Card shop through a kid’s eyes

Last Friday I was faced with the daunting task of entertaining Joseph for a few hours on my own which, in solo parenting time, is roughly the equivalent of an eternity.  19 month old kids have the attention span of, well, a 19 month old, and the energy of a rabbit that has overdosed on a caffeine/sugar cocktail.  It can be rough.

In a panicked state of mind, I quickly had the bright idea to bring Joseph to the card shop, a locale which we’ve regrettably visited far too infrequently of late.  But this wouldn’t be the typical trip in that I’d spend the time digging through other peoples’ trash discount relic bins, but rather I’d be purchasing ONLY stuff for Joseph.

Everything was going according to plan until I saw this:

Boom.  1989 Donruss.  Hellooooooooo, Griffery rookie cards!  I haven’t checked a Beckett in ages, but since we all know values of cards – like houses – only go UP, I figured I’d practically be stealing this box at whatever price the shop was asking.

Uh oh:

Not sure if you can read that, but the book price clearly states that this box is “Priceless.”  Hey – no argument from me there.  Guess I’ll have to put it back since I only had $20 on me.  But wait!  The “Our Price” line says it’s “Free for Joe Swaykos”.  And wouldn’t ya know, that’s me.  But before you go thinking that this was a fine gesture on behalf of the card shop, you must realize that they’re not in the business of giving away inventory, especially not of the priceless variety.  This box was actually a gift from Travis of Punk Rock Paint (and The Baseball Card Blog).  His generosity, which will no doubt score me a handful of mint condition Griffey RCs, will put Joseph through college with money to spare.  I actually purchased a couple relics from Travis’s bin, but I seem to have misplaced them.  I have no clue where they are, and for all I know, the distraction of a 19 month old ready to burst at the seams from being confined indoors on a warm afternoon made me forget them at the shop.  O’well.

Back to the kid, since he’s the reason we went to the shop in the first place (that, and also the fact that Travis had been getting on me about not picking up the box, which our shop had kindly agreed to hold for me).  First thing that caught his eye: a Padres moving truck.

Very nice!  Of course, it had to be taken away within a couple hours of arriving home as it turned in to a projectile with a target set square in the middle of our TV.

Next thing that caught his eye:  Earth Mover collector cards from the bargain table.  Now that is good taste, and I have high hopes for his future.  This box is, believe it or not, from Series 2 in the set.  Three packs in and we’ve already pulled doubles of his favorite truck, the dump truck.

In addition to dump trucks, cranes, and hopefully his second favorite truck (the tow truck), we also have a chance at pulling randomly inserted Bob Feller and Karl Malone autograph cards, PLUS Chromium cards!!  Jackpot!!

I have no clue how Feller and Malone could possibly be associated with this set, and nowhere on the box or packs are there stated odds, so I won’t get my hopes up as we rip through the packs.  Also, I’m not sure what to expect of a Chromium card but I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it.

Lastly, with a dollar to spare, we turned to the box of $1 packs.  After looking them over, Joseph picked out the “blue one”, which narrowed his choice to 1986 Topps (yeah, buddy!!) or 2011 Topps Opening Day.  After holding each pack in his hand, the shiny foil of ’11 Topps was too much to resist, so that’s what he went with.  Guess he’s still a bit young to appreciate old wax.

So that was that.  Our Friday afternoon eternity at the card shop was a success for both of us.  May there be many more of these trips in our future.

Card shop Friday

The weather’s warming up out here in San Diego, and if the sun wasn’t already burning a hole in my pocket, my cardboard funds most definitely were.

I’ve been having fun accumulating junk wax and setting it up for display in my home card shop/man cave/closet.  It’s a weird feeling, unopened wax.  If you never open it, you can’t be disappointed, so an entire box of anything unopened – no matter the era – is fun!  Seriously, try it.  A $10 box never felt so right.

I already had a few boxes in mind, and I did make it out of the shop with what I’d gone for (and then some, naturally), but the junk wax table had been refreshed so right off the bat I was thrown for a loop.  In order to save my bank account from a mega purchase, I simply reminded myself that if the boxes hadn’t sold for the past 20+ years, they’re not going to sell before I have a chance to make it back to the shop.  There was some great oddball items available, though, so I’ll most go back soon.

The first box I grabbed was 1992 Donruss, Series 2:

I regretted not picking this up a few weeks ago, actually.  I’ve still never pulled an Elite Series insert, which is amazing since they were numbered to 10,000, but that’s the junk era for ya.  Hopefully there’s one in this box (which I’ll rip slowly, so it at least gets some shelf time).

Next up, 1989 Fleer:

I’ve always, always, always wanted a Billy Ripken error card.  Sure, I could easily purchase one from COMC or ebay (or probably even the shop), but it’s FAR more fun to try to find one myself.  This box will also be ripped slowly.  No matter what’s inside, this particular box is already a winner.  As I was driving back to the office, I remembered that there were four cut-out cards on the bottoms of these, so I flipped over the box and saw this:

I refuse to call it MOJO, but it basically is.

On to the wax.  I wanted to pick up a pack of Chicle to see what all the hubbub was about, so I did:

And since I’d ended up having a little more cash on me than I thought I’d brought, I picked up a pack of 2010 Bowman.  Now, I understand that there’s a slight chance of there not being a Stephen Strasburg autograph in it, but I just wanted to say “I was there”.  If everyone else is busting Bowman, then I will, too!   And ya never know, this could be a $10,000 pack.  I’ll rip it (along with the Chicle) tonight.

Still more!  I’m picking up Joseph from daycare today (it’s usually mom’s job since she leaves work before I do), and one of my favorite memories from when I was young were the days when my dad would pick me up from preschool because it meant a trip to Grand City (we lived in Maine at the time) to get baseball cards.  Hence, my affinity for 1987 Topps.  Anyway, it’s my duty as a father to bring Joseph some packs to rip when he gets home.  I’d thought about taking him to the shop after daycare, but the shop is on the complete opposite side of the town, and he usually needs a nap around that time of day.  I’m avoiding a public meltdown.  Cheating, perhaps, but it’s sparing the sanity of everyone we’d come across.  You’re welcome, San Diego.

We’ll be ripping a pack of 2010 Opening Day, and if spirits are high and that pack goes well, 1995 Sportflix:

Still more!  One of the wax boxes must’ve been cheaper than marked (or perhaps there’s a discount for clearing out 21 year old wax), because the total was $2 less than I’d calculated in my head (and, obviously, $2 less than I came with).  I have no use for $2 – nevermind the fact that I could spend it on other things besides baseball cards, or even put it back in the card fund – so there was one other thing that had caught my eye on the clearance table.  This:

1990 Topps Traded, complete set!  With a sticker price of just $2, it was the perfect way to cap off the purchase.  The box is shaped weird, which I guess is why it caught my attention in the first place.  That, and the fact that it says it’s a “highly prized collectible set”:

I’m keeping this bad boy factory sealed.  Another week is coming to an end, and a trip to the card shop is always a great way to wrap it all up.  I’ll let you know if there’s anything good in either of the packs I purchased for myself.  Come on, Strasburg auto!

*UPDATE*

The Bowman pack was short a card, and of course it was a chrome.  When the whole draw of these packs are the chromes, I can’t help but feel a little burned.  I’ve fired off an email to Topps.  I realize it’s only one pack, and they probably won’t do anything about it, but I won’t buy any more Bowman at this price point.  Fool me once…