Hey There, Boo Boo

 Across the street from us, during the summer, there is a small flea market that happens a few times - every month or so for a few months. We go as a family as it's a 5 minute walk, just to see if there is anything much there. Sometimes there's Lego, or the odd trinket, and of course I keep an eye out for cards.

There hasn't been too much, and what was there, wasn't really priced for a Flea Market, so I hadn't picked up anything until the most recent go where I spent a big $2 on one little insert set...

Hard to go wrong with a toonie spent on the 1990 Leaf Yogi Berra Puzzle. I only had three of the pieces before, so getting the set in one go was a no brainer. There were a coupe other puzzles, but ones that I had completed already, so I passed on those.

Always enjoy these puzzles and would pick up any I don't already have for a couple bucks. I don't think they are going to be a regular thing as the table they were on didn't have anything card related except the few little puzzles, but I'd call the trip across a win.

Help From A Codhead

TCDB member Canadian Codhead lives close enough we have been able to do a few trades with saved postage, meeting up in Burlington. Helps to make a bigger trade happen, which we did a number of weeks ago but I am just getting to sharing it now. There weren't a lot of "needs" as far as Jays go, but I delved into some set builds to plump it up, and here is what we got...

A trickle of base set helpers for Upper Deck in the early 90s, a couple others. Some Jays dotted through the trade too, though some were not necessarily new for me, the copies are greatly appreciated for the collection nonetheless.

2011 Topps probably had the most help in this trade. I have about 20% of the base set, so plenty needed and this trade did some work on it.

A few Jays dupes in the mix as I will need the extra copies for the base set build anyway.

2012 Topps pick ups are all of the pitcher error variety as all the pitcher cards in the first series were first printed with some incorrect total headers on the back.

We continue through the 10s with a few more base sets getting help, and a few more Jays pick ups below...

Top two weren't new to me, but the bottom pair are.

I'm hoping to pluck through and see what else I can pull in from a trade and moreso work to get the 800 or so cards that are matches for Canadian Codhead with my traders, out to him.

More Olerud

In trying to step up my trade offering game a bit this year, I found TCDB member olerud363 and I have a bunch of cards we could trade each way, so I have been chipping away with a few deals to move some cards, and today we share another such trade which brings many a Jay to me in exchange for my work in helping to get a 2020 Topps flagship set complete.

I definitely never collected any baseball related playing cards, so those are few and far between in my collection, but I also have no idea how many such products are really out there. I do have one more today than I did before.

Then we get into the early 2000s and you can see a whole bunch of cards adding into what is becoming less of a "dead zone" in my collection than it was a few years ago.

In my mind, the late 90s is when the proliferation of manufacturers really pushing out to different sets and starting to touch more on inserts and parallels really started to take off a bit.

2000 Upper Deck here has Pros & Prospects, Ovation, and Victory, for example.

We do get a couple team set completions in the trade with 2001 SP Authentic and 2001 Upper Deck Ovation.

I don't mind sets like Archives which take designs as inspiration rather than having them seem like part of the original set.

2002 Donruss Originals is a good example - the design is very much the retro, but at least splashing Originals across the front to ensure it is different enough. Though most would know the difference even without, I always wonder about those who don't know and buy for those they love as gifts etc, and wanting to ensure they know what they are getting.

2002 Topps Total - A fine set with a not so fine Jays uniform design and logo - not my favourite time in that regard. At all.

I still don't know how to feel about 205 - it's different, but with the design taking up so much of the front, I like the A&G style back but not so much care about the front.

Upper Deck's Vintage set to be along the Topps Archive set lines had a good set for 2003.

Not everything was from the 2000s, we do have a few 2010 decade related cards.

A fantastic trade and at least will have another one or two more we should be able to do to keep adding the new to me Blue Jays into the collection.

Trade With myrke

We keep the trade trend going, in posts and also with myrke who I have done half a dozen trades with over the years, all through TCDB. The trades usually revolve around baseball, and that's what we have here as well.

Though mostly Jays related, I did get another 1982 Topps card knocked off the need list. Still have about 150 or so to go in the near 800 card set. A far cry from done, but considering I didn't have a whole ton when I started, I'm doing pretty well.

A good variety of 2000s Jays, but I am a sucker for the die cut Alomar, and the blue for the Jays Drabek is a really good looking parallel. I think I have a few of them now, and wouldn't mind getting the rest.

The Fantasy Zeuch is a one and done Jays insert - nice - and the 2020 gold parallel serial numbered due of Drury and Borucki are fabulous pick ups! 

I still need a couple more base 2018 Topps Heritage Jays to finish the team set, but getting close as I think it's just short prints left.

I am getting close to having the remaining 2020 Topps set listed on my most wanted as were are under 20 left to go before I can say that set's done. It would be my most recent base set I have completed I believe.

Speaking of blue parallels looking good with Blue Jays - Ryu gets to chime in with a great looking card to end the lot.

I'd say my trade sharing is done, but I have at least one more I can share for tomorrow too!

Trade With Frohny

We get to continue the theme from yesterday - another first time trade partner at TCDB, another Leaf trade, though we do get to complete a couple Leaf team sets today - yay! 

Gartner was the last Leaf I needed in order to complete my 1995-96 Donruss Leaf base team set. Only about 30 years or so after the set was out, but better late than never!

O really enjoy my early to mif-90s Leafs as these were the prime days of watching as a kid. They had some good high points, and I still remember most of the players through those years (unlike other "dark" periods...see much of the 00s unfortunately).

Alyn may be my favourite card of the trade with the serial number being to a mere 9,500. Classic 90s serial numbering - might only be a couple cards to chase with serial numbers, but the runs were high. Now you have out of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 250, 500, 999, the year, and all in the same product. I guess it's the evolution of serial numbering, like it or not.

Oh, as for the second Leaf set I got to complete in this trade, Toskala is the man to make it happen being the last one I needed for the 2007-08 Upper Deck Ice base set.

The Portraits throwback design on the 2020-21 Upper Deck cards is nice, don't mind it one bit.

We end with some Parkhurst Champions and an Ice Battle Bunting to round out the trade.

Trade With KQuinner + Secret Lair Experience

For those who don't know, Magic does "premium", 24 hour releases called Secret Lair releases. These are somewhat like Topps Now. You have 24 hours to buy a release, you know what cards you are getting, and they can go for anything like $30 - $80 US in most cases.

I hate them and have never ordered one directly - I do own obe still boxed though. The one I picked up was because all the cards in it are artifacts, and it's unopened because, why bother when I know exactly what is inside.

Well, yesterday, a first for Secret Lair, and likely last for a LONG time (their words), a "booster pack" release was done. Zeta Boosters contain 7 cards from a 121 card set, done in a style to fit what the first versions of the cards looked like before the game was released with Alpha in 1993. Since they are to look like cards from 1992, they were priced for $19.92 US.

I have debated whether to count these as booster packs and getting one for my collection - the packaging is a cardboard booster package, not foil, but ultimately, I decided yes, I would pock one up.

Then I decided two as I could either sell the second or open one to really comment on the product. The drop happened yesterday at noon - a pre-order as the limited run will not ship until early November.

Honestly, the process for me was smooth - signed in ahead of time as anyone on for the hour leading up was randomized a spot in the virtual queue at noon - that all happened and I initialky had a 55 minute wait that was 34 minutes in reality.

i did nothing funny lije 20 tabs, refreshing cobstantly - I actually just sat at a McDonalds having lunch, doing it on my phobe with Wifi. Got in, got the order done, and it should cost me about $80 CDN all in for 2 packs (14 cards)

It is stupid pricing and I dislike it, but I also ordered 2 (versus the 12 pack cap per person), because that's really all I wanted. They are now selling on eBay and such sites for $80 US or about $110 - $120 CDN.

I am going to wait to decide what to do when I get the packs and see where prices are them but given the limited supply, that it sold out within a couple hours (apparently there were major site related issues), I don't know where things will land by print/ship date.

That said, the collector in my is happy I am getting the pack, while the investor in my thinks I shoukd have been greedy and ordered 12 to sell a bunch and profit - but then I would be just like "them" - the flippers making the collecting difficult by pushibg the prices even further than Wizards.

I wasnt giving it much thought at the time but I should have ordered 12 and re-sold a bunch at just enough to recoup my cost - the challenge there being to ensure I am selling to a collector, not a flipper. Maybe next time - if there has to be a next time.

Enough about the Zeta drop though. I am not being creative with the blog title - but also don't mind the trade partner seeing the thank you. The share below is the first trade I did with the fellow Ontario native, so of course it focused on hockey, and specifically getting more Leafs into the collection.

In advance of showing - a thank you for the trade - as my hope with any first time trade partner, I hope it won't be a last and we can find some more matches to trade!

Anyone who has followed my blog for any period of time knows that when it comes to the late 90s and early 2000s, I have plenty of missing cards to collect as it was the period - about '97 - 2010 really - where I was completely out of the hobby.

The Mats Sundin Upper Deck Ice card is a really nice one. Acetate cards, I really like, but use it for the Ice set and it's even cooler. What can I say, little things like that make my day.

Not a fan of the 2003-04 Upper Deck Black Diamond set design, but still need the Leafs there.

2005-06 Parkhurst here brings not one, but....

a few more Leafs. With all the cards in the trade today, a bit surprising I didn't finish off any Leaf team sets. Not a problem at all of course, just a bit surprised, though plenty of work moving sets along, so all good.

2005-06 Upper Deck MVP with four more Leaf cards - another design which falls a bit flat to me, but so did the team in the mid-2000s, so I guess it's more fitting that way?

We end one scan with a Toskala...

with him beginning the last as well. A great goalie, but Cujo is ahead in the "favourite Leaf goalie" department. May not be Potvin, but Cujo would be top 3 from my lifetime watching the Leafs. With the long history, you could go back and pull some more goalies from the history books to put ahead of Cujo and Potvin, but my watching bias definitely plays in. I guess a difference between personal favourites and all time favourites. Hard to personally favour a player you never had the chance to see.

Maybe a good question - do you have a favourite player who you didn't actually get to see or follow during their playing career?

Thirsty History

Another trade share, another TCDB member, and another cool feature from the site I can talk about.

This trade with ThirstyDeer came as an offer, and I recognized the name, so assumed we had done trades through the site before. Well, it took all of a couple clicks to be able to tell that:

1) We did out first trade in July 2020

2) This was our 5th trade (the ones in between were in June 2024, May 2025, and October 2025)

3) That first trade we did had TCDB ID 105018, while this one was 1038569 - which just shows how much the site has grown. For reference, my first completed trade in the site has ID 443 on Jun 20, 2015.

I could look at each trade, figure out how many cards we sent each way, but let's get to what came this way.

2002 Fleer Fall Classic is a set I hadn't known of, and this is my first Blue Jay from the set. Amazing to still find sets that old which I didn't know about, but at the same time, it was a period with a number of players in the game so to speak, and each trying to put out a number of sets.

In hockey, we have a card from a set I'd love to complete, though I only have a few cards - the 2022-03 Parkhurst Original Six set which is all Toronto Maple Leafs.

The bulk of the trade is getting close to completing the flagship Leaf team set for 2024-25 Upper Deck. 

Love doing these PWE trades as, even with 8-15 cards, there's a lot you can pack into a single envelope!