Listia Win From a Fellow Cardsphere Guy

I've mentioned it before, I regularly explore the Land of Listia hoping to find cards that for my collecting preferences. Occasionally, I'll find a card that I irrationally feel is a must have even though it doesn't really fit. Recently, I found such a card and made sure I won the auction. Honestly, it wasn't even until I sent my verified address that I realized who had posted the auction. It was 'madding', author of Cards on Cards blog and St. Louis Cardinals fan extraordinaire.

It's a random insert card of Big Mac, what's the big idea, right? Well, I remembered pulling a few of these Opening Day 2K inserts from packs back in 2000 and it made me feel nostalgic. I had forgotten the specifics of the set, but winning this made me research it to refresh my memory. All told, it was a 32 card, cross company, retail only promotional insert set. It was available only at K-Mart. I didn't buy much retail product back then because I was fortunate that my favorite LCS was still operating at that time, but I did pull one or two of these back then. When I first heard that it was a cross company set, I was thrilled. It was quite a novel idea to me back then(still is). I remember wanting to collect the set, but it disappeared from my radar shortly after pulling those singles and it's been gone ever since. Unexpectedly seeing this card listed and winning it may very well provide the spark I need to chase the rest of this set 16 years later. Hey, better late than never, huh?

When the card arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were a few 'bonus' cards included in the envelope. There was a mini GQ Alex Cobb from 2015 and then there was this:

I only have a small handful of singles from 2015 Bowman's Best and I only had one Garrett Whitley. This was an excellent 'bonus' card and I think it will look great with some ink on it if I get the chance to see Whitley play in Durham sometime in the future. Thanks for the great trip down memory lane and for the unexpected bonus cards Kerry. I'll be rounding up some more Cardinaks to send your way in the near future. Thanks for reading.

Completing an On Again, Off Again Quest

Sometime last year, I received a trade package from Julie over at A Cracked Bat which contained my first certified auto of former Michigan Wolverine/NY Yankee/Dallas Cowboy Drew Henson. It stirred up a want I'd had since 2003. That's right, 13 years ago, Henson was supposed to be the Yankees future third baseman. I scrambled to pick up a few of his cards from that year, but late in the card season, Fleer released a higher-end product called Legacy. It contained an autographed hat in each box(you read that correct, I said hat) and autographed RCs of many of that year's rookie class. Henson was on that checklist with an autographed RC. I couldn't afford a box, but I had friends that busted a few and assured me they would trade the Henson to me if they pulled it. Well, that never happened and I gave up on owning the card since it was one of the hottest in he hobby at the time. In the years since, I would occasionally search for it on eBay, but those auctions always had the card priced out of he range I wanted to pay, especially since Drew ended up being a two sport bust of a prospect. Then I pulled that Henson auto from Julie's trade package(not the Legacy RC) and my desire to own that card was stoked up again.

A week or so ago, I found a copy while I was browsing in the land of Listia and I decided that I would have to win that auction. Sure enough, once the dust settled on the bidding, I was the winner. Granted, I probably 'overpaid' but finally owning this card is oddly satisfying. Besides that, I hunk I probably look at Listia a bit differently than most that complain about it. I figure that I have never spent any money to obtain credits(with the exception of the cost of stamps). I consider it a form of trading. I post cards that I don't want(and probably aren't worth selling on eBay), ship them to new owners, and get credits that I can use to pick up cards that I really want in my collection. Simple as that. I don't attach any monetary value to cards or credits and as long as I'm happy with my winnings at the end of the day, I'm a happy guy. At the end of this auction, I was ecstatic! I didn't realize how much I really wanted this card until I had it in my hand. Thanks for reading.

Good Luck Roger - Single Card Post Sunday

This afternoon, London will see one of the best tennis players in history play for his seventh year end ATP World Tour Championship title.

Nothing against Novak Djokovic, but I'll be pulling for Federer to add another title to his incredible resume. I picked up this Netpro Federer 'RC' from Listia a while back. The more I see of these, the more I like them. In recent years, I've worked to narrow the focus of my collecting, but if I could find a reasonably priced box of these, I'd pick it up in a second. It's been a real treat to watch one of the all-time greats and I'll hopefully be watching another championship chapter of your legacy being written today. Good luck!

A Godzilla Sighting in the Land of Listia

It's been a while since I took everyone on a trek through the interesting Land of Listia. Recently, I've gone on a few 'big game hunts' and spent some higher credit totals on a few items, but I've been really happy with the acquisitions I've been able to make. Tonight, I want to share none other than...

Godzilla!!!

This awesome pre-MLB issue is the first I have in picturing Matsui in his Yomiuri Giants uniform. I think I'm beginning to slide down the slippery slope of chasing down Japanese issues of at least two of my favorite former Yankees. Earlier this summer, I picked up my first Japanese issue Ichiro, and now this one has taken its place in my collection.

The back is every bit as awesome as the front. I particularly like that it has the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants logo!

I suppose the only drawback is that when I rescued this marvelous specimen from the vast junk wax wasteland of Listia, it had been imprisoned in this PSA slab. I'm currently debating whether I should set this beast free or keep it enclosed on display. For the immediate moment it will remain trapped, but that may change in the near future. Either way, it is a wonderful new addition. I hope you'll join me again really soon when I share another recent trek through the Land of Listia.