SoCal Autograph Odysses

 I'm trying to catch up daily with autographs coming in and wanted to post about this one before I forget to do so. It continues to amaze me that a card like this, of a great NBA Hall of Famer and numbered to /35, can go for a lot less than a rookie autograph of a player who gets almost no run in his first season. I understand that people are trying to buy into the next big thing and hope to hit big on a massive rookie since the value will skyrocket, but at the same time I think the pendulum has swung too far toward flippers trying to make profits. Personally, I'd much rather collect Hall of Famer autographs and will continue to takle advantage of the mostly low prices. 

 Earlier in July, the soccer world lost one of their own when Liverpool and Portugal player Diogo Jota died in a car accident in Spain. As a Liverpool supporter, it was brutal news to wake up to as Diogo was one of the more popular players on the team and by all accounts, a great person as well. I'd always contemplated getting an auto of his and hadn't yet pulled the trigger. After his death, I waited on eBay a bit for the prices to come down (they are often inflated after an athlete dies) and was able to get this auto numbered 130/150.  RIP Diogo. If you want to see what he meant to the city and the club, watch this. The away supporters serenaded the players with Diogo's song for seven minutes after the final whistle. "Oh, he wears the number 20, He will take us to victory, and when he's running down the left wing He'll cut inside and score for LFC. He's a lad from Portugal, Better than Figo don't you know? Ohhh, his name is Diogo!"

 I've never bought a case of product. Getting one hobby box alone can cost a few hundred bucks plus, let alone getting a case of 12 of them. However, I saw that Dave and Adams had a blowout on their 2022-23 Topps Chrome Bundesliga cases and decided tbe price was so discounted that I may as well take a shot. Bundesliga product isn't as coveted of course due to fewer people watching the German league as opposed to the Premier League in England or La Liga in Spain. Therefore, product can sit for a bit and not be bought which I'm assuming is what happened here. Anyway, not only was it discounted like 70%, I also got $25 off beyond that and did not have to pay shipping or tax. Essentially each hobby box ended up costing me $30. To compare, a blaster box from Target or Walmart costs $30 and you don't get any guarantees. These hobby boxes come with one auto per box plus three numbered cards. You will also get one case hit and two semi case hits. Due to the rookie class being j...

I originally sent a card through the mail to Steve Carlton a few years ago, and had success then. This time, I decided to send a more modern card and wanted to do something differently than before in terms of card style. I chose the 2023 Topps insert "All Aces" because honestly the cards look cool. This set legitimately looks like a playing card Ace, with each one from the set referring to a different great starting pitcher. I had the Steve Carlton one, so sent it to tbe address for his autograph requests and also asked for the Cy Young inscription. The result is fantastic.  These cards are cool as is because the design is unique and the colors pop in person. I figured an autograph on one would look good and I think this nailed it. The Cy Young 72, 77, 80, 82 inscription was just a sweet kicker. 

 If you recall, I tried a Panini La Liga hobby box about a month ago and while my autos did not hit, the box overall still ended up making its value in back in other cards. I also managed to pull an auto from a retail blaster box but it ended up not being a big name. It got me thinking what some of the bigger throwback names on the autograph checklist might cost on eBay. That lead me to Xabi Alonso, who if you play EAFC, you will know is an icon in the game and what of the best midfielders globally during his era. To top it off, he played for the team I support, Liverpool as well as the biggest team in the world, Real Madrid. He also played internationally for Spain. The auto is one of the Blue Pulsar varieties that pop in person. I would have been happy to pull this from a blaster, but also happy that the card cost only a little more than what an unopened blaster would sell for. Make that make sense.  On an unrelated note, I forgot to mention a couple weeks ago also pulling a...

 This is something I acquired about a year ago, but the circumstances of how I ended up with it kept me from posting about it for a while because it had to do with the death of my stepdad. It's a signed and numbered lithograph of an artist whose work is pretty well known in Southern California. I remember going to look at the Wyland gallery locally here in San Diego and thinking his stuff was cool even as a kid.  Fast forward thirty years, and my stepdad actually bought an artist's proof sculpture of Wyland's, and as part of the deal the gallery gave him a signed and numbered lithograph for free. I like art, and it reminded me of growing up, so I told him I'd like to have the piece someday and he did not have a problem with it.  Unfortunately, I ended up with the piece far sooner than I ever wanted. My wife and I hung the piece on a relatively prominent place on our wall, a place where guests will see it every time they come to visit. 

 As mentioned in my last post, on Monday this week I had two through the mail requests come back to me. The first was the John Stallworth I mentioned and the second was this Willie Roaf rookie card in which he also included his HOF inscription. I've said all along the best way to get these requests back is to not be greedy and request just the one, and if there is a fee, pay it. On the site I use to track which athletes send requests back, I see a lot of instances where people are sending three, four, or five cards per request. We all know what those people are doing. They are flipping the autographs on eBay and elsewhere. I suppose there is an argument to be made that those people are collectors trying to complete sets but I think more often than not those are the exception to the rule.  Like the Stallworth, I think this card came out great. Nice big signature with an inscription and signed in blue, which I typically prefer. I still have a third through the mail request out t...

 It has been since the end of 2024 that I have sent out a through the mail request. A few weeks ago, I sent three requests out because I saw there were some players on the list that I hadn't tried before. Two of the requests came back to me yesterday which was a nice surprise. The first I am posting about is former Steelers wide receiver and Hall of Famer John Stallworth. I sent a 1978 Topps card and requested the HOF 02 inscription and Mr. Stallworth obliged and added it to the signature. I think this card came out quite nicely and it was nice to get an autograph through the mail again after not doing so for quite some time. 

 I'll start this by directing your attention back to the post I made back in January about pulling my first ever redemption card. Some background; redemptions are Panini's and Topps' attempts to fulfill cards that they did yet have ready for the set before it was released. Instead, they stick these redemption cards into the packs and if you pull one, you go online to submit your request and they open a ticket. Once the athlete signs the card or signs stickers that they will put on the cards, they are able to then complete your open ticket and mail you the card you were supposed to get in the first place. It all sounds very straightforward, except for one problem. It isn't. Panini is unfortunately notorious for being unable to fulfill their redemptions much of the time, which is exactly what happened in my case. My Erick All Jr. rookie auto /299 was not able to be filled after six months, so I got an email asking me whether I wanted to keep waiting, whether I wanted Pan...

 Lots to catch up on here, as I've opened some recent releases in the form of Panini Select La Liga (one hobby and two blasters) as well as Select FIFA (two blasters). Starting with the La Liga hobby, you are guaranteed 3 autograph or memorabilia cards per box. I've opened Select hobby boxes in the last and had decent returns, in particular with Serie A. This time, the biggest hit of the three ended up being the mem card which is never a great sign, although the patch itself was pretty legit and it was a low numbered rookie of one of the chase rookies, Marc Bernal. The Bernal rookie mem auto looks like a part of his jersey number which is cool and is numbered to /25. That was easily the hit of the box and I knew it meant my autos would likely be relative duds from a value standpoint. They were. The two autos were Javi Puado and a rookie from Barcelona Sergi Dominguez. I probably made my money back with the box overall as I got a case hit, solid numbered cards (seven overall), p...

 The last of three rookie autos I purchased came in the mail yesterday, this time in the form of the Giants' Malik Nabers. Nabers does not sign for Panini, so I wasn't able to get a Contenders rookie ticket auto like I did for Ladd McConkey and Brian Thomas Jr. Since Nabers only signs with Topps (and therefore Fanatics), I had to go the unlicensed route to get a rookie auto, hence the reason there are no team logos or names. The good news is that it is an on card auto.