I purchased two boxes of Panini Triple Play from Dave and Adam's Card World's Black Friday sale and I wanted to share the box break with my readers.

Here are the results:

Base Set: 65/90 (72.2%)

Puzzle Cards: 48/144 (33.3%)

Focus: 12/30 (40%)

Baseball 101: 4/8 (50%)

Hall of Fame: 2/12 (16.7%)

When I Was A Kid: 2/10 (20%)

Real Feel: 1/6 (16.7%)

Eye Blacks: 4/6 (66.7%)

Tattoos: 5/5 (1 extra) (100%) 

Stickers: 6/30 (18 doubles!!!!) (20%)

Hat's off to Panini for mastering the art of a card product that is designed for younger collectors but still a LOT of fun to break for adults.  I love the pictures on the cards, they are a cool representation of the player and help to overcome the lack of team logos on player photos (downside of other Panini products).  The tattoos and eye blacks are awesome and really play into the products younger collector focus, but I will DEFINITELY be wearing my eye blacks and tattoos even though I'm 33 years old.

Now the downsides: After two boxes, I still need 23 base cards to complete the set so I'm a little disappointed with the collation of the overall product.  The base set is 90 cards and I would think it should be completed within two sets.  The sticker collation is pretty bad, 18 doubles in my first box and a similar situation occurred in the second box.

Tomorrow's blog post: 2012 Panini Cooperstown Box Break!

I purchased a box of 2012 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball from Dave and Adam's Card World over the Black Friday weekend, and I wanted to share my box break with all of my readers.

Here are the results:

Base Set: 197/200 (98.5%) 

4 SP Cards: 207, 216, 218, 224

Prospect Performers: 6 cards

Black Border (#/96): #23 Tyler Austin, #97 Travis Shaw, #187 David Vidal

Autographs: #ROA-JG Jonathan Galvez, #ROA-KW Kolten Wong

Clubhouse Collection Relic: #CCR-BM Brad Miller

Overall, it's the type of product that I would expect from the Heritage line.  There are not a ton of inserts, but the minor league players featured on a vintage Topps design is pretty cool.  These would be great cards for TTM autograph seekers, as the Heritage cardboard stock is perfect for signatures.  I'm three cards away from a base set, which is pretty cool for someone who likes to put together complete sets.  The SPs and Variations will be tough to find if I choose to chase them.  I really enjoyed the break but I can say that it's not for everyone.  

LOTS of other breaks coming up, so stay tuned to the site for more updates!

I hope that all of my readers had an opportunity to enjoy Thanksgiving with their loved ones.  In addition, I hope that all of you took advantage of the great Black Friday deals that were spread across the collecting universe!

Here's my personal Black Friday Weekend recap, based off of my own research, purchases and opinions, so take it for what it is and feel free to leave comments if you agree/disagree.

Baseball Card Exchange (bbcexchange.com): 
1991 Leaf Series 1 
1991 Leaf Series 2
1992 Leaf Series 1
1992 Upper Deck High Series
1993 Leaf Series 1
1993 Leaf Series 2
1994 Pinnacle Series 2
1991 Pro Line Portraits Football
1992 Upper Deck Series 1 (2x)

This was my first purchase from Baseball Card Exchange and I couldn't have been happier with their Black Friday deal.  The deal was 10% off your order and free S&H up to $40.  The site has a TON of great low priced "junk" wax and I had been dying to place an order.  Unfortunately, the low priced stuff adds up in S&H costs pretty quick because you can get a lot of boxes for a small amount of money.  I was finally able to place an order, and despite some website limitations, it was a smooth experience and I'd strongly recommend the site!

Dave and Adam's Card World (dacardworld.com):
2012 Panini Triple Play (2x)
2012 Topps Heritage Minor League
2012 Topps Heritage Retail 
2012 Panini Cooperstown
2012 Leaf The Living Legend Pete Rose

Dave and Adam's Card World is my personal online dealer of choice.  I love their free items and their prices are often some of the best online.  In addition, Brian Benson is always responsive to my questions/concerns/issues.  The Black Friday deal lasted 3 days and had great offers that would pop up with a limited supply over the course of the three days.  While the deals were GREAT, the length of time of the overall sale made it difficult to purchase all of the items you were looking for as there was no combined shipping for multiple orders.  I missed out on a few deals as a result, but I'm pleased with my final order and the cost associated with it.

Day 2 of the GBSCC Sports Card Show as jam packed full of fun!  I arrived at the show early to get a prime parking spot right by the entrance, and this allowed me to make a few trips out to my car to drop off purchases and pick up the items that I'd be getting autographed by a few of the signers.

My first purchase was a copy of the June 22, 1970 Sports Illustrated with Tony Conigliaro on the cover.  A MUST OWN for any fan of the Boston Red Sox.  I also picked up one of the 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter People of the Bible cards that I needed for my set.  Other purchases included two sets of LOST trading cards ($5 each), three boxes of 1991 Upper Deck FB Low Series ($12 for the 3 boxes) and I was thisclose to purchasing a PSA Authenticated autographed Dick Perez Mickey Mantle Postcard.  I was really bummed out about losing out on the Mantle and it negatively impacted my spending the rest of the show.

I purchased autograph tickets for Jake LaMotta (with a Raging Bull 8x10 to sign), Cecil Cooper, Fred Lynn and Pedro Martinez.  I had a 2004 WS baseball to use for Pedro's autograph, and it would be added to existing autographs from Curt Schilling (with a Reverse The Curse inscription), Johnny Pesky (with a Mr. Red Sox inscription) and Mike Timlin.  I decided to purchase a Fenway 100 years baseball for the Cecil Cooper and Fred Lynn autographs.  I thought the Fenway 100 years ball would be a great item to collect random former Red Sox players autographs on.  All of the signers were great and very friendly!  Pedro has such an amazing personality and literally lit up the room when he walked in with a huge smile on his face.  Mike Josselyn and the team at Sure Shot Promotions did a fantastic job and continue to raise the bar every year with their performance!

All in all, another outstanding show put on by GBSCC and Sure Shot Promotions!

Today was the first day of the Greater Boston Sports Collectors Club's Card Show at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, MA.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the show until a little before 5pm (show ended today at 7pm).  The good part about my late arrival is that the crowd was very light, so I decided to focus on hitting the common boxes in the hope of completing some sets.

The first box that I looked through contained a bunch of stuff from various years.  I was lucky enough to find 11 cards that I needed for my 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter set in a 10 cent box, and the seller was kind enough to accept an even $1 for the 11 cards.  A different table had a TON of 2012 Topps Update singles/commons for sale, so I put a significant dent in my want list for that set at that table.

Overall, it was a great first day.  I only spent one hour at the show, but I was wearing one of the t-shirts that I designed for the show to help promote my site.  One of the members of the GBSCC who designs the monthly newsletter saw my shirt and told me that he reads the site!  I was so flattered to know that there are people out there that actually read my blog and view the site.  

I'll try to post an update after my time at the show tomorrow.  It's a big day, time to get some rest!  If you spot me at the show tomorrow, introduce yourself and say hello!