Thoughts: Scans/Pictures for eBay Listings

Am I the only one who finds it annoying when you do an eBay search and a bunch of results come up with a generic picture and not an exact picture of what is being listed? The other day when I did some quick searches for Stefan and Hasek cards I noticed a lot of the following, all from the same seller:

Here is a listing for a Patrik Stefan from 1999-00 Ovation:

Here is a listing for a Dominik Hasek from 1999-00 Ovation:

I understand that someone like this seller probably lists a ton of stuff at the same time and just uses the generic picture in the interest of saving time. That's all well and good, but I tend to just skip right over these listings because it's more of a hassle to have to go and ask for a scan of the card. Personally, I would like to see a scan of what I'm bidding on.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you skip right on by listings with these kind of generic pictures for those that actually show what is being listed? Or do you just take the sellers word for it and hope you're getting the right card in decent condition?

SCE Super Script Update

Time to show off one of the cards I thought I was going to come home to yesterday. As you can tell from the title of this post, it's yet another addition to my 1999-00 MVP Stanley Cup Edition Super Script project. 2012 has been an extremely productive year for this set and this is now the 18th so far this calendar year. 

This one features former goaltender Sean Burke. It also adds another Phoenix Coyote to the set along with the Keith Tkachuk I bought way back in December of 2009.

I again got this one from eBay, but as a But it Now option as opposed to the usual auction. I first saw the listing a about a week ago and was kind of turned off by the $30 BIN price, so I threw it into the watch list and tried to think of what I would offer. Knowing I will most likely never see this particular card again, at least not for a very long time, I knew I couldn't low-ball it too much, but I also didn't want to overpay. I ended up submitting an offer for $15 and a few hours after that the card was mine.

This is now the 40th Super Script I've been able to add to the collection. That means I only have 180 more to go, but progress is progress, right? I'm still kind of surprised at the pace I've been able to keep with this set this year. 18 cards in 11 months is a pretty good one.

Red Wings Card of the Day: 1996-97 Collector's Choice Darren McCarty

I was hoping to come home to a couple of packages in the mail from eBay, but I guess those will have to wait for another day. In the mean time, I thought I would share another random card from my Red Wings collection. I don't really have a specific reason for this one, other than it happened to be the next one I had scanned and waiting to be uploaded.

This one is from another set I remember collecting as a kid back in the mid-90's. I distinctly remember getting a Red Wings team set from either a card show or my LCS way back in the day, and for some reason I just really liked the design.

Most of the time the non-action shots on cards aren't all that interesting, but this one is kind of cool with the bubble gum thing going on. I've seen this on a few other cards in the past too. I wonder how many are out there, it might make for a cool little side project. 

McCarty is one of the players I grew up watching on TV and will always remember him as part of the Grind Line. While he wasn't the greatest offensive player and he had his off-ice issues, he was still a fan favorite here in Detroit. As far as specific moments, I would have to go with the following as a top three:

     - Stanley Cup winning goal from the 1997 playoffs against Ron Hextall

     - Fighting Claude Lemieux in March of 1997 as payback for the hit on Kris Draper

     - Playoff hat trick against Patrick Roy during the 2002 Western Conference Finals

That's it for now. I'm hoping to get a few more of these in the queue, but we'll see. Now I have a bit of work to do scanning and cataloging my Dominik Hasek collection.

Dominik Hasek: Back at it Again

These last five days off couldn't had come any sooner. They gave me some time to relax and just get away from cards and collecting for a bit. That doesn't mean they didn't cross my mind though. That definitely did happen and thanks to a couple of random eBay mobile searches while on vacation, I've decided to revive my Dominik Hasek collection to give myself one more thing to look for at cards shows and what not.

I really like the idea of continuting to collect the guy who was hands down my favorite player as a kid growing up in the 90's. On the plus side, he's got a ton of cool (and cheap) base and inserts from that time that should make for an interesting collection. 

I'm going to look for Hasek cards from all of his stops in the NHL as listed below:

     - Chicago Blackhawks: 1990-1992
     - Buffalo Sabres: 1992-2001
     - Detroit Red Wings: 2001-02, 2003-04, 2006-2008
     - Ottawa Senators: 2005-06

I've kept most everything since I abandoned this project the last time around, except for one jersey card as far as I know. That said, I will work on getting together a Hasek want list (that'll be fun) for the blog, but in the mean time keep me in mind for any extra Hasek's you have laying around, especially the lower end base and inserts.

Pack Break: 50-Card Mystery Pack from Target

Time for the fifth and final part of the $7.99 value box I got from Target a while back. In addition to the four sealed packs, there was a 50 card "mystery pack" that was nothing more than a plain white cardboard box inside the value box package.

There's nothing to show as far as a wrapper of odds of whats inside, so let's just get right to the show and tell. Here are nine cards of the 50. Nothing spectacular, which was expected, but there were some nice looking cards from the early to mid-90's. 

I always liked the UD painting cards or whatever you want to call them, so it was kind of cool to get one I didn't already have. The Roy is a nice close up of his Habs mask, so that's kind of neat too. The other one that stuck out was the one in the middle. It's a minor league set and doesn't even feature a specific player, just "The Bull" of the Belleville Bulls. 

Overall, this value box wasn't so great, but I knew not to expect much going in so no harm done. On the plus side, I kind of got it for free because the $8 plus tax it cost me was a gift.

Pack Break: 2010-11 Adrenalyn XL

This is the fourth pack I got in the $7.99 value box from Target. It was the most unexpected of the bunch. Usually I expect to see things like UD, OPC, and MVP among other low end stuff, but I never thought I would get a pack of something other than true trading cards. 

While I do have two of these in my Howard collection, I consider those to be part of the Miscellaneous category and not any of the regular categories (i.e. base, inserts, parallels, etc). As far as what I could get in this pack: Special Cards (1:2), Extra Cards (1:8), Extra Signature Cards (1:8), 30 Ultimate Cards (1:23).

Here's a look at the wrapper:

 

And here's a look at the 6 cards I got:

As you can see, I didn't manage any hits here, just six of the regular cards. At least I was lucky enough to get one of the ten Red Wings included in the set. Other than that I don't really care for these, and that's mostly because I have no clue how the "game" works with these things. Have any of you ever tried playing the actual game with the online codes?

Up next will be the 50 card mystery pack, so stay tuned...

Pack Break: 2010-11 Upper Deck Series 1

Time for the third pack from the $7.99 Target value box I picked up over the weekend. I've busted a few packs of this stuff and I think even a blaster at one point. There's at least a chance of getting another Howard for my collection, or worst case any old Wings card.

We're back to 8 cards per pack on this one. As far as what I could possibly get out of this pack: Young Guns (1:4), 20th Anniversary Regular (1:4), 20th Anniversary Young Guns (1:48), Brodeur Missing Link (1:5000), Hockey Heroes (1:12), All-World Team (1:12), All-World Team SP (1:120), UD Game Jerseys (1:24), EA Super Stars (1:8).

 

Here's a look at the wrapper:

 

And here's a look at the 6 cards I got:

No Young Guns here, but I did manage to hit two inserts in the same pack, so that's pretty cool. The combined odds for those two are (1:8) and (1:12). Does that mean the odds of getting both of these in the same pack are (1:72)? I was never good with probability in school. Regardless, it's better than getting nothing but base, right?

Pack Break: 2010-11 OPC

Time for pack number two of the four in the $7.99 Target value box I picked up recently. This was one of the packs showing through the front of the package, so I at least knew what it was before I bought it. While OPC is not my favorite set in the world, there is usually a chance at a Howard card or always a chance for a random Wings card for my PC.

This time there are only 6 cards per pack. As far as what I could possibly get out of this pack: Rookies and Legends (1:2), OPC Signatures (1:432), OPC Souvenirs (1:1080), In Action (1:72), In Action SP (1:720), Retro and Rainbow Parallels (1:8).

Here's a look at the wrapper:

 

And here's a look at the 6 cards I got:

How dumb is that, I get two checklists in one pack of six cards? The Marquee Legend of Dale Hawerchuk is pretty cool looking, although I wish they would've matched the Jets logo on the card with the one he was wearing at the time. Other than that, I don't have much to say about this pack. Better luck next time I guess.

Pack Break: 2009-10 Upper Deck Series 1

This was one of the four packs that came inside the $7.99 value box from Target that I posted here yesterday. It was actually one of the two "mystery" packs that I could not see from the outside of the package. You can never really go wrong with a pack of UD Series 1, so not a bad start to the box. 

As usual, there are 8 cards per pack here. As far as what I could possibly get here: Young Guns are (1:4), UD Game Jerseys are (1:24), and All-World Team is (1:12). It also says Box Break Inserts are (1:4), but I'm not quite sure what that means in this case.

Here's a look at the wrapper:

And here's a look at the 8 cards I got:

Right off the bat, I hit a Young Gun, which is pretty cool considering the odds, but then I look at who it is and it's not as impressive. Noting against Specner Machacek, but I just don't know anything about him other than he played for the Thrashers.

Other than that, nothing spectacular, although I really like the pictures on the Varlamov and the St. Louis. And did you happen to notice the horrible mis-cut on the Brian Lee?

Pack Breaks: $7.99 Value Box from Target

I was out at Target this afternoon doing some Christmas shopping and as usual made a quick trip down the card aisle at the front of the store. Nothing really stood out to me until I found a new kind of value pack, at least one that I haven't gotten before. 

It's got four packs plus 50 cards. Maybe not the best deal for $8 knowing I got at least the one OPC pack and a pack of Upper Deck Series One that I could see through the other side. The part I was interested in was the 50 mystery cards. I know it's probably all junk, but you never know and that's kind of neat. 

There were five or so of these things on the shelf, but for $8 I figured one was probably enough. The other two packs ended up being Adrenalyn and another UD Series One. I will be busting these here shortly, so look for the results here in the coming days.

Any of you guys get one of these before? I mean specifically this setup, the four packs plus 50 cards? And what do you think in general of these things? I like them if the price is right, but it's usually you're going to get a lot of junk, so they can really go either way.

SCE Super Script Update

Finally, the weekend is here and with it comes another addition to one of my main PC projects. I bought this latest Super Script on eBay a few weeks ago and it finally made its way here from across the pond. All the way from Finland to be exact.

This isn't the first one to come from Europe, so it's kind of cool knowing cards from this set of mine have come from all across the globe, well kind of. The only downside to this one is that I had to pay a bit more than expected again. I can't complain though, I did get some of these for just a dollar as well as a few for free, so it all works out in the end. 

This one is card number 204 in the set and as you can see above is the second of the 25 card print run. It features Brett Lysak, who currently plays for the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL and was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes back in 1999. 

This is the 39th Super Script I've been able to add to the collection now and the 17th this year. 2012 has definitely been a good year for this set and I only hope to keep this pace up in the new year, but we'll see what happens. These things are pretty rare after all. 

Red Wings Card of the Day: 1997-98 Score Platinum Team Igor Larionov

I was again hoping something from eBay would've shown up in the mail today, but that was not the case or else I wouldn't be writing this post. Anyway, I went through my Red Wings binder and pulled out a few more cards to show off as part of this mini-series here. I chose this one in particular because of a show and tell thread over on SCF, where the same set was shown for another team, that being the Colorado Avalanche of all teams.

This one featuring "The Professor" Igor Larionov is from the 1997-98 Score set, specifically the regional Red Wings version. There were actually several teams that had their own Score set that season and the parallel for those was "Platinum Team" versus the "Artist's Proof" parallels from the mainstream Score release.

This is one of the sets I remember collecting as a kid. I have a ton of Wings cards from both the mainstream set and the regional set. I even have two of these "Platinum Team" cards, the other one being Sergei Fedorov. I remember thinking these were the coolest thing back then. Imagine that, a non-serial numbered, non-memorabilia, and non-autographed parallel that was cool to have. Those were the days...

Did any of you guys collect this set? Or any of the regional team sets? I've thought about adding 1997-98 Score to my master set project list, but I've held off on that with two other projects going. I don't know what it is about the set, but I just love the base design and the parallels are just plain cool.

500th Post: The Card Boarded Collection

This is officially my 500th post here on Card Boarded. Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who has stopped by over the last few years. I'm surprised I haven't lost interest by now, but that's a good thing. Now my sights are set on 1000.

Anyway, now that I've got that out of the way, a while back I wrote a post about a PC website I had started for my Howard collection. That was something I did so I would have a single place to show off all of my Howard cards without having to click through all of the posts on here or mess with a clunky Photobucket album.

That was nice for a little while, then I got tired of the layout and design of that site, so I abandoned it and moved onto another Howard PC from a different website creation service. That one was nice at first too, then I realized I would rather have something for all my PC projects, instead of just my main player collection. Then I scrapped the second Howard site and started a new general PC site for all of my projects. This one is simply called "The Card Boarded Collection" and you can see it by clicking the picture below.

Some of you have similar sites both for player collections and other projects. One of those sites in particular, The 90's Collector, inspired the layout I have for the various sections of my site. The main thing I got from there was the list on the left, pictures on the right setup for each of the individual pages. Can't get much better than that.

It's still a work in progress as far as getting everything scanned, organized, and uploaded, but I'm happy with the layout and the overall look of the site now. It's nice to have a single place to see everything for each of my important projects, without having to sort through all kinds of posts on here or any kind of online photo albums. 

So what do you guys think about the new and improved website?

Red Wings Card of the Day: 1999-00 Wayne Gretzky Hockey Jiri Fischer

I've got just one card I'm waiting on from eBay at the moment and I was hoping it would've shown up with the mail man today, but that was not the case. So, I thought I would bust out another random card from my Red Wings collection. 

This one features former Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer and comes from 1999-00 Wayne Gretzky Hockey. Talk about there being too many products on the market, even the Great One got his own set back before the 2004 lockout realigned the hockey card scene. It's definitely not the worst looking base set, I kind of like it actually. 

The cool thing about this set is that on the back of every card, there was a "Gretzky on (insert player name)" section in addition to the usual stats and bio information. For instance, the back of this card has the following:

  - A very talented defenseman who should become a great asset for the Red Wings.
  - Fischer's offensive play would be a noticeable addition to any NHL squad.
  - This guy is very, very good. 

Not sure if these are actually from Wayne himself, hopefully they are because that's what the card says, but who knows. I have seen a few inserts sets like this, one with Marty Turco from Pacific comes to mind, but I can't recall any full sets doing anything similar, can you?

Did any of you guys ever bust any of this stuff? I got one box back in the day and have a good chunk of the set, but I never really see it that much anymore.

Jersey Collection: Chris Chelios

Rather than going with three Red Wings card of the day posts in a row, I thought I would go with something a bit different today and show off another one of the jerseys in my collection. Today's jersey is of former Red Wing and Blackhawk defenseman Chris Chelios. 

I bought this jerseys a long time ago back when I was in high school. I was browsing at the local hockey shop and came across a rack of jerseys and this was the first one I noticed. I also noticed the sale price of just $30 and had to jump on such a good deal. The only downside is that I bought the thing when I didn't care how baggy it looked on me. It's a large and nowadays that's just way too big for me.

Jersey Info

Team: Chicago Blackhawks

Player: Chris Chelios

Number: 7

Manufacturer: CCM

Size: L

Acquired from: Perani's Hockey World

 

The best thing about this jersey is the crest on the front. As much as I dislike the team as a Red Wings fan, I have to agree with the people that think they have one of the best logos in sports.The other cool thing about this one is the captain's "C" on the front as this is one of the few jerseys in my collection with that.

 

 

Looking at the back of the jersey, it's got Chris' last name across the top above a big number seven. It also has the CCM logo on the lower left side. Since this is an older jersey, it does not have the manufacturer's mark at the top on the back.

As usual with these, now it's time to find a card that shows this jersey in action, well at least the real version of it. I was too lazy to go through my Blackhawks binder for one of these, so this scan from eBay will have to do for now.

Even though I don't wear this one very much anymore, it's still pretty neat having it in my collection, especially after Chelios spent a number of years here in Detroit with the Wings. I never really hated the guy when he was in Chicago either, although I've heard he wasn't well liked around here before he arrived.