2010 Topps Orange Refractors

I purchased a lot of 2010 Topps Orange Refractor cards on eBay recently. For a grand total of 51 cents, I received James Shields, Lance Berkman, and Mark Teixiera. I really bought this lot for the Teixiera card. However, the Berkman card is a plus since he was a Yankee this year. I have been getting a lot of Berkman cards lately for some reason. I don’t buy packs or boxes of Topps Chrome since there are only 4 cards to a pack. Also the surface is not ideal for autographs if the opportunity arises. I really would have preferred a color other than orange but who am I to question Topps. The red in the Astros logo kind of clashes with the orange. These cards are not serial numbered which would have been nice even if it were numbered out of 1000 or 2000. But for less than a buck, how can I complain?

Christmas Swag: 2010 Bowman Chrome

What better time than a few days after Christmas to show off some of the cards I received as gifts. Actually, the only cards I received were contained in a 2010 Bowman Chrome blaster box. Each box only contains 24 cards. I received a precious checklist which gave me 25 cards. I was kind of disappointed with the contents of the box. This box sells for 20 bucks. I received a numbered Top 100 card of someone I never heard of. I also received a Yunel Escobar refractor. It really took me two days to realize that this card was a refractor. Either my eyes are terrible or Bowman needs to differentiate the refractors from the base cards a little more. So unless some of these kids make it big, this box was a bust. But that’s OK because these cards were a gift which makes them special in my mind.

TTM Mailbag: Josh Hamilton

I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas. I will show off my Christmas swag in a future post. Josh Hamilton delivered an early Christmas present to my mailbox with a TTM return. I sent this request out during Spring Training, but Hamilton signed a bunch of cards during last offseason so I expected the wait. The finished product was well worth the wait. I received a 2009 Topps Update card signed in blue Sharpie. The card looks perfect. The card is undamaged and the signature looks flawless. I didn’t send out too many TTM requests this year, but this is my best return for 2010. Maybe my New Year’s resolution should be to send out more TTM requests.

2010 Topps Update Silk: Mitch Maier

I recently purchased a 2010 Topps Update Silk card of Mitch Maier for $2.05 shipped from an eBay seller. A lot of unknowns get cards in the update set. Maier isn’t exactly unknown, but he does play in Kansas City. Maier has gotten some playing time in the outfield during the past two seasons. He hasn’t done anything spectacular though. The card is serial numbered 34/50. I think the best part of this card is the powder blue Royals jersey. I really like that color. I wish the backs were not blank, but it would probably be difficult to cram all of that statistical information into such a small area. I am happy with my purchase. I got this card for less than the price of an average pack.

2010 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor: David Ortiz

I purchased a 2010 Topps Blue Refractor of David Ortiz on eBay for $2.24 a while ago. Why would a Yankee fan do such a thing? Because his eBay Bucks were about to expire so I took what was available instead of losing the credits. I plan on either reselling or trading the card. However, it is a cool looking card. It is my first blue refractor card. The blue border really makes the card pop. It is serial numbered 141/199 which is an added plus. Too bad that it’s a Red Sox card. It’s also too bad that eBay Bucks have to expire, but at least I got something out of the deal.

My First Albert Pujols Lot

I purchased a lot of 12 Albert Pujols cards for about six bucks on eBay. It’s not that I collect Pujols cards or anything. Maybe I should though. The guy is a true superstar after all. I just realized that my collection lacks Pujols cards. I probably tripled my Pujols stash with this purchase. There are some neat cards in here. I got a 2010 Topps 206 base and bronze card. I think those are my favorites. Pujols cards seem to go for about 40-60 cents each on eBay. He is one of the most popular players amongst collectors so this is no surprise. I like buying these player lots because you never know what you will find. Every now and then you will find an unusual card or a parallel or insert. I probably will not become a Pujols collector, but I will continue to buy player lots just because they can be just as fun as opening a pack of cards.

Lance Berkman: We Hardly Knew Ye

My latest eBay purchase was a lot of 18 Lance Berkman cards that cost me 23 cents shipped. All of these cards feature Berkman as an Astro but Berkman played for the Yankees this season so I had to pick them up. Of course, Berkman just signed with the Cardinals. That didn't last too long. The only cards I didn’t really want were the Topps Attax cards. I don’t really get them. I guess it’s a card game or something. Otherwise, I think I did really good with this purchase. I paid less than two cents for each card. Where else can you do that?