This week:
This past week has been hectic to say the least. Between work and some medical information about my dog, it was a rough one. I did get a four-day weekend though. Friday was Chrome day, Saturday and Sunday saw the landlord out working on the exterior of the house and Monday I sorted cards all day and tried to catch up on stuff for my MFA program.
Doodle aka Kenzie aka the dog, has cancer and Addison’s disease. The upside is that she’s not showing any signs of discomfort or pain. Still acting normal and still food centric. We are watching and doing what we can to keep it that way. Still, it’s hard to put that thought out of your mind that these things are hiding there just waiting… Trying to stay positive and hope for a few more years.
With all of this in mind, if I owe you a trade or some info or money, be patient… I’m getting there.
Card Updates:
The total number of cards added since last update: 4,107 added to the collection in TCDB.
Total number of New Cities, States and Countries: 7 new cities. 1 new state.
Sets that were completed: 0 (That I know of. Haven’t cataloged everything yet.)
Highlights:
I could detail every highlight, but if you check my Twitter, you will see these there. With that said, some pics… I will say I finally got the unedited Billy Ripken and a 1951 Bowman Yogi Berra.
Thank you’s to @DubMentality, @CardsRyans, @Raiderjoe_FO, @gypsyoak, @tapintomac, @lcbarnett21, @Allstarsports09, @lsucks, @WarrenRary, @Card_Buzz, @CardsFromAttic, @joebell1786 for the trades and sales; to the random people on Mercari and eBay; and to my wife, Stef for supporting my hobby!
Thoughts:
Flip life—the “art” of buying a hot product just to flip it on the secondary market to supplement or even replace one’s income.
There are many thoughts on the “flipper” in the hobby. Should it be a thing? Does it hurt the hobby? Are the dudes scavenging your local Target all horrible?
The answer (in my humble opinion) is both Yes and No…
The upside: Flipping during the pandemic has increased awareness of the hobby which many could argue was still a dying art form. The flippers are making products available to people who don’t usually get them by posting them on eBay, Mercari, etc. Some of the flippers are long time collectors who are using this to help buy things they need in their own collections.
The downside: Retail has become scarce. For people like me who can’t always afford Hobby, retail is an easy way to get a set going. The lack of retail is excruciating. When a product like Bowman comes out and I can count on no hands how many boxes I’ve seen, then we have an issue. I have also heard that vendors have had to stop putting products out to keep “adults” from fighting over it. Some stores have limited the amount of cards you can buy in one shot to prevent the shelves from emptying as soon as they are stocked. This only works so well. And then there are the people who follow, befriend or pay off vendors.
The Verdict: Am I against the art of flipping? No. If you can make some extra money in these trying times, then why not do it? Do I think the clearing of shelves hurts the hobbyist who has been at this for 30+ years? It does.
There is no easy answer here except to remember what my father said. “There are two types of people in this world—human beings and assholes. Don’t be the latter.”
Oh, and if you’re an LCS that buys up all the local retail and then prices it up to profit, then you’re part of the problem… Leave retail alone—at least during the year it comes out.
Please note: this is not me crying over not getting any Bowman. I have reached out to the amazing hobby community and been more than hooked up. I just think we need to relook at how bad we are killing the community by taking out the most affordable source of cards… Your short term profit shouldn’t ruin the hobby forever. Moderation. Buy a bunch. Make your money. Remember the rest of us that have been doing this for decades.
And quit searching, weighing, etc. If you do that, you’re just the asshole my dad was talking about.
Spotlight:
If you don’t know about Heavy J (@HeavyJ28 on Twitter. www.heavyjstudios.com), then you need to check him out. There are quite a few artists out there taking scissors to cards and making something new, but most don’t having the pricing system Jason does. Forget price per card or shipping—let’s talk donations. That’s right! All cards are priced as a donation to a charity. For instance, Don Mattingly would cost a donation to the Mattingly Charities and so on.
Did I also mention that he’s just an all-around good guy? That man was going to work on a card when I inquired about a spare and he wound up sending me the original because I needed it for my collection! He also sent me a Mattingly (see below) as a thank you for my service. (I did donate anyway. This way everyone wins.)
Check out his website and follow him on twitter. Super nice guy and one hell of a card artist.
Shoutouts:
1)Dr. Levy aka @DrHowardLevy1 is one of the nicest and most generous people I have ever come across in my 36 years of collecting. I met him through @ngtcollectibles Sunday giveaway thread on Twitter. We had talked about Don Mattingly, the military and collecting in general. He offered to send me some Mattingly cards and some other Yankees. (Note that the good doctor is a Phillies fan and detests the Yankees.)
To say that most of my Yankees autograph and relic collection comes from Dr. Levy would be an understatement. He directly elevated the collection. He added more Mattingly relics than I’ve ever seen, a Mattingly autograph, and some legends that I never thought I would own a relic or auto from. (DiMaggio, Maris, Mantle, Ford, Berra, Jackson, Munson, etc.) My mind is blown every time I look at the collection. He also helped fill most of my 75 Topps set. (About ½ done now.)
I tried once to send him something in return and he told me he was just happy to have the Yankees out of his house and into a fan’s hands that isn’t trying to sell them. And he’s right. They will never be sold.
I don’t know what I did to deserve Dr. Levy being in my life but I am grateful and humble. I see him as an example. Every time he sends another package, I try harder to emulate him and help other collectors in any way I can. In many ways, he has changed my life and my attitude as a collector. I also feel fortunate to call him my friend.
I say this often when it comes to him, but I want to say it again… Thank you for everything, sir!
2)JD aka @focustheframe is the other brother from another mother I didn’t realize I had. (We will talk about @Card_Buzz next post.) It started with a trade via @ngtcollectibles (That guys is everywhere and we will talk about him in the future.). What has happened since is legendary.
JD and I don’t “trade” anymore. Now, we search each other’s TCDB profiles and just send stuff when we can. It’s like a rotational trade that never stops. But, that’s just the beginning. We have favorite beers, mowing preferences and life views in common. It was like meeting a long-lost brother.
I feel like I have made a life-long friend and hope that one day we can crack open a six-pack while ripping the newest hobby boxes that we bought while our wives stare at us and shake their heads. (Truthfully, my wife opens cards with me, but I’m sure after a few beers, we would be left to open by ourselves.)
Wrap-up
So that’s it for this lengthy and delayed post. Hope to keep this more weekly.
Stay safe.
Joe
