Affordable Group Break - 1996 Leaf Preferred

** UPDATE 04/22/20 ** Break is full! Will break live on my YouTube channel Friday evening, 04/24/20 at 9 PM Eastern.

I'm going to do the next Affordable Group Break a little differently. Instead of all the teams being priced the same, I've assigned different prices per team based on the number of cards in the base set and the main insert set (which fall 1 per pack).

This break will feature 1996 Leaf Preferred. The base set consists of 150 cards. Each pack consists of 6 base cards (20 pt. card stock) and 1 Preferred Steel metal card! The Preferred Steel set features 77 cards. There are a few parallels that should be found, however the odds on the inserts (which are very nice looking) are up there. For more info on this set, be sure to visit the Trading Card Database or BaseballCardPedia for checklists. I'm posting these signs up to the Facebook group, my blog and on Twitter all at the same time so if you want to claim a team, I recommend you don't wait.

Price is listed beside each team. The price does not include shipping. Like with my recent previous breaks, stacking applies so if you bought into a previous break or what me to hold your cards until you see what's next, I'll send you a PayPal invoice for shipping whenever you're ready. We'll break this box Live on my YouTube channel as soon as the break fills up. I'll update all of my social media outlets with a date/time of when the break will occur.

To claim your team(s) please comment with your request and submit your payment at that time. If you haven't participated in one of my breaks, please email me your name & mailing address. Please send your payment as Friends & Family: http://paypal.me/flywheels86


Atlanta Braves - Colbey Hopper
Baltimore Orioles $3 - Ben Martin (paid)
Boston Red Sox $4 - Roy Galloway (paid)
California Angels - Colbey Hopper
Chicago Cubs $3 - Ben Martin (paid)
Chicago White Sox $4 - Mark Eisenman (paid)
Cincinnati Reds $3 - Chris Reed (paid)
Cleveland Indians $3 - Timothy Henson
Colorado Rockies $2 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
Detroit Tigers $2 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
Florida Marlins $2 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
Houston Astros $3 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
Kansas City Royals $2 - @jmswyo (paid)
Los Angeles Dodgers $4 - Joey Nigro (paid)
Milwaukee Brewers $1 - Mark Eisenman (paid)
Minnesota Twins $3 - Roy Galloway (paid)
Montreal Expos $2 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
New York Mets $3 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
New York Yankees $5 - @Lost_Collector (paid)
Oakland Athletics $2 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
Philadelphia Phillies $2 - Adam McKenzie (paid)
Pittsburgh Pirates $1 - Wade Fisher (paid)
San Diego Padres $4 - Roy Galloway (paid)
San Francisco Giants $3 - Dustin Dutra (paid)
Seattle Mariners $5 - Ben Martin (paid)
St. Louis Cardinals $3 - Kerry Biggs (paid)
Texas Rangers $2 - Ben Martin (paid)
Toronto Blue Jays $3 - Adam McKenzie (paid)

$2 Affordable Group Break - 2002 Donruss Super Estrellas del Beisbol

** 04/15/20 UPDATE ** All remaining teams just $1 each!!
** 04/17/20 UPDATE ** Moving the break to Friday, 04/17/20 9 PM EST

It's time for another Affordable Group Break! This time we'll be busting a box of the all Spanish product, 2002 Super Estrellas! I'm hoping not many people have many of these cards in their collection and they'll be plenty of interest. 6 cards per pack, 24 packs per box. Each pack also contains a 5x7 poster! For more info on this set, be sure to visit the Trading Card Database for checklists. Remember, if you want first dibs at claiming your favorite team(s) make sure you join our Facebook Group as the sign ups are posted there one day before I post them here on the blog or on Twitter.

All teams in this break are just $2 each. The price does not include shipping. Like with my recent previous breaks, stacking applies so if you bought into a previous break or what me to hold your cards until you see what's next, I'll send you a PayPal invoice for shipping whenever you're ready. I plan to break this box on Saturday evening, 04/18/20, at 9 PM LIVE on my YouTube channel.

To claim your team(s) please comment with your request and submit payment at that time please. Payment can me made using Friends & Family please: http://paypal.me/flywheels86


Anaheim Angels - Tom Tessier (paid)
Arizona Diamondbacks - Ben Martin (paid)
Atlanta Braves - Colbey Hopper (paid)
Baltimore Orioles - Colbey Hopper (paid)
Boston Red Sox - Roy Galloway (paid)
Chicago Cubs - Ben Martin (paid)
Chicago White Sox - Colbey Hopper (paid)
Cincinnati Reds - Cody Marsee (paid)
Cleveland Indians - Timothy Henson
Colorado Rockies - Ben Martin (paid)
Detroit Tigers - Adam Kaningher (paid)
Florida Marlins - Adam Kaningher (paid)
Houston Astros - Colbey Hopper (paid)
Kansas City Royals - @jmswyo (paid)
Los Angeles Dodgers - Joey Nigro (paid)
Milwaukee Brewers - Mark Eisenman (paid)
Minnesota Twins - Roy Galloway (paid)
Montreal Expos - Tom Tessier (paid)
New York Mets - Jason Martin (paid)
New York Yankees - Ben Martin (paid)
Oakland Athletics - Roy Galloway (paid)
Philadelphia Phillies - Vrooomed (paid)
Pittsburgh Pirates - Wade Fisher (paid)
San Diego Padres - Roy Galloway (paid)
San Francisco Giants - Dustin Dutra (paid)
Seattle Mariners - Scott Crawford (paid)
St. Louis Cardinals - Kerry Biggs (paid)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays - Roy Galloway (paid)
Texas Rangers - @CardpocalypseNC (paid)
Toronto Blue Jays - karsal (paid)

2017 Honus Bonus Affordable Group Break Results

If you weren't able to join the live stream Saturday evening, here is the video of the break...

This turned out to be a pretty fun box with a good selection of players for pretty much every team. Lots of players I don't recall seeing cards of in other products from years past. Before we get to the promised 1/1 cards, let's take a look at some of the silver foil parallels.

Outside of the big checklist and cards of some players that don't often show up in other sets, the big draw to this box was the guaranteed two 1/1 Career Milestone cards. As promised we hit our two cards with the first one falling about about 10 or 12 packs in.

This Craig Kimbrel 1/1 went to Roy and I know he was excited as not only is he a Red Sox fan, but he PCs Kimbrel to boot!

We hit the last 1/1 towards the end of the box in the last few packs. Unfortunately no one claimed the Rangers so this Adrian Beltre 1/1 wasn't assigned to any one participant. However I decided to randomize this card off to one lucky participant, so I loaded up everyone's name (based on the number of teams purchased) into Random.org's list randomizer, rolled the virtual dice and went to work. Here's the video with the results. Drum roll please...

Congratulations to Dustin on winning the card!

Thanks again for everyone's support. This was the fullest break I've hosted yet and as long as people keep supporting these cheap breaks I'll keep them going. I already have several boxes in hand and lined up for future breaks, but the next box I'm really looking forward to. If you watched the video, I may have given a little hint about what what the next box is. Signups will go live in the Facebook group first on Friday, 04/10/20, then I'll post it here on the blog and announce on Twitter as well. Thanks everyone, stay safe!

Pack Break: 1992 Comic Images Ghost Rider II

The 90's was a great era of comics...well at least in my eyes. With Marvel Comics purchasing Fleer, there was no shortage of comics spilling over into trading cards. Prior to this the comic sets were small and released by the likes of Comics Images and eventually Impel.

I grabbed a sealed box of 1992 Ghost Rider II cards at a comics show in 2019 and the box was shelved as I was working on other projects. However as of late I've been on a Ghost Rider kick of sorts so decided last weekend it was finally time to crack the box open.

This is my first experience with anything from the small card company Comic Images, so I was a little surprised to see how thin the cardboard was that was used for the cards. These are some of the thinnest trading cards I've ever seen. The black border also shows off every imperfection of the cards. While I forgot to snap a picture of the back of the cards, all of them (at least in my box) were off center.

The artwork used on the cards however is dark, gritty and very beautiful. The art hails from the different comic issues and is from different artists...some I'm familiar with and others I'm not. I was happy to see Spider-Man on the first card I pulled from this pack, followed by Sleepwalker.

The card in the lower right hand corner is taken from the Fantastic Four #347 (or #348) when Ghost Rider, along with the grey Hulk, Spider-Man and Wolverine briefly formed the "new Fantastic Four" to exact revenge on the shape-shifting Skrulls. Love those two issues and the art by Arthur Adams was such a treat to view.

Inside each pack was one of ten glow in the dark insert cards. This particular one features art by Rob Liefeld and Ghost Rider's flaming skull (and the logo) glow in the dark. 90's gimmick cards at it's finest.

In the end I was able to put together four complete sets with the glow in the dark cards! I gave one set to my older brother, kept one for myself and I believe another will be sent to a trading buddy of mine. The other will be up for grabs if anyone is interested.

Affordable Group Break: 2017 Honus Bonus - All teams just $2!!

It's time for another Affordable Group Break! This time we'll be busting a box of 2017 Honus Bonus. If you aren't that familiar with the set I'll understand...because even I have a card or two in my Braves collection from this set, I had no idea what Honus Bonus was either for awhile. For more info on this set, be sure to visit the Trading Card Database for checklists. This box should yield two 1/1 cards!

All teams in this break are just $2 each. The price does not include shipping. Like with my recent previous breaks, stacking applies so if you bought into a previous break or what me to hold your cards until you see what's next, I'll send you a PayPal invoice for shipping whenever you're ready. I plan to break this box on Saturday evening, around 9 PM LIVE on my YouTube channel.

To claim your team(s) please comment with your request. Payment can me made using Friends & Family please: http://paypal.me/flywheels86


Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves - Colbey Hopper (paid)
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox - Roy Galloway
Chicago Cubs - Matt Pederson (paid)
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds - Cody Marsee (paid)
Cleveland Indians - Timothy Henson
Colorado Rockies - Adam Kaningher (paid)
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros - Marc Brubaker
Kansas City Royals - Josh DenHartog (paid)
Los Angeles Angels - Tom Tessier (paid)
Los Angeles Dodgers - gcrl (paid)
Miami Marlins - @Lost_Collector (paid)
Milwaukee Brewers - Mark Eisenman
Minnesota Twins - Matt Pederson (paid)
New York Mets - Brett Alan
New York Yankees - @Lost_Collector (paid)
Oakland Athletics - TraderJack (paid)
Pittsburgh Pirates - Wade Fisher (paid)
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants - Dustin Dutra (paid)
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals - Kerry Biggs (paid)
Tampa Bay Rays - Wade Fisher (paid)
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays - karsal (paid)
Washington Nationals - Scott Crawford (paid)

1st Haul from Ben's Cards and Collectibles Box Breaks

Even though it's a Friday morning, I still have some work to do. I wanted to share my first multiple break haul from a new Facebook group I've found, Ben's Cards and Collectibles Box Breaks, but I didn't necessarily have the time this morning to scan all the cards...so YouTube it is!

Ben is a great guy with a good thing going. If you are collecting on a budget, but still like the fun of joining in on breaks then I highly suggest you give Ben and his group a try. Have a great weekend everyone!

Collecting During the Quarantine

It's only been a few days since the majority of the US has gone under either self or mandated quarantine. Many of us are working from home (if we're lucky), while others have been temporarily laid off...or worse have outright been let go. All of this got me thinking of how this has affected the hobby.

I already work from home most days. I am an area manager for a self storage company so when I'm not in the field traveling up and down I-85 in NC and SC for work, I'm at home. I should be used to the time trapped in my house. It's been 4 days since schools were closed so my wife (who's a teacher) has been at home with me and my two girls. 4 days and it feels like a millenium already.

I keep seeing different posts online and in social media about what people are doing with their "free time" since being at home. Well for me my job continues so I don't have that much down time. My wife has had to essentially home school our kids and let's just say they treat her differently than they would treat their teachers at school. Yeah, it's a been a lot of fun.

Normally I take my laptop down to the dining room table and work. This is where I also usually rip packs, sort cards, catalog cards, however as a result of the wife & kids being home I've had to go back to my office to work. This is where some of my time is being spent...cleaning up my desk of all the random stacks of cards and other various clutter that has built up.

 

Yesterday I took care of the card stacks on the left side of the desk. Today I tackle the right side of the desk. Underneath that stack in the upper right corner is an old flat bed scanner. I bought this specifically for cards and for blogging...but I never use it. Between my work printer/scanner and using my iPhone (CamScanner is a great app!) I think it's time to get rid of the scanner and the rest of the clutter that has built up.

Previously I had bought a new Billy Bookcase from IKEA and made binders with spine inserts for various sets I'm building. I love the look, however I've amassed several tall stacks of cards on the 2nd and 3rd shelves that need to go into said binders. That will be a project for another day, but it's keeping me busy none the less.

I'd like to continue making binders, but with most of the stores closing I may have to put that on the backburner. I'm tempted to place a big order on Amazon for 9 pocket pages just in case non-essential businesses are closed like I keep hearing about.

This is the scene in my office just off to the left behind me. Toys. Lots of them. All need to be opened. Most of you know I also have a long running toy blog and because of this I'm always slow to open new purchases as I always intend of photographing the toys before I open them. This obviously has created a huge backlog and this is holding up other progress. I'm trying to chip away at this stack of toys as time allows. I may just have to forego including some items on the toy blog just so I can make this stack smaller.

Above is my original monster box I have filled with cards just waiting to be traded. Yeah, you remember that thing that us card collectors used to do? I'm not trying to crap on anyone who sells cards, but there was a time when cards that weren't inserted into your bicycle spokes were traded amongst your friends. I still remember a time when I was young and still new to collecting that a friend of mine tried to trade me a Fleer card of Bo Diaz for a Darryl Strawberry. I had no idea who Bo Diaz was, but my friend assured me it was an even trade because he was dead and his card will be worth money! 

Trading cards are called trading cards for that reason...they were meant to be traded. I'm not sure at what point in time (some) collectors lost sight of this. Was it when inserts started to be randomly inserted into packs? Or was it the game-used craze? Now it seems to be autographs. Let's face it, the landscape of collecting trading cards in general has changed drastically since the junk wax period I grew up in. While I like a shiny Refractor or Prizm card as much as the next fellow, I find myself going back to the wax lately. This whole Coronavirus pandemic has just reinforced this feeling. I've even gone back to hosting my "affordable group breaks" by buying junk wax and selling teams for a buck each. I'm also picking up old wax boxes for myself with the intention of building some of the sets that got me into collecting in the first place...namely 1990 and 1991 Topps. Heck, I may even build 1991 Fleer if this quarantine continues long enough!

While I don't have as much activity here on the blog as I used to have, I still love striking trades with other collectors. I still get trades from the lists I have posted here on the blog. Some trades from via Twitter where I've tried to remain active (@flywheels), but the majority of my trades now come from the website The Trading Card Database. I really wish I had signed up to participate in this great site years ago because since I joined last year I find myself completing more and more trades. I haven't looked in a price guide in years and I'm glad I haven't. I enjoy collecting cards for more than the financial return they may bring. I enjoy the memories junk wax brings. I enjoy collecting my favorite team and players as it helps bring me closer to the game I've always enjoyed. 

Bottom line is there is no wrong way to collect. For me set building is something I've really enjoyed participating in since I rejoined the hobby 10 years ago. This outbreak and quarantine may make it a little harder to acquire new product and or supplies, but as I've outlined above I have plenty of things associated with this hobby to keep me occupied for quite awhile. I hope others are able to slow down a bit and enjoy the things that we may take for granted as well. Take care and be safe everyone!