Sportlots pickups

 

I've been very active on Sportlots of late.  It's a result of trying to fill in the few remaining gaps I still have in the Topps sets from 2008-2022.  It's been a successful effort, and I'm currently one 2014 #424 Jose Ramirez away from completing that run.  Sportlots can be a very cost effective way of purchasing cards for set builds, but you have to navigate the shipping rates.  A habit I developed years ago, is when I purchase a cards from a seller, I try to max out the number they ship at the same price.  So if they charge $1.75 for 5-10 cards and I'm buying 5 cards from 2013 Topps, I go and add 5 more Wallach cards (assuming they have some to add) to max out the shipping.  The above 227 Wallach cards are the result of the last two months of doing this.  Granted, about 75% of them came from one seller who had very reasonable rate up to 300 cards and I was buying a lot of set build needs from.  

Regardless of how I acquire these cards, they all count and go towards the total tally.

Updated Totals:

1982 Donruss x6: 250

1982 Topps: 1,251

1984 Donruss: 191

1984 Fleer x2: 193

1985 Fleer x6: 150

1985 Leaf: 50

1986 Donruss x2: 177

1986 Fleer: 178

1986 Fleer Mini: 43

1986 Sportflics: 16

1987 Donruss x9: 492

1987 Donruss Opening Day: 61

1987 Fleer x9: 257 

1987 O-Pee-Chee: 27

1987 Topps x4: 1,125

1988 Fleer x8: 333

1988 Fleer Stickers x4: 91

1988 Leaf: 42

1988 Sportflics: 12

1988 Topps All-Star x11: 910

1988 Topps Tiffany: 23

1988 Topps Tiffany AS: 19

1989 Donruss: 533
1989 Fleer x21: 481
1989 K-Mart: 71
1989 Sportflics x3: 15
1989 Upper Deck x4: 290
1990 Donruss x3: 558
1990 Donruss Baseball's: 19
1990 Fleer x6: 522
1990 Leaf x3: 144
1990 Topps x7: 692
1991 Bowman: 87
1991 Fleer: 231
1991 Fleer Ultra x2: 107
1991 Leaf x6: 203

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier x10: 99

1991 Score Super Star x2: 25

1991 Stadium Club: 156

1991 Topps: 339

1991 Upper Deck: 494

1991 Upper Deck Checklist: 309

1992 Bowman x3: 89

1992 Fleer x2: 205

1992 Fleer Ultra x11: 167

1992 Pinnacle x3: 144

1992 Topps x2: 303

1992 Topps Kids x3: 50

1993 Score Select x9: 81

1993 Stadium Club Dodgers: 11

1993 Topps x12: 310

1993 Topps Gold x2: 40

1994 Pacific x2: 22

1994 Score Gold Rush: 10

1994 SP x7: 57

1994 SP Die-Cut x2: 18

1994 Topps x2: 149

1995 Fleer x4: 25

1995 Pacific: 4

1995 Score Gold Rush: 21

1995 Stadium Club Virtual Reality x2: 8

1995 Topps x5: 93

1995 Topps Finest x2: 17

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites: 23

Sportlots Pickups

 

I knew I hadn't posted anything in awhile, but I didn't realize it hadn't been since July.  My collecting has admittedly tailed off this year.  It's not that I stopped enjoying the cards, I just haven't been enjoying the noise around them.  The prices of vintage are out of control, the run on retail packs has made building current sets all but impossible, and the behavior of the lawn chair camper crowd in Target aisles has renewed an old stereotype about adults in this kids hobby that I didn't really want to be associated with.  I feel like I've seen this movie before, thirty years ago or so, and am confident these issues will work themselves out over time.  So I've quietly been going about my hobby business the last six months.

Despite my lack of posting, that doesn't mean I haven't been adding cards.  Rather than trying to build the 2021 Topps set by pack, I've focused much more on wrapping up the 1970's Topps sets with online purchases.  I've been particularly active on Sportlots.com.  That said, I am first and foremost a collector of Tim Wallach cards, so every time I buy a handful of stray 1971 or '73 Topps from a seller, I max out their shipping options with whatever Tim Wallach cards they also have available.  The result has been a lot of Tim Wallach cards, as pictured above.  I plan on doing a large post on Sunday about the non-Wallach cards I've been adding (and catching up on all my back mail before the end of the year), but for now, here's a run down of the 319 Wallach's I've added by way of Sportlots the last four months.

Updated Totals:

1982 Topps: 1,237

1983 Donruss x15: 187

1983 Fleer x3: 224

1983 Topps x8: 404

1984 Stuart: 7

1985 Donruss x3: 142

1985 Fleer: 141

1985 Topps x82: 473

1986 Fleer: 170

1986 Topps: 467

1986 Topps AS x25: 737

1987 Donruss x5: 475

1987 Fleer x7: 244

1987 Fleer Glossy: 40

1988 Fleer: 317

1988 Fleer MVP x9: 28

1988 Topps x2: 798

1988 Topps AS: 826

1989 Donruss x4: 518

1989 Fleer: 446

1989 K-Mart: 66

1989 Topps x6: 863

1989 Upper Deck x6: 278

1990 Leaf x3: 139

1990 O-Pee-Chee x12: 15

1990 Topps x24: 642

1991 Fleer x8: 223

1991 Leaf x2: 193

1991 Leaf Preview: 14

1991 Upper Deck x7: 357

1991 Upper Deck Checklist x5: 296

1992 Bowman x18: 80

1992 Topps x31: 291

1993 Topps x20: 284

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorite x2: 19

2005 Topps Rookie Cup x2: 38

Sportlots Pickup

I picked up these Wallachs on Sportlots recently along with a few 1970's set needs.  I primarily use Sportlots for set building, but when it's economical for shipping purposes, I try to add Wallach cards from whatever seller I happen to be making a purchase from.  This particular seller had a nice assortment of some less common Wallachs including a trio of Tiffany ('84, '85, '87), some Bowman, and good number of '90 Leaf.  Allegedly the '85 Topps Tiffanies are somewhat scarce.  I can't say that's been my experience, thought they are tough to fine with white edges.  Most have a yellowish discoloration, including this one.  If I had photographed the front, you would see that.

Updated Totals:

1983 Topps x3: 392

1984 Topps x2: 432

1984 Topps Tiffany: 14
1985 Topps x2: 385

1985 Topps Tiffany: 13

1987 Topps Tiffany: 23

1990 Bowman x2: 133

1990 Leaf x10: 136

1991 Bowman x4: 82

1992 Bowman x3: 60

Sportlots Pickups

I picked up these 55 cards over the course of a few Sportlots.com orders.  The bulk of those orders were 1972 Topps set needs, but whenever I place an order with a seller on that site, I also check what sort of Wallach inventory they have.  I definitely consider 1982-86 the "Golden Age" of Wallach cards, so it's nice to see so many from that period arrive all at once.  

Updated Totals:

1982 Fleer x3: 456
1983 Donruss x6: 159

1983 Fleer x2: 206

1983 Topps x13: 387

1984 Donruss: 167

1984 Fleer x3: 174

1985 Donruss x5: 136

1985 Fleer x8: 131

1985 Topps x8: 382

1986 Donruss x2: 168

1986 Fleer x4: 164

Sportlots Box

This is the second "Box" shipment from Sportlots that I've had delivered.  Since the first one I had shipped last June, I've been slowly adding to my "box" with various sized purchases from various sellers.  I've taken to only placing orders with sellers who will ship to "the box" for free, or close to it.  I've developed a habit of seeking out set needs from my various projects, and then loading up on any Wallach cards that particular seller may also have listed.  Also mixed in, were a few stray orders from sellers with a large numbers of early 80's Wallach cards available.  All in all there were 273 Wallach cards in this order along with a good number of my set building needs.  Here's a look at what fell out of the box.

I loaded up on '83 Topps Wallach's to the tune of 75 new copies of it.  1983 Topps was the first Wallach card I ever pulled from a pack and remains on my short list as my all-time favorite, and depending on my mood, can often lay claim to the title of my all-time favorite Wallach card.  Here are the updated numbers for the above cards:

1982 Donruss: 217
1982 Fleer x3: 381
1983 Donruss: 141
1983 Fleer x5: 139
1983 Topps x75: 359
1983 Topps Stickers x5: 42
1984 Donruss x3: 161
1984 Fleer x8: 135
1984 O-Pee-Chee: 42
1984 Topps x14: 380

1985 Fleer remains a relatively elusive card, but I was able to add a few more here.  A 1987 Fleer Glossy and '87 OPC are the only real oddities to show up in this group.

1985 Donruss x5: 129
1985 Fleer x7: 120
1985 Leaf: 41
1985 Topps x15: 359
1986 Donruss x2: 159
1986 Fleer x2: 129
1986 Leaf x2: 31
1986 Topps x3: 376
1986 Topps All-Star x2: 666
1987 Donruss x5: 441
1987 Fleer Glossy: 35
1987 O-Pee-Chee: 20
1987 Topps x7: 939

Those '88 and '89 Fleer in the upper left above are of the Glossy variety.  Fleer took mercy on us in '89 and started using a different back from the base set, making it much easier to tell them apart.  I've gotten pretty good at spotting the glossy from the base with '87 and '88, but it was not the easiest skill to develop.  As it is, those are the first new '89 Fleer Glossy cards to cross my path since 2014. 

The two '92 Upper Deck cards are the Gold Hologram variants.  Differentiating them from the regular silver holograms is still a skill I've yet to master, I have to do side by side comparisons to be certain, but I am getting better at it.  Below is a run down of the rest of the Wallach's to arrive in this box.

1988 Fleer Glossy x2: 14
1988 KayBee Toys x2: 36
1988 Revco: 41
1988 Topps x3: 730
1988 Topps Glossy Send-In: 21
1989 Donruss Baseball's Best: 21
1989 Fleer Glossy x2: 6
1989 K-Mart x2: 60
1989 Score x4: 188
1989 Upper Deck x11: 212
1990 Bowman x10: 116
1990 Donruss Baseball's Best x2: 12
1990 Fleer League Leaders: 12
1990 Leaf x2: 125
1991 Bowman x4: 73
1991 Fleer x8: 196
1991 Score: 257
1991 Stadium Club x8: 134
1991 Upper Deck x8: 314
1991 Upper Deck Checklist x6: 248
1992 Bowman x2: 57
1992 Fleer x9: 172
1992 Pinnacle x6: 119
1992 Score x5: 95
1992 Upper Deck Gold Hologram x2: 7
1994 Leaf Limited: 18

I was able to pick up a handful of 1971 Topps needs as well.  In my effort to complete every Topps set from the 70's over the last five or six years, 1971 has probably received the least attention, certainly of the series'd sets from '70-73.  That said, the pages in my 1971 binder really seemed to pop as I was sleeving these new additions.  1972 remains my primary focus, but I may bump '71 ahead of '73 as far as my priorities go.  As it stands, I haven't even updated my "Set Builds Need List" page with '71 needs yet.  At a minimum, that'll change shortly.

As mentioned above, since finishing off the 1970 Topps set, 1972 as been my primary focus, although it's been admittedly less than "laser," as I've been fairly scatter shot, bouncing around the decade filling in needs and completing the single series sets.  I'm not a team set collector, but if I were, and the Cubs were my team, that '72 Cubs Team card would likely take a center stage in my collection.  I'm not telling Cubs collector's how to collect, I'm just suggesting they may be over looking that card if it's still readily available for 18 cents.  There were no high numbers in this bunch, but there were a few 5th series which aren't the easiest cards Topps ever printed to track down.  As it stands, I still have a ways to go on my '72 set build effort.

1972: (1st Ser) 86  (2nd Ser.) 141, 164, 181, 226, 228, 253, 255 (3rd Ser.) 266, 270, 276, 297, 299, 301, 325, 328, 337, 345, 346, 347, 358, 380, 387 (4th Ser.) 401, 405, 508, 510, 411, 413, 423, 424, 426, 428, 434, 435, 437, 439, 440, 443, 448, 454, 455, 456, 462, 465, 476, 484, 489, 490, 494, 502, 503, 506, 512, 513, 516, 520, 522, 523 (5th Ser.) 526, 530, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 539, 540, 542, 544, 545, 546, 550, 552, 553, 555, 556, 559, 560, 562, 564, 567, 569, 570, 572, 573, 574, 576, 577, 579, 580, 582, 583, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 593, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, 599, 600, 602, 603, 606, 607, 610, 612, 613, 619, 620, 621, 624, 625, 626, 628, 629, 632, 633, 635, 636, 637, 638, 640, 643, 644, 645, 648, 649, 650, 651, 653, 654, 655, 656 (High #'s) 658 660, 663, 664, 666, 669, 670, 673, 674, 676, 678, 682, 683, 686, 687, 688, 690, 692, 693, 699, 700, 702, 704, 705, 706, 708, 709, 710, 711, 714, 715, 716, 719, 720, 721, 722, 723, 724, 726, 728, 729, 730, 732, 733, 735, 737, 738, 739, 742, 743, 744, 746, 747, 748, 751, 753, 755, 757, 758, 761, 764, 767, 768, 770, 771, 772, 779, 783, 784, 787

These two were in the bunch and my first impression was that it was the same guy and some sort of error I've never heard of.  However, after reviewing the teeth like some sort of crime scene investigator, I've decided it can't be the same person.  Just a couple of similarly terrible photos.

Here the modern set build needs I picked up.  With the two 2008 Topps cards above, I've now narrowed my need list down to 3 cards for that set.  2008 is a significant set for me, in that it was the first year I bought new cards after a 13 hiatus from buying new card products.

2008: 169, 329, 643

With the addition of that Adeiny Hechavarria, 2017 is now down to one card needed, #596, the elusive Ken Giles.  I figure to check that set off shortly.  The 2018 Bryce Harper was the final card needed for that set.  I've sleeved it in the 2018 binder and confirmed it complete.  As any set builder can attest, the "final card" often turns out not to be the "final card," when you go to sleeve it.

Finally, I hammered out a good number of 2019 Topps needs.  That list is now down to four cards, and thanks to some generous readers, it may be less than that, as I've received some recently but have yet to inventory them.  But until I prove to myself otherwise, these are the four that I still consider "missing;"

2019: 60, 85, 150, 213

The final cards in this box were some 1987-88 and 1988-89 Fleer Basketball needs.  I've mentioned this before, but I've been working on the run from 1986-89 for years.  The '86 set is down to "only" the Michael Jordan (not one I intend to buy anytime soon) and Larry Bird (one I'm sure I'll pick up sooner or later), as well as all of the stickers (not a priority at the moment).  The other two sets don't have any $500 plus cards between my needs and completion, so I'm hoping to finish them off shortly. 

Of the four '87 Fleer above, James Worthy is the biggest name, though Terry Cummings (a DePaul product) had a nice career, winning Rookie of the Year and making two all-star teams while averaging over 20 ppg in seven different seasons.  I still have a ways to go for the set, but the end is within shouting distance.

1987-88: 1, 3, 9, 11, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 48, 49, 54, 56, 59, 61, 63, 68, 69, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 83, 85, 92, 95, 97, 98, 99, 106, 109, 118, 123 (and all of the stickers)

1988 Fleer is down to the home stretch, with the Jordan and all of the key rookies already in hand.  Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were the biggest base card stars to arrive in this group, but they weren't what anyone would describe as "high dollar" pick-ups.  The Stickers and All-Star Subset cards have some big names, but again, other than the Jordan those two subsets aren't going to make anyone wince at the price tag.  Here's what I'm still looking for:

1988-89: 9, 16, 21, 25, 43, 57, 64, 85, 115, 123, 124, 125, 129 (and a couple of Stickers TBD)

Sportlots Pickups

In the aftermath of opening my first full box of Topps in three years, I took to Sportlots.com to fill out the 27 cards I was missing from 2018.  I ended up buying cards from four different sellers and, naturally, I went ahead and bought out their Wallach inventories while I was at it.  The first two packages arrived yesterday (I'm not separating them by seller, that distinction just goes to people nice enough to send cards), and here's a look at the Wallach's, 116 of them to be exact.

The easy highlight of this haul were the early O-Pee-Chee's.  There were five 1983's and eleven 1984's included.  I love the early O-Pee-Chee cards from about 1982-85, and they really don't pop up very often.   So to pick up this many at once from a seller who happened to be the only guy not charging for a 2018 Aaron Judge League Leader card like it was an '84 Mattingly was a happy little coincidence.  They're the first '83 OPC I've picked up since 2015.

The 1992 Bowman is proving to be more and more elusive.  I didn't pick up a single copy in 2017.  That dry spell is now over.  It was a little odd to find six 1991 Donruss MVP's and not a single Donruss base set card, and ditto for the 1991 Score Franchise.  At some point I'm going to need to address the 1992s Topps Kids set in more detail.  I think it's aging extremely well.

1993 Score is one of the odder cards I've run into, or rather, never run into.  Where are they all?  Between the ugly design and obscene amount of other sets in 1993, I don't think anyone bought any.  Are they all sitting unopened in a warehouse somewhere, or is it actually scarce?  1993 Topps Finest is a card/set some people still try to charge out the nose for, so it was fun to pick up a couple at the normal 18¢ price point.  They're also (somehow) the first ones I've acquired since 2013.

I ended up with a good assortment of somewhat "high end" inserts somehow.  There's a '94 SP die-cut in there, a Score Dodgers Platinum, a Topps Embossed Golden Idol, and Pinnacle Museum Collection as well.  Not bad.

Here are the updated Totals:

1983 Fleer: 109
1983 O-Pee-Chee x5: 39
1984 Donruss: 151
1984 Fleer: 104
1984 O-Pee-Chee x11: 46
1985 Fleer: 95
1986 Topps: 297
1987 Donruss x7: 407
1987 Donruss Opening Day: 35
1988 Fleer Star Stickers x7: 79
1988 Leaf: 35
1988 Score: 246
1988 Topps x3: 628
1988 Topps All-Star x2: 609
1989 Donruss x4: 347
1989 Score: 172
1989 Upper Deck: 181
1991 Donruss MVP x6: 222
1991 Leaf x4: 108
1991 Score The Franchise x2: 178
1991 Studio x3: 67
1991 Topps Cracker Jack: 11
1991 Ultra x3: 77
1992 Bowman: 49
1992 Bowman USA: 53
1992 Fleer x3: 101
1992 Leaf x3: 80
1992 Pinnacle: 94
1992 Stadium Club x2: 44
1992 Studio x3: 56
1992 Topps Kids: 37
1992 Triple Play: 82
1992 Upper Deck: 262
1993 Donruss: 90
1993 Flair x2: 36
1993 Fleer: 45
1993 Pinnacle x2: 32
1993 Score: 25
1993 Score Select x3: 44
1993 Score Select Traded: 10
1993 Studio: 41
1993 Topps Finest x2: 6
1993 Ultra: 37
1994 Collector's Choice: 41
1994 Donruss: 30 
1994 Fleer x2: 36
1994 Leaf: 41
1994 Score x3: 63
1994 SP x4: 36
1994 SP Die-Cut: 16
1994 Studio: 19
1995 Collector's Choice SE: 35
1995 Donruss: 42
1995 Pinnacle Museum Collection: 3
1995 Score: 41
1995 Score Platinum: 2
1995 Score Hall of Gold: 8
1995 Topps Embossed: 13
1995 Topps Embossed Golden Idols: 3
1995 Topps Finest x2: 12
1995 Ultra: 23
1997 Collector's Choice: 23

Sportlots Pick-Up

Guess how many cards that is?  If you guessed 341, that's pretty impressive, but I'm sorry you still don't win anything.  I recently relieved a seller of his inventory of Tim Wallach baseball cards on Sportlots.com.  The phots above are a quick look at the haul.  I'm guessing I had probably hit this seller up once before at some point in some previous year,  and bought out all his early Topps and Fleer.  I'm not sure else how to explain why there was such a rich vein (to use a gold miners term) of early 80's Donruss to be had, yet aside from a nice pocket of 1985 Fleer, nothing else to be found for Topps or Fleer.

There were some nice little milestones and oddities to be found in this purchase.  The 31 new 1982 Donruss pushed that cards total over the 200 mark.  Donruss still trails Fleer (242) and Topps (1,187) in the rookie card totals, but it just gained a lot of ground.  1983 Donruss, 1984 Donruss,  1985 Donruss, 1991 Leaf, 1991 Stadium Club, and 1994 Topps all reached the 100 card threshold, and 1985 Fleer is now just outside of it.

The 33 '84 Donruss are more copies of that card than I have picked up in the last five years combined.  That's a set (like '89 Upper Deck) that I theorize people hoard more than they probably need to.  I believe it's an artificial "scarcity."  The 37 1985 Donruss increased my total by nearly 50%, and 41 1991 Stadium Club increased my total by 58% (after not picking up a single copy in 2017).  The Panini Canadian Top 15 was the biggest increase, the 17 new copies more than tripled my total bringing it up to 22.  I know this may seem counter intuitive to my stated mission, but it bruises my "ego" a little when ever I find a seller has more copies of a card available than I have in my collection.  Thankfully, that doesn't happen very often anymore, and each time it does, it becomes that much less likely to happen again.

As far as rare stuff, there was some of that too.  1985 Leaf was the first copy I've come by since 2015.   The 1988 Red Foley Sticker (in the blue b.p. jersey) was only my second copy ever and first since 2014, and the 1991 Red Foley was also my first since 2014.

All in all, it was a nice little pick-up and good way to start the year.

Updated Totals:

1982 Donruss x31: 204
1983 Donruss x22: 125
1984 Donruss x33: 150
1985 Donruss x37: 115
1985 Fleer x25: 94
1985 Leaf: 31
1988 O-Pee-Chee: 14
1988 Red Foley: 3
1990 Upper Deck x6: 258
1991 Bowman x7: 57
1991 Donruss x10: 240
1991 Donruss MVP x8: 215
1991 Fleer x4: 167
1991 Leaf x16: 104
1991 Panini Canadian Top 15 x17: 22
1991 Red Foley: 2
1991 Stadium Club x41: 111
1991 Ultra x2: 74
1992 Bowman USA x10: 52
1992 Donruss x12: 182
1992 O-Pee-Chee x3: 19
1992 Ultra x9: 126
1993 Topps x4: 148
1994 Topps x20: 107
1995 Topps x12: 47
1995 Topps Cyber Stats x4: 19
1994 Score Gold Rush x3: 12
1996 Collector's Choice Silver: 7