Buttoning Up a Massive Trade

Dealing with collectors that go after the same cards you go for can be very difficult.  In fact, many people think it is a waste of time and impossible to do deals with people in your same space.  On the outside, it seems like those who go after the same cards you go after should be seen as nothing more but a competitor/enemy.  In my several years strictly as a reseller, I remember coming across a thread that someone posted talking about collector competitors.  I thought it was funny, and never gave it much thought. Now I know what he was talking

Floppruss – When you can’t decide which RC you like best!

Have a tough time figuring out which rookie card you like the best?  Look no further!  I present to you... Utilizing the Topps design, Fleer action shot and Donruss portrait :)   Available for sale ... NOWHERE.  Just a fun gag project :)

My April Fools Prank – What Was Yours?

Not sports or sports card related, but I thought I'd share some post-mortem april fools goodness with you all. I have a lot of traumatizing experiences with April Fool's past.  Like when my parents gave me a bowl of chocolate ice cream before going to bed - only to find out they were refried beans.  I *hate* refried beans.  No, they did not give me a real bowl of chocolate ice cream, either. Or how about the time when I was in 7th grade.  I went to bed dreading school the next day (I *HATED* school - 7th grade was the worst

OUTRAGED at the 4 new proposed MLB changes for 2018

I have not been a fan of many (any) of the changes that have been happening over the past few years, but 2018 is ridiculous.  This laundry list of garbage is apparently close to being a real thing. The higher ups have paid attention to social trends, and the marketing folks have determined that the viewership will increase dramatically among the 13-21 demographic if games can ultimately be played in under an hour.  These are their attempts to make it happen:   1)  Designated Hitters will be dissolved:  NO!  This is the wrong way.  IMO, if anything, the NL should adopt the

Crazy Triple Booklet Custom

Over the past three years, I've done a lot of different things.  I've tried to do things that card companies have not done before.  There is one thing I've shied away from, and that is using super premium pieces.  It is coming up on two years since I was at Canseco's house, and while I have no shortage of player-worn material, I have not done much in the way of custom cards with premium pieces. The main reason for this is because I simply haven't felt "good enough", so to speak, to cut into a lot of the good stuff

Making Your High End Cards SPARKLE Online – Animated Gif Tutorial

In my last article, I had a bunch of people asking "How did you do that?" If you are one of those people, then this is for you. Why do this? Sharing our collection with others on the web has become as big a part of collecting as the actual collecting. The last thing we want is to show off our favorite cards, and have them look lackluster. Scanning, pictures, etc. can all yield different results. I always spend a good amount of time figuring out how to get the perfect light (ESPECIALLY when it comes to refractive cards). Take

Collection Update: White Whale Alert, Apparition and a Broken F5 Key

For the majority of my life, I haven't been overly excited about landing a baseball card. I've always loved cardboard ever since I was a child, but it took me zeroing in on collecting one player to get genuinely hyped about certain cards that come in. Maybe the more focused you are, the more excited you get? I dunno. A while back, I was told by a few folks to keep my eye out for a big 90's seller.  Over the past few months, I've witnessed some AMAZING 90's cards being sold for Ripken, Griffey, Thomas, Clark, etc.  No Canseco though,

I’m on the front page of Topps!

I have had the pleasure of being a guest blogger for Topps, and you can see my moustachioed face at www.Topps.com - hurry though, because they will probably take it down soon! (Fun fact:  All of the visible cards you see were actually photoshopped in the picture, including the hand print card on the wall.  When this picture was taken, I didn't yet own most of the cards shown!)  Here is a direct link to the article: https://www.topps.com/blog/jose-canseco-topps-collector/ Here are some fun graphics from the article! Nearly 100 DIFFERENT Archives Signature Series Canseco cards .... I actually have two more than what is pictures

Two Customs and a Funeral

This past week has been kind of a whirlwind for us here.  My wife's grandmother passed away, and her funeral was out of town last weekend.  We didn't know her very well - the last time we saw her was at our wedding, which was over 16 years ago.  She was 95 years old, and according to many, she was a sweet, caring and giving woman. We aren't fancy folk here.  We have manual doors on our minivan, and we print our directions out from google.  When it was time to drive out of town for the funeral, we had

1996 Fleer Gold & Silver Variations

I have been able to secure a number of these! If you are interested in what I have, click here. Baseball cards of the mid 1990s are characterized by their loud and bright colors.  Some would call them eye sores, while others are happy to have designs that so richly represent that time period.  In 1996, Fleer took a step back and offered a clean look, relying heavily upon quality photography, and then stamping the print in gold foil. To take things a step further (back), they printed their cards on cardboard with the texture of the back of a