Too many irons in the fire.

 Ever feel like you've got to many irons in the fire? Christian, husband, father, brother, uncle, friend, teacher, coach, mentor and I'm sure there's other roles that I fill, have me going in so many different directions that there are days I'm not sure which way is up. A lot of my roles overlap, but still I feel as if I'm getting pulled in 15 different directions. 

There are times that I feel the same way with my card collection. '24 Topps times three, '23 Topps Heritage, '23 Stadium Club, Corey Seager collection, Marcus Semien collection, Josh Jung collection, Mike Trout collection, Shohei Ohtani collection, Clayton Kershaw collection, etc...the list goes on and on. Then on top of all of that, you throw in the inserts that I end up trying to collect and something always seems to get missed or forgotten. Just like in my life, a lot of my collection overlaps and that just adds to things getting missed or forgotten. 

For me, what always seems to get missed or forgotten the most are the sets I'm trying to finish from '72 to present. Actually, it's not present, it's 2019. I'm doing pretty good with '24 Topps and I've completed '20, '21, '22 and '23. It's pretty easy to do that when I'm also doing it for my grandsons. Not so much on the sets from the past. 

Most of the cards that I've gotten for sets from 1981 to 1993 have come via TCDB trades. I was just making trades and not really paying much attention to it. I was more focused on cleaning out my doubles. I mentioned in my post Ramblings of an old collector that I completed the 1984 set. Funny thing was I didn't even know it. I just happened to look on TCDB one day and noticed that I didn't have any '84 cards on my wantlist. How could I not know the set was complete? How is that even possible? Seriously, if I hadn't put the set on TCDB, I'd have a complete set sitting in a box on the shelf and not even know it. Yes, I know, if it wasn't on TCDB it wouldn't have been completed anyway, but that's not my point. My point is I've got to figure out how to be better organized with the cards that are coming in.

TCDB has helped a ton with the organization. That being said, I'm a long, long way from being organized. Between opening packs, picking up cards here and there, attending card shows and TCDB trades, there seems to be a pretty good flow of cards coming in. I'm pretty sure that I have put cards into sets or boxes that I had already inventoried and not updated it on TCDB. 

Plus, I've got cards going out too. The cards going out are pretty well organized and to be honest, I don't have to worry about it too much. Between TCDB trades and what I'm selling on buysportscards.com I know what's going out. My problem is keeping up with what's coming in. 

I may have a fix for my problem. I started putting all incoming cards into one box. Then, as I have time, I can go through the box and update TCDB and put the cards with their respective sets. I'm going to give this a try and see if it helps. 

I've got very little in my collection when it comes to the older sets. I've got a really good start on my '75 Topps and my '78 Topps set. The other sets? Less than 100 cards for each. I decided that I would finish one of the two sets before I focused on another one. Two at one time is enough. There's just not a lot of progress on either set. It's not like the cards aren't out there, just that the sets aren't a priority for me for some reason. I've got to start putting a little more emphasis on those sets. 

Sets that I'm working on pre-1981 have mostly come from card shows. I have received a few trades that involved my '78 set, but for the most part, its card shows and card stores. I think I'll stick to shows and stores, because I can see exactly what I am getting. I'm not a huge stickler on condition, but I want a nice looking card. 

I've struggled with making trades on TCDB for the older cards because of condition. When I put my cards on TCDB, I didn't pay that much attention to condition. I also wonder if my trading partners did the same thing. So when a trade comes up for those older cards, I don't want to send someone a card that might be a rougher than what they were expecting. I know that I'm not a fan of receiving cards that are beat up when my expectation was higher. I have several cards that are placeholders. Cards that I know I want to upgrade at some point because they are more than a little rough. I just don't want to have a whole bunch of cards to try and upgrade. The thing is I'm probably more concerned about what my trade partner thinks of the cards I send than what I get in return. 

For now, until I get TCDB updated on the condition of my cards, I will probably stick to in person deals until I get more comfortable with trading on TCDB for the older cards. 

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31

Thoughts on TCDB

It's been about 10 months since I really started using TCDB with my collection and I thought I'd give some thoughts about it. 

Listing/Inventory

I started listing complete sets and then my player collections because I figured it was the easiest way to figure it out. It was. Then came the monumental task of entering in all of the years that I was working on and the duplicate cards that I had. I started with the older ones first, because I didn't have as many of them. It was going pretty smooth until I got to about to 1987 Topps and it began to slow down. 

I kind of jumped around at that point and listed some sets from the 2000s. It's kind of like my collecting history. I started strong in the beginning, hit a downturn and then started back. That hole that is the middle of my collection is the same hole in my inventory on TCDB. It's not like I don't have any cards from that time, I just haven't bothered to put them in. You'd think those would have been the easiest and most important ones to do, but I just haven't. If the haves and the want lists were there, I probably could have started acquiring those missing cards through trades. 

I've still got a long way to go to get all of the Topps sets listed and their duplicates. Plus, I have a ton of Fleer, Donruss and Upper Deck to list too. I think listing all of my cards is going to be one of those never-ending projects. 

I have run into one little snag with inventorying my cards. If I make a trade, TCDB does it for me. If I pick cards up at a show, the card store, or bust open some packs, some of the time I forget to put the cards in TCDB before or after I put them up. I've really got to figure out a system or I'm going to have to back track and recheck everything. 

Trades

I recently completed my 50th trade. 

Nothing great in the trade except in got me a little closer to completing a couple of sets. 10 months and 50 trades isn't much considering all of the trades that I see posted in other blogs, but I'm pretty happy with it. I do hope to increase that number in 2024. It would help if I had more cards in they system. I need to get busy! 

In those 50 trades, I accumulated almost 1000 cards and traded away a little over 600. I had a few bumps in the road on those 50 trades. Got taken on a couple(my fault, not theirs), had a couple of trades get lost in the mail and received some very generous trades from people.

I've also received some cards that weren't in the condition that was stated or implied. So far, everyone has been great when I send a message back about the condition of the card. I don't know about you, but I try really hard to make sure that the cards I am sending are as stated. I will be honest, I didn't inspect each card as I was listing them. When I pull one out and its dinged on a corner, has a crease or is mis-cut enough, I let the person know so that they can decide if they want to continue the trade or not. 

Shipping on trades is a whole other topic. My post office basically, limits me to sending 4, maybe 5 cards in a PWE. One time I was able to send 8 cards, but the rest of the time it's a no. So, any trade I make over 4 or 5 cards costs me a BMWT. Still trying to figure out the best way to ship cards. 

Has anyone used paypal.shipstation.com? Heard about it somewhere, but haven't checked it out yet. Let me know if you have it or have any other suggestions.

I have received all kinds of envelopes/packages in my trades. Most have been in #10 white envelopes with inexpensive 9-pocket sheet protectors. Most have a thin piece of cardboard on the front and the back. Some don't have anything. Some have common cards surrounding the ones in a trade(my favorite, because I get bonus cards!). The worst one I got was a 2 card trade and sender surrounded the 2 cards with common cards taped together with masking tape. I tried really hard to take the tape off and not mess up the cards, but couldn't do it. 

As of today, I've only initiated 3 trade proposals. To be honest, it's taken me this long to actually figure out the easiest way to do it. Yeah, I know, makes sound like an idiot, because its really easy to do. I think my problem was the first time I tried it, the system was slow or not working and it messed me up. I think I got it now.

Overall, my experience with TCDB has been positive one. I will definitely keep adding my collection in, making trades and meeting new collectors. If you're not using TCDB for your collection, you should check it out. 

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31

Ramblings of an old collector

 It's been a long time since I've posted. It's been a long time since I've read any of the blogs I follow too. I've got some catching up to do. Here's just some random thoughts...

National Sports Card Convention

Another National has come and gone without me attending. I'm pretty sure there will be many others that share the same fate. I really would like to go at least once. Watching the Youtube videos from the convention makes it look really fun. I was going to say cool, but from what I understand it definitely wasn't cool!

Autographs

I really don't collect autographs. I have several autographs, but its not something that I'm hunting down and really chase after. I will pick one up when I find one for the right price and of the right player. I'm always a little leery if the autograph is real or not. The majority of the autographs I have I got myself. That being said, I have bought some from some very reputable people that I trust. I did pick up an autographed card the other day on Ebay. 

I have really become a Marcus Semien fan. I just love the way he plays the game. 

TCDB Inventorying

I haven't gotten real far since my last post. I have added a couple of sets and some insert subsets, but other than that not much else. I just haven't been in the mood. I'm more interested in doing other things, like acquiring more cards!

TCDB Trades

When I started putting this post together I had just completed my 20th trade on TCDB. It was nothing earth-shattering, but moved me closer to completing a couple of sets. 

I'm already up to 24 completed trades with 3 more in transition. I finally initiated a trade. I messed up though because it ended up being an international deal to the UK. It cost me more to ship the cards than what they were worth. It's nothing against the guy I'm trading with, its just not worth it because of the shipping. Lesson learned...check where the trader is from before initiating a trade!

Buysportscards.com

In my last post I talked about maybe shutting down my "store", because there just wasn't enough movement. I'm not looking to make a ton of money(though it would be nice!), but would like to recoup a little bit to help fund the collecting. Well, in the last 3 weeks I've more than doubled what I had made in the first 5 months. 

I will put it out there again; here's the link to my "store". If you go out and give it a look and find something that you'd like to trade for instead of buy, let me know and we'll see what we can work out.

Semien and Seager

     

Is there a better one-two punch in baseball right now? Seager is unbelievable. Sprains his thumb, comes back and his first at-bat hits a home run. 

Grading cards

I've been following, reading, watching videos, etc...about grading and I have to say that my stance has not changed. Grading is good for one thing and one thing only...authenticating that the card is real, the auto is real and if the card has been altered. By the way, from all that I've seen its not even a for sure thing either. 

2023 Topps

I've finished my set and my grandsons' sets of Series 1 and 2. Trying to decide if I'm going to do the update series too. I have a ton of doubles if anyone is in need of anything. 

Random Act of Kindness

I've continued to send out at least one RAK a month. There is no system or plan on how I do it. I just find a card that I've got and that someone needs and off it goes. I'm trying to build a pretty good address book so I don't have to ask for addresses and the cards can just show up. Now let's be real here, it's not like I'm sending anyone a 1953 Mantle, Aaron or Mays, but if I've got something that's not too pricey then why not do something nice for someone. We need a little more nice in the world.  I'm not making any promises, but let me know what you're looking for and I'll see if there's anything I can do!

Peace,

Michael 

Isaiah 40:31

It finally happened!

 It's official. I'm finally a TCDB trader! Not only did I make my first TCDB trade, I made my second and third trades all in the same week. 

Trade number one was an even thirteen for thirteen card swap for 1981 and 1992 Topps cards needed for my sets. 

 

The trade went off without a hitch. My trading partner was kind enough to be patient with me and walk me through the process on the website. 

Trade number two was a six cards for five cards trade that brought me cards needed for my 1985 Topps set.

There was a little miscommunication on my part, but it was all worked out before cards were sent. Once again, I'm two for two with great trade partners. 

Trade number three is not quite complete. I received four 1984 Topps and fourteen 1985 Topps for four of my extra 1984 Topps cards. 

The cards I sent, as of this post, still haven't arrived at my trade partner's home. I have been in contact with him and he doesn't seemed too worried about it. I'm not comfortable with the fact he hasn't received the cards yet. There's not much I can do about it, until I know something. 

All three trades were started by my trade partners. I'm still trying to figure out how I go about starting a trade with someone else, but so far, it hasn't worked out. I think it will be a lot easier once I get more cards listed in the database. 

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31