A Trade with a Troll

A week or so ago I got an e-mail from the Collective Troll asking if he could assist me with some of the wants from my 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter want list.  The e-mail was rather long, but amusing.  Anytime someone offers to help me with cards off a want list I'm all ears...no matter the situation.

Yesterday I got a used bubble mailer (I see more and more collectors "recycling" bubble mailers) full of 2013 A&G base cards and a few inserts.  He was even nice enough to toss in a few Braves inserts for good measure.

While I didn't have time to scan anything, I did want to make it public of the Troll's generous offer.  In return he'll be getting a Desmond Jennings card that I hope he doesn't have yet (hint: it's a 2014 card) plus a few other Rays treats.  Thanks bud!

Overwhelming Generosity in the form of 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter

A few days before Christmas I finally got my want list posted for 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter.  I decided that set building takes more time and money than I'm willing to spend, but there are a few sets I want to finish...and may pursue in 2014.  

I only bought one hobby box of '13 A&G so needless to say I had a lot of holes needing to be filled - in both the base set and inserts.  With me being out of the loop for the better part 2013 I wasn't sure if I'd get any response from my post.  Then a guy by the name of Howard stepped in and offered to help me out.  He didn't send me a list of cards he wanted, only asking for my mailing address.  I had no idea what he was sending, and didn't really care.  What came in the mail a few days later astonished me.

Most of you should be familiar with those VHS sized USPS Priority mailer boxes you get for free at the post office.  I received one of those boxes full of '13 A&G cards from my want list.  Four stacks total with commons, SPs and a few of the regular sized inserts.  Wow.

I immediately grabbed my binder and sitting at the kitchen table I started to go through the cards and put them into pages.  Howard single handedly almost finished the whole set for me!  To say thank you really doesn't do him justice...so now I'm going to head on over to his blog, Wanted: Baseball Cards and see if I can find something to send to him in return.

I didn't intend for my original post to come off as "send me free cards".  I'm willing to trade or possibly pay.  Howard went above and beyond and I had to give him props.  As a result my want list, especially for the base set, is much shorter.  Hopefully I can finish off the base set within the next few months.

Long Overdue - 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Want List

I can't believe it's the 20th of December and I'm just now collating my lone hobby box I bought of 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter and creating my want list!  I do have to admit looking at all of these cards and figuring out what I'm missing in both the base set and in the various inserts, it has me a little excited about trying to fill in some of these holes.

I'm sure most of my fellow card bloggers have long since finished their collection of A&G, or at least have put a sizeable dent into their want lists, but if you are looking for a trading partner or have a bunch of commons to trade I ask that you keep me in mind.

As for my want list, here is a direct link.

What little I have left from my box to trade (includes lots of minis and all 3 relics) can be found here.

Blogger Generosity: Cardboard Hogs

Gotta love trying to play catch up.  So many of you have already saw the picture of my work desk with the stacks and stacks of cards.  Last night I was working in my room trying to make sense of the mess I've created and I uncovered even more cards that I forgot I had!  Who knew one guy coming back into the hobby a few years ago could accumulate so many cards?!  Most of the cards were generously sent to me by fellow bloggers, which leads me to today's post.

Kenneth of Cardboard Hogs, a blog I've only known about for a few months now, was gracious enough to send me some free 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter.  Being a Redskins fan, I don't see much baseball on his blog, but recently he opened a few packs of A&G and didn't want to keep 'em...so to the mailbox they went.

I still haven't collated the box of A&G I bought so I don't know which of the cards sent I need for my set, but here are a few cards I pulled out of the bubble mailer to share.  What would a post on this blog be without a Brave?  I believe Hank Aaron fits that bill quite well.  Tommy Lee...just because I wanted to show his card.  The Across the Years set is one I'm still on the fence whether I want to build or not.  No mini inserts, but I'll take the Civilizations of Ages Past and Martial Mastery cards.  The 3 minis will eventually end up on my trade list, but I'm not ready to start trading again so just sit tight if you're interested.

I made lots of progress getting ready of other clutter in my room last night.  I hope to be able to really tackle the cards within the next few weeks.  In the meantime expect more "catch up" posts such as this.

Not a Mini Beachy

Earlier this week I finally sat down with my hobby box of 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter...but this post isn't about the box.  Not to spoil the box break post I plan to do, I didn't get a Braves hit so off to eBay I went.  I only did a search to see what cards Tim Hudson and Brandon Beachy had in the set and walked away with one relic of Beachy for just a buck or so.

Nice design and all, but the framed mini relics are just so much cooler.  I won't complain too much as I'm just happy Topps included Brandon in the set, esp. seeing how he just returned to the active roster a few weeks ago.