Cards from Boxbusters.net

Ross from Boxbusters.net sent these cards as well as a few more Yankees cards.



I really love the Joba and Bernie Williams cards. And the 2008 Goudey Matsui card which I needed to help complete my set.

I'm glad Ross liked the Heroes cards as well as the extras. I have tons of Heroes cards so if anyone is interested please don't hesitate to ask.

My gmail username is pcaprara. If you see anything you need just shoot me an email or just send me a link to your wantlists and I will see what I can do.

Thanks again to Ross!

And now for something completely different

And now for something completely different

New posts coming soon.

And this one too

And Rutgers beat NC State in the Papajohns.com Bowl

Merry Christmas to all

At the time I'm writing this I'm in the process of packing to go to New Jersey to visit family. I'll be carting Kimaloo off to Jersey after she gets off of work.

Just wanted to wish all the bloggers a very Merry Christmas!

Hope you guys get lots of shiny refractors and 1/1's for Christmas!

He came he came, Santa came!!! (Christmas comes early)

Well, I did a refresh on my blog and noticed that PA had posted a blog. So I refresh my RSS feed to see this post on Yankees.com. Then over to ESPN to check out what they're saying. (Technology rocks)

So it appears we have a new first baseman to replace that Giambi guy. I've had a love-hate relationship with Giambi. Just when you think Giambi is turning the corner he just lets you down. Don't get me wrong, he's done pretty good for himself offensively and occasionally had some good plays at 1st base.

Giambi was that huge MVP that the Yankee brass went after the 2001 World Series. George took that loss to the Diamondback really tough as did most of us. I can handle the 2004 collapse because I saw it coming. At no point in time did I see Mariano blowing the 9th in Game 7 of that World Series.

Replacing this guy would be tough. Martinez became an icon after winning 4 World Series rings and doing some incredible things during that postseason run. Giambi fell short specifically in batting average. He digressed into a power hitter-home run-rbi-strikeout guy. He pretty much became a designated hitter and all his "troubles" that he was "sorry" for didn't really help matters. I think in his final year he became that Yankee player we were all waiting for. He still wasn't the hitter we were expecting although he did surprise us a few times beating the shift by hitting to the opposite field. But it wasn't enough to warrant the Yankee brass offering him another contract.

Fast forward and the Yankees pick up Nick Swisher to be our 1st baseman/4th outfielder. We traded away Wilson Betemit who I was kinda fond of. As a utility man, Betemit did a pretty damn good job in my opinion. I think if he was able to play regularly he could be a decent consistent player.

So this man was our 1st baseman. To be honest, I didn't believe it. I really expected this idea to fail and Juan Miranda to take over first base. Then the Yanks end up signing CC and AJ Burnett. They overspent for CC, and I'm not sure if Burnett will work out. Anyway, that's a whole lot of money to throw out and I figured we were done shopping. I was hoping we'd pick up some else to cover 1st base. Also praying that Tex wouldn't go to the Red Sox. And I don't want Manny Ramirez. I'm sorry, we have enough outfields who can't play outfield well. We're overflowing with DH candidates so we don't really need another one.

Then the Yankees go ahead and give the fans an early Christmas:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

1st base became a revolving door for us. Hell, Gary Sheffield played first base. We brought back Tino, we had Nick Johnson, Andy Phillips, Wilson Betemit, Johnny Damon played for part of a game. We had rumors of Posada going to 1st, Matsui, Damon, even Jeter.

I do feel bad for the players in the minors because we have 3rd and 1st sewed up for a long time. Juan Miranda will be relegated to a 40 man roster backup. Eric Duncan probably won't ever see action in the majors. But that may be for the best. I'm not a baseball scout and I can't tell you how well they'll do in the show. The little I saw of Miranda when he was called up and the two games at the Governor's cup were a small sample. He had promise but sometimes you just never know.

I really don't know how things work out with Tex. He seems like a player that works hard and has been consistent over the years. I hope he can continue being that same player with the Yankees. Do I think he's worth the money? Probably, he's one of the few good offensive first basemen who is a good fielder that's left. Should the Yanks have let him go to the Nationals? They could've, but then there'd be that hole at 1st base (I'm sorry I never saw Swisher as a REAL solution to first base). And we've lost lots of RBI's and Runs when we let Abreu and Giambi walk. All I know is our infield is pretty set for quite a while. Our outfield will continue to be a work in progress but I hope it's an outfield that includes Xavier Nady. I'm a big fan of his style of game and I hope the Yankees have him in their plans moving forward.

I don't know how I feel about this team. It feels different than the teams we've been fielding for the past few years. I hope it's different in the right direction. But we won't know until they take the field in 2009. I've grown accustomed to avoiding predicting or expecting the Yankees to make the playoffs due to the last 3 years or so.

But, for me, no one will ever replace this man at first base. He is and will always be the 1st basemen of my Yankee team.

2008 Timeline Hobby Box Break

Here is my 2008 Timeline box break. I was in a hurry to go out Christmas shopping so you'll have to forgive me. There's also a voice cameo appearance by Kimaloo.

The hobby product is way better than the blasters. You get tons more short print cards and smaller amounts of the standard base. I have yet to pull a gold card from a blaster but I pulled quite a few in the hobby box.

I really wish Upper Deck would do a Heritage kind of thing (except with their own Upper Deck products) and use old base sets as their design. (Just for clarification in the video, when I say Upper Deck doesn't have a Heritage set I mean that Topps Heritage shows card designs from Topps sets. Whereas Goudy cards aren't part of the original Upper deck cards whose foily goodness started with the 1989 set). But stick with just one design for the whole set instead of plowing all of their different versions in one product. Granted a lot of the cards from the 90's have similar designs, that wouldn't exactly make things exciting. But the SP products were pretty good designs, at least the 93-96 ones were. I can't vouch for the others.

I know a few people don't like this set but I do. The short print situation is very unfortunate but I just can't stay away from the nostalgic design. I didn't get any "big hits" and I don't think this product is about that. I think a set like this is designed for set builders. Honestly, what single insert card from this set do you really want? I can't even think of anything important in this set. Boxes are relatively cheap, when Blowout cards has a sale going a box sells for $35 so it has a pretty good price point.

That's my take on Timeline, thanks for watching.

Packages have been sent, props to be given

Packages have been sent out as of 12noon Saturday December 20th. They're going out first class so you should receive them by Christmas Eve:

Nachos Grande - sent him exactly what he asked for on my Available for Trade page

Saints of the Cheap Seats - Sent me a nice stack of 2007 and 2008 Masterpieces to help me complete my collection as well as some Phil Hughes cards I did not have. I sent him some Indians as well as

Dinged Corners - Sent her 3 A & G cards she needs to complete her set as well as some Mets. She sent a stack of Yankees cards that includes two YSL cards, a Phil Hughes I didn't have, and 34 more Yankee cards. As well as, some Jeter and A-Rods for Miss Kimmy.

The Pettitte Pursuit - Eric has been a fixture on many blogs without a blog of his own. But now he's got one and I'm very happy to link him. I sent him the Derek Jeter Heroes base card as well as a few other Yankee cards. I had sent out the same card a month earlier but apparently it got lost in the mail. Which is unfortunate because I included two Andy Pettitte cards and I'm sad he did not receive them.

Boxbusters.net - I sent a whole mess of Heroes he had on his wantlist. I had won his very first contest when I tried to guess how many hits he had on his site. Out of 4 cards, I pick the one from the 90's. But he sent me some extras in my winnings package:





So thank you to all who traded with me. I apologize for the slowness. I attribute it to my lack of organization as well as general happenings. That and I procrastinate badly. But I do deliver. I have too much of a conscience to purposefully rip someone off. I'm Italian and Catholic, guilt is something I'm all too familiar with.

I also want to give major props to William of Foul Bunt and PA of The Player to be Named Later.

They hooked me up with a whole mess of Masterpieces 2008 and 2007 and Goudey 2008. William gave me a whole bunch of Yankee Stadium Legacy cards that I did not have. I know there are a lot of people who don't collect these and just kinda put them off in the corner. I am
#126 on the collector's list with 229 cards on the OwntheLegacy web site. I hope to someday in my lifetime complete the set. At the very least, get all the Mattingly cards in the set.

I gave PA some Stadium Club cards he was looking and William got the 2008 Sweet Spot Nick Markakis patch and base card that I pulled from my Tin break.

I know I'm linking like a mofo so I should probably wrap things up. I have a Timelines box break that will post soon once I can get it uploaded (hopefully the audio and video will sync).

I'd like to say that it's an honor to trade with so many considerate people. 10 years ago I probably couldn't have fathomed such a thing. But with the advent of technology, many good hearted collectors are able reach each other and help out with their collections. And I think that's pretty frickin' sweet.

*(not so) EXCLUSIVE 2008 Sweet Spot Retail break* (as of 12/05/2008)

I say exclusive because I haven't seen or heard of this product being released anywhere. It's still pre-sale on Blowoutcards so I'm screaming a big loud "FIRST!" I saw this at Target and jumped on it. They had two or three more tins left.

I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to pull an auto. But I think the price point vs the gamble is pretty decent. I haven't looked at the set checklist yet so I have no idea what is included in this set. I can only speculate that there's a crapload of non-star autographs and relics just so Upperdeck can say "hey, there's a game used patch or autograph in every box!"

Here are pictures of the base card and the relic card. The "baseball stitches" are embossed on the Rivera card, you can see them in the scan.





I like the really cool tin with Jeter and Ripken on it.

Trade Props

I have to give props to FanOfReds from Nachos Grande and AdamE of Thoughts and Sox.

FanOfReds sent me a big batch of 2008 Goudey cards which helped me make a huge dent in my Goudey collection. I've been buying more and more Goudey so I think I'm going to push my efforts into trying to complete the set (plus its packs are chock full of YSL cards which are always a plus).

I sent FanOfReds some 2008 Spectrum and 2008 Heroes cards to help his wantlist. (I hope he got them by now, I was fairly tardy to send out my packages).

Mr AdamE sent me a very nice stack of Yankee cards capped off by these gems:



I was especially excited about the Mussina cards

And this very nice Eric Duncan card:

I was excited to see Duncan during the 2008 Governor's Cup Championship games against Durham. Eric is a New Jersey native and my uncle told me he lived in the same town as them, Basking Ridge, NJ (or it could've been Bernardsville).


Here he is manning 3rd base during the Championship in Durham.

Regardless, Adam sent me some great cards and I hope the cards I sent him back are sufficient. I'm starting a new pile of Red Sox for future trades. Apparently, all the packs and boxes think I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan and keep dumping them on me. More trade bait I guess.

But if you're interested in a trade let me know. I plan on updating a list of my available cards as well as card that I need.

Thanks again FanofReds and AdamE for the trades, I hope my tardiness didn't turn you off so we could potentially trade again.

Who says you can't get anything good in a blaster

So Kim and I went out to Walmart for some ornament hooks. We stopped by their card section, which was severely lacking, so we decided to go to Target. I looked for some Goudey blasters and picked up 3 of them. Told Kim, "Pick one." She proceeded to pick up each box one by one and hold them. She points to the first box and says, "That one." I quickly put the others back and held onto the one she anointed as we perused Target.

We get home and while she tended to the tree, I began busting my blaster. On the second pack I saw a Yankee Stadium Legacy card of George Pipgras.


I remarked to Kim how I've never gotten one of these before because I've never heard of this guy. And proceeded to the next card.

"Short print card," I say.


"And another, oh look at this." It was a Brandon Webb patch. I hand it to Kim so she could look at the patch. She promptly replies "See, you should've videoed this." Oh how right she was.



The talley is 1 YSL, 2 SPs and a relic card.

I caught a glimps at the bottom of the next card and saw "Graphs." I knew what that meant, a Goudey autograph card.


The rest of the pack went as follows:

Hit Parade

Mini Base

One of the reasons I picked the Goudey Blaster is because of how well Newspaperman did in his blaster break on Cardboard Icons.

Needless to say the rest of the box was a mild disappointment.

I pulled 3 more short print cards (two of which I needed), another YSL card of Urban Shocker (I was shocked by his name), and 4 cards I needed to help complete my set.

While Glen Perkins and Brandon Webb aren't my idea of a great pull, the idea of pulling a YSL card, a relic, an auto, 2 short prints, a parade of champions and a mini-card all in one pack is unfathomable to me.

Kim is picking all my packs and blasters from now on. If I order a box from the Internet, she's clicking the submit button for me.

The Thrill is Gone

My internet went down between Saturday night and Sunday mid-day. During that time I had no access to eBay. That means no Don Mattingly or Phil Hughes purchases Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. In fact, I've barely made a handful of purchases in the past 7 days. And all of them totaled under $4 each. If you knew how much I was throwing down each week (or over the past 60 days) you'd say "WOW, what happened?"

Granted I dropped some money at the local card shop and then again at Target on a TSC blaster and some random packs. But it didn't feel the same. It just wasn't fulfilling. Plus, I mostly go to the hobby shop for supplies but I did pick up a nice stack of Yankee cards from the 70's. But to be honest, that's a rarity. The bulk of my purchases are on eBay. And I buy all my boxes online.

I can't describe this feeling that has set in. Before, I was gobbling up all the Mattingly deals I could find. Buy boxes that were on sale at Blowout cards every other weekend. Now, I'm content with picking up a pack here and a card there. I feel like Sportslots has more to offer me than eBay and there I can take my time and plan out my purchases better. Distant future purchases, not something I plan on buying tomorrow or by the end of the week.

Am I bored already? I just returned to the hobby in late July. Has the high of collecting relics and autos waned and I've become complacent? While I don't have the largest Mattingly collection around, Dave holds that title, my collection is nothing to scoff at. I have my share of low numbered cards, relics and autos (or all three in some cases). If I was to cut back to a card every so often, I honestly don't feel like I would be missing out. Which is a stark contrast of before where I couldn't get away from eBay for fear that I would miss out on deals (and I have, and it hurts).

What is hobby in moderation? What kind of concept is that? Where are the case break videos? Where are the super expensive top-tier product busts? Where are the maildays filled with expensive 1/1 auto relic cards? There is nothing glamorous about packageless maildays. The occasional retail pack. No box breaks of products loaded with shortprints and autos. What a snoozefest. How about finding a relic auto you never knew existed or getting a box of a product just because you wanna try your luck at landing that primo rookie autograph? The thrill of an auction win with 3 seconds left. Wow...I really need to get out more.

When are we satisfied with our collecting? Can we ever be satiated? Are we supposed to be? Honestly, after you've broken a box of cards didn't you just want to bust into another one? This hobby is about the thrill of the hunt. It's always been about that. It's about finding the next big thing and then finding the one after that. But right now, I don't have much of a desire to find that next big thing. Sure, something could come along to change my mind but right now, I'm pretty complacent in what I've collected so far. I am more than happy to just peck the occasional mediocre auction off eBay.

I guess my point of this long winding post is that I've reached a weird land of limbo in my collecting. I'm content with not buying a lot of cards or boxes or packs every day. I'm okay with slowing down my eBay scouting and only picking up cards that are below the $5 mark once in a while. I'm not collecting with that same urgency that I was before.

Am I truely in a collector's offseason?

Confessions of a player collector

I haven't been faithful.

I have lusted after another player's cards.

I hope Donnie Baseball can forgive me...

But I collect Phil Hughes cards. I think he's a nice guy and I'm very hopeful that he'll have a great career. For the sake of our rotation, I hope he lives up to all the hype. I got to see him pitch in the Governor's Cup in Durham earlier this year. I was extremely excited to see him pitch and he didn't disappoint. He pitched 5 innings and struck out twelve batters.

As for collecting his cards, I try to go after autographs and parallels on eBay. But if you have any Phil Hughes cards that you'd like me to take off your hands, by all means let me know. Phil Hughes cards are fairly affordable on eBay except for some of the scarcer autographs, numbered parallels, or By the Letter cards. Then you have the occasional seller who thinks their stuff doesn't stink and charges an astronomical amount for a parallel that someone else has at a starting bid of 99cents.

I hope to continue to grow my Hughes collection moving forward. I dread the Hot Stove trade rumors about the Yankees dealing away Hughes in a package for a pitcher who will be expensive and may not pan out. I really would like Cashman to keep Hughes and let him grow into either a #1 or #2 rotation guy. But he's still young and he has a shot, I hope he gets that shot playing for the Yankees. Until then, I'll just keep collecting them as I go.

These are the cards I've accumulated so far:



Made with Slideshow Embed Tool

More Yankee goodness

I picked up this little gem on eBay. I was gunning for the Mattingly but for the price people normally pay for just the Mattingly I got 9 other cards (an auto of Danny Cater isn't pictured here but was on the back of the page)


I was extremely excited about the Jimmy Key and David Cone autos on top of the Mattingly. Cone and Key were starters on the 1996 World Championship team. Jimmy Key pitched in Game 6 of the 1996 World Series and took the win over Greg Maddux. 1996 will always be my favorite season. We had just moved to North Carolina that summer and I have to be honest I wasn't following the Yankees too closely at the time. I don't remember much about the summer or days before the postseason but I definately remember the postseason. I remember the Yanks beating Texas and then those memorable games against the Orioles. Then those crushing first two game losses to Atlanta and then marching back four straight games to take the Series. Being in the south where I presumed everyone was a Braves fan really makes you feel out of place. I was beyond elated when they won. I remember jumping or shouting (both of which I continued to do for all the other World Championships we won).

You never forget your first postseason (1995, that Mattingly home run will probably rank pretty high, close to a wedding and childbirth) and the first time your team actually wins it all. I was hoping to recapture that with Dave's Rays this year. You're not supposed to root for the enemy but seyeariously, if your team wasn't in the postseason how couldn't you root for the Rays?

Anyway, these cards are awesome. I have a Ralph Houk and Al Downing autograph. Al freakin Downing, I can't believe it! I look at the cards, look up the players on wikipedia to learn things I never knew or completely forgot and it's just amazing. It may be corny but I get a feeling I can't describe when I look back at Yankee history or baseball history for that matter. Well, baseball history that isn't "unpleasant" in my opinion, there are certain events in history I would (and do) block out. But homerun chases, walk off home run game winners, Game 7 winners, pitchers that win over 25 games in a season, larger than life players (I know I'm describing the 60's). I just love it.

Damn, I love this game.

Yankees I Collect

These are cards that have a special place in my collection or that I actively persue on eBay. This list is in order from most interested in to least interested in.

Don Mattingly cards (I have over 400 Mattingly cards)

Phil Hughes cards (I have some but not a whole lot)

Xavier Nady Yankee cards or Autos (I have very few)

Joba Chamberlain (I have some but not a whole lot)

Phil Coke cards (I have none, looking for some)

Other Yankees I collect (Jeter, ARod, Mussina as Yankee, Rivera, Joba)

Yankee Stadium Legacy cards(I'm on page 2 of the collector list @ Upper Deck with 180 cards)

I'll probably have to create a trade or purchase disclaimer soon just to set up some ground rules. My rule of thumb is if you're interested just ask. I'll try to be as accommodating as possible but if a trade doesn't fit or the price is too high then both parties have a right to say so and either reorganize the deal or walk away. No use cryin' over spilled Brien Taylors.

Cards I Needs (Updated 2/26/2012)

2011 Topps Heritage8,12,22,27,52,63,66,88,93,
112,113,119,122,123,126,
133,147,162,169,173,175,
189,190,192,197,198,200,
216,221,225,228,230,235,
236,241,244,248,249,261,
262,263,278,279,281,283,
285,292,298,311,325,342,
352,353,359,362,371,372,
376,377,380,382,384,393,
397,407,410,419,420,422,
425,427,428,430,433,
435-440,442,443,444,446,
447,448,450,451,453,454,
455,458-464,466,467,469,
470,477,480-483,485,488,
490,493-496,498-500

2011 Topps Series 15,20,42,69,104,128,156,
182,215,224,280,282,285,
300,311,321

2010 Topps Chicle10,21,31,33,,51,
56,60,61,77,81,83,88,95,
,106,110,113,115,
120,121,133,136,141,148,152,
156,158,160,161,176,
181-183,185,186,193,203,212,
220,221,223,228,230,231,
,236,243,246,247,251,
256,258,271,273,276-279,

SPs
282,285-287,289-293,295-302,304-313,
315-318,320-330


2010 Topps Heritage70

SPs: 428,429,430,435,436,441,
453,463,465,466,468,
,479-480,484,488,493,495,498

2010 Topps
Base: complete
Turkey Red: 2,6,7,8,10,17,18,21,22,25,27,28,32,34,36,37,40,41,42,44,47,49
Legendary Lineage: 5,6,16,23,25,27
Peak Performer: 2,3,4,6,7,9,13,24,25,30,33,35,36,39,42,43,48
Tales of the Game: 2,9,22,25
History of the Game: 15,16

2009 Topps 206
1-4,6,9,10,13,15,16,24,27
30-32,34,36,37,44-46,
50-53,57,59,61,68,72,
74-77,80-83,86,87,111,
115-118,120,124-126,130,
132,136-138,140,143,
148,150,153,155-157,160,
164,165,168,171,172,
179,182,185,188,191,194,
197,200,205,206,210,211,
213,217-219,222,224,226,
230,232-233,236,238,239,
241, 244-247,253,259,260,
262,267,269,272,273,276,
279,282,283,285,288,
289,291,296-297

2009 Allen & Ginter3,7,16,18,28,40,47,49,58,59,
61,70,71,76,86,101,103,105,
116,,138,160,161,
165,176,202,208,209,212,
,,224,238,244,
253,260,277,280,297,

SP:
338

National Pride:11,12,15,22


2009 UD OPC
1,4,6,8,9,10,12,15,16,19,22,25,28,
30,31,39,42,43,45,48,49,
53,58,61,62,64,65,68,73,84,
90,92,94,96,103,
114,120,123,124,
125,126,129,133,134,137,139,140,
145,146,150,170,171,172,173,
177,180,185,190,
194,200,202,205,209,210,213,
215,217,220-222,224,225,227,228,239,
240,243,246,251,259-261,263,265,266,
275,278,283,288,294,
304,308,313,315,319,321,
326,330,332-334,336,339,342,344,345
,353,356-357,362,372-374,375,
378,379,386,389,394,397-399,
409,414,417,418,420,422,427,
436-443,445,452,455,456,466,
468,470,472,479-481,484,490,491,
496,498,,507,511,539,546,574,580,
,592,597

2009 Topps Heritage
70,72,79,97,188,
207,217,257,292,317

SP
426,428-430,433-435,437,440-444,448,
451,452,454,457,459,460,
463,464,465,469,470,472,473,475,477,478,484,
486,488-491,493,494,496,497,500

2009 Topps Heritage Hi#
508, 510, 525, 534, 543, 555, 570, 579, 580,
586, 592, 599, 616, 620, 630, 639, 640,,
658, 663, 665, 676, 680, 686

SPs: 691, 694, 696 - 698, 701, 702,705,
706, 708, 709, 712, 713, 715, 717, 718, 720

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights
3,4,7,19,26,41,46,56,
59,70,87,91,93,98,100,
101,108,112,128,139,166,
175,179,181,185,188,193,203,
206,213,219,230,233,244,246,251,
265,283,294,299,309,


2008 Timeline:

162

, 

168

, 

171

, 

225

, 

230

, 

240

, 

243

, 

244


246

, 

247

, 

268

, 

273

, 

297

, 

300

, 

301

, 

323
326

, 

340

, 

346

, 

355

, 

361

, 

362

, 

363

, 

368
369

, 

370

, 

371

, 

373

, 

376

, 

377

, 

379

, 

383
385


2008 Goudey Baseball:
Base Completed
SP's - 201,204,207-211,214-215,222-223,
229,231,233,235,236,238,239,241,245,248,
250,255,258-260,264,265,266,268-,272,278,283,
285,290,291,296-298,300-309,312-315,318,320,322-329

Available for Trade (3/14/2010)

2010 Allen & Ginter
base - too many to list, bring your wantlists

SPs: 300,302,304,307,308,311,314,315,317,
319,320,321,327,328,329,330,333,334,337,
339,340,341,343

2010 Topps Heritage Base
too many to list, bring your wantlists

SPs: 433 x2,471,478

2010 Topps Base
a boat load of doubles and triples, I have an almost complete 2nd set

2009 Topps Base
a boatload of doubles and triples, send me your wantlists


2008 Timeline
2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,18,20,21,22,23,24,25,29,31,
32,33,34,36,39,40,41,42,43,45,47,48,49,50,53,56,64,68,82,83,
92,95,98

SPs
102,104,105,107,108,111,113,114,115,116,118,119,
120,121,122,123,125,127,131,133,137,140,141,142,145,
151,155,160,170,173,179,183,184,185,190,192,193,
195,199,201,202,203,206,208,210,244,263,291,305,
308,312,319,321,381

2008 Heroes:
(I have anywhere from doubles to quintuples so don't be afraid to ask)
1,2,5,6,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,18,19,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,
31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,
50,51,52,53,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,
71,73,74,75,76,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,
90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,99100,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,
110,111,112,116,118,122,124,126,128,129,130, 131,132,133,134,136,137,138,142,143,144,145,146,147,148,149,
150,151,152,153,154,155,156,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,167,
168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,177,178,179,180,181,182,183,
184,185,187,189, 191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199

2008 Spectrum
2,4,6,7,9,10,14,17,19,20,22,23,28,30,32,33,35,36,40,41,45,46,48,
49,54,56,58,59,61,62,71,72,74,75,80,82,84,88,92,93,97,98

2008 Goudey
(I do not have all my doubles listed here, please post your wants)
1,2,3,5,6,7,12,13,15,16,18,19,22,23,24,25,27,28,29,31,33,34,35,36,40,
41,42,45,47,48,49,50,51,53,55,57,58,59,64,66,68,71,74,75,76,77,79,
80,81,83,85,86,87,91,92,93,94,97,99,100,101,102,103,105,107,108,
109,110,111,112,115,116,118,120,122,123,125,126,127,128,129,132,
133,135,137,138,139,140,143,145,146,149,152,153,154,155,157,159,
163,164,165,166,172,175,178,180,181,184,185,187,189,190,195,
198,200

SPs: 247,286,292

Masterpieces 2008
1,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,17,18,20,21,22,23,25,27,
30,31,32,33,34,36,37,39,41,43,44,45,46,48,50,51,52,
53,55,57,58,59,60,61,62,65,66,67,69,71,72,73,74,75,
76,78,79,80,81,82,83,85,86,87,88,89,90


Masterpieces 2007
6,12,19,23,25,32,38,41,45,49,51,58,64,67,71,80,84

Yankee Stadium Legacy:
1329 - Red Ruffing x 2
1624 - Joe Gordon
1738 - Charlie Keller
1741 - Charlie Keller
2667 - Don Larsen
3557 - Joe Pepitone
3760 - Thurman Munson
4391 - Goose Gossage x 2
4787 - Ron Guidry
4850 - Ron Guidry
4875 - Dave Righetti
4901 - Willie Randolph
5032 - Tommy John
5057 - Don Mattingly
5481 - Wade Boggs
5993 - Derek Jeter
6032 - Tino Martinez
6386 - Alex Rodriguez
6411 - Hideki Matsui
473HM - Kute Rockne
1288HM - Joe Dimaggio x2
2835HM - Johnny Unitas x 2
2946HM - Whitey Ford x 3
3407HM - Pope x 3
4181HM - Reggie Jackson x 2

2008 Donruss Threads:
3,4,9,17,21,31,37,45,46,59,67,74,78,87,88,94

2008 Topps Updates and Highlights
(I do not have all my doubles listed here, please post your wants)
2,5,6,7,14,16,18,19,23,24,25,26,31,32,35,45,49,
56,60,63,70,73,77,89,90,96,97,99,100,103,109,
110,116,119,121,122,124,130,131,139,143,145,
146,147,152,156,157,158,160,163,166,173,179,
181,184,200,202,206,210,211,212,218,219,220,
221,222,224,226,229,231,233,234,239,244,245,
246,250,256,259,264,270,271,274,277,285,287,
289,290,293,295,297,298,304,306,308,310,311,
317,320,322,323,325,325,328,330

2008 Masterpieces Baseball Box Break #2

Here is my out-of-sync video for my 2008 Masterpiece box break. Got a decent amount of base but I still need more to complete the set. Especially the short print cards.

(by the way I meant Dodgers when I mentioned the Chin-Lung Hu auto card.)

I'll have to post a list of doubles sometime. I'm working on my Heroes double because it's gotten more managable now that I've pulled some cards for some people.

I'm going to try to work on a wantlist for Masterpieces 2007 and 2008 as well as Goudey 2008 which I've been piecing together. Those shortprint cards really take the wind out of your sails when trying to put a set together.

Preemptive Strike

My boxes came from Blowout Cards so I have a 2008 Masterpieces box that I need to break. And Miss Kimmy has a box of 2008 A Piece of History. Just so everyone knows Daniel from Saints of the Cheap Seats has first crack at my doubles to help complete his 2008 set.

I also have to give a big shout out to Dave from Fielder's Choice for a pack of Mattingly cards he sent. He didn't really have to do that but I will showcase those cards in a blog soon. I was very surprised and extremely grateful he sent it. To reiterate what everyone else has already said, Dave is a very generous person. I would say in regards to trades but he and I didn't even have a trade going so I'll have to muster up something to match his generosity.

Dave, again, thank you very much!

Update: Damaso Marte is a Yankee through 2011, he signed a 3 year deal worth 12 million. Looks like we'll be keeping our bullpen lefty.

The Hook-up from Upper Deck

I received this in the mail Saturday afternoon....



And all I could think about is Mario's sponsership with Upper Deck and thinking "Wow, could they really have seen my podunk blog and thought it was worth a damn? Are they interested in me? What the heck is this?" Sponsership agreements and my thoughts on refusing it swirled in my head.

Then Kim opened the package to reveal this letter from Upper Deck.....
LOL @ the above silly notions.

And enclosed was this card....


a Black Bordered 2008 Masterpieces Felix Hernandez card.

So those NO PURCHASE NECESSARY entries that Gellman mentioned and were featured on Voice of the Collector (looks like he got one too) actually came to fruition! So if you haven't done it already, go to http://sports.upperdeck.com/npn/ and enter to win free samples of your favorite product.

I did this a long time ago when I was a kid with 1993 Topps. I sent a selfaddressed envelope to Topps with all the right info to get a Gold Card. The card I got in the mail was a gold card of someone on the new expansion team the Colorado Rockies. I can't remember who the player was but I remember he was from the Rockies. Does Topps still do this? But more importantly do they do it from their web site? Upperdeck has definately embraced technology and I absolutely love seeing that. They get demographic information, you get baseball cards and free stuff, everyone wins!

Oh and to continue with the theme of surprises of the day, I went to my local card shop "All About Sports" in Winston-Salem and had Kimmy pick a couple packs of Goudey cards for me. Let me tell you this girl is lucky sometimes. She may not get a hot hit, but she'll find the hit in a box. Like this........an auto of Edwin Encarnacion. Given this can't even touch the Don Mattingly auto but I haven't pulled JACK from all the Goudey packs I've bought so this was definately a surprise. There were talk amongst some Yankee fans that after A-Rod opted out the Yanks should try to go after Edwin to fill that 3rd base hole. Obviously that never happened and to be honest I was never big on the idea. I was defiantly content with Betemit at 3rd base and to this day if they couldn't find a "superstar" to replace A-Rod, I would've been perfectly happy with Betemit.

Anyway, just wanted to thank Gellman and Guido for posting that No Purchase Necessary info and urge you guys to give it a shot, you never know!

PS. Would someone tell Upper Deck about the NO SCOTCH TAPE RULE when closing the top of a toploader? Seriously. Painters tape or something similar please, the glue that stays after the tape is removed is annoying as hell.

Doubles Doubles Doubles

I have a lot of doubles of 2008 Upper Deck Series 1 & 2 and 2008 Upper Deck Heroes. If you are looking for something specific just drop me an email or comment here and let me know, I can find it for you and we can work something out.

But damn, I can't go through all those 2008 UD cards and post my doubles it'll take too much time. Plus this could be a way to get to know more bloggers/collectors out there.

RETRIBUTION FINALLY!!!

Updated: 11/08/2008 11:05PM

So I was looking at my eBay "Items I need to leave feedback for" list. And I noticed the bad eBay transaction was missing. That irritated me because I wanted to keep that information for future reference of the user. Kim told me about the guy from 3 Point Play who got screwed on eBay without using PayPal and I posted a comment with him letting him know that even with PayPal you can get screwed.

Well I was going around the internet looking at my PayPal claim seeing if there was a way I could get information on possibly suing this guy. I had found out that others who did not receive their items from this guy had gotten their money back because they filed their claims quick. They probably were able to pull the money out of whatever account Donald Short had hooked up until it ran dry. That's probably when my claim came into affect and they were unable to retrieve the funds to pay me back.

Well I had filed a claim with CapitalOne, actually I filed two. I wasn't sure if the first one went through or if it was ignored so I ended up filing it again. I checked my credit card account site from CapitalOne to see if they had responded back to me. Nope, hadn't heard from them. Then I looked at my list of charges. There was a credit for $38.50 on November 3rd. STOP! WAIT A SEC.

THERE WAS A CREDIT FOR THIRTY EIGHT DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS LABELED PURCHASE ADJUSTMENT!!!!!

HOLY SHIT! I GOT MY MONEY BACK!!! I FINALLY, AFTER OVER A MONTH OF NOTHING DONE, GOT MY MONEY BACK!!!

That may have been the reason why that transaction was removed from eBay assuming CapitalOne actually checked up on the transaction and found out whether my claim was valid or not. Although I never received an email from CapitalOne stating that they approved my claim (at least one that I could find). I only got emails saying they were looking into my claim when I initially submitted it.

I am happy, I am very very happy this situation is finally resolved. I can't even begin to express my elation for CapitalOne. Even if my card doesn't have "points rewards," at least I know that when I am wronged they will do what they can to fix it. They didn't flip it back to me and say "it's not our fault it's PayPal's fault so take it up with them." Nope, they actually got me my money back which is more than I can say for PayPal.

What good are those STUPID guarantees if they're conditional ones? I guarantee to give your money back if we can get it back from the seller otherwise, can't help ya.

So I say screw you to Donald Short and PayPal!!! CapitalOne honored my good standing with them and actually DID THE RIGHT THING.

SUPER KUDOS TO CAPITALONE!!!!


UPDATE: I got an email from PayPal and it looks like they were actually able to get the money from Donald Short after all. But then I got another email saying:

"We recently received notice from your credit card company that you filed a chargeback stating that you did not receive merchandise you paid for. Please review the details of the disputed transaction below and the steps for what to do next."


So I can either cancel my claim with PayPal or cancel the chargeback. Either way I've gotten my money. I'm completely shocked that PayPal was able to get the money back from that loser. I still don't know what this means for PayPal's policy whether someone can pull their accounts out to avoid funds being pulled back out or not. But it looks like PayPal was able to uphold their end of the bargain even though my credit card company went into action within a few days after I filed the charge dispute claim. I guess I have more confidence about the transactions that I do on PayPal now. I actually have proof that their system was able to work. Hopefully, I'll never have to see that again firsthand.

Pitcher's Notes

This is another excerpt I enjoyed from the book I mentioned in an earlier blog.....

Many pitchers have been suspected of doctoring the baseball, and some of them have, in fact, been searched for evidence of a foreign substance. Don Sutton was one of them. But he didn't mind. As a matter of fact, he enjoyed the search--but eluded the seizure. When the umpires searched him, they found numerous notes that he had placed in his pockets: "cold," "colder," "freezing," "warm," "hot," "hotter" and "no trespassing"

(actual scan from my collection, those screws came out beautifully in the scan)

Keeping up with the nonbaseball card themes

To keep up with the theme that is encompassing most of the baseball card blogs out there, I've decided to blog about something other than baseball cards.

I voted on Saturday. Almost wrote in Joe Torre and Don Mattingly for President and VP but didn't.

And that's as far as I'm going with that.

Last night I went to a Nine Inch Nails concert for the first time. I've never been a huge NIN fan but now I have much respect for Trent Reznor and his crew. They put on a very impressive show of lights and music. I only really know the singles from their albums but I have to say I really like Trent Reznor & Co.'s style, it was an extremely entertaining show. That's really all you can ask for at a concert where you're not entirely familar with the band. I'll take it a step further and say their music is at its best when it is live so if you like some of their stuff and they come to your town you should check them out.


Mad props to NIN for putting on an awesome concert in Greensboro last night!

Paypal and their "investigation"

I have this extremely nasty blog written about my experience with Donald Short and his failure to ship the unopened hobby box of 2008 Heritage cards I had won in an auction. But I unfortunately believe in karma and while others may laugh, it's actually gotten me several times so I'll keep my nastiness to myself and what I've verbalized to Kim around the house.

Long story short, Paypal found in my favor for my complaint but they're unable to retrieve my money because the guy pulled his fund information out of PayPal. How convenient.

So I opened a credit dispute with Capital One that I feel will go nowhere.

I've considered the idea of a class action suit because there were quite a few other people who got rear-ended by this guy. Maybe if we can get a bunch of us together to go after this guy we can get some sort of resolution.

But that barely seems like a viable option. I'm thinking of contacting the people who left negative feedback and see what they're doing about the situation.

I'm really pissed off about this. Why do people have to be this crooked?

Screw you Donald Short of Albemarle, NC *flips the finger*

Congrats to the new World Champions

Congrats to the Phillies who boisterously celebrated their World Championship in the streets of Philly today. I must say I completely misjudged them and didn't think they had a chance. But that's the same story as 2005 when the St. Louis Cardinals caught everyone by surprise and took out everyone in their path including a very dominant Detroit team. I've seen a lot of teams win the World Series that I never thought would ever do it. The Red Sux...I mean Sox and the White Sox now the Phillies. It's cute, but I'm over that.

That being said. Don't think the Yankees won't be in hot contention for the AL East or Wildcard in 2009. We let a lot of teams beat us this year but I think if we can stay healthy and get back to having a strong 2nd half, we can return to the postseason and get in the mix.

But we have a long offseason so we'll see how things work out.

2008 Donruss Threads Baseball Video Box Break

Kim wanted me to post the video so here it is. You may need to turn the volume up because my voice is a little low. I've been sick for two weeks and I'm soft spoken which probably doesn't help any. Plus I've been having some weird audio issue with the built-in mic on my laptop.

I did the break very early in the morning so I apologize if it isn't up to snuff. I did a Heroes box break awhile back but due to previously mentioned mic problems the audio was messed up. It really sucks because I pulled a Frank Robinson relic auto from that box and really wanted to post it. If anyone has a good video editing program they use or something to remove background noise let me know.

Be warned it's a 16+ minute video and I look like crap.

There you have it. I was more in shock than anything that I pulled such a high end card.

Looking back at the video I probably should've shown more of the cards. I had a hard time with a lot of the player names and I didn't know many of them so I kinda skipped that part.

It's not a Mattingly....but it'll do

So I bought a box of Donruss Threads off eBay from AtlantaSportsCards who had an excellent price and free shipping.

My box arrives 2 days later (paid on the 22nd, shows up on my doorstep the 24th) so kudos to their fast turnaround.

I broke the box at 5am this morning. I made a video which I'm debating on whether to publish it or not because it's a bit rough...(I'm a bit rough, I've been sick for like 2 weeks).

And during my break, I pull this (actual scans).....


Not exactly the big Don Mattingly hit I was looking for. But I think it's a decent card (I write this with a big grin on my face). I don't know what it is but I've had some good luck with some of my box breaks this year. I broke a box of 2008 Heroes that I also purchased from eBay and got a Frank Robinson autograph memoribilia card.

I don't know of any Pete Rose card outside his rookie card that's as big as this one. This is a "would've been" Hall of Famer that holds the record for the most hits by a player. His mistakes aside, this is one of the grittiest ball players to ever play the game.

I really like this set because of all the Hall of Famers and legends. The only part I have a problem with are the minor leaguers that I have no idea who they are. I don't really pay a whole lot of attention to minor league teams and rosters outside of the Yankee's and even then I don't know everyone. But being able to pull Shoeless Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, Mattingly, Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, Hank Aaron, Whitey Ford cards is exciting.

That's part of the reason why I liked the Heroes set (even though most hated it). I'm a fan of the 50's and 60's era of baseball and I have a small collection of older cards that mean a great deal to me. That era of baseball was pure magic and I love pulling cards of players from that era. One of these days I'll have to blog about my old cards and post pictures.

Anyhow, I do plan on buying another box and hopefully I can pull something just as grand if not grander (read: Mattingly inserts).

I have no plans of selling or trading that card, it's a big pull and would make for a nice addition to my collection. And in case you were curious Pete Rose 1/25 Jersey Auto. I think if I apply Gellman mathematics, I made out pretty good with this box.

The Free Swinger

Introduction: I bought a book at Barnes and Nobles yesterday called "The BIG BOOK of Baseball Brainteasers" by Dom Forker, Robert Obojski & Wayne Stewart. I want to share some of these with people because I've always liked stories about odd plays. That's the reason why I called my blog "Dropped Third Strike." While it can be a routine play, sometimes something unorthodox happens and makes the game more interesting.

The Free Swinger

Gus Zernial of the Athletics was so strong that his teammates called him "Ozark Ike." One day an opposing pitcher bounced a two-strike curveball a foot in front of the plate. But Zernial was fooled by the pitch and swung at it. To almost everyone's surprise, however, he lifted the ball over the left-center field fence for a home run. It was no surprise that the opposition contended that the swing was illegal and Zernial should be a strikeout victim.

What's your interpretation?

Answer:
It's a home run. Rule 2.00 A BALL - if the batter hits such a pitch, the ensuing action will be the same as if he had hit the ball in flight.

So there you have it. You can hit the ball on a bounce and it'll be in play.

SP Authentic 2008 Blaster Box

Kim and I went to Target and found SP Authentic 2008 in blaster boxes. I never thought they would release this product in a blaster box because the hobby box costs about $95 online. But they did dumb down the Spectrum product earlier this year for retail so I guess this is another way for Upper Deck to get their almost-high-end products out to the masses. I must say that the base cards are pretty sharp. I was impressed with the first pack I opened. They cards aren't gaudy but may be just enough to interest some collectors.

Design

The front design of the card is very simple and very clean. Down the left side is silver foil of the SP Authentic logo, the player's name, team city, team name and position. The player is centered in the card with a black graphic background that runs horizontal. The player and black graphic are glossy but the rest of the card stock is ( I don't know how to describe it) plain. Also, if you notice on this particular Joba card, the player's number is watermarked on the bottom right side of the card. You can only see it if you hold it at a certain angle in the light. Otherwise, it looks exactly like it does in the image.

The card back is completely glossed. And as you can see you get the player's full stats. The back of the card reminds me of the 2008 base set from Upper Deck. It's a very simple but extremely effective design. There's also a blurb about the player above the stats on every card, even Greg Maddux's 22-year stats has a one sentence blurb.

Inserts

So far with our blaster boxes we've seen two inserts specific to SP Authentic. Authentic Achievements and Marquee Matchups.

Authentic Achievements

Authentic Achievements focuses on a particular player's achievement from 2008, I know...your mind has just been blown. The card design is just slightly modified from the base set. The Silver foil is replaced with hologram foil, that black graphic is now at the bottom of the card, and the team city and name is replaced with the logo and centered at the bottom. On the left of the logo is "Authentic Achievements" and to the right of the logo is a synopsis of the achievement. Again, this isn't an over the top design meant to wow you out of your seat but it's definitely clean and pleasant. But for me there's just something missing to make it really stand out from the base card. I don't know what that is particularly but it needs something extra to make it POP at you and say "hey, I'm not like the base set!" The back of the card simply has a paragraph elaborating on that particular achievement. They're numbered AA-# and that number doesn't coincide with the base set so it is indeed it's own insert set and not a parallel....but it still looks too much like the base card to really stand out.

Marquee Matchups

These remind me of the 2008 Legendary Cuts Memorable Memorabilia cards for some reason (I think it's the big SP logo in the middle). The design is simple, face pictures of two players, one pitcher and one hitter. On the back, there's a small description about each player and why they would have success about their on-card opponent.

Rookie Exclusives

The blaster box also came with an extra "pack" which was wrapped in a clear plastic wrapper. That pack contained "Rookie Exclusives" cards. It's the same as the base card but the black graphic is now gold and the card is numbered ER-XX (ER-JC in this case).




How does that make you feeeeel
Well, Kim said this to me, "Ya know, the cards by themselves look really great but when you put a bunch of them together and look at them they're kinda plain." And I think she's right. I was impressed when I opened the first pack but now after reviewing it I'm a little disenchanted by the product as a whole. There are only 100 base cards in the set, 50 Authentic Achievements and 50 Marquee Matchups. The blaster boxes are nice if you're trying to build a base set or bought a hobby box and are missing some cards. Or if you're just looking curious about how they look and wanted a small sample.

Let's face it, the real reason to get a hobby box is to get a By the Letter autograph card or some other autograph relic. Those are what make this set stand out from the other cards. Obviously the chances of getting one of those in a blaster are slim to none (in my opinion). Unless you have UNBELIEVABLE LUCK.

Speaking of luck. Kim pulled 5 Yankees out of her box while I pulled, yep, a big zero. She even pulled most of the top players like Pujols and Griffey while I'm stuck with some Red Sox and David Wright, whoop-de-doo!

For me, I just can't see the justification of 1 By the Letter card and 2 rookie autos in a box where that's my only spot for excitement. The set-collector inside of me says that I would love to collect the 100 card base set and grab any of the inserts along the way. But the value part of me says that those few hits (plus no Mattingly) doesn't really justify spending my money on a box of those when I can just work on finishing my Masterpieces 2008 set. Oh and I'm sure any By the Letter Yankee cards will show up on eBay, like this. So if I REALLY wanted one I could get it (and I did).

But this might be a litmus test for you. Go to this youtube link. And watch one hour of these guys busting a case of this product (or just see the recap at the end of the video) and see if you still feel like buying a box. After watching it and seeing what I got in my blaster, I felt like this may not be the product for me.

The PayPal FBI is on a manhunt

They're hunting the guy who took my $38.50. I had won an auction for a box of Topps 2008 Heritage Baseball cards by a guy who lives in Albemarle, NC. I was perusing for boxes of cards and I noticed this guy and I figured I could win out the auction (including shipping) for cheaper than what it's going for on wholesale sites. I like the 2008 Topps Heritage cards because they look like the 1959 Topps cards which I always liked growing up.

After winning the auction on October 2nd at around 10:50-something PM, I promptly pay as I normally do with Paypal auctions. And I go on my merry way thinking this guy will ship it and should arrive very soon because I'm literally an hour and a half away from him.

I'm generally a trusting person and I give people the benefit of the doubt because the last thing I want to do is jump to conclusions and look stupid for it. For the auctions I win, I let them run their course and only become concerned when it starts hitting the 2 week mark and I haven't heard from the seller. I've noticed some people ship in cycles, some ship right away, some are procrastinators I suppose and just take their time, hell something could come up to delay shipping. I read user feedback (specifically negative or neutral feedback) to get a feel for the seller. Speaking of which, this guy's feedback had been 100% positive...up to that point.

A couple of days ago I started to wonder about this auction and checked the date and time of the auction. At this point, I've forgotten this person lives in Albemarle otherwise I would've realized that 2 weeks is a long time to ship. Dave from Fielder's Choice sent my girlfriend some cards and they arrived in one day. He lives the same distance from me as does the dude from Albemarle! So when I realize this guy is the Albemarle guy, then I realize that I've been hitting the snooze on this one for way too long.

I check the guy's feedback. HOLY CRAP! 12 Negative feedback's since October 8th and all of them claim he never sent the item. At that point, I wanted to give him instant negative feedback but I know I couldn't wholeheartedly do that without making an attempt to contact him. Maybe there was an explanation and some people were jumping the gun on the negative feedback.

I send this letter to him via the "Contact a seller" thing on eBay:
"Do you have any information on when this item was shipped out and possibly a tracking number? I live about an hour and a half away from you so I figured the shipping wouldn't take very long."

I knew in my heart I would never get a response but I had to send it out so it wouldn't look like I jumped to conclusions. This was yesterday...fast forward to today.

I get on eBay and go to my "I need to leave feedback on" link to get to the auction site. The first thing I notice is a nice little "This user is no longer registered on eBay" note next to that auction. So I click on the auction url. BAM This listing (320306795856) has been removed or is no longer available. MOTHERF@#$@#....!

So, I took it upon myself to file my very first Claim Dispute with PayPal. So what happens now? I have to wait for the PayPal police to investigate this guy with my claim and the other 12 or so people who were rear-ended by this guy. Will I get my $38.50 back? I have no idea, I see all these guarentees that my purchase is protected or whatever but I have a hard time coming to terms with how that works in a real situation.

There's still a piece of me that believes something horrible happened to the guy and he's unable to complete any transactions or someone hacked his account and started selling fictious items. But either way, I should be informed IMMEDIATELY of said situation. This is someone else's money we're talking about and we deserve to know what's going on. If it turns out that Mr. Donald Short of Albemarle, NC has taken our money and ran with it. I want my damn money back. I don't care about cards, I could care less about the amount of money. I hate being lied to and taken for a fool. I sent you money in good faith and all you had to do is honor that by sending the goods or simply say, "hey, I can't do this, here's your money back." THAT'S ALL. I hate it when someone takes something that is such a good idea then rapes and defiles it.

This isn't how I wanted to start out as a blogger but I guess starting from the ugly side can only mean that the blogs can only get better from here on out. I'll add updates when I learn what Paypal is gonna do to help right this wrong. I guess I'll just have to be more vigilant on eBay from now on.

On a random note, I loved typing Albemarle over and over because it reminds me of Kelly Pickler on American Idol saying that word with her very Southern accent. She always seemed like a person that was a few cards short of a full set.