TLDR for below…you don’t gotta read the whole rambling mess below for us to put together something. Suffice to say this is a diversion thru a tough stretch. Baseball, hockey, weird non sport cards are what I’m after. I’m less about teams and players than assembling certain kinds of strange action shots you may pick up on looking at my wants. I’m also building sets, especially the Topps Heritage and Archive lines, but also the last 2-3 years. And the 1996-7 Metal Uniiverse baseball and hockey. Any card from a “Randy” goes into my pc like a black hole. I don’t necessarily actively search them but always interested. HOF Johnson to the 2 late 70s obscure Johnson’s, Ato z. Soft spots for Ernie Banks, Shawon Dunston, Andre Dawson, CJ Edward’s jr. Any member of the Cubs, Red and White Sox and Nats World Series winning teams, especially the role players. Satchel Paige and old Negro leaguers. And certain Autographs will interest me for the style of The signature rather than player. Nick Madrigal or Franklin kilome for instance. I’m the number one collector of Jahmai Jones who has my fave Autograph that evolved significantly over 10 years that I can’t get enough examples to study. If you have an interesting auto let me check it out. I may want to trade for it too, even if they are an obscure never was cuppa coffee prospect who spent more time practicing his auto than double play turn. This wasn’t much better in terms of disjointed ramblings. So let’s just talk trades. In theory I’ll trade anything for anything else across brands, eras, type, material, volume so long as we are both happy. Generally it’s on a case by case basis depending on everything.
Confessions of a rambling Scatterbrain trying to find order sorting cards.
I’ve collected a lot of things over the years, stamps and Coins a a kid, records for most of the last 40 years, zines, comics, musical and studio gear just to name a little bit. Circumstances have led to multiple liquidations several times in my life, often time that collection(s) was a literal lifesaver. Cards are certainly a much smaller lighter easier subject matter until they aggregate from small little piles and repack boxes stacked all over to…..
As we all came out of the catastrophe of covid and the lock downs I took a look around me and found myself to be unemployed and recently homeless newly located back in an old city and then suddenly a widower. All a few years before I turned 50. It has been a tough journey, one I slowly continue literally 1 step at a time wandering the neighborhood at night. Somewhere along the way I picked up one of those blue baseball repack hanger boxes at Walgreens. I’m not sure what made me do so, but I enjoyed seeing old faces from my youth in Chicago where we had 2 middling baseball clubs. I got another one, found some cards thrifting and pretty soon found that through all the grief and sadness, the loneliness and uncertainty organizing cards was about the only thing I really enjoyed. I started putting together some small sets of my fave teams and players, continued in enjoying the new old time reissue programs of Topps Archives and Heritage. Now I’m working on my own league of teams based around odd similarities like Team Chew (tobacco), team Afro, Team biker mustache and so forth.
I have watched precious little baseball this year, but briefly enjoyed hockey the last couple years so as the cold kills the grass this year I may start the same for the NHL. I’ve also found non sports collections to be increasingly enticing. Things like Bone comics, Mad Magazine, and the Bloom county collections. Rat Fink hot rods and tasteless precursors of GPK like Baseball’s Greatest Gross-outs, Toxic High, Awesome All stars. In many ways I’m “Stumbling through the dark” and found some comfort in the simplicity of youth when things made sense: Baseball and comic books.
I’m interested in trading as much as I am just meeting people to chat with here. Maybe I can find my way back to some kind of actual community or group of real people too.
I start by set building off of whatever is handy and cheap. I’ve got large chunks off a couple off the last few Topps Heritage sets and a couple of the Topps Archives sets. Getting ever closer to the base Topps 2023 set and a couple hockey sets that will become this winters projects. I’m also slowly starting to pull things out of these sets to build my own Frankensets based upon my own personal criteria, like how far along can I get to a full set under the rules and conditions I hold only myself to. It’s not really about getting full sets built for the most part, but much more about justifying the process that I’ve found helpful.
So I think I’ve got my FS/T and collection visible. For the vast majority of things I’m willing to entertain offers on. Even if I’ve almost got a set done, you might have something I need more. I’m willing to trade tons of nickel cards for 1 vintage or single equal card for card out of the exact same set and just about any scenario in between. I occasionally buy things if I have a few bucks, but I’ve been unable to work for a while and don’t have much. I’m willing to sell as a way to build up a small nest egg for cards. Make me an offer of cash, cards, or barter. Please keep in mind that I have very good days and very bad days, sometimes in the same 24 hour period. Sometimes I’m gung ho and sometimes I can’t do anything but stare at the wall for hours. I don’t get things packed up and mailed right away, everything usually takes me a few days. So please be patient and maybe offer a reminder. If you happen to be in Milwaukee or maybe Chicago and know of gatherings (aside from card shows) or just wanna get together in a small group to talk about, show off, trade cards or whatever it is that is done at such events I’d be interested in checking it out.
To My Trading partners:
For starters please know that I take care of my elderly mother in her home. Sometimes this gives me a ton of time to sort and fiddle (our in house term for my card activities). But sometimes there are health issues that flare up and dealing with sudden Dr Visits or even trips to the ER can take up my time and energy and that can cause delays in my getting cards pulled and mailed out. Something’s I may have to hold small packages until I have the money to pay for non PWE postage.
I really do try to get things out quickly but if I can’t I always try to include a little something extra, be that one of your “guys”, something that was dropped from a larger deal and especially an item that I have from your want list.
When I mail binder pages I will put the cards with PS into the pocket upside down to protect the top edges from tape, dirt, etc. I’ll use old wrappers to cover the open edges of PS rather than taping across the top of the card. I’m constitutionally unable to just throw away wrappers for some reason so if you are looking for or collecting any wax junk or foil packs I can stuff a few in with a trade if I got em, but I don’t have a comprehensive list.
I am willing to trade anything for any other thing if it works for me. I’ll trade across sports, junk for rare, rare for commons, sports for non. Nothing it to weird for me to consider.
I generally wil list most of anything from this 21st century fairly quickly. I’ve got times of stuff from before that. Rather that trying to list all of Donruss 87-92, fleer 88-92 base, Leaf etc etc I’ve picked a few things to list a small section of. So if you find a few of your wants on a given set you are building please ask if I got more. For example I recently put up Some Leaf Studio 91 & 92, Fleer Ultra 92, tops TSC 90-92, etc. I would give very favorable terms to anyone who needed dozens or hundreds of these cards to fill your holes. Same with the aforementioned junk wax. I’m also interested in the idea of accepting less defined trades, like you want XYZ and have a bunch of set ABC that I’ve had some curiosity of or there is an a line I haven’t explored that looks cool I could just agree to a pile of random things from whatever. I also have some limited Football and basketball of unknown years that turned up in larger collections I bought. There is some junk wax and some more recent flashy sparkly ones but nothing particularly special afaik. I’m trying to put up a few things little by little just in case someone’s set needs them. If this is of interest ask and I can take a look at it for you.
I do have some guys and teams in Baseball and Hockey. I grew up in Chicago and have been a die hard Cubs fan since 1976 when Mr Wrigley the Gum Magnate opened the bleachers for kids to come see the game after the 7th inning stretch.
Ernie Banks is my Fave all time player, the 2016 team (and I’m interested in assembling players cards from before that and where they went after, not necessarily every players every card from all stops but a nice representation of where did they come from and how were they spread to the winds after.) I’m similarly interested in slowly getting this type of set for 2005 White Sox, 2004 Red Sox, the 2019 Nats, the Chicago Blackhawk 2010-2015 dynasty, the Colorado Avs and Washington Caps Stanley cup teams.
My guys (besides the obvious god like stars of various teams above) are Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Shawon Dunston, Carl Edwards Jr/CJ Edwards but known and loved in our hearts always as the “Stringbean Slinger”, Sean Doolittle, Rick Reuschel, guys in old timey uniforms, guys who look like they are dancing on the card (but not really), Negro League players, Satchel Paige, pictures where the bat or ball seems to just float in the air for no reason largely unconnected with the player around it, balls (or pucks) caught just before or after it was caught or even better still on the bat. Love mascots, ballparks and the landmarks that make them special, Wrigley field, old Comisky park, defunct teams (not moved unless they took on a whole new identity like Pilots/brewers. As for Hockey I’m fond of the not quite star players like Brooks Liach, Johnny Oduya, Mike Greir, Mike Marson, Val James, cards with partially undressed skaters, those with recent stitches or blood on the sweater, WHA, defunct teams, old time sweaters, the same general absurdities as baseball. So let’s see what you got and tell me what of mine you need. If you know of trading meetups or events that are more social and less business than usual card shows in Chicago or Milwaukee please invite me. And finally my name, Randy, is just obscure enough but not so uncommon that i pull any card of any sport and put it aside. For what exactly I’m not sure, but generally i try to find them in the wild or have them show up, but there are occasional things that end up on wantlists too.
