A Violation of Common Sense

BEFORE I BEGIN: I am currently working on my "What I Collect" post for Night Owl's Blog Bat Around. It's taking me a bit longer than I anticipated (because my dissertation is ruining my life, as I have mentioned previously). I promise it will be published this week! Now, on to today's regularly-scheduled post...

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I'm really growing to love the Trading Card Database. It is a fountain of cardboard information and even facilitates trading with new people. This is great...until it isn't.

I recently completed a trade with a user that would net me the Adrian Beltre Players Weekend manufactured patch. I know, just last week I complained about these cards. Still, this is a card featuring a Ranger and I collect cards featuring Rangers, so you do the math. Full disclosure: I sent only four insert cards to the other person (who proposed the trade), so this "problem" wasn't a big deal. 

Fast forward to the day that I received the card. The other person sent the card in a PWE. Not a problem, but it is a relative thick card. So long as he put it in a toploader, the card should have made its way to me safe.

But it didn't. 

Turns out that the other trader doesn't really care about packaging, as he just threw the card in a team bag and then an envelope. No penny sleeve, no toploader. When it arrived, it had a vertical crease down the middle.

The crease isn't visible in the scan, but it's there.

This really bothered me. It still does. However, I decided not to say anything about it to the other trader. I felt that the card was essentially free so I shouldn't complain. Now I'm kicking myself because it is definitely outside of the acceptable timeframe to complain.

Still, it's a violation of basic common sense that anything sent in a PWE will go through an automated sorter, meaning that extra thick cards are at serious risk for damage. I wonder if he even felt the slightest built guilty when he received the bubble mailer from me that had each card in a penny sleeve and top loader. Doubtful.

Am I making too much of this?

So, 2018 Topps Heritage Is Here

I am going to break chronological order and talk about Heritage before I talk about my foray into '18 Topps Series 1. Heritage is my favorite release every year, so I want to go ahead and talk about it while it's fresh.

Last year, Heritage was really kind to me. In short, this year was not so kind.

I purchased two hobby boxes the day Heritage released. Here are the cards of interest:

The biggest pull of two boxes had to be this nickname variation of Francisco Lindor. The fact that this was the biggest pull should tell you something. 

Both boxes contained a base relic as the "hit."

And that's the extent of my '18 Heritage adventure. No other variations, no parallels, nothing. In short, it may be the single most disappointing break that I have had lately. 

To make things worse, the second box I opened essentially had the same cards in it. In fact, outside of the short prints, there were only 12 unique cards in the second box that I didn't pull in the first. It was absolutely awful.

I'm working on getting my needs list posted on The Trading Card Database. Hopefully, it will be accomplished by the end of the weekend. I'll also post the cards I have available for trade. I'm going to be transitioning all of my tradebait and wantlists to that site to keep everything organized. 

I hope everyone is well!

All of You are Good People

First, I must say "thank you" to those that offered kind words and words of support after my last post. I was and still am in the dumps about the whole ordeal, but after your comments and watching one of my best friends defend his dissertation and becoming an "official doctor" today, I'm inspired to get back to the grind. Sometimes, people are just obstacles that need to be hurdled, so that's how I will treat my committee. (I think that sounds worse than I intended, but oh well)

Beyond the nice words, I've come to learn that cardboard bloggers/collectors are also some very, very generous people. For example, Kin Kinsley - the man behind the blog I Feel Like A Collector Again and the @beansballcards - sent me a bubble mailer full of great oddballs!

I know what you're saying, "These are scans of oddballs!" Oh, but they are! What you can't tell from the scans is that these are 5" x 7" cards! 

Clearly, the Greer falls nicely into my PC of the player. The Gonzo and Pudge are also welcomed additions!

Not seen in the scans are Topps Chipz Kin sent, along with a few other minis and PC cards that I excitedly logged into my collection on Trading Card Database and put away into their new home. All of these additions were a surprise that came at a time when I needed an awesome pick-me-up! Thanks a ton, Kin!

TCDB Trade #2

I recently completed my second trade via The Trading Card Database. Another was interested in a couple of Cardinal parallels that I had and made a really good offer for them, so I jumped. Here's what I received in return:

The first three cards were on my Yu Darvish wantlist. The top card is an amethyst parallel (can't we just say purple?) from 2013 Topps Triple Threads. I really like the Triple Play card. I think Panini does a great job creating cards that are designed (and priced) for kid collectors. It seems that outside of one or two lines, Topps forgot that kids can't afford $100 for a box of cards. Finally, the third card is my first card of Darvish "featured" in a Dodgers uniform. Without logos, I use "featured" loosely. Regardless, I don't like to see/think of the big guy in a uniform that doesn't read "Texas" across the chest.

The final two cards I received were for my Rusty Greer PC.

The top card comes from 2001 Fleer Triple Crown. The second is from 1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars. 

Here's to hoping I can begin to swing more trades on TCDB!

Looking Ahead to 2018

Now that I've put a bow on 2017, it's time to look ahead to 2018.

This post will be much shorter than my last.

The reality is this: my only goal for 2018 is to enjoy collecting. Whatever brings me enjoyment will be the path I follow. As I was mentioning in the last post, setting goals - at least for me - made collecting less enjoyable because I felt like I had to do certain things.

There are a couple things that I hope to do, however. First and foremost, I want to build the 2018 Heritage set (including High Number). I've got every Heritage base set dating back to 2013 (those high-numbered short prints can be a pain in the butt to gather!) and the High Number sets from 2016 and 2017 (though I think I also have 2015 somewhere, I just need to find it).

I would also like to keep getting my collection organized in the Trading Card Database. This has been an incredibly useful tool for me recently, and I hope to get everything put in by the end of the year. I crave organization!

So there it is: my 2018 non-resolutions!