, I STILL cannot get my hands on 3 commons to complete my set. Frank Thomas, Ken Ryan and Jeff Mutis. Amazing, considering at least 4 of those boxes were jumbos. Something to be said for Fleer there...

Oh yeah, Piazza for the HOF, 237 cards and counting...

Card Collection... Catalogue Overkill

2010-02-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

Hmmm...

I've been trying to find someone out there who catalogues their own collection quite as thoroughly as I do. I'd like to think there would be no person out there as obsessive as me.

OK, my Baseball Cards folder has some sub-folders, the first of which is 'Team Players'. This has an excel file for each team, listing every player that I have on cardboard for that team, along with the number of cards I have of each player with that team.
Then I have 'Team Sets'. This is pretty much the same, but it has the number of cards from that team, listed by each set + the number of cards for the team that I have! eg. Dodgers has 2009 Upper Deck : 44, 2009 Upper Deck First Edition : 24, and so on.
Then I have every single card listed in Excel files, grouped by surname. EVERY single card! Each card has its own row, with card info. (Player, Team, Year, Set, Card Type, Card #)
I also have an Excel file with the info of every set I have even ONE card from, listed in alphabetical order. If I had the knowledge, I would post screenshots of the Excel files here, but I'm still only learning.

Please tell me you don't know people as overly thorough as this. It's a real pain when I get new cards! But definately worth it!

Nick J

Introduction...

2010-02-14T21:31:00.001-08:00

Welcome to anyone who somehow manages to find this!

My name is Nick and I'm from Australia, currently living about 60 miles South of Sydney. I've been collecting Baseball Cards since I visited the 7-11 near Flakey Jakes in Anaheim, 1989. I was all of 9 years old! 5 packs of 89 Topps and 3 packs of 89 Score were all I needed to get going. Plus the Cap'n Crunch cards I received in my cereal boxes didn't hurt either!

As you may appreciate, collecting Baseball Cards in Australia can be a very expensive exercise - shipping normally costs more than the cards themselves! Fortunately over the 20+ years, I've managed to accumulate around 71620 cards - not including dupes - and am still building it to this day. My focus is commons - not inserts, parallels or short-prints, just commons from each set, each year. I'm trying to get at least one card of each player in each uniform he ever appeared in. I think John Candelaria is my greatest achievement. Mike Morgan is proving to be most difficult.

Anyway, I'll be coming back here as often as I can, perhaps even with some news on any goings on in the Baseball Card world here in Australia. Granted, not much does happen, but when it does, I usually find out quickly!

I have just purchased 6 boxes of cards from the 90's on Ebay, for a total cost of just under $200 Aussie dollars. They are :

1994 Upper Deck Series 2 (Western Region)
1995 Topps Series 1
1995 Topps Series 2
1997 Topps Series 1
1997 Topps Series 2
1999 Topps Series 2

Each has 36 packs inside, so it should be a great day when they arrive, considering they're all from the one seller.

For anyone who notices, I will let you know what comes out of those boxes, if it is noteworthy!

Cheers,
Nick J