A Yankee Halloween

Sure, the World Series ended up being the exact opposite as the Dodgers closed out the series in 5, and I guess my trade partner today wasn't very happy about it....

Hope everyone enjoys their Halloween evening either taking out kids or handing out goodies, but before you go, a share of some cards I got from a friend to the south - TCDB member yankeefan714 who sent a solid PWE my way for some Yankee cards (go figure) that went his way.

Do, the Jays adds in this trade helped move along a number of team sets, but actually didn't finish any. I did also pick up a couple set helpers. The Record Breakers card is one I am picking up as a soft "master set" build for 1988 Topps and one of the small base card variations.

The other set helper is Bonds, who move me to about 18 cards remaining to complete the 1999 Topps Opening Day set which is a solid little set from the earlier days of Opening Day.

The Wells Skybox card is pretty solid in hand, and I do like the Fleer Tradition design as well, so some great Jays pick ups all around.

With that, I'm off for preparing for the evening - have fun all!

Trevor Trade

 I'm not sure how many more new package items I am going to be opening this year. With the October free package deal from Canada Post which I have been doing each Tuesday (one package each week), have led to a few big trades coming in so plenty to share, just not new product openings.

Today, a bit of a preview with a PWE trade with TCDB member Trevor31416. I've done a few trades with him over the years, and here, I get a bunch of 1995 Upper Deck parallel Jays cards - special edition and special edition gold.

Not a surprise that, given the metallic look on the front, these don't scan well, but the backs are standard and, believe it or not, the gold version - has a gold backing - very original, I know.

I joke, but 1995 Jays are solid pick ups for me. A number of the guys who were there at the heights in 1992 and 1993, but after those great years, and during the transition and trying to find their next great team.

That Delgado guy did pretty solid all around, even if the Jays didn't quite get to the success they had from those early 90s years.

A much appreciate trade that leaves me one special edition Jay away from that team set!

A Box In A Post

 A bit of a cheat today. I picked up a repack from 401games which is their starter player bundle for Magic - 1,000 cards for $20 plus tax. I do this now and then to see if I can get some artifact or land cards for my collection cheaper than if I were to buy them as single. In this case, I am also going to go through and see if any of the cards are ones I can sell back to them - tee hee - and if between those, it's worth it. Afterwards, I am going to put a box together for sale locally on Kijiji which will be about 1,000 cards for $30 which I will and some of my other traders into to even it off.

First up, the keepers from the box.

Well, with all of the above keepers for my collection, looks like I am ahead without doing anything else because if I were to buy those cards from 401 Games today, the cost before tax would be $27.41, so paying $19.95 plus tax instead is a good deal. Now, let's go a step further and see if there is any trade in value to be found as well.

I won't bore with the details, but going through those cards, there's a big $0.66 of trade in value. I guess I can't complain - I wasn't expecting any at all. So, definitely makes the box worth it, and if I can see it for $30, essentially no skin off my back and moves some cards while just keeping what I want from it!

Finally Alpha

In trying to pare down my trading/selling cards, and as Magic cards don't trade well on TCDB, I finally went through and pulled ALL the cards 401games would individually by from me. As it turned out, this was about 400-450 cards and thr value was about $95 in trade.

 I figure this is more that what I will get on Kijiji trying to bulk sell a bunch, so great, and I can get a few more expensive single cards I wouldn't normally just buy.

So I finally did two things. First, the Crystal Rod is my fiest original Magic card set (Alpha) in my collection. What this means is that this card, which is in many later sets and in those goes for a quarter at times, sells for about $60 in this first set printing. It isn't a great card in play purposes, but fantastic for collection purposes. Would never have spent the money to outright but it, but in trade value - yay!

As for the top row of cards, these were each about $10 and were the last three cards I needed to complete my artifact set from The Dark, which was one of the earlier expansions. Where Alpha was out in August 1993, The Dark came out about a year later.

Of the three, Fellwar Stone and Tormod's Crypt saw a number of reprints, but nit so much for Stone Calendar. Either way, really happy to get to smaller but exciting (to me) goals accomplished on this trade in - well, also the goal of reducing the number of cards for trade.

Well, It's A Pack

The second of two packs from the blaster today, this one being the Parkhurst.

I don't mind the design on these, but not a set I desperately want to add to the long list of sets to work on for now. The rookie cards fall on a pack, but we also have an insert...

Okay, that is the best card from the pack. View from the Ice indeed. I mean, can I get a full set with pictures like this? Amazing 

No Leafs but a couple good inserts so...

Lol...I liked my typo in calling this a surprised blister instead of a surprise blister, but either way, a solid outcome given what it could have been. I probably wouldn't buy these with any regularity, but it's been long enough, if I saw them again soon, I would try another.

Wal-Mart Blister Pack

I haven't talked much about the baseball playoffs because I haven't been to interested in them. The World Series match up shouldn't be a surprise given the salaries and players involved, though I would have liked there to be an underdog really make it to the Series and make in interesting, but no such luck. As for who wins - as long as it's a good series, which it has been so far, all of one game in, but still, all good.

I can't remember when exactly I picked this up at Wal-Mart, but it was a while ago.

A whopping 2 packs plus a card and I am sure it was about $7-$8, so overpriced, but it was so.ething I hadn't seen before, so I figure I might as well try one at least.

Nothing special with the packaging, but let's see what we get....

Fine enough on the packs. I may not need them for my pack collection, but at least the Upper Deck is for a set I am collecting.

As for the card - I shouldn't be too surprised. These McDavid Leaf cards are pretty regular fodder for such repacks. All things considered, not a bad card but just not one I am keeping.

Let's see if the Upped Deck pack has anything for me.

I'd call that an Oiler hot pack. May not have any Leaf cards, but all the base cards are needs and the O Pee Chee insert isn't too bad either, so a solid first pack which hopefully the Parkhurst can keep it up tomorrow.

The "Better" Half

 We went through half the 100 cards yesterday, now to see if the second half is the better half.

Hmmm...nothing for me there...

Another Eyekite that I absolutely don't need...

A lot more nothing, except for maybe my 15th Queen of Ice....

I was getting a bit scared, thinking I may go the whole second half without a single artifact or artifact adjacent card to add to the collection, but finally we get a couple here.

Luckily we end with a third artifact keeper, but not a great pack overall for quantity of artifacts. From the aspect of card collecting, as you will see below, this pack falls well down the list.

Looking at a value stand point, the three artifact cards here today would have cost me a whopping $1.20. Adding the $0.94 yesterday, we are up to an amazing $2.14 for the $4.52 costing pack of cards, so the question is the cards here I can trade in for value at 401games.

Well, the only card of the bunch is the last one for a whole three cents.

I do have a plan for the rest as I am going to put together a large box for putting on Kijiji for $30 and to have a good mix of cards to be worthwhile, these will just go in as extras to pad out the box, but should be good to go for the price. At least I got some box padding out of most the cards then!

An Additional Measure

 Another pack opening to start today, but with a slight twist. These packs cost $4 plus tax (so $4.52) back when I bought them a while ago. As much as I am going to score this one like the past, I am going to add up what the keepers would have cost me, and what, if anything, I can get selling cards back to 401games, to see if I can count my money worth for what I paid, so let's go with the first side today.

I guess it shouldn't really be a surprise that it took until half way through the side to get the first card that I could sell for three cents of whopping trade in value at 401games. Not going to bother if that's all we find, but worth checking I guess, just in case.

Guttersnape is the second card with a sale value for 401games - same as the last.

So to summarize the three artifact cards which I am keeping - we have a total value of $0.85 between the three, and they also happen to all be the fourth copy of the respective cards, so I am not looking for any more of each either.

The Grange is the last trade in card, so we end up with three cards for about 9 cents, so add that to the artifact cards and we have a whopping $0.94 of value on the first half. An up hill battle to see if the second half can bring in more value tomorrow.

Wildwood

 A trade share today with TCDB member WildwoodSam who sent me some cards for, well, both sports I collect.

Some Jays and variation pickups for various sets, and I will hang on to the draft pick cards as, though they aren't Jays cards, do at least note them as drafting the players on the back. Not something I'd actively look for and close to just straight minor league cards I wouldn't keep, but they stay for now.

The Leaf All-Stars insert is the second of 2 Blue Jays, so that team insert set is done, and the 1987 Fleer League Leader Barfield is another one and done Blue Jay. The hockey cards top row, are all French versions because...gotta have the French ones being Canadian I guess...lol.

We end with a trio of unscratched 1981 Scratch-Off Panels which are cards I never would have thought I'd pick up in my collection. Not something I would ever have thought of getting, but great to have these. Didn't know about them as a kid, and being of the early days of the Jays, great to get something that is a little outside the norm of "normal" cards.

Really appreciate the great trade as I do all such trades.

Balls

 Last pack from the 2021-22 Upper Deck Extended hockey cards and we get to look at some more new to me base cards, and some balls.

Another solid bunch of base card additions including more newer team cards like Seattle and Las Vegas being covered of course, but let's talk balls.

That's a lot of balls. Okay, maybe we can call them globes or something, but I just see balls. Almost reminds me of one of the cosmic ball hologram stamps from Upper Deck in the early 90s, except here, it's a bit overwhelming.

Needless to say, not my favourite design, though still a decent pull as they pop up every 20 packs. Actually, a decent blaster all in as you can see it marked well below given a few solid inserts.

Lundell has done well for himself being with Florida for 3 years prior to the 2024-25 season, signing a 6 year deal with them after the Stanley Cup win. Not too bad for being just three years into the league - just hope that winning the Cup so early had the magnitude it still deserves in case he doesn't get another one in his career.

First Blaster YoungGun

 Let's see how good the card of the pack is today, but after all the base keepers...

As for the YoungGun...

Ben, to date, has just had the 2 games in the NHL, his time since then being spent in the AHL. Still a chance he could get back to the NHL, but time will tell. Not one of the better YoungGuns, but still a card I needed.

Another Petr

Another 2021-22 pack for today with another bunch of base keepers to start. 

I just realized looking at those, none of the teams were around during the height of me watching hockey as a kid in the late 80s and early 90s.

Solid Leafy goodness here though.

Pwtr was a Leaf for just 20 games in the one season, with about 400 games under his belt, not a big part of his career, but part that is memorialized in at least this card (and a few others).

I like the UD Canvas cards, but it is a little less exciting to get a checklist. Still an insert to keep though.

We end with a first dupe in the box...

If nothing else, I have found someone I can send unwanted Rangers off to. Still very tempted to put together a list of traders to have someone for each team, at least in baseball and hockey, to make for easy shipping of cards for trade as I do want to reduce my traders a bit.

Sexy Backs

Second pack to open in this blaster, so a good time to take a look at the backs.

I really like them. Full stats, write ups where there is space, crisp design, nice tram logo and easy numbering, solid photo and basic player info. I think that covers everything you would want in a back. Besides, all ones I needed, so a great pack.

As for the insert...

The Dazzlers look great in hang - better than the scan, though the scan is alright.

Alex saw an increase in games for LA in the 23-24 season after just a handful each of the prior two seasons.

If all the packs can be this solid, would be a great blaster.

2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Blaster

 As the title says, today we start another hockey blaster opening. We get six packs with 8 cards each and though I can't remember exactly how much I paid, I am sure that works out to about a quarter a card at least. Just reminds me why I like buying lots of cards where it's a penny a card or so instead.

Never really a fan of the extended series, but do take that it makes up part of the larger flagship set so, this is one at least I am collecting the base set for, but I don't have an unopened pack for the collection...

Until now. So, with 5 packs left for opening, let's take a peek at the first and see what we have!

All needs, which isn't surprising since I don't have much of this base set. I am still getting use to seeing the Seattle team cards as they are relatively new to my collection since there isn't much from a set collecting perspective that I am looking to keep them.

Nick had a cup of coffee with the Leaf organization as he only played in 33 games in the one season with the team. It was time between Boston and Arizona with his final season being in 2022-23 for Calgary. 

Not a bad pull for the first pack with odds of one in every 40 packs with the SPx cards. Byfield isn't too shabby either as he has stuck with the Kings organization and in 2023-24 played in 80 games for the team. Great rookie considering how many don't get more than a cup of coffee in the bigs.

Hopefully the rest of the packs are this good!