Topps Heritage has all of the potential to be the best release each year.  Real cardboard stock, familiar designs, minimal inserts, one series release - a throwback to what set collectors and long-time collectors would want in a product.  But, it's a Topps product so of course they screw it up.  Believe it or not, some people in the hobby still want to build a set.  Key word = build.  Not buy a set without the fun of collecting, not be forced to buy cases upon cases to complete a set but actually buy a reasonable and manageable amount of the product and be able to hand collate a set.  What makes Topps Heritage an impossible set to build?  SHORT PRINTED BASE CARDS!  Not only are they short printed, they are typically the star players in the set.  It's not like Topps said "oh, let's short print the same way we did in the original release".  Why would Topps care about their history?  Instead, Topps says "let's short print the best guys so large case breakers and group breakers can get the most return on their purchase".  

I've put a ton of time, effort and $$ into trying to build the 2012 Topps Heritage set.  This was my first attempt to build a Topps Heritage set, as I was attracted to all of the things mentioned previously - 4 years later, I'm still 19 short prints away from a full set.  Since that point, I said to myself - why even bother with this release?  It is truly "uncollectible".  For some silly reason, I started to feel excitement for the 2016 Heritage release and was looking on eBay/Twitter to see if there were any good deals on base sets (since I knew I'd never be able to afford enough to hand collate).  Then I saw the checklist and the short print cards in this years release include: Kershaw, Ortiz, Harper, Trout, etc.  Pretty much anyone you'd actually be excited about pulling in a pack.  Yet again, Topps caters to the case breakers & re-sellers rather than the collectors.

This exact topic was discussed on Twitter today by a few people I'd consider "collectors".  Here are some snippets from the conversation:

• Re: SPs - "At least knock them down to reasonable amount like 25.  Shouldn't have to buy a case to complete a set.  I won't."
• "I bought a Heritage box every year from 2001-14.  Some years 2 boxes, blasters, looses, etc...Guess how many sets I've completed?  None!"
• "It's a set that is, ironically, uncollectible.  It's not realistic to collect this set as, well, a set."

Given the price point of the product, nostalgic aspect and minimal inserts, Topps is once again flipping the bird to set collectors and, well, collectors by including so many SPs in this years set.

Did you collect basketball cards back in 1991?1991 was a pivotal year for a hobby surge in basketball cards.  Upper Deck launched its first basketball product and the first key marketable rookie was entering the NBA since David Robinson.  Larry Johnson was at a level that Shaq's RC reached, before Shaq was a rookie.  1991 Upper Deck basketball was the first of its kind, and Larry Johnson was coming off an amazing college career that led to crossover into mainstream media.

Larry Johnson would go on to lead a long and successful NBA career, and it was cool to pick up this rookie card in PSA 10 form as it was a HUGE deal when I was a kid collecting cards.  While I've moved away from the NBA a bit, there is still something cool about picking up key NBA RCs from guys I grew up watching and rooting for.

Rik Smits was my boyhood hero.  My parents had attended Marist College and were season ticket holders for the men's college basketball team.  I used to love attending the games and shooting hoops on the court after the game.  Then, they had signed this really tall kid who was very raw but had a ton of promise.  I think I watched almost every home game Rik Smits played in college and met him on a number of occasions.  As a kid who was always the tallest in his class, it was amazing to stand next to a guy who was 7'4".  Rik was always very nice to everyone and spent a ton of time with kids at the summer basketball camps or at other alumni events.

I followed him throughout his NBA career and wanted to add his best rookie card to my collection.  I may have to find a few other cool Smits cards to add to my PC as well.

Sorry for the wait.  Things have been crazy on my end lately, but it doesn't mean I've fallen off the map.  A lot has changed since my last post:

1. I've switched from BVG/BGS to PSA for my graded card needs.
2. I truly enjoyed the Heritage High # release; always enjoyed Heritage, just wish the base sets were smaller & without SPs.
3. I've been selling a TON of digital cards lately, like a LOT of them.
4. Using the digital card sales, and sales from BVG/BGS cards that no longer fit into my defined PC - I've been able to purchase some cool cards for my collection.
5. I'm putting a lot of my PC effort around PSA graded rookie cards, and have vowed to decrease the amount I spend on wax boxes this year.

So, now that we're caught up.  Here is a cool card that I picked up this week via eBay.  I was a huge Chris Mullin fan as a kid, loved the style of his play and he had one of the sweetest jump shots in the game at the time.  

I hope to be more active in 2016, but I said that last year too.
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The newest item for my personal collection has arrived!  After careful consideration, patience and building up a sizable amount of money in my paypal, I've finally added a key rookie card to my collection - the Larry Bird / Magic Johnson rookie card in BVG 8.5.  This has been a key card that I've had my eye on for quite some time, and the final cost was lower than what some of the copies have been selling for recently.  I've been slowly accumulating money from digital card sales, and wanted to really show some patience and wait to buy a bigger item for my collection.  I think this was well worth the wait, and it's in my favorite BVG format - 8.5, which still gets the silver!

What card are YOU saving up for?  Do you think you'll get enough saved to buy it by the end of the year?  What card do you think I'm saving up for next?

I've had some pretty decent luck with winning cool contests on Twitter.  There was the Starlin Castro 1/1 Allen & Ginter card from Topps during the National a few years ago, a Strasburg card (during his peak) from Beckett, the Boggs Autograph...and I recently won a RT contest for a box of Graded Greats Series 2.

If you're not familiar with Graded Greats (@GradedGreats on Twitter), they are self-described on their website as: "As Sports Card Enthusiasts our team has searched the country for a better way to bring the thrill of opening vintage cards and adding great graded cards to the process."  I remember seeing their posts during the Series 1 release, and began to see information about their Series 2 release when I did the RT contest to win a box.  Being a fan of graded cards (mostly BVG/BGS), I took a keen interest but also was a bit hesitant as they are not your typical brand name (i.e. Topps, Panini, Leaf, etc.). Winning this contest gave me a great opportunity to test out the product for myself and get more comfortable with the release.

Series 2 promised ONE graded rookie card of a HOF'er, plus 2 additional graded vintage cards and 1 vintage pack.  Here is the outcome of my box:

1st pack: '87D pack, '89B pack and an '84F pack (pretty cool RC classes: Mattingly, Strawberry, Griffey Jr., Maddux, Bo Jackson, etc.)

2nd pack: '89B pack, '87F pack and a '65T Mantle's Clutch HR card (my 1st vintage Mickey Mantle card - EVER!)

3rd pack: PSA 10 '88F Glossy Eddie Murray (sending this out to my buddy Matt on Twitter, @mattduck21 - HUGE Eddie Murray fan)

4th pack: PSA 9 '85OPC Rod Carew

5th pack: BVG 6 '74T Joe Morgan

6th pack: BVG 6.5 '78T Eddie Murray RC (also sending out to Matt, he'll give it a good home)

All in all, their normal retail price is $59 per box and I'd say I definitely got the value from it.  This is an AWESOME product if you're a graded card collector (key word = collector).  This is not a BIG, MOJO hit repack product like that company that was around a year or two ago and we haven't heard from since (:: cough, Heroes of Sports, cough ::).  This product seems built for collectors by collectors.  

I may give their product a try in the near future - the framework of their Series 3 release seems cool, as there is a 1:10 box chance at some pretty cool vintage cards that are currently at PSA for grading.  This is a great step forward in being more transparent about what hits / cards can be found in their product - which I think is always the biggest concern with repack companies.  Personally, I feel like the more you know about what may be IN your box, the more likely you are to buy.

Here's the link to Graded Greats if you have an interest: http://www.gradedgreats.com

My #WalletCard runs on Dunkin Donuts!

2014 Topps Tek was one of the hottest releases in 2014, and the cards were highly sought after by collectors at the time of release. I've tried to narrow my collecting focus, so purchasing a box just didn't make sense to me. A box of 2014 Topps Tek yields 8 cards, one of which will be an autograph, another will be a base parallel #'d to 99 or less. A box of 2014 Topps Tek is priced in D&A Card World for $72.95, and your autograph can range anywhere from a dollar bin scrub (highly likely) to a vintage or current superstar (much less likely).

After looking at the checklist, there were three PC guys that I collect (Pedroia, Garciaparra & Griffey Jr.) and a few other Boston Red Sox players in the set. Rather than risking $65-$75 on a box where I probably would get (at most) one card I'd want for my PC, I decided to take my $70 and see what i could get if I built my own custom "box" of Tek cards.

How did I do on my "box"? I have spent $63.06 so far ($8.75 of which is S&H), and here are the cards I've gotten:

Dustin Pedroia: Shattered Glass Base, Spiral Base, Gold Diffractor (#/99), Disco Diffractor (#/50) and Cloud Diffractor (#/25)

Ken Griffey Jr.: Spiral Base and Wave Base

Mike Napoli: Wave Base and Autograph

Nomar Garciaparra: Wave Base, Cracked Ice Diffractor (#/75), Tektonics Insert (#/50) and Autograph

I'm not a fan of doing "year in review" during the year you're looking to review, but I wanted to share my "Top 5" list of items that I added to my PC in 2014.  These are presented in no particular order:

1. BVG 8.5 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC

This one hit a few of my PC areas: Graded + Vintage + Rookie Card (especially 8.5's).  This is the first (in reverse order) of the key vintage HOF Rookie Cards and such an iconic card.  I'm psyched to add it to my collection, and you can re-live the addition via the original blog that I wrote about when I acquired it (Newest BVG Graded RC for my PC).

2. PSA 10 1993 Stadium Club 1st Day Issue Mike Greenwell

Again, this one hit a few of my PC areas: Graded + Red Sox + '90s Insert (bonus points for a PSA 10, would prefer a BGS 9.5).  I honestly can't believe that I own a 1993 Stadium Club 1st Day Issue - do you realize how insanely rare & expensive these cards were back in 1993??  Unreal, and again, you can relieve my acquisition via the blog post I made at the time (I've Never Owned One Before, So...).

3. BVG 5 1933 Goudey Rick Ferrell RC

Another great card that hit a few PC areas: Graded + Vintage + Red Sox + Rookie Card.  Pretty awesome addition, my oldest vintage graded card in my PC and one of the pillar Red Sox rookie cards.  Not a ton of these graded by BVG, so a BVG 5 is not too bad - only one 5.5 and one 6 graded above it by BVG and odds are I was never going to see either of those in my lifetime.  I'm super happy with the 5, it's beautiful and easily one of the top five PC cards that I added this year.

4. 2001 Greats of the Game Autograph #88 Hoyt Wilhelm

This one was a personal PC goal for me, getting an autograph of Hoyt Wilhelm.  You're probably wondering what the significance of Hoyt Wilhelm is, considering he's not a Red Sox player.  As a kid, my dad's nickname was Hoyt, after Hoyt Wilhelm.  He was one of his favorite players as a kid and my dad was always supportive of my collecting habit, even though he wasn't a collector himself.  As a result, I've had a little side PC of Hoyt Wilhelm cards that I've been slowly accumulating.  I'm not organized or keep a list of what I need, but I try to pick up his cards when I can find them on the cheap.

5. 2011 Topps Allen and Ginter Autograph #PGA Peter Gammons

I've been wanting to get a Peter Gammons autograph for awhile now.  He's one of my favorite baseball writers, a prominent figure in Boston sports and just seems like a cool, nice guy.  Plus, I'm a fan of the Allen and Ginter brand and the framed autographs are typically in great condition and grade well, so maybe some day I'll submit this to BGS for it's BGS 9.5 grade! :)

Well, those are my top five - what were you favorite PC additions to your collection in 2015!