Somehow, I've managed to land nearly 75 percent of the 2025 Topps flagship set. TCDB says I have 516 of the 700 cards. This is despite making exactly one retail purchase of 2025 Topps the entire year. I bought a blaster back in February when it came out. Nothing since. I've done very well with cutting back on spending for new sets that are merely "meh" to me. But thanks to a great send of almost the full Series 1 checklist and gifts of hanger boxes and random packs from loved ones, I still have accumulated enough that I'm battling the "go ahead and complete it" whispers in my brain. But, no, right now I'm treating 2025 Topps like I do all flagship sets that don't inspire me enough -- just get that Dodger team set. I finished that off with an online purchase that arrived recently. I needed only six Series 2 cards so I've got some dupes to repurpose. Here are those six: I hate it when the Mookie Betts card is elusive, so that'...
For the first five years of this blog, there was nothing more mind-blowing to me than communicating and trading with collectors from around the world, specifically overseas. England, France, Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, I couldn't believe the reach of the blog and how many different people collected baseball cards! I connected with many of them and traded multiple times with some. Then, slowly, each of them disappeared from the blog space, often without a trace, until it's now just me and some of my Canadian friends. One collector, though, has turned back the clock, at least for now, by moving from the States back to Japan. Kenny, a.k.a., Zippy Zappy , has been downsizing and refocusing his collection and sending out cards to folks who could use them more than he can. I received an envelope from Japan a few weeks ago with some cards, and then yesterday a big, fat package from Japan Post was deposited on a chair on my porch. Well, well, t...