Team Trading - Update - Plus Singles & Non-Sports Wants

Wow, it's only been a couple of hours, and already I've got one team down - The Detroit Tigers are now spoken for.

AH, but I have some nice additions to the trade list, this time, we have some singles that I'm going to offer for trade here first before I put them on evilBay. I'm doing this because while I know I could probably sell each of these, I'd rather they get into the hands of those who would really appreciate them. If you want scans of the cards, let me know and I'll do my best to get those up before too long. I may also already have scans of some of them.

I'm also going to be posting my wants from 2008's American Heritage, and the Topps Obama card set as well. I'm still collecting Last years' Indiana Jones Masterpiece set from Topps and of course this year's American Heritage, but I need far too many of both those sets to bother making a list. However, if you have doubles and want to send them to me, I'd be happy to have them. I have doubles of all these sets too, but for some reason I can't find my American Heritage doubles.

Also, I forgot to mention, if you've traded with me before and still have my address please note: My Address Has Changed. I'm no longer on Hamel Road, so please don't send me anything there, though I think the post office will still forward it to me for a few more months.

Whew.

SO here's the singles I'm looking to trade away:

• 2007 Turkey Red #40 Chipper Jones Turkey Red Back
  
• 2008 Topps HR-BU B.J. Upton Game Worn Jersey (white swatch w/sweat stains)
  
• 2008 Bowman SC-DO Dan Ontiveros Scout Autograph Redemption (not yet redeemed, expires 5-31-2010)
  
• 2008 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary Preview Set #UD-51 Babe Ruth
  
• 2008 Upper Deck 97-BS Ben Sheets Jersey (White swatch)
  
• 2008 Upper Deck 98-MB Mark Bueherle Jersey (White w/Pinstripe)
  
• 2008 Upper Deck UDJ-WI Dontrelle Willis Jersey (Black)
  
• 2009 Topps #595 Robin Yount Variation
  
• 2009 Upper Deck GCP -1 Joe Dimaggio Goodwin Champions Preview
  

That's not even getting into the chrome and refractors that I'll be going through in the next few days as well.

Topps Obama 2009 Needs

Foil Stickers
1
2
3
4
5
8
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

Regular Stickers
1
2
3
4
7
8
9
10
14
15
17
18

Regular Set Needs
3
4
5
7
8
13
15
16
17
20
22
27
31
33
34
35
36
37
39
42
43
46
50
56
57
58
59
60
62
63
66
70
71
72
74
79
82
85
86
89

Doubles To Trade :
6
9 x2
10
18 x2
24 x2
26 x2
30
40
44 x2
45 x2
47 x2
48 x2
61
64
65
69
77

Sticker Doubles
16 x3

Topps American Heritage 2008 Needs

15
17
18
21
25
29
31
40
43
54
61
62
67
68
75
76
78
79
83
86
87
88
92
94
98
106
108
111
113
115
118
119


Short Prints
Need All Except:
128
142
144

Presidents
Need All Except:
24
25
31
39

Topps American Heritage 2009

Spaceflight Subset
Need All Except
7
12

Back from the Dead - I'm READY to do Team Trading Again

If you look on the right side of the blog page there you'll see a link for "team trading." I have FINALLY put together all of my doubles/cards I'm not putting in a set and sorted them by team. The lots run anywhere between 30 and 80+ cards apiece, and all I ask for in return is some Angels cards. Yes, that's right, I'll trade you lots of your favorite team for my favorite team, the Los Angeles California Angels of Anaheim.

I only have a few caveats:

• NO 2006 Topps (The Black Bordered ones) - I have several team sets of this already, including at LEAST 9 Vladdies.
  
• NO 2008 Upper Deck - Again have tons of the Angels from this set too.
  
• You don't have to match the amount I send you, I don't really care. Send more, send less, it doesn't matter, as long as you send something cool. If you want to wait to send me Angels until you get your team, that's fine with me too.
  
• I won't divulge your personal info (Name, location), in a blog entry, unless you tell me it's OK.
  
• The Super-Stars are in lots, so if you want the Yankees, you'll get a few Jeters, a couple A-Rods, etc.
  
• Please no cards of current Angels in other team's uniforms (unless they're RC's).
  
• The BUDGET COLLECTOR has a very tight budget. I promise I will mail out as quickly as I can, but please understand if there's a slight delay due to lack of funds.
  
• There may be a small amount of "junk wax" in your lots, like 89 Topps, 80's/90's Donruss/Fleer, etc. That's only because I buy junk wax on occasion. In fact, I love Junk Wax. If you want to send me unopened junk wax, I'll open it for a blog post.
  
• Right Now I have lots for EVERY MLB team with the exception of the Angels, and actually I have some 2000 Topps Angels that I don't need either. As trades are made I'll update which teams are no longer available.
  

So that's the truth, rooth. I'm located on the West Coast, specifically Los Angeles, CA. I have no problems sending overseas either, but please make the trade worth my while to do so.

Thanks for reading, and let's start trading!

If you want to trade, feel free to email me at wmnoe at yahoo dot com, or leave a comment here.

Angels in the ALCS - 2009 Edition

I realize that I haven't blogged about my beloved Angels since...err...June, but don't think that I haven't been watching, because well, I have been. I thought that if I remained a bit quieter this season that perhaps they would have better luck in the Post-Season, and thus far, my plan has worked to perfection. However, I just came into possession of the Official ALCS Program, thanks to the kindness of my upstairs neighbor Wanda who went to the game yesterday.

In our storage unit I have a ton of old sports programs, a good quarter of them are from games that I didn't attend, but knew someone who was going, so I asked them to get me a program. I don't know what my fascination is with programs to be honest, other than they permanently capture a moment in time in both the game and the culture of the city that the game is being played. I realize that I'm not the biggest collector of programs and have no real expertise on their collecting, so I can't offer any tips other than try to keep your programs in the best condition possible, during and after the game. This sometimes can be tough, especially if you don't like to carry any baggage with you during the games. In my circumstance though I almost always have some sort of bag with me, either a backpack or diaper bag. You can get plastic portfolios from any major office store for a buck or two, and they protect programs quite nicely and aren't too heavy to carry. A really savvy collector would also have a stash of sharpies at their disposal in order to gather athelete autographs.

The oldest game programs that I actually remember obtaining at a game are from the 1979 Angels season, their first in the playoffs in club history. That year I think I went to two games with my folks, at least I remember I have two programs. The older of the two was from earlier in the year, and I forgot who was on the cover. The second has Jim Fregosi, though it took me all morning to remember that. Here's a nice shot of Rod Carew, who the Angels had acquired in the off-season as a free-agent.

My personal mantra is that for every live event I attend I make an attempt to buy a program. I really don't know why, I just do. This isn't exclusive to sports either, though I have programs from a San Diego Gulls minor league hockey games, a Las Vegas Stars minor league baseball game, a couple of UCLA/Cal basketball games that I attended in the bay area, and a bunch of others. Mostly I have Angels, Padres and Kings game programs. I also own about a season's worth of USC Football Programs from the year I had season tix to the Trojans. I've got a half-dozen or so Super-Bowl commemoratives too, both from the years that San Diego hosted, and from when the Chargers were playing (1995). I have yet to attend a Super-Bowl though, I just either knew someone who was going, or managed to snag a retail copy. My obsession with programs extends to the theater and live concerts as well. Given that most of the publications are one-time-only affairs, they can become quite valuable. I have concert programs from 10,000 Maniacs, Pink Floyd, The Who and The Cult. I had to buy outrageously priced programs at the two Cirque Du Soleil shows we saw in Vegas, as well as the National Tour of Wicked at the Pantages. My mother still has her programs from the Beatles two Hollywood Bowl concerts in 1964 and 65.

I also collect media-guides, if I can get them. The LA Kings sell theirs at retail, though quite often they can be difficult to find at Staples. At one point I was buying them off eBay, but that was about a decade ago. UCLA also sells their Football and Basketball programs at retail, and they're relatively easy to find. Again, media guides are a great resource during the season, though now most of the info is available online as well. In fact, UCLA's media guide is posted in it's entirety online. Someday I'll be able to gather all the programs that I own and give them their own bookshelf. But then someday I'll also frame all the tickets from every live event I've ever been to as well...but that's another post.

As for the games themselves, so far I haven't been impressed by either team. I think the Halos gave away both of the first two games, which were easily winnable. Sure, we can blame the weather for the errors, but these guys are pros and they should have played better. Yesterday afternoon's tilt was a bit better, though again the Angels blew more than one opportunity to put away the hated ones in pin-stripes. Scott Kazmir takes the mound this afternoon and I really am hoping that this will be his break-out game in the post-season. He's had one bad start this post-season, though the Angels came back and won that one. He's had middling success against the Yankees in his career going 6-5 in 14 starts with a 2.67 ERA. The Angel bats looked like they finally came to life last game, I'd love to see Kazmir get some run support today.

Last Night was actually pretty busy in SO-Cal sports, with the Angels playoff game going to 11 innings, the Chargers blowing a half-time lead to the Broncos, the Dodgers getting creamed in Philly, and the Kings dominating the Dallas Stars in Dallas. It's a rare thing when three of the four major sports are running concurrently, and even rarer that all four will be going, but that's exactly what will happen on October 27 when the NBA starts. It used to be that Baseball would be over before the beginning of the NBA, but if the World Series goes seven games it will end on November 5, almost nine days into the NBA schedule.

Oh and UCLA Basketball practice has begun, our first game: November 4 against Concordia. We're playing in the 76 Classic tournament in Anaheim beginning November 26, and the Wooden Classic is on December 12. It's a good time to be a sports fan!

The Budget Movie Review - Tinkerbell & The Lost Treasure

My mother, wife and I just took our 3-year old daughter to her first movie, and since she loved the first Tinker Bell DVD so much, we couldn't have chosen a better first than the sequel. We are fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles and have been to a couple of El Capitan screenings; if you ever get the opportunity it's an experience not-to-be missed. At $11 for the adults and $10 for children it's not especially cheap, especially considering that the DVD will hit stores on October 27 with a list price of less than the price of two adult tickets. However, the movie is playing at exactly ONE theater in the entire U.S. and for a week only. Disney did the same thing last year with the release of the first Tinkerbell movie.

As always once you're seated you're treated to a pre-show performance by Rob Richards on the theater's beautiful organ. The show's only just started though, when screening time comes an elaborate screen/miniature set plays some great animation reminiscent of the grand film palaces of the past. With every movie at the theater there's also a live-movie specific pre-show, for Tink it's just a single actress playing the titular hero who does a quick Irish jig similar to "Riverdance".

Previews: Toy Story 3, A Christmas Carol, Princess & The Frog. The first two were in 3-D with glasses provided. I hadn't seen any of Disney Digital's previous films, but I'll be darned if I don't want to see both of the upcoming 3D features, and I'm not a huge Jim Carrey fan! The preview for the most recent Disney Princess movie also contained a promotion for the exclusive 2-week engagement at the Disney Studios in Burbank

My daughter has just about worn out our copy of the first film in the Disney Fairies series, so we figured that she'd enjoy this one too, and she did, but being a 3-year old she was more afraid of the dark than anything else. The film itself is as good, if not better than the first one. We don't need any clunky origin story in this film, and thankfully there's no recap of the first movie either. The characters are all reintroduced, even if most of the familiar faces have little more than extended cameos. This is definitely Tink's adventure, shared with Terrence the Dust Keeper.

After the obligatory plot exposition beginning we get a few scenes of Tink and Terrence working on the big project, which of course ends badly. Tink then sets off in search of the Lost Treasure of the title in a home-made "balloon". There are some great action sequences and some minor thrills, but nothing too scary. No big villains either, some comical trolls and some nasty looking red-eyed rats are about as scary as you get. The end sequence is a beautifully animated celebration that was just about the best eye-candy that I've seen in a "kiddie" movie, and certainly was enhanced by the big-screen presentation.

The voice acting is all very well performed, if not exceptional. As I previous said most of the major characters from the first film don't really have a lot of scenes in this one. Each of Tink's friends get one or two standout moments, and they all get costume re-designs reflecting the colder weather of Fall. Rosetta's new outfit was especially pleasing to me, as I loved her original outfit but was really surprised at how much I liked her new top. Have I spent too much time watching the first movie? Yes, I have. As I said, my 3-year old has just about worn out our DVD. I've seen the first movie easily over 100 times in the last year.

I would have to say that my biggest gripe is that the film, when blown up on the big-screen, made some of the characters look like little more than animate dolls. It's especially noticeable in two-shots with Tink and another character (usually Terrence). The animation and production design of this film is really top-notch, every outdoor sequence looked fantastic and was filled with detail that you will miss when it's translated to your home TV. The backgrounds are simply sumptous, and the fly-overs (of which there are many) are pure glamor-shots that don't disappoint. There's also a ton of homages and in-jokes to Peter Pan and the rest of the Disney ouevre. A feast for the eyes is not understatement here.

A few random notes:

• America Ferrera does not return as the voice of Fawn.
  
• While Vidia (Pamela Adlon) appears, I don't actually recall her having any lines. I could be mistaken though.
  
• The voice of the Minister of Autumn, is John DiMaggio, better known as Bender from Futurama
  
• Queen Clarion's skirt is really something to behold.

Sometimes when you go see a film at the El Cap sometimes there's even more extra perks. Today Rob Paulsen and Jeff Bennett the voices of Bobble & Clank, as well as the trolls, were doing a free signing at the Soda Fountain next door. Since Rob Paulsen is also better known as "Pinky" and "Yakko Warner" from Animaniacs/Pinky & The Brain it was a real treat for me to get his signature. I had hoped to bring our Animaniacs Season 1 DVD, but sadly forgot it. I did make my wife's Cell Phone ring, since her ring-tone is "I'm Cute" from the show. Rob sang along with us, and it was a magical moment. I've now met both Pinky and the Brain, as I met Maurice LeMarche aka The Brain, many years ago at a SDCC.

Not only that, but all kids in attendance got a nifty little Tinkerbell Coin Purse too. The service was fairly standard Disney quality, which when compared to most other major amusements is better than average. A spendid time was had by the entire Noetling clan.

Dinged Corners: An interview with two daughters of baseball.

Make sure you check this great interview out, a really nice behind-the-scenes look at what life with a Big League dad is like.


Dinged Corners: An interview with two daughters of baseball.

Budget Notes

The Budget Collector has been entranced with Upper Deck's O-Pee-Chee set, possibly because I know it's going to be a one-off set, but also probably because the set is autograph friendly, and CHEAP! At a retail of $1.59 per pack at Target, and only slightly more elsewhere, it's a steal. Sure there's only 6 cards, but you can't have everything.

Also, with the release of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra most of my collecting dollars have been spent on small articulated hunks of plastic lately. Unfortunately I missed the Toys R Us super-sale, where you could get two Joes for $10, and if you bought four you could have also gotten a $10 gift card. I have purchased four of the new single carded Joes so far (Scarlett in Black Suit, Snake-Eyes Paris Pursuit, Unhooded Storm Shadow and Destro) plus two of the Target exclusive figure/vehicle deluxe packs, which are a STEAL at $9.99. That's my favorite price-point for a small vehicle and figure pack. Can't wait for wave two which will feature the SNAKE armor from way back when in a heretofore unreleased color.

Fantasy Football My keeper league has 8 owners, and I'd like to get a couple more at least. If you're interested in a competitive league with a lot of smack talking, leave me a comment and I'll send you an invite. It's a free Yahoo league. The draft is next Saturday.

Are you looking for display cases for your action figures or other small toys? Look no further than the Container Store which has awesome cases for just EIGHT BUCKS! They also have simple plexiglass cases for balls, bats, pucks, and whatever other memorabilia you want to keep in good condition. Believe it or not, I need a cereal box display for my still unopened box of "Pirates of the Caribbean" Cereal.

The Budget Collector is now broke for the week after dropping over $100 on routine automobile maintenance.

Upper Deck Baseball - Not Dead Yet

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that Topps is now the exclusive license-holder for Major League Baseball. What this means is that Topps is the only company that can print and distribute any Baseball cards with Major League Logos and trademarks.

HOWEVER, that does not mean that the other former license holder, Upper Deck, is left entirely out of the loop. Recently UD signed an extension of their agreement with the MLB Players' Association, which means that they can produce products with the players' names and likenesses on them, BUT without MLB Logos and trademarks. This is not the first time this has happened in Baseball, in fact, many of the sets that Topps produced in the 70's and 80's were unlicensed by MLB and carried no logos (you can see them airbrushed out, famously in the 1981 Topps set).

So while fellow bloggers are decrying exclusivity and a lack of Upper Deck Baseball Cards next season, it ain't gonna happen. In fact, I just received this press release:

<>


Upper Deck Sets the Record Straight on the Future of the Baseball Card Market



Carlsbad, CA (August 7, 2009) – On July 2, 2009, The Upper Deck Company and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced their renewed partnership to produce baseball trading cards for the upcoming 2010 season, building on the successes of recent years in rebuilding the trading card category through strengthened distribution, consumer-friendly pricing, dynamic products and interactive promotions designed to attract kids to the excitement of baseball cards. This license provides Upper Deck with the rights to feature current Major League Baseball Players on their trading cards, including the game’s most collectible and sought-after superstars.



“Looking ahead to 2010, we are 100% committed to building the highest quality and most innovative baseball cards in the industry,” said Upper Deck CEO Richard McWilliam. “We look forward to announcing more details on our product portfolio in the coming weeks.”


Since its inception in 1989, Upper Deck has been the market leader for both its ability to create top-quality super premium products and to develop innovative programs that promote baseball cards to kids. In the past four years alone, Upper Deck has committed more than $21 million dollars to increase kids’ interest in baseball cards. Through annual television advertising campaigns, numerous retail promotions and online initiatives such as Upper Deck’s Kids Rewards and the current UpperDeckU.com virtual world, Upper Deck has led the way in dramatically increasing household penetration of kids collecting sports cards from 8% in 2005 to a reported 44% in 2008.

The MLBPA license agreement provides access to more than 1,200 current Major League Baseball players, including all of its stars. Fans can look forward to finding cards featuring autographs and pieces of game-used equipment from the biggest names in baseball including Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr., and hundreds more. "Great cards of great players will continue to be the cornerstone of all Upper Deck products,” added McWilliam.

The license agreement between Upper Deck and the MLBPA ensures the company's continued commitment to its existing consumer base, while at the same time building on its extensive investments to stimulate even greater interest among new users and kids.

“We’re looking forward to continuing the partnership with Upper Deck, a licensee that is clearly focused on the long-term growth of the trading card category," said Judy Heeter, MLBPA Director of Business Affairs & Licensing. "We believe strong competition is generally good for consumers, and expect that our ongoing relationships with both Topps and Upper Deck will ensure consumer choices that lead to category growth."

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UD cards will still be published next season, albeit with no Logos, and perhaps no team names either (I guess that means that the Angels will be called Los Angeles (AL)).

I also don't see this as a permanent situation, in fact Will's crystal ball will predict that the exclusivity will lead to a proliferation of licensees once Topps completely drops the ball, which we all know they will. ESPECIALLY with Topps owner Michael Eisner, who spent much of the last three decades desicrating Walt Disney's company, saying he wants to bring Trading Cards back to their intended market, children.

Uh...hey Mike, it's not 1983 anymore. Kids don't buy Baseball cards anymore. They'd rather buy video games, or certain TCGs, or even Bakugan. Trading Cards are not even a 20th Century collectible when you think about it, they're rooted deeply in the past of the 19th Century. Kids don't buy nostalgia, adults do.

While the budget collector is happy that Topps has continued it's flagship brand as a budget collectible, and has produced a quality product year in and year out, I don't see how this new focus on kids is going to help the hobby. Not one iota.

Meanwhile, Upper Deck can feel free to focus their marketing efforts on those who TRULY drive the hobby, the obsessed fanatic collectors who still have disposable income. Talk about different worlds, we're in different solar systems. For the budget collector, it's all about packs these days, because you can virtually always justify a few dollars here and there, but even a $20 blaster is getting too rich for most budget collectors.

Over the last few years Topps had made great inroads into revitalizing the Hobby direct market, with their hobby exclusive giveaway cards, HTA program, and hobby only product. Now that the focus is on kids, and kids increasingly don't bother with hobby stores these days, will Topps start caring more about retail, where the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world are actually selling more product than at Hobby?

Hmm...food for thought.

In many ways, the trading card market needs to take a page from the Toy collecting market. After a great many years, toy manufacturers finally discovered that a good segment of their market was adult collectors who will pay more for what they want, if they can find it. Mattel and Hasbro, the two major Action Figure toy companies both have their own exclusive online-stores, and also have other products that go exclusively to online retailers. While both Topps and Upper Deck both have online stores, neither have products that are exclusive to the online world, unless you count e-Topps, and most people wouldn't.

With technology driving our world faster and faster, trading cards are ultimately a dying breed of collectible. Much like cassette tapes, 8-tracks, and eventually CDs, the medium itself is now meaningless. Is it any wonder that the two most popular card types these days are relics and certified autos? Is that because virtually days after release, every single card in a set has been scanned and posted online?

Will the simple act of sorting your collection become nothing more than a click of a computer button?

Will Topps take their exclusive contract and run with it, or drop the ball? My bet is on a colossal tank job, but I'm also a bit hopeful that this actually could be in a move in the right direction. Already in this down economy we've seen far fewer sets than last year or the year before. The real question is can Topps and Upper Deck continue to roll with the economic punches, or will trading cards finally go the way of the dodo?