Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The list keeps building, today's add is a Blue Wave Refractor Ed Reed...


Just as a spoiler, I probably have 2 weeks worth or so more of 1-a-day card additions left out of the Blue Wave Refractor set. Then it's on to Ebay to see if I can get more lots, or even better yet, more autographs from this really cool set. This card I happen to like although you have to admit it's kind of strange to see Ed Reed out of a Ravens uniform. Seemed like the Ravens knew what they were doing when they let him go as Reed really struggled with Houston last year. It was fun seeing him back in his heyday making huge hits and tackles and returning punts, interceptions and basically being a great part of that dominant Ravens defense over the last decade.

It's warming up here in Denver, almost up to 90 today. I work pretty close to Dove Valley, the Broncos training facility and it's fun seeing their new indoor practice facility being built. They were using a city run building in years past but it was woefully inadequate and poorly lit. This will be a great place to practice when we get the occasional May snow storm (yes we had one this month) or the thunderstorm that makes it dangerous to run plays outside. If I get a chance I'll try to throw some pictures up...

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

9 more cards added to my collection, has it been that long?










All these beauties I've added to my collection over the last nine days. To me since I'm doing the set they are all equally valuable but the Zac Stacy is probably the hottest one for collectors right now because of his great rookie campaign with over 1000 yards rushing and not even starting all of the games for the Rams. The Tavon Austin should generate a little more interest on the secondary market but as of right now we're really seeing a sag for 2013 cards. 2014 is ramping up with nice previews for 2014 score shown to collectors today.

The best photo of the bunch has to be the Matt Ryan. There was nothing hotter than his cards in 2008 and he's still a great player. Demand is much lower now because of the Falcons poor season last year but I still think he's an elite QB, he could even be on par with Manning or Brady in the next five years. Flacco on the other hand (same rookie year) and also has been self-proclaimed as "Elite" I don't see this happening.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

AJ Green Refractor Add


My 51st addition to the 2013 Topps Chrome Blue Wave refractor set is #213 AJ Green for the Bengals. One of the guys from the 2011 class that's actually living up to his college hype is this guy. Over 1000 yards receiving in all three years of the league and 2013 was his best statistical season yet. Kind of amazing and yet he didn't get near the fan fare that Peter Warrick out of FSU in 2000 got. Just continues to produce and seems to be somewhat of an undervalued player. I'm sure it has something to do with the position (WR usually don't get much hobby love outside Wes Welker and former players like Randy Moss) and the city he plays in. If the Bengals won a playoff game I'm sure this all would change.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Another three Blue Waves to add, Michael Sam musings




As the days go by I've been lucky enough to reach my 50th card in record times. Ebay lots really are the way to go for sets because otherwise I would have had to opened 50 perfectly collated boxes to get 50 different rookies and vets so far. This might work for a master set collector but not for one set. My favorite one here is the wily veteran  Frank Gore who keeps amassing yardage and touchdowns without gaining much national attention. He's a fantasy standout and I'm pretty sure he'll make it to the Hall of Fame based on his output, numbers and longevity.

I am a life-long watcher of Bill Maher and if this pegs me as a liberal than you're probably right. Bill brought up some good points about how far Sam slid in the draft and I'd have to agree. I was pretty surprised that he went in the seventh round when he could easily have been picked up in the 4th round on down. To go that far down makes me think that NFL teams are hesitant to take on this issue regardless of how good it has to make them look to have been the first team to have picked a gay player. Take a look at this clip of Maher chatting it up with SNL star Kevin Nealon about this and other current events (Donald Sterling) in sports.


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

47th card out of the Blue Wave Refractor set is down, 233 more to go.


As you may have figured by now this set is pretty daunting but I'm about 16 % of the way through it. This card is pretty sweet and although I'm still bitter about the Broncos loss this is a great card of a spectacular defensive player. A rookie in 2010 he's already been to 2 pro bowls so here's a rare player that actually lived up to the hype. Defensive players don't get much love anymore unless your name is J.J. Watt or that other Seahawks guy Richard Sherman. The most this card has gone for is 4.00 on Ebay. I'd say the main drive for refractors is people putting together rainbow sets and I doubt many people are trying to put the whole set together like me.

Out of curiosity I looked on Ebay to see what some of the best selling Earl Thomas cards were and this was the card that showed up with a BIN of 399.00 (and it looks like that was the actual offer accepted).


With all the high end products it's amazing that the top card was not a Five Star, an Exquisite or even a Contenders but a card you could get out of a mid-priced box like Topps Chrome. Other companies should take heed...


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Every Player has their collectors....


While this card only averages in at 4.00 including shipping on Ebay I always like to look at the highest amount gotten from the "Sold" section to see what the cards were and how much they went for. I also like to look and see what the most expensive card available right now is. Many times you'll find sellers at the top of the spectrum asking insane prices for their cards. The highest one isn't too terribly out of whack although it comes in much higher than any sold cards of his in the last few months.

Here's the link to the auction = Shawn-Williams-Rookie-Autograph-Bengals

As I said, I don't think it's a terrible price considering that it's numbered to 10 and it's autographed. I personally wouldn't spend that much but you might have a die hard Bengals fan or a set collector that needs this particular card. All it takes is one person out of millions of collectors to pull the trigger. If it's one thing I've learned from the Beckett boards, every player has their collectors and what you might discount or think is not that important in your box breaks or lot purchases might be very important to someone else. Hang on to those singles cause you just never know!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Getting a mini rainbow going of this guy! I also have a box Break video of 2013 Topps Five Star for your Viewing Pleasure!


All jokes aside my mini rainbow so far only consists of David Amerson's base rookie and now this Blue wave refractor. This is number 66 in the set and now takes me up to 45 of these refractors. I also won another autograph yesterday, this fell into line with my "buy any card you can for ten dollars" rule and you have to be surprised any time you can get one for this cheap.

I've got a little treat for you guys, here was my break at Mike's Stadium Sports Cards. I was super excited to break this. I think I did pretty well on the box, especially with the book. Let me know what you guys think in the comments section....

2013 Topps Five Star NFL Box Break


Sunday, May 11, 2014


Here's another Rookie addition to my 2013 Topps Chrome Blue Wave Refractor Set. We're getting almost up to 20% of the set and great progress so far. I'm still working at getting some of the cheap autographs in as I think this may be the first cards to dry up on the market. There's probably about 80 to 90 autographs on Ebay at any given time. Even the singles that would be seemingly difficult to add like Geno Smith and EJ Manuel are only going from around 8 or 9 dollars delivered for the base cards and anywhere from 50 to 75 for the autographed versions.

One thing I've noticed how tough it is lately for a card to do? Crack the 100 dollar mark on Ebay or any other secondary market. Even cards coming out of 350.00 packs like 5 star? It still takes huge names like Aaron Rogers, Barry Sanders or John Elway to get that much attention. I was looking over some of the huge cards I've gotten over the years and it's very tough for a card to maintain that value as well. None of the supposedly huge cards from 1999 Spx did that. Only one from 2000 Spx has that value (the 2000 Spx Tom Brady). I think that my multicolored Brian Urlacher would crack that mark but generally that card goes for 75 or 80 dollars. None of the cards from my 2008 Spx set are over that 100 dollar mark. The more you look at modern cards the more you have to realize that even forced scarcity (the different colored parrallels) do not mean the card will have long term value. Some of the best modern cards are those featuring autographs or game relics of some of the game's best retired players, not that next "hot" new rookie. 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

It's been a few days but here's some more awesome refractors!






Here are five more of the refractors that I need for my set! I'm now down to 237 cards needed and this is just great progress. Mike's Stadium Sports Cards even helped me out today by getting me four of the Bills cards I needed for the set. (no autographs unfortunately). They also helped me out by having a few boxes of Topps Five Star 2013 football. I went ahead and sprung for one although it's one of the largest single football purchases I've ever made. That being said, I also got some of the best cards for my collection that I currently have and that's saying something since I've been seriously in the collecting game since 1999. Let's just say I got a future hall of famer auto from one of the most popular teams in the NFL as well as one of the most popular running backs, a two sport kind of guy.

I watched the draft this weekend and really enjoyed the first round. Tons of drama, star power and some collecting name stays I'm sure, for years to come. I'm a bit dissapointed that  Manziel went to the Browns because it's obvious how that franchise has chewed up and spit out first round QB prospects. Heck, one of them is in this photo display of cards! Weeden turned out to be a bust in a sea of great QBs in the 2012 draft. I don't know if it's the team around the QB or the choices the organization has made but they've destroyed the careers of Tim Couch, Colt Mccoy, Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden. Here's hoping they don't wreck another one.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Not every day's gonna be as cool as this, a Blue Wave Auto Refractor!


Here's today's spectacular addition, a Blue Wave Refractor Autograph #146 Mike Gillislee numbered 15/50 copies. I've got another one in the works that cannot be added yet, it's a redemption card for Joseph Randle, RB for the Cowboys. My strategy, for now, is to try to win any of these that I can for less than 10.00 each. I believe I can get several of the cards I need for this price. The next tier will be any cards that I can get for 20.00 or less and I think that about half of the set will fall under this category. The key here is to get these cards fairly quickly because of the shortprinted nature of the set. My feeling is the longer I wait, the more difficult it will be to put this set together. Right now the market is being flooded as dealers and collectors are trying to clear inventory for the huge season that will be 2014. Me, I'll be sitting back and doing the opposite as other people; while they are pouncing all over 2014 products I'll be toiling away patiently putting this awesome set together. So far I've made great progress on it.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

,Today's addition, Blue Wave Refractor, Stedman Bailey Rams!


Today's a lazy Sunday which allows me to post this sweet RC card of Stedman Bailey, Rams WR. A solid addition to the receiving corps Bailey hauled in 17 receptions last year for 226 yards.  While this is by no means star production, it does establish him as a good option as a slot receiver for whoever might end up being the Rams QB next year. We're hearing rumblings that highly touted prospect Sam Bradford may not be the final answer the Rams are looking for and I'd have to say I agree. While Bradford has been pretty good when healthy, that's been the issue since he came into the league in 2010. I think the Rams need to at least think about drafting a second or third round QB as an insurance policy in a very deep draft class. If someone can establish themselves as a reliable every game starter  I think the difference between talent and consistency with this team can start to close. Generally this team has been bad over the last 10 years and it all starts with the quarterback position. Even a great RB like Steven Jackson couldn't save this franchise. It's a passing league now and if you don't have a solid lineup behind center you can kiss any playoff aspirations goodbye. 

This is a great card and with an average eBay price of 3 dollars per sale it's a card that anyone can afford. I'd be curious if anyone else was collecting a Topps Chrome 2013 set and if so, which one? The message boards reveal lots of guys doing a "rainbow" set of their favorite player but very few are doing full sets of these refractors.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

You know the drill, three more Topps Chrome Blue Wave Refractors!




All three of these went into my collection over the last three days. I've been pretty busy doing cool stuff like going to a Rockies game, going out with friends, helping people move so haven't been able to post my adds the last few days.

Don't know about any of you guys but I've been watching box breaks for 2013 Topps Five Star and it's amazing some of the cards that come out of these things. While a few boxes might be a disappointment for its 350 + pricetag, most of the cards are amazing. Usually you will get one card that is simply fantastic. Most packs I've seen have a booklet card coming out of them, these will usually have one player or more and have a beautifully designed three jersey piece if it's a single player, or a nice multicolored single window swatch for each player if it is a dual. There are some decent veteran autos coming out of here, of course the one I'd be gunning for is the dual John Elway, Terrell Davis that I saw in the previews. Even the base cards look fit for a king. I'm going to resist the temptation though and keep adding these blue waves to my set until it's complete. 244 cards more to go and I'm making great progress!