Things I like... things I don't...

The more you collect, the more you learn about your tastes.

I've been collecting sports cards since I was six years old. I still collect and I always will.

But as the years have passed and many collecting options have appeared, I've learned what I enjoy and what I just don't care about.

I like:

• Cards with hard-signed autographs
• The person actually held the card and signed it
• Autographed baseballs
• I love the feel of an official MLB ball with an auto on it
• Collecting an old set
• I always loved the 1956 Topps Baseball design and now I'm putting it together
• Non-sport/celebrity autographs
• Actors, actresses, and celebrities from shows and events I've enjoyed... and of course, as noted above, hard-signed.
• Team collecting
• Go Habs Go!
• Player collecting
• Choose a player and go all-in... although it's easier when they're not a superstar.

I dislike:

• Cards with sticker autographs
• I have yet to see a sticker autograph on a card that looks nice.
• Group breaks
• When a box is opened, I want all the cards for myself... and group breaks have increased the availability of rare cards therefore decreasing their value. They cause a glut of cards to just be dropped into the market place.
• Tape on top-loaders
• Put the top-loaders in a team bag if you're shipping cards! Stop ruining top-loaders!
• Cards with signed fabric
• Sooner or later the ink will bleed into the fabric
• Most cut-autograph cards
• It's possible to collect some impressive autographs thru cut-autographs products but so often the design is lacking.

These are the first things which come to mind.

How about you?

Trading Up.... (By Selling and Buying)

When collecting trading cards, trading is a great way to get rid of cards that you don't want and acquire cards that you need. Unfortunately, trading isn't always as easy as it seems. Some collectors are difficult to trade with, it's not always possible to find you need, and you may not have what other collectors need. While the internet has given rise to the number of possible traders out there, trust can also be an issue with someone that you've never met.

To upgrade my collection, I sell on eBay. When buyers pay me through PayPal, I use that cash (and only that cash) to acquire new cards for my collection. By only using that money, it's as if I've traded my sold cards for the purchased cards.

With eBay's 50 free listings per month, it's a great opportunity to list some cards which have no place in my collection. It's surprising to see what you can sell and then buy at virtually the same price.

My past 10 sales on eBay have been:
2011 Paini Prime Cuts Kevin Matthew Auto - $2.79
12-13 Fleer Retro Chet Pickard Autograph - $2.29
2009 Panini Contenders Kory Sheets Auto - $11.83
08-09 ITG BTP Brian Elliot Autograph - $1.99
07-08 UD McDonald's Joe Sakic Insert - $1.69
06-07 UD SPA Ryan Shannon FW Auto - $1.49
09-10 UD SPA SOTT Andrew Cogliano Auto - $1.89
12-13 ITG H&P Daniel Altshuller Jersey - $1.89
09-10 UD Young Guns RC Lot (7) - $3.99
07-08 ITG H&P Cody Franson Auto - $1.79

Total sales - $31.64

My past 10 purchases on eBay have been:
11-12 Parkhurst Champions Pat Stapleton Auto - $3.13
11-12 Parkhurst Champions Doug Wilson Auto - $3.03
11-12 Parkhurst Champions Steve Larmer Auto - $3.55
11-12 Parkhurst Champions Rick MacLeish Auto - $2.53
00-01 UD Retro Epic Signatures Pat Verbeek Auto - $3.01
00-01 UD Retro Epic Signatures Keith Tkachuk Auto - $1.85
00-01 UD Retro Epic Signatures Denis Potvin Auto - $2.30
10-11 Donruss Tough Times Ron Hextall Auto - $3.50
04-05 UD Legendary Signatures Ted Lindsay Auto - $6.59
11-12 Panini Prime Signatures Mark Scheifele Auto - $4.03

Total Purchases - $33.52

There's always a little give and take on shipping charges but, on this occasion, I was on the good side of about two dollars.

When I look at what I sold on eBay, I see some autographs of rookies who never made it, some rookie cards of average players, an insert of a star, and some sticker autographs. Nothing which really fits into my collection.

When I look at what I purchased on eBay for basically the same amount of money, I see 10 hard-signed autographs of stars and minor stars from the past few decades, multiple 1,000 point scorers, multiple Hall of Famers, and an autographed rookie card of a highly-rated young player.

If I placed my ten (sold) cards in front of another collector do you think I'd be able to acquire the ten (purchased) cards. In my opinion, I think I'd be lucky to acquire 2 or 3 of the cards which I bought.

I still enjoy trading. It's nice to make a deal. However, by selling my cards for $30+ dollars and then buying the others for $30+ dollars, it's a way to upgrade my collection with a little more ease.

Hockey Hall of Fame - Collector's Corner

The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario has a Collector's Corner sponsored by Upper Deck. The walls in the back corner showcase a wide array of tickets, coins, games, dolls, apparel, pennants, and food items from around the world. In addition, there is an Island of Cards.

Although it's great to see a tribute to hockey cards and collectibles in the Hockey Hall of Fame, it was somewhat disjointed and without much detailed information. On the Island of Cards, hockey cards seemed mostly just randomly dropped into slots. There was no description of what or why these particular cards were chosen.

As a fan of the hobby, it would be nice to see the whole area revamped. I'd love to get to Cooperstown and see how it compares to the baseball card collection there.

Project Complete!

Success!

Project Complete!

In my collection, I now have at least one hard-signed hockey card of all 79 NHL players who have scored over 1,000 points in their career.

I even blogged about each and every player as I counted up the list from Ray Whitney to Wayne Gretzky. Sometimes it seemed like it was a losing battle but I'm proud of myself for successfully finishing a large project.

Next up?

500 Goals Scorers? Top point-scoring defensemen? Winningest goaltenders?

I think all three are likely choices.

I'm also debating trying to collect hard-signed baseball cards of every Toronto Blue Jay who played during the back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993.

I've learned that I enjoy projects... especially if they're challenging and feature subjects that I thoroughly enjoy.

New Project

After checking out some random hockey stats, I was looking at the list of NHL players who have scored over 1,000 points in their career.

At present, the list has 79 players, with Ray Whitney joining the club near the end of the 2011-12 NHL season. Upon further inspection, I realized that I have many autographs of those 79 players.

And so a project was born!

I plan to collect a hard-signed autograph card of each of the 79 players in the 1,000 point club... and whoever joins it in the future. No sticker autographs. Only hockey cards too.

It should be a fun collection and it should be the type of collection that will interest fans and collectors alike.

I'll show pics as I count down from #79 to #1... probably in groups of 3-5 at a time.

Now I have to see if I have a Ray Whitney auto in my collection as I don't think I ever put much thought towards his cards in the past!

Topps Diamond Card Giveaway

Trading cards is a dying art.

These days, if you're not part of a web forum or if you don't live in a large city, it's hard to find a group to trade with. That was one of the main draws to me of the Topps Million Card Giveaway and the Topps Diamond Card Giveaway. A site where collectors can insert codes, add cards to their collection, and offer trades to a massive group of collectors online.

I'm currently knee-deep in the Topps Diamond Card Giveaway and have made over 300 trades so far. It's a little more difficult to manage my cards this year than last as this time I am dealing with about 190 cards and last year I rarely had more than 30 or 40 cards to trade with. But I love the trading aspect and attempting to make the 80's, 90's, and 00's cards disappear as I add more pre-80's and try to grab some older HOF'ers.



Although my codes resulted in nothing terribly memorable other than a few 2011 die-cuts, I've been able to make many trades and over time acquire two 1952 Topps cards as well as some HOF'ers, vintage, and lots of Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays.

With all of the annoyances in the hockey card hobby lately (Upper Deck trying to battle the internet and Panini using far too many redemptions), it's nice to get back to the simpler days and have some fun.

The Return of Hockey Cards

With the release of 2009-10 Upper Deck The Cup last week, I can now focus on the 2010-11 hockey card season. Although 2010-11 UD Victory has been released, it just isn't a new season until the final release of the previous season has hit the shelves. Technically, I could be wrong though as In The Game's 10th Edition of Ultimate could very well be listed as a 2009-10 product as the 9th Edition was stamped 2008-09. It will be released on November 11, 2010.

The big news this season is the return of many forgotten brands thanks to Panini. Although many collectors will never forget Score and Donruss due to over-production issues in the early 1990's, the retro feel will be too good to pass up. I'm really looking forward to 2010-11 Score. In 1990-91, I remember buying boxes for $25 and hoping for an Eric Lindros Future Superstar card. How times have changed.



I've had a great 2009-10 collecting season but I'm looking forward to a new one. John Tavares followed me around this past season but in other years it's been Andrew Alberts (05-06) or Vladimir Mihalik (08-09). Some years you're lucky, others you're not. I've learned to enjoy it regardless. The new rookies, the new designs, and the new products.

As a Habs fan, I'm hoping that PK Subban will follow me around this season... but I won't be terribly disappointed if I see some Edmonton Oilers Young Guns are I flip through my 2010-11 UD Series One.

Now if only they'd stop delaying products... 2010-11 UD Artifacts has already been pushed back to October 26th, 2010. Ugh!

Topps Million Card Giveaway

I'm a hardcore hockey card collector.

However, that doesn't mean that I don't dabble in other sports. I often grab a pack of basketball, football, baseball, UFC, non-sport, etc.

The other day at the local card store, I decided to purchase a few packs (7) of 2010 Topps Series 2 Baseball. Not only was there a chance for a Stephen Strasburg RC (need'em) or a Jason Heyward RC (got'em), but there was a chance for a Topps Million Card Giveaway redemption card.

In my seven packs, I was lucky enough to get two redemption cards. Intrigued by the program, I immediately went to the computer and learned that I was now the proud owner of a 1958 Topps Dick Gray card and a 1976 Cesar Geronimo card.

Two old cards. Two players I've never heard of.



Although he only played for a few seasons, Dick Gray is an interesting character. On April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first home game in Los Angeles against the San Francisco Giants. In this game, Dick became the first Dodger player to hit a home run in the city of Los Angeles. In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Dodgers were on top 5-3. With one out, Gray smacked the first home run off of Johnny Antonelli to put the Dodgers ahead 6-3. His home run in the 7th held off the Giants enough for the Dodgers to win their first game in Los Angeles, 6-5.



A winner of four consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1974-77, Cesar Geronimo was an outstanding defensive center fielder. In his fifteen seasons, Gerónimo batted .258, with 51 home runs, 392 RBI, 977 hits, and 82 stolen bases. He also held the dubious distinction of being the 3,000th strikeout victim of both Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan. "I was just in the right place at the right time," he joked.

Nicknamed "The Rifle", Geronimo was known for his powerful throwing arm. Once after catching a fly out on the center field warning track, he threw the ball home to keep a runner at third base from scoring and the ball went so far on a fly that it went over catcher Johnny Bench’s head. In July 2008 he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

A history lesson thanks to Topps and the Million Card Giveaway.

Negativity

I've stopped reading various blogs lately. There is a lot of negativity these days with sports cards products in general.

Having collected for 30 years, I think I have an opinion which matters even though I may not be one of the big-wigs in the blogosphere. It's rare that I hear how great a product is. More often than not, it's people complaining of a lack of value or poor design or lack of imagination. I like most products, maybe I'm an easy sell.

If you're not enjoying yourself then I think it's time to re-evaluate why you're in the hobby.

I'm in the hobby for fun. It's a great way to pass the time. I read the stats and the backs of cards. I do have a personal collection of some value but cards are in my personal collection due to the card or the player and not the value. I have a Duane Sutter autograph card which means as much to me (and possibly more) than my Mario Lemieux autograph card.

To me, pulling a great card is a bonus... not an expectation. An expensive box is an adventure... not an investment.

I would like to get rid of patch forging and sticker autographs and event-used memorabilia... but I do think that people prospecting for big dollars are just as bad.

Secret Collecting?

As a player collector, you've got a choice.

Do you collect a player in secret? Do you collect a player and let the world know?

I have four player collections. For the most part, I like to keep two of them public and two of them relatively private.

Keeping a player collection private means that other collectors may have less knowledge about a young up-and-coming player. It also means that you don't have to worry as much about someone else holding a card for ransom as they know you really desire it.

On the other hand, keeping a collection private means that you have less help. The card collecting community helps to create a lot of friendships between collectors. When your player is pulled by another collector, the more who know, the more the chance is that you'll get an unsolicited note to help you add another card to your collection.

What do you do? I see the pros and cons... so I play both sides.

National Hockey Card Day

In Canada today, it is not only Hockey Day in Canada, it's also National Hockey Card Day.

As most Canadians know, Hockey Day in Canada means that all six NHL teams face each other in three games. In the afternoon, Ottawa hosts Montreal, in the early evening Toronto plays Vancouver, and later tonight, it's the Battle of Alberta as Calgary faces Edmonton.

A great event has been made better with Upper Deck's recent program called National Hockey Card Day which takes place today as well. Most hobby stores in Canada will hand out free five-card packs to each customer who comes through the door.

After my CrossFit workout today, I headed down to the local card store with my wife and picked up two packs of cards. One for each of us. The store was bustling with activity with lots of collectors, young and old. To go along with our two free packs, I grabbed some supplies and some packs of 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee hockey.

As I sat down at home to watch the Montreal/Ottawa game, we opened our packs. My pack contained Jamie Benn, Steve Yzerman, Vincent Lecavalier, Logan Couture, and Jarome Iginla. My wife's pack was much better. She read out the names of Mike RIchards, Roberto Luongo, Evander Kane, Sidney Crosby, and John Tavares!



Luckily for me, every card that she pulls out of a pack becomes my card and I'm more than happy to add another John Tavares card to my collection.

If you're in Canada, hopefully you made it out for your free pack as well.

Cheers.

The Unwanted

If you're reading this, more than likely, you're a card collector. But what do you do when your collection contains cards which you don't collect?

We all enjoy collecting certain players, teams, and sets. Through trades and eBay it's easy to accumulate a very impressive collection of things we want. However, when we break open packs and boxes, quite often we end up with jersey cards and autographs of players which we don't collect. Sometimes, this is a good thing. You open a pack and you've got a keeper for your personal collection. It's a rare occurrence but it's an awesome feeling.



Unfortunately, more often than not, when we break open boxes, we end up with a lot of cards like these:



The question is... What do I do with these? There are few collectors who collect the no name of the NHL. The odd person needs one of these cards for a certain set and the rare person collects these players. But no one bids on these cards on eBay. No one wants these cards in trade. Do kids even want these players? They sit in a shoebox in your collectibles room and they take up space. So what do you do with these cards? As a collector it's impossible to throw them away. What do you do?

Thoughts?

Merry Xmas to Me!

There is nothing better than posting a card on eBay for auction and lucking into two collectors who start a bidding war. Most collectors rarely experience this. I have to say that I've never been a recipient of this luck either. Until last week that is!

About three years ago, I purchased a few boxes of 2006-07 UD Parkhurst Hockey. It was a really fun product with 4 hard-signed autographs in each box. The product contained many Hall of Famers, hockey personalities, coaches, enforcers, and team captains. It's one of my favourite products of the decade. As with most autographed cards, I enjoyed them, put them in plastic holders and hid them away in a box.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that one of the autos from the 06-07 Parkhurst set went for almost $300US. It was an Al MacInnis autograph which only booked for about $40. I checked out my cards from the Parkhurst auto set and noticed that the Denis Savard 'Captains' autograph card booked for $100. I thought I'd take a chance, put it up for auction, and cross my fingers.



Early on, interest in the card was minimal and I figured that I wasn't going to luck into the same good fortune as the MacInnis card owner. Other autograph cards from the set were selling in the $15 to $40 range and I figured that would be my Denis Savard card's fate as well... that is, until the final day or so.

I assume two set collectors were trying to put together the complete autograph set and both of them needed this card. I haven't followed the set but I have to assume that the Savard card was relatively rare although even though it books for $100, it wasn't listed as a short-print. Regardless, a bidding war happened! And I was the lucky recipient of $338US! A great moment for me. And a great chance to brag to people who chuckle when they learn I collect hockey cards.

As they always say, a card is only worth what someone will pay for it... and you just never know what you have in your collection! Good luck to the rest of you. Here's hoping you have the same fate as I did.

Collections

What starts a collection?
What ends a collection?

I've collected sports cards for 30 years. That's crazy when I think about it. Through those years I've always collected Montreal Canadiens. I've also collected sets and certain players. Some times the choice seems clear and obvious. Other times the reasons are random or unexpected.

As I mentioned, I've always collected Montreal cards. I have well over 10,000 cards featuring various Habs through the years. I never focused on a player until the mid-90's when I started putting more effort into a young Finnish player named Saku Koivu. I first saw him compete at the World Championships in 1993 and I was hooked. Over the years I collected as much of Koivu as I could but being the brightest star on a historic team meant numerous cards made each year. It became overwhelming. Last time I checked there were well over 2,000 Saku Koivu cards. It's probably higher now. The fact that I had about 450 seemed almost miniscule by comparison. I continued to collect his cards but in smaller numbers. Then the unimaginable happened... he did not re-sign with Montreal and became a Duck. Although I'll always be a fan and I'll continue to grab his older Montreal cards, I could never continue that collection on to another team.



In the effort to find another Montreal Canadien who was easier to collect than Koivu, I decided a few years ago to collect Andrei Markov. The best thing about Markov, in these days of numerous rookie cards from various sets, was that he only had one rookie card from 1996-97 UD Ice. He was also an unsung talent who had many fewer cards to collect. When I started my Markov collection, his rookie card was 10 years old but he still had barely more than 100 cards in the hobby. Talent rises and soon Markov became an all-star... then a two-time all-star... and gradually the face of the team. Now he is becoming a fixture in most sets. It's nice having more cards to collect but it's also more expensive and the chase is more difficult. But that's why I collect. For the adventure you find while searching for a treasure.



I have two other player collections... maybe I'll talk about them another time.

Patiently Waiting

2009-10 UD NHL Artifacts is now live. I bought a box and received it today. Unfortunately, it will have to sit unopened for the next few weeks. I'll also accumulate a few boxes of UD 09-10 NHL Series 1 in a few weeks as well as one box of ITG Ultimate 9th Edition and one box of '1972 - The Year In Hockey'. These will all be packed into my suitcase and shipped up to the Sport Card Expo in Toronto on November 13th -15th.

For those who don't know, In The Game and Upper Deck both have booths at the Expo. They don't sell product there, but during the Expo, you can line-up at the booths and when you get to the table, you open your box of cards. When finished, the company representatives will take your wrappers and you will randomly receive a short-printed card made especially for the weekend. Some times it's an autograph, other times it's memorabilia. You can usually open one box per day at the booths.

I was especially lucky at the Upper Deck booth last year and received these cards on Friday and Saturday:


It's a great bonus for those who can make it to the Expo. It's great for the dealers too as it encourages more product to be sold and busted. I'm not 100% sure on the products which can be broken at the Expo as ITG has released their list but Upper Deck has not so I'm taking a guess on the Artifacts and the UD Series 1. Regardless, these boxes will be busted in a few weeks... free cards or not.

"Hey, I heard you collect hockey cards..."

Recently, while a group of people that I work-out with were out for lunch, one of the guys leaned over and said "Hey, I heard you collect hockey cards." Now I used to get my hopes up when I heard this statement. In the past, I would imagine finding a new hobby friend and someone to discuss the new releases and our old treasures. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10 this just isn't the case.

My response has become standard now. "Oh yeah, cool. When did you collect?" Almost without exception, the response is, "In the early '90's." Then my heart sinks. I know that they're going to say that they've got all the good players and that they were curious what kind of value they have and where they might be able to sell them. It's my unfortunate job to tell them the facts and the hard truths.



As many of the collectors know, it's almost impossible to move cards from the early 1990's. Over-production by most of the manufacturers created a lot of short-term collectors and far too many cards to make any of them worth very much now. It's unfortunate that if you collected before 1990 and after 2000, things were pretty good. It was that darn decade in the middle.

It really challenges the pride I have in my collection and my hobby. So many of the early 1990's collectors learn that their collection is almost worthless so they assume that everything that I collect is without value too. And it makes it very hard to get them interested again. Corporate greed corrupted a potential generation of collectors. The hobby will always survive but it makes you wonder if it will ever really thrive again.

Here's a tip - Toss those cards into a shoebox and sell them for a low price at a flea market or yard sale... or just give a few thousand cards to the neighbour's kids. It's a chance to create interest, rebuild the hobby, and show that the collectors are the real good guys. :)

Fall Sports Card Expo 2009 - Toronto

This year the National Sportcard and Memorabilia Expo will take place in Toronto, Ontario on November 13, 14, and 15, 2009. The highlights this year will include autograph guests Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux. Their autograph prices are expensive but they are two of the greatest NHL players ever. I had the honour of meeting Gordie Howe and getting his autograph at a previous Expo and I still consider it one of my most memorable experiences.

With hundreds of tables of autographs, jersey cards, inserts, and hard-to find items, the Expo is a must-see. Every sport is represented and lots of non-sport items and odd-ball items that you rarely see are there as well.

For more information, please visit

Destroy a Card!

Seriously. Do it.

It doesn't matter if it's valuable or not (preferably one that is not valuable) :)

Just take that Mike Knuble OPC card from 2007-08 or that Benoit Brunet UD card from 1992-93 and crumple it up or tear it in half.



Too often, as collectors, we're consumed by carefully handling each card and placing it within plastic. We lose sight that it is a hobby, it's fun, and it's only cardboard. It's a weird feeling... but it's one that a lot of us really need to do.

Branching Off - Annoyances

I've always been a collector of sports cards. Well, ever since I was six years old. So that makes thirty years of card collecting. It's always been 99.5% sports cards too. But lately I've been making a foray into non-sports cards. I've bought a little here and there over the years, a TV show I'm a fan of here and a cool movie there. But lately I've noticed some hard-signed autos of actors and actresses that I'm a fan of and thought, what the heck.

Now, I'm not a fan of the sticker autographs. I never use to care either way but over the past few years they just seem more and more impersonal. The companies could take those damn autographed stickers and put them on anything... and what happens in 10 years time... or 20 years time when the sticker becomes less sticky. So I've limited myself to hard-signed autos. But my other pet peeve so far seems a little more random. I find that dealers on eBay who sell non-sports cards send the cards they've sold in a very slow fashion. When I win a sports card on eBay, 9 times out of 10, the card is in the mail the next day and in my hands within about 5 days. With non-sports cards, 9 times out of 10, the card takes about 3 weeks to get in my hands.

An extreme example happened recently. I won two non-sports autographed cards on eBay on July 20th from the same seller. 12 working days passed and I still had not rec'd the cards. The next day I rec'd an email telling me that "Congratulations! Your cards have been shipped." Shipped!?!? It took him 12 working days, not including the weekend, to put two cards in plastic holders, toss them in an envelope, and send them off. Yikes! This is an extreme example but I must say my other dealings with non-sports eBayers aren't all that different.

In the end, I still want the cards. I'm a collector... it's what I do. And I'll always be a patient man if it gets me what I want. However, it doesn't mean I can't be a tad annoyed at the service. Luckily, they're not relying on tips.

Sports Card Expo - Next Weekend

I will be attending my 4th consecutive Sports Card Expo in Toronto next weekend, May 1st-3rd. Today, I ordered an In The Game Ultimate 8 SuperBox from ITG Online which I will pick-up at their booth and break. Not only will it be an exciting break with the potential for personal collection-worthy cards, I will also get 3 redemption cards, one of which will be a 1/1.

I've been squirreling away money for the past six months so I'll have quite a few box breaks upcoming. It's always fun to be able to buy the boxes which you wouldn't normally buy. It's Hockey Card Heaven and you're surrounded by similar minded geeks. :) The hot pursuit of the 'whale' you need to spear for your collection. Chatting with experienced dealers and kids who are stunned by the sights. So many cards, so many boxes, so many cool things.

This year, the autograph guests include Jean Beliveau, Denis Savard, Pavel Bure, Al MacInnis, Paul Molitor, Justin Pogge, etc.

Six days away!