A Nameless Trade

 I am not going to share the "who" this TCDB trade was with, but not because it was a bad trade, but because it raised a question for me, and I'd be curious what others think.

Does it matter to you if you are trading with someone who is collecting for themselves, or if they are either a flipper, or looking to sell cards they trade for?

Here is what I got...

Showing the back of the couple serial numbered Jays cards as that's important, and why I picked up the trade - they mean something to me and fit my collection nicely.

What I gave up was a non-rookie Topps flagship base Ohtani card. Nothing too fancy, and understandably worth a few dollars. I am happy with the trade, and that's the important part to me.

The only reason I paused in the first place was because I did a trade with the member not too long ago for a copy of the same Ohtani card. Again, I was happy with that trade too, so don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about what I got out of it. It did leave me a little gun shy on the trade though as I had this tinge of wanting to get the card to someone who would appreciate it in their collection, rather than trying to flip it for a few dollars.

I think it's fair to say, I'd happily settle for a little less in a trade to help someone with a card for their collection, versus maximizing what I get out of it. I also look at what I am really into the cards for - my cost, whether I should or not, when doing a trade.

As you all know if you follow me along here, many of the cards I have for trade, in all honesty, cost me a penny give or take because of the lots they come from - and frankly, most of those lots paid for themselves with the sale of a card or two that I lucked out getting in each.

The result - happy to share the benefit in trades with people collecting for themselves...not so easy for me to want to share with someone looking to sell the card to someone else who is the collector. I prefer cutting out the "middleman" as it were.

It doesn't mean I will never trade with people who are sellers - but I would lean towards collectors if I knew and had to choose between the two.

DO you have any such preferences? Does it impact your trades if you know why the person you are trading with is wanting the card(s)?

All That Plat

 Well, a better day for collecting from the 2026 Lot today - 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum!

I have a decent dent in the set though, so other than Poulin on the Bruins a little further down and a Leaf addition, I don't have any additional set help today. It does provide me a few more Bruins to pass along, and a chance to talk about this set again.

I still find it a bit surprising this was a "high end" set back in the day considering the card look and feel compared to what high end means in the hobby now. Then again, high end didn't mean thousands of dollars per pack back then either.

I don't think Pro Set did as good a job on this set as Stadium Club was doing when it comes to the full photos, but it was a solid attempt. I do like the set and want to finish it sooner than later, but a bit to go on it still.

What I Get

Today, I am showing you exactly what I get from the 2026 Lot, exactly as it was pulled. Just so happens the football cards were together and in order - go figure.

Not sure why this seems so team specific, but is what it is, and dupes as it dupes, but the Contenders design has grown on me a bit more. I still wouldn't say I "like" it, but I at least understand it.

The Steelers, Bengals and Rams - oh my - then lead to some Score cards which are also in order, but not so team specific.

We get a Mr. Swift sighting!

Honestly, I love the Score design in comparison, but maybe that's just me. It's not just because I miss the old Score sets from hockey, I think the front design here is much better than the Contenders. Hopefully tomorrow will be cards much better for my collection than the football ones today.

Another olerdu363 Trade

Just as the title suggests, another trade share today from TCDB member olerud363 which saw mostly, pick up of some additional Blue Jays. 

Late 80s and early 90s stickers from Panini have a special place in my heart as these are the collectible "cards" that really started me into the hobby. Loved collecting the stickers, opening the packs at my grandmother's after she and my mom picked them up at their weekly shopping, and loved completing the albums, and giving away the extra stickers.

The non-Jays are error related cards from sets I am trying to complete, where I don't want to miss getting the extra copies for the error binders.

Then we get into random Blue Jay goodness including the Carpenter Impact, a final of six Jays for that base set which complete the team for me.

Same holds for the Stewart Donruss Diamond King, a third of three for the Jays. Hinske is actually a variation card as the other base has a see-through Bazooka logo.

We finish with another very new for me 2026 Topps Kirk. I feel 2026 is going to be (another) year that I don't buy new packs for per se, but trade around to try and pick up as many Jays as I can. I like opening packs, I don't like paying $1-$2 a card for a pack.

Remembering

25 years.

We all have world moments in our lives that impact what the world was to us before and after such events. World wars. COVID pandemics. There have been many over the years, and depending on when you were born, they impact you differently.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and essentially living there, or close to it since then, there have been many significant events in my lifetime, but the one that really, in a moment changed the before and after was the terror attacks in 2001.

As they say, anyone who lived through it, knows where they were and what they were doing when they heard about it. I was in a co-op work term, with the same accounting firm I am a partner in now, and had been at work for half an hour or so when I was checking the news shortly before 9am. It was a habit I got into to see if there were any financial headlines worth noting for work purposes, but of course, the news of the first plane hitting had just started to be in the news, and before the second.

Many at the firm started to watch the news and saw the live feed of the second plane. I remember the firm calling a meeting to let everyone know they could go home if they want, and a few had family in New York, though none directly impacted.

A surreal situation that feels like yesterday, and although not directly impacted - no family or friends with loved ones who passed in the events of 9/11, the dramatic impacts we all know and saw come afterwards rippled through how life was afterwards, changed forever, but necessary to try to avoid a recurrence of the event.

To all those who it impacted, I am sure today is a reminder, and thoughts are with you. For those born afterwards and to which it is but something learned in history - there is a reason to understand and remember.

I don't like getting too somber and "real" on the blog because this should be a place for lighter times and moments, but it is a day worth noting, but I will leave you with a look at some cards.

 The trade with fellow Canadian JBesh helped me finish the 1991-92 Ultimate Original 6 French Leaf base set. Also my first 8 of the 11 1999-2000 Pacific Paramount Leaf cards as well.

Dribbling Additions

This may be a bit of an expensive exercise, but I continue to work through 401games singles online and all sets to pick up any cards that fit my collection, that are in stock, and less than a dollar (most being 50 cents or so). They seem to have picked up enough older stock in the last few months to make this a more worthwhile exercise as I use to do this once a year and not really find much of anything. Not sure if they are just churning through more older cards/collections, but either way, it's a nice way to add cards...while also showing me the number of more expensive cards I don't have and how expensive finishing "sets" is going to be.

A bunch of different Commander sets really the focus of today, and with colourless mana producing lands being a relatively new addition to my collection focus, a solid number of pickups here. As you can see, some lands get repeated in different sets, so I technically do have more than four copies of them if you span across my collection, but I do want one from each set at least - just can't have more than four in a deck if I ever put a deck together again.

Temple of the False Gods is an interest add for a land with the two for one ability if you have enough lands out already. A decent ramp card, but would be too good if it could also just be for one colourless mana as an alternative as well.

The lands do, in some ways, allow a little colour into my collection with some being able to tap for specific colour mana as well, and that being shown in the card like Battlefield Forge.

Speaking of mana, a number of artifact cards actually work on mana production too, and these tend to be for cheap pick up value wise, so here we have cards like the Signets and Ingots.

I haven't checked, but I wonder if Burnished Hart is the artifact card I have from the most different sets. I could just swear I see it so many times, but maybe it's just heavy in repacks I pick up.

As you can see from the symbols, just because a card is a rare (or even a mythic), doesn't mean it is valuable. Bulk rares is definitely a thing in Magic, just like any other CCG. I do wonder if a "bulk rare" means a "fail" by the game producer. I mean, shouldn't all rare cards be good for play in the game? Isn't the point, you would want those cards and be chasing them? Imagine what it would be like for a set if the actual playability of the rares were better than the uncommons, which in turn were better than the commons. It would probably align best for getting people to buy and chase the rare cards (though they do this in droves even when only 10% of those rare cards are good). Maybe it would actually work against Wizards of the Coast as it would make it much harder for players to put together a good deck if the commons and uncommons were drastically below the playability of the rare cards.

I think we are safe though because I think, with all the different formats for playing, it would be impossible for a set to be made which so clearly fit the mold of rarity equals better playability.

A Mini Trade

Alright, it wasn't really a "mini" trade as in, not a lot of cards. Sure, it was a single PWE trade, but the stars of this trade are slightly smaller cards which help me finish off a nice set from the 80s.

The trade was with TCDB member michaeljohnunger and sent me these:

The top row of cards are the last four 1987 Topps Major League Leaders Minis cards I needed for the 77 card set. Not a set I ever thought about collecting or completing, but here we are!

The three Super Star backs add to the one O Pee Chee back I already had to complete that Jays team set.

A 1991 O Pee Chee Carter for the Jays collection along with Carpenter, and another base set helper for the great 2005 Upper Deck Classics set wraps up another great trade!