Before There Were Baseball Cards

Listening to a good baseball game on the radio is like soul food for my ears.  As a numbers guy, I find myself oftentimes looking up statistics from players and teams while I've tuned in.  My brain will run statistical scenarios on current players to see how they may stack up against our heroes of the past.  Doing this got me to thinking how in tune we are to the game and its players, and how card collecting helps bridge the gap from being a fan to feeling truly connected. On September 1st, Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter.  I heard

Video Matching a CRAZY Patch + Insane Haul Show Off!

I guess I'm a Kyle Seager Supercollector now!  Just kidding - these are what I have left over from selling off a crazy collection from a former Kyle Seager Supercollector.  Regardless of who the player is, I always have a blast looking at what eye candy people put up when there are nice, bright pics of crazy patches and such.  Check them out!  Eventually, I'll be selling/trading them all, but for now just wanted to show them off.  My favorite one is at the bottom and shows it being video matched - that was a blast! Last but not least,

Here is what I did with the money from my Canseco Supercollection

(A video can be found at the bottom of this article.) What a difference a year can make.  Exactly a year ago, I sat at this very desk, typing up a story telling the world I was calling it quits on supercollecting Canseco.  It was emotional for me, but the response & support were overwhelmingly positive.  Little did I know that life was going to get infinitely more turbulent.  Over the past year, many things in life have happened, primarily my dad passing away, missing him like crazy, having our new son, loving him like crazy and wishing the two

Quick tip! How to get your cards to shine like crazy online!

  If you are like me, you are in love with shiny cards.  If you are also like me, you can be frustrated with how the shine doesn't translate well online.  Let's face it - sharing our cards online has become a big part of our hobby, so for maximum enjoyment, it is always best to give them the greatest shine! For months, I have posted clips that are a few seconds long of me showing the shine of various cards on social media (facebook and twitter) and they have been really well received.  People always ask me how I

1998 E-X Essential Credentials and the Importance of Online Presentation

Have you ever had a card that looks ugly on the computer, yet when you see them in hand, they look incredible?  I've had it both ways, but nothing as eye popping as these:  The 1998 E-X Essential Credentials parallels.  Tidel144 posted online that baseballcardpedia.com had been updated, most notably (to me) the E-X set.  They are doing the Lord's work over there, and I gotta give them props! I have always been curious about a few things from the E-X cards, so here is essentially (credentially) a run down from their site.  The 101 card set was ordered by placing

$1,000 + PSA 10 common card prices! Will they hold their value?

For starters, we'll use 1986 Topps as our subject.  The black portion of the card at the top can make it a bit difficult to find a PSA 10 worthy card, but since it is a junk wax era card, you have millions of shots at each card. A fellow collector that goes by the name of jordangretzkyfan has a quest to build PSA 10 sets of all the 80s sets by busting box after box.  He has documented it here and it has been a real treat to follow.  Many times, it looks as though he can open an entire box,

Lost at Sea & Dying of Thirst – My Tri-Star Card Show Review & Musings

The Tri Star baseball card show is in town this weekend, and I decided to take Atticus on Friday to check it out.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect since it has been a couple years since I last went, but I had visions of going through dollar boxes and pulling out some fun 90s-00s inserts & parallels for my binder.  I've been working on this binder for the past month or two - not with any fervor whatsoever, but just grabbing some fun cards that I love.  Here is the first page of it : On the way

The $107,868 Lesson, My Book, and Starting Over

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been very active anywhere online for a while.  In fact, November marks the first month in SEVEN YEARS that I didn't write at least one article.  There is a reason for that.  In October, my family suffered a terrible loss by losing my father.  Life tends to stand still when something like this happens - especially when you are as close to someone like we all were to him.  While things are getting better a little day by day, dad passing away left a huge hole in all of our hearts. We are very

Canseco Card Curator Cries Card Collecting Can Curb Counting Calories

My name is Tanner, and I love food.  Growing up, I simply didn't know calories existed, so I didn't know they mattered...until I became an adult.  Boy, did I come to an ugly realization of what happens when you replace playing basketball with a desk job!  Weight can be put on quickly.  Especially if you weren't living at home with mom & dad telling you an IV drip of Dr. Pepper isn't exactly an ideal lifestyle choice.  Goodness ... A McDonalds Supersized #4 with Dr Pepper easy ice while watching a movie ... perfection! Don't lie to yourself and say that

How to Sell a Collection of Baseball Cards

If you knew me before I created customs and "The Canseco years", you knew me as a writer / reseller / pseudo dealer.  I'd drive around town and buy massive collections, then load the cards up in my cardboard mobile (my minivan) - the ultimate test for the shocks and wheel well clearance.  I'd then take pictures, write about the experience and sell. Out of the millions of cards I've done deals for, my Canseco collection is certainly on another level. It has definitely been my biggest sales undertaking from a value perspective - especially considering I haven't done a whole