Goaltending Gallimaufry: SCF Trade Pickups

Gallimaufry [gal-uh-maw-free] - A hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley. 

Time for another trade related show and tell post for this series. Recently I've been making more and more trades on Sports Card Forum (SCF) and one of them happened to land me a couple of nice pieces for the project, especially since they are both of goalies that have not been heavily featured here yet. 

The first was this Travis Scott Precious Gems rookie card from 2000-01 Black Diamond. As you can see, there is a pretty obvious mismatch between the red on his pads and the purple of the Kings uniforms. This is because  he played for the Lowell Lock Monsters. Click here to see an image of him sporting these same pads and mask with Lowell.

 

The second was this Steve Mason rookie card from 2008-09 Fleer Ultra. Mason is pictured in his Columbus uniform with matching equipment, except of course for the green, black, and yellow mask he is wearing. That one comes from his time with the London Knights of the OHL. Click here to see Mason sporting this mask with the matching green, white and gold of the Knights uniforms.

I like to think that this project has found a home for two cards that not many people would've been interested in, especially the Travis Scott. That's what I love about projects like these as they make you get out and look for cards that you wouldn't usually think twice about. In this case, I found them on a trade list and got them in exchange for a few cards I had no use for, so its a win win situation and you can't beat that. 

Goaltending Gallimaufry Count: 109

Gold Script Update

Just when I thought my Super Script total might eclipse that of the less rare Gold Scripts, I came across a deal on eBay that would change that. I was at the point where I had 51 Golds and 48 Supers, the closest those two have been since I decided to start going after both. I can't complain though, as I was able to knock off a good chunk of the want list thanks to one seller on eBay, who I've acutally bought quite a few things from now. 

That seller simultaneously listed eight Gold Scripts and I happened to notice it toward the beginning of the auction. Like I usually do, I threw up a placeholder $0.99 bid on each of the eight cards (including one I already had by mistake) and hoped for the best. I lucked out and no one else bid on any of them so I scored a great deal with combined shipping. 

The first of the eight is this Ivan Novoseltsev numbered 023/100:

The second was this Filip Kuba numbered 014/100: 

The third was this Drake Berehowsky numbered 037/100:

 The fourth was this Shaun Van Allen numbered 046/100:

The fifth was this Darius Kasparaitis numbered 030/100:

The sixth was this Alyn McCauley numbered 071/100:

 The seventh was this Brad May numbered 017/100:

And the eighth was this Justin Papineau numbered 081/100:

So there you have it, $14 well spent if you ask me. I just wish I had noticed that I already had a copy of the Novoseltsev before I bid on this one. Oh well, maybe I can flip it for another Gold Script or something one of these days. The seven new ones above bring my Gold Script total to 58 out of 220. While that doesn't sound like much, it is actually past the 25% mark, so that's kind of cool.

Gold Script Total: 58/220 

UD Rookie Showcase Update

Wow, it seems like forever now since I've had an update for this set. I haven't had a new addition to it since way back in July of 2012. They are surprisingly hard to find and seem to only pop up on eBay once every few weeks or months. That's part of the reason why I've only been able to get six of these things before this one.

This one is a bit different than the rest of the set because its the only one that overlaps with one of my player collections. Back in January of last year, I wrote a post about cards doing double duty for different collection projects and this was the one I was referring to:

This one actually came as part of a two card lot, the other being a 2002-03 BAP Signatures Series autograph of David Aebischer. No need to show that one off, but it will be available for trade if anyone is interested in it. Both only cost me $0.99 plus shipping, so I look at it like I got an auto thrown in for free and got a great deal on a card I needed for my collection.

Thoughts: The New eBay Feed

Since I started this blog and even before that, eBay has always been the one of the primary sources of new cards for my collection. Like most every site on the internet, it has gone through various changes over the years, some good and some not so good. That said, one of their new homepage features, the feed, is pretty neat if you ask me.

Here's a snap shot of my "feed" from earlier today:

I get the feeling that they saw what was going on over at Pinterest and decided to emulate it. I'm not into that site at all, but I've seen how it looks and doing it this way is actually a pretty nice way of scrolling through new listings. Especially because it looks for all of your saved searches at the same time.

I'm one who only likes to see eBay listings with pictures, so this is perfect as it seems like there has to be a picture for it to appear in this format.

If you are an eBay user, what do you think about this new feature?

Thoughts: Oops, Already Had That One

One of the things I like about having this blog is the want list page that I try to keep as up to date as possible. It allows me to take a quick look at what I need for my sets and player collections no matter where I am. It's so much easier than trying to keep an updated spreadsheet, let alone a hand written list. Anyway, all of that being said, it's only a useful tool if you actually use it. 

Last night I was on eBay waiting for several auctions to end, well eight of them to be specific. These were all from the same seller and all were cards for one of my PC projects, so I was trying to save on shipping by getting all eight of them in one package deal. I won all eight auctions for $0.99 each and was excited to have them, until I realized I accidently bought one that I already had. 

Now, I know this isn't the biggest deal in the world at $0.99 and all, but it's still frustrating that I could've avoided this just by checking my want list before blindly placing bids on eight cards at once. Live and learn I guess. I have no need for duplicate copies of these cards so it looks like I just added to my traders list by mistake.

Have you ever done this? If so, was it something relatively inexpensive like these $0.99 cards, or was it something more significant?

Dominik Hasek: Some SCF Generosity

In my last post I mentioned that I picked up the Van Allen Super Script via trade from SCF. Well, in addition to that card, I received several Senators base cards including one of Dominik Hasek. Gotta love getting cards that you weren't expecting, especially cards for one of your player collections. Here's a look at my newest Hasek from 2005-06 Upper Deck.

I still think it's strange to see Hasek in a Senators jersey as I tend to forget that he even spent any time there. Even though it was just one season, 2005-06, there are plenty of cards of his featuring the Ottawa Senators. I will say that his mask was pretty sweet that season with the huge Senators logo on either side on top of a bold red background. 

This card is another great example from Upper Deck of how to do a horizontal base card. The picture is perfectly centered on the card and the only part of Hasek cut off is his pads.

SCE Super Script Update

Time for another update on my favorite parallel set. I've been moving along at a pretty good pace as far as additions to this project go the last two months, keeping well in line with my collecting goals for 2013. This Super Script once again comes from a deal on SCF and was another great example of a trade that worked well for both parties. 

Here's a look at my new Shaun Van Allen Super Script numbered 11/25:

This will be the 48th Super Script I've added to the project now. It still amazes me that I've been able to put together nearly 50 of these things now is just a few short years of actively trying. It just goes to show you that if you look hard enough and are patient enough, good things will happen in this great hobby.

Sal over at Puck Junk definitely hit the nail on the head in his last post when he said I enjoy this quest for variations of this particular base set. I still get the most excitement out of finding cards for this project, specifically the Super Scripts, given how rare they are.

Red Wings: More Trade Pickups

In addition to the Jimmy Howard goalie pulls card I got from Michael over at Collecting for Kicks, there were 20 more cards for my Red Wings collection. When we agreed on the trade, I didn't know exactly what base cards I was getting, only that there were going to be 20 of them, so that added a nice element of surprise. I ended up with a great mix of cards, all of which except for one were new to my collection.

Here's a look at nine of them:

My favorites are the Ultimate Collection Zetterberg and the Crown Royale Yzerman. The Score Stuart is pretty neat too with a great shot of him playing the puck with only one glove. That's something you don't see every day on a card now is it? 

Thanks again Michael!

Gold Script Update

Time for another update on part of my MVP master set project. In addition to all the Super Scripts I've been accumulating lately, I managed to come across a great deal on another Gold Script on eBay. These have been few and far between lately, so this was a welcome addition to the collection, especially considering it was only $0.99 plus shipping.

Here's a look at my new Alexei Kovalev Gold Script numbered 035/100:

The best part about this pickup is that it gives me another complete rainbow (base/silver/gold/super), the sixth one I've been able to put together now. Click here to see it over at SCF along with the other five. This one also gives me 51 for my set, and actually puts my overall master set exactly at the 50% mark, so that's kind of cool.

Box Break: 2012-13 Upper Deck Series 1

When it comes to determining if I'm into a product or not, I've found the easiest thing to do is grab either a couple packs or a blaster box from one of the local retail outlets.While there isn't usually a chance at any of the autos or memorabilia cards, the retail packs are great for checking out base cards and other inserts.

Anyway, onto my latest break, a blaster box of 2012-13 Upper Deck Series 1 from the local Meijer. For $19.99 I got 12 packs, which works out to $1.67 per pack, so not all that bad. First, here's a look at the box featuring Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks. While I don't care for him at all, at least it's not Crosby again.

Base:

Unlike the last blaster I opened (2012-13 Artifacts), I was expecting to get more than just base cards among the 60 that should have been included in the 12 packs. This set is known for its superb photography and this years set does not disappoint. Here are nine of my favorite horizontal cards from the base set. There are plenty of nice vertical photos, but these are just nicer for whatever reason. 

Canvas Parallel:
Now for the non-base stuff. First, I ended up with one of the Canvas parallels featuring Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes. These were a great idea on Upper Deck's part, especially considering they went as far as using a totally different awesome picture (usually) than on the regular base card.

MVP:
Then there were the MVP cards, which are actually pretty sweet looking if you take away the giant "MVP" plastered across the bottom of the card. I really miss the old MVP set logos from 1999 through 2003. Anyway, I got two of these: Holtby and Eberle.

Hockey Heroes:
I also managed to get one Hockey Heroes featuring Marvel Dionne. These are ok, I just wish the pictures would've been in color, as that would make for a nice card.

Young Guns:
And last but not least we have the Young Guns. The stated odds on the box are 1:6 packs, which meant I could expect two from the box. I did in fact get two, the one below featuring Matt Donovan of the Islanders and another of Colby Robak from the Panthers.

All in all this was a decent blaster. I got two Young Guns, a couple of inserts and parallels, and a bunch of cool looking base cards. I only plan on keeping the lone Red Wing from the break, so the rest of these are available if anyone is interested.

SCE Super Script Update

Back in December I put together a post summarizing the additions I made to my main collection projects in 2012. In there I mentioned I was able to get 18 new Super Scripts for my MVP SC Edition master set project. That works out to 1.5 per month, which isn't all that bad considering how rare these things are. My goal for 2013 was to at least keep that going and try to improve upon it if possible. 

I'm definitely on the right track after another deal I made on SCF recently. I got a message from another member asking if I was interested in three Super Scripts they had available. I made an offer and they accepted, then about a week later I came home to these in the mailbox yesterday. These three put me at 7 for just January and February.

The first is this Andrei Nazarov numbered 07/25:

The second was this Francis Bouillon numbered 20/25:

The third was this Alyn McCauley numbered 06/25:

I can't remember the last time I was able to land three of these at once, I'm not sure I ever have. While none of these are big name players, they are still just as important to me as I'm now three cards closer to completing the 220 card set. That being said, I'm perfectly comfortable with the fact that I paid $10 a piece for these. I've had some go as high as $30 and others end at $0.99, so this was a no brainer. 

I now have 47 of these things and I'm definitely not getting sick of them. I'm more excited to see one of these for sale or trade than any other cards for any of my other projects, which tells me I'm doing the right thing in continuing to go after this set.

Jimmy Howard: Certified Goalie Pulls

Thanks to a trade with Michael over at Collecting for Kicks, I can finally get to another post for my Jimmy Howard collection. It's been over a month now since I've been able to add anything to it after a couple of quarter box pickups. Anyway, a while back I saw that he pulled it from a few packs of 2012-13 Panini Certified. I inquired about it and now a few weeks later I'm glad to have it as part of my collection. 

Here's a look at the front of the card:

I love the front of these cards for some reason. I really like the red border on the top and left side as well as the font used for the "Goalie Pulls" text. I also like how the background of the card is free of any background action, ads on the board, or fans behind the glass.

The obvious difference between this and other insert cards is the fact that it's made up of two pieces. While I still don't understand the appeal, you can literally pull the acetate inner portion of the card out to the right side. Anyone a fan of this set?

My Picks #92: Martin Brodeur

Today is hockey day in America, but the only game that really matters to me is the one between the Red Wings and Wild. As I'm writing this post, the Wings are up 1-0 after the first period on a goal by newcomer Damien Brunner. He's been fun to watch, and its about time one of these European sensations actually came over here and did something productive. Anyway, enough about that and onto today's card. 

I picked this one up sometime last year at one of the Gibraltar shows along with a handful of other dime box cards. It comes from 2011-12 Pinnacle, a set that features a lot of interesting pictures, some good and some not so good. This one just happened to stand out among the others. Here's a look at it:

Anything seem out of place there? It actually took me a second to see that Brodeur's mask was about three feet in the air above him. Pretty cool thing to have in a picture on a card, right? I've seen a few cards were goalies are maskless during the play, but nothing like this.

Thoughts: Competition

Once in a while I will get on the computer and attempt a thorough search of the internet for singles for my MVP Stanley Cup Edition Super Script set. Occasionally this involves doing a general search through Photobucket, which surprisingly actually brings up quite a few of them. The only problem with doing this is that most of these cards are just part of someone's PC album. There is however a slight chance one may be in a traders folder, so I really have nothing to lose by doing a search. 

Anyway, one of the albums I found today led me to a fellow SCF member that appears to also be going after the same Super Script set. They have a few less than me according to their inventory, but most of them are different than the ones I have. This probably explains some of the bidding wars I get into over these cards on eBay now. 

What do you think here, is it a good thing to have a little competition for a set like this? I know from dealing with my Howard collection that competition for a single player is a given and you have to choose your battles. In this case, I'm after one specific thing and now I have at least one other person getting in my way of completing the set. 

Have any of you run into a situation like this? I'm not really sure if I should try to reach out and work together given the scarcity of this set, or if I should keep to myself and just keep doing what I've been doing. I mean I do have almost 50 of these things now, so I have to be doing something right.

Duplicity #3: Tony Amonte

Duplicity - The quality or state of being double or twofold. 

For whatever reason I have just not had the motivation to sit down and put a post together this week, until now. I'm sitting here listening to the Wings-Ducks game and staring at a stack of cards sitting on my desk. That's all it takes for me to get back into the swing of things with another post for my new Duplicity series.

Today's example features former Phoenix Coyotes right winger Tony Amonte. The card on the left comes from 02-03 Upper Deck and the one on the right comes from 02-03 MVP. Both feature what appears to be a picture from a photo shoot at America West Arena.

At least it looks like a photo shoot to me. What do you think? Something just seems off about the lighting and Amonte looks way too, I don't know, relaxed as he glides up the ice with the puck. As far as indicators that the picture is identical, the most obvious is probably the shadows on the back of his jersey. There is also the location of his gloves and stick relative to the "America" text on the boards in the background.

If these pictures are in fact from a photo shoot, at least it's better than just showing him pictured with his former team. I can see how this would make sense if these were early season releases for 2002-03 as Amonte signed as a free agent with Phoenix in July of 2002.