Night Owl Cards

  Yesterday I attended the big show at the state fairgrounds that goes off twice a year. The last time I was there was in September and I obtained the majority of cards from three dealers who are almost always there and almost always get the majority of my business.   I was so confident that they would be there this time that I didn't bother to update my blog want lists or to finally figure out how to access my TCDB want lists on my phone. I just took my hand-penned want list for 1969 Topps and 1979 Topps football and stuffed them in my pocket. If two of those dealers were there, then that would be sufficient.   Well, neither of the two were there. This was a crisis because they are there so often I automatically thought something was wrong. Then I realized just about all my vintage options were gone. The crumpled list in my pocket was useless.   It was time to regroup, though after I did, I walked the show with a lot more uneasiness than I usually do. Not only were...

  I've already mentioned a couple times how April has been a pretty poor month for me buying cards in person. From missing three easily attended card shows to not coordinating my trips with the random hours of the card shop in town, April's been filled with blown opportunities. I'd say thank goodness the month is coming to an end, but I've been dreading Responsibilities May ever since the year started so I don't expect a lot of card goodness happening next month either.   Fortunately, other card collectors don't seem to be having the same problem. And, I'm rather humbled (and a bit sheepish) that they are remembering me in the process of finding cards that I should be finding.   The latest example is from Cardboard Catastrophes . Everything he sent in an envelope is exactly what I am hunting for when I'm actually getting myself to a show or shop. In other words: 1970s ODDBALLS!!!!   Crikey. This is what I need to be getting off my butt for -- Hostess car...

  Last month when I received a very kind delivery of free cards from the baseballcardstore.ca , I resolved to get on the site quickly and pay for some cards to show my appreciation. I sort of succeeded ... until Steven from the baseballcardstore jumped in and thought he could help me with my effort by finding more stuff for me, even better than I could, that would fit perfectly into my collection.   Let me tell you how that happened.   I started on the site like I always did, by searching for various sets. That's hit-and-miss for me because most of the sets available on there aren't what I'm looking for, as you can imagine as a vintage guy. I also look for Dodgers I need, which is even more difficult, because I have a lot of Dodgers.   So the set search began, and without coming up with any 1985 Donruss baseball, I decided -- heck, might as well pursue some cards from the set I've been avoiding all my life.   Yeah, this thing -- the thing I've been making fun o...

  I can't think of anyone who runs an online trading card store who is as generous as Steven and Nancy at the baseballcardstore.ca I've taken advantage of their cheap prices on cards, especially during the pandemic. Most of the inventory won't bowl anyone over -- these are cards for the set or team collector, mostly. But I've always found stuff I like/want and you can't beat it when you add up what's in your cart and think, "is that all it costs?" The baseballcardstore has adjusted its pricing format a couple of times, mostly due to rising shipping costs, I believe. But it remains a good deal, which I haven't taken advantage of in too long. That is about to change, though, because of what Steven just sent my way last weekend. He's been storing up Dodgers for me again. And I just received 40 Dodgers cards, simply as a gift, a damn-good RAK. Out of those 40, all but two were needs and some of them were rather needy needs -- I mean like needs goin...