Free Cards!

I am trying to get my home office in shape and part of that means cleaning up the shelves where I keep my card collection.  Ever since I made up my mind to focus only on vintage cards, I have been staring at boxes of random modern cards and wondering what to do with them. There wasn't enough of value there to bother with the effort of selling on EBay, but I am generally opposed to throwing them out.

So what to do?  I'm going to give them away if anyone wants them.

What you see here are two boxes filled with cards. They include cards from the overproduction era right up through 2011 and include most, if not all, manufacturers.  There may be a few cards in there that have some nominal value, but most are just base cards.  They aren't sorted in any way. It is just two big boxes of cards.

Anyone want some free cards? Claim a box. The only thing I will ask is that the first person can only claim one box initially.  If, after a few days, no one has claimed the second box, I'll send it to the first claimant.  Fair enough?

So, who wants some free cards?

Card Show Haul - Ooopsie!

I made a few mistake purchases at the show a couple weekends ago. Who doesn't, amirite? Luckily, it was only three cards and they were all from the discount boxes.

I bought this Jay Austin auto card because I thought he was one of the hot prospects in the Yankee organization. Alas, that prospect is Tyler Austin, who is tearing up the South Atlantic League with Charleston after a .354/.418/.579 year last year in rookie ball and low A. Jay Austin? In the Astros system, but on the DL with a broken hand and hasn't played yet in 2012. Interesting side note: this is my second Jay Austin auto card. I managed to acquire the first in a group break over at Crinkly Wrappers last year. I think it was in one of the rounds of the break where I picked near the end and didn't have a lot to choose from. Hopefully, this kid will turn into something and I can make my fortune on the two auto cards.

No idea whatsoever why I bought this. None. Anybody want it?

This little oddball was bought with Chris over at Nachos Grande in mind. Unfortunately, after I got home I realized he actually collects Barry Larkin, not Ken Griffey. So, anybody want this?

Next up: 1961 Fleer.

Why Free Cards?

While I think it is safe to say that baseball card bloggers are an extremely generous group, sometimes I wonder if all y'all are a little lacking in the smarts department (1).


Everyone that has claimed some of the cards I am unloading has asked what I want in return. While I will certainly take any duplicates you have that are on my want lists over there


But, my offer comes without any strings attached. Here is why:


I live in a relatively small farm house that was built in the 1950s and has a dearth of storage space. This is my storage closet. It be full.

The top shelf is my supply shelf: mailers, tape, toploaders, Ultra Pro sheets, you know the stuff. The second shelf holds vintage and Heritage sets I am working on or have completed. Third shelf is the 2011 sets, boxes of duplicates(2), and some empty binders. Fourth shelf, which you can't see, includes important work documents (I work from home). In front of the shelving unit is my wine cellar stored in the finest corrugated box money can buy. On top of that box are cards that I am preparing to ship out. Just out of frame to the top is a built in shelf containing boxes of personal and financial records, including a moving retrospective of my life as an adult, told in the medium of 1040 forms.

So, I really need to free up some space. I had the brilliant (BRILLIANT!!!) idea to try to sell off duplicates on EBay. A near complete set of Topps Series 1 (approx 300 cards out of the 330 card series - no duplicates) grossed me a whole five dollars. After EBay and Paypal took there cut of the action, I was left with.......not enough to make it worth the effort. Since I am constitutionally unable to throw out either books or baseball cards, I really need to find a home for the cards I don't need/want.

So, yeah, if you can help knock some cards off my want list, that would be super. But, I really need the space, so free means free. I would prefer to get them into the hands of someone who can appreciate them, rather than throw them out or throw them up in the barn loft amongst all the other crap I don't have space to store in the house. On that note, let me say that I'll hopefully have some more ready to offer up this coming weekend.


Footnotes:

(1) Just kidding. I am sure you are all quite smart. Handsome too.
(2) Note to self: if you have an impulse control problem when standing in the card aisle, it is probably a really bad idea to mix card purchases onto the grocery bill.

Guys Weekend - and Free Card Update

My wife is off goofing with her cousins in Las Vegas this weekend. So, I am on my own and the crummy weather gives me an excuse to not work on my honeydew list. So, what big things do I have planned?

Not much really. It is December, so money is tight. After all, there is Christmas shopping to do, quarterly payments on what seems to be eleventy different insurance policies, and.....well.....my wife is in Vegas.

There is a small card show at an LCS up in Edmond today. Quite coincidentally, I am going to be in Edmond today to pick up some medicine to doctor a sick horse. But, I have decided not to go. There is a bigger show next weekend in OKC, which will include all the same dealers. I plan to go to that show, though with little more than lint in my pocket. So, there was no point in going today.

I will stop by the LCS in South OKC, but probably only to pick up some sheets. I've gotten some oddball sized cards over the last few months and need to do a better job of protecting them. I may sneak a peak at a dollar box, but I don't have a lot of time at my disposal. A friend of my wife from Tulsa is in town this weekend for a jumping clinic and asked me to take some pictures of her new Gypsy Vanner horse.

Tonight, I'll work some more on getting my cards organized. Last night I watch "The Fellowship of the Ring" while getting some of my 2011 cards in order. Which brings me to:



While many of you have been gracious enough to take cards off of my hands, I still have way too many that I don't need. So, I am going to throw an offer out to all y'all:


This is the results of my organizing efforts last night. What you see is a 1600 count box of Topps flagship (Gah! Did I really buy that much retail this year?) This is all my base card duplicates from Series 1,2 and Update along with all of the inserts I pulled. There is also some Diamond and liquorfractor parallels mixed in. In the foreground is a partial set of the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game. There are 89 unique cards (90 total cards) out of the 145 card base set.

You want either or both of these lots? Claim them!

Free Cards - Update

I've been a bit busy of late, but I have been slowly working on getting organized and getting a list of what I have available to claim. I have got a few packages ready to go as well. Packages will be going out to the following zip codes tomorrow:

20171
72758
85296
91770

Here is a start regarding what I have available to claim. All lots will have no duplicates.

2001 Topps Heritage - 81 72 cards (includes 2 checklists)
2001 Topps Heritage - 49 43 cards (includes 2 checklists)
2001 Topps Heritage - 26 23 cards (includes 2 checklists)

2002 Topps Heritage - 41 35 cards (includes 2 checklists)

Also note that, the multiple lots are listed for 2001 Heritage overlap. In other words, all of the cards in the 26 card lot are also in the 49 card lot. And all the cards in the 49 card lot are in the 81 card lot. You are free to take more than one lot, but be warned that you will have a lot of duplicates.

I'll be working on this some more tonight, so hopefully I'll be able to post over the weekend more of what is available.