Trade Bait Launch !

After launching my blog a few months ago I am finally getting a bit more organised. One thing that was clearly missing on my blog was a Trade Bait page. Well, today I am finally launching one !! My own Trade Bait Page which includes most Autographs, Relics and numbered cards that I have for trade. Let the trading begin !!

Well, that's easier said then done. I don't have a clear trading strategy yet and only agreed with myself that I want to be comfortable with every trade I do. I have put up most of my, non-core, cards but that does not mean I need to get rid of them asap, only if the right card comes along that improves my collection. I have done a few trades until now but mostly I have just send out some cards to people who helped me get started in recent months. I have discussed the topic with a few of you and as a starting point I am trying to trade autos for autos, relics for relics and numbered card for other numbered cards in the same range for comparable players. Hope this makes sense. So if you have some great Yankees cards or one of the Pitchers I collect (Rivera, Sabathia, Glavine, Verlander, Lincecum, Kershaw, Seaver, Nolan) let's set-up a trade !

Note that, of course, I have plenty of non auto/relic/numbered cards for trade (tons of Topps '12, A&G '11 etc) and in the coming weeks I will add more stuff to the trade bait page as well. 

Very curious to hear what everyone uses as their trade "rules" so don't forget to leave a comment !! and of course do check out my new Trade Bait Page !! 

Thanks for visiting my blog again and enjoy the rest of the weekend !

Topps Tribute - Hanley Ramirez

Finally back from a few days of exam stress during which I had to leave my blog behind but tonight I finally had some time again to spend time on my favorite hobby !! I was going through the collection I bought last September (which got me into this hobby in the first place!) and came across a very nice card which I hadn't noticed before. It's a beautiful Topps Tribute relic card  from 2009 of Hanley Ramirez (#/50). Here it is !

I really like the "classy" look and feel of the front but also the back I really like. I guess I got a thing for high-end cards....

The only "shame" is that it is Hanley Ramirez and not one of the players I actually collect. However, it did make me curious to check out the Topps Tribute series, a bit to expensive for my liking but I am going to chase the Yankees cards of this set anyways, in particular the ones of Sabathia and Rivera.

In case you have some of these Yankees cards for trade let me know ! I am planning to set-up my own trade bait page in the coming 2 weeks so will keep you posted !

Thanks for visiting and hope to see you back soon !

Just pimping a bit tonight

Not much going on tonight so I thought: Let's do some pimping ! Two of my baseballcard blogger friends (I think I can call them friends by now as they helped me out quite a bit in the hobby and let a crazy european collector join the fun box breaks and events !!) are organising a box break and a trade bait draft !

Kyle at Juuust a bit outside is organising a box break and the fun thing is that you have to bid for your team soa great chance to participate in a box break at an attractive price ! He is breaking 2008 SP Authentic,2005 Topps Chrome Series 2, 2003 Flair and 2003 Bazooka sodo pay his blog a visit, check it out and join the fun !

Sam at The Daily Dimwit is organising a Trade Bait Draft with some great Auto, Relic and parallel & insert cards. He still has a few open spots so hurry and check out the Draft !

Enjoy the weekend everyone, doing a quick trip to London and will be back on Tuesday !

My Luckiest Topps Finest pulls !

After showing you the Chipper Jones "button" pull I continue the "my best pulls" series with some great, lucky Topps Finest pulls. First up, 2 on-card auto pulls, no yankees or one of my favorite pitchers but still some very nice cards: Brett Wallace for the Astros and Dodger Jerry Sands ! No superstars yet but still young so who know......

Next up are 2 great cards, the first one an auto & double relic of All-star Jordan Walden ! He replaced the injured Mariano Rivera in the last all-star game but of course this won't happen that easily in my pitchers collection where Rivera remains my number 1 !

Lastly, another great looking double relic & auto card, this one of Darwin Barney of the Cubs. Great card although to be honest I don't really know this guy.....

Stay tuned for more lucky pulls in the coming days !!

Chipper Jones #/5 Button card !

Last week I showed you some of my best pulls from the Allen & Ginter series, a product with a look and feel I really like. This week I am planning to show you some of my more exciting non-A&G pulls since I started collecting last year. Let's start with a great pull from Upper Deck A Piece of History 2008, Stadium Scenes....

Yes, a really beautiful Chipper Jones card, numbered 4/5 with his button, my one and only "button" card I own. A very lucky pull that, at some point in the future, I should be able to trade for a very nice addition to one of my player collections !

More pulls coming in the next few days so watch out for my best Topps Finest Auto & Relic pulls including the Angels, Astros, Dodgers and Cubs !

Nachos Grande Loot Arrives - Piazza Hits

A few weeks back Chris at Nachos Grande organised another fun box break. This time the break consisted of 2003 Donruss Team Heroes, 2002 Fleer Showcase, 2003 UD Patch Collection and 2003 Fleer Flair so a nice mix of different cards. As I missed the sign-up due to the time difference (a man's gotta sleep at some point right!) the Yankees were already taken so I decided to take the Mets to have a shot at some Glavine cards. The randomizer gave me the Expos as well and the break gave me some nice cards so let's have a look !

First up the UD Patch Collection. This is a set I really like and recently decided to try to complete so these were nice additions to my collection !

Next up, 2 Fleer sets and 1 new addition to my Glavine collection !

Cracker Jacks also joined the box break party !

Lastly, some cards from Team Heoes and some more Fleer, including 2 Piazza cards

So what about the hits ? Well I had 2 great Piazza hits, 2 nice relic cards, both in Mets uniform.

Lastly, also a few Guerrero cards fom when he was playing for the Expos

All in all another fun break so thanks for making it happen Chris (and thanks for the nice sticker, my son likes it!)

Have a good weekend everyone !

Mariano Rivera Gold Auto card !!!

I wish.............As you are probably well aware, yesterday was the last day that you could send in your Topps 2012 wrappers to participate in Topps Gold Rush Wrapper Redemption. Well, did I have some wrapper to send in !!! As I bought six boxes of Topps 2012, I had 216 wrappers to send in. At first I didn't think about participating as collectors outside of the US are not eligible to participate in whatever redemption program Topps comes up with (which I think is silly but that's the way it is).

Luckily Kyle at Juuust a bit outside was really great and offered to combine wrappers and send them in. Of course I happily accepted his offer and send him all my wrappers on the 14th of February (yes, Valentine's day but not meant as a romantic gesture Kyle....haha). I have send several packages to the US, most recently a trade package to Robert at $30 a week habit which usually arrive in a week or so. So I thought it was going to be all oke, already looking forward to a nice golden Mariano Rivera card or maybe another of the pitchers I collect.

However, earlier this week Kyle still hadn't received any wrappers. I know Kyle lives in Hoyt and I have no clue where that is but I assumed the mail man would know ! Sadly enough, yesterday came and no wrappers..... Luckily Kyle was able to send in his own on time.

So to morale of this story: if anybody collects (expired) wrappers let Kyle know, he will be receiving a bunch at some point I guess !!!

Clearly, life is a bit more difficult being an overseas collector but I have been positively surprised by the baseball card blogging community.....you guys have been great and Kyle's willingness to help me out was another great example of that !

Many thanks to you all and thanks for reading !!!