A few months ago, I went on a little bit of a credit spending spree on Sportlots. I had (and still have) a good chunk of change in my account from selling over the years and not cashing out for far too long. I figured it was time to flesh out my collections a bit with some cheaper lower-end stuff with a sprinkling of heavy hitters. So, what I did was I went through my Ryan Dempster need lists, did a search on Sportlots and every time I found a card I needed at a price and shipping policy I liked, I would search that seller’s store for cards of other players I collect.
All told, after going through my Dempster want lists thoroughly with that methodology in mind, I wound up with over 200 cards ready to be sent my way (obviously not all Dempsters). That’s when I started that countdown you may remember appearing in some posts. Well, here we are only about 90 days later and I’m ready to show off some of that huge Sportlots haul by ignoring the fact that I have a few other smaller Sportlots hauls and COMC purchases from years ago.
Don’t have the regular base card
So, this will be all Ryan all the time and it won’t even be everything. Close, but I’m saving a few for later. I’ll start with this 2002 Fleer Gold Back. I don’t know how common they are, but I’ll assume something like one per pack. This is one of those older parallels that most people probably never knew existed or forgot about, so best not to rely on a trade partner and spend the .18 instead.
The only Reds card in the bunch for him
I probably didn’t need to get this. I forgot it was an Opening Day like set and assumed it was a normal parallel. Either way, it’s another need filled.
Spot the difference
More gold stuff. It’s tough to see, but this is a gold foil parallel. Not a great idea in general since it’s very hard to distinguish from the silver foil, if you even know to look for it.
My first Ginter set
Overall, I picked up a good assortment of minis. I may hate them, but I still need them. Easy choice to buy them for less than 50 cents each, usually less than 25.
This ends my 2010 Topps 206 needs
Simple parallels were popular cart additions. Here’s another one-per-pack things, I believe. Whatever it is, no one cares about them and I imagine the seller was thrilled to clear out that little bit of space.
Next stop: Abe lincoln
Here’s a big one that I held off on getting for a while, thinking that I would get it in a trade one of these days. For quite some time, the only 2010 Topps Chrome card I needed was the regular old basic refractor. I gave in and completed that seven card rainbow finally. Oh, how I wish chrome rainbows were only seven cards now.
What a line up
Stepping backwards in time, this is one of my most expensive cards in the bunch. For that 2009 OPC set, the regular black parallels were one per pack, so those aren’t too expensive. However, this is the one per box black mini. With such a large 600-card set, that’s a lot of boxes needed to find one card. There are also supposedly black blank back parallels, but I don’t know if I’ve seen one and I may drop them from my want lists if I can figure out estimated print runs.
Gotta love blue foil
These last two are less expensive, but lower numbered. I’ve been able to nab a Donruss Champions parallel the last couple times I’ve gone to SL. This blue /100 did not turn out to be in the best condition, but for $1 I took a chance. Very rare to have pictures on that site, so that’s why I don’t go too expensive. I still need 4 more cards from this set.
After this, I only need the glossy from 2011
I’ll end on a mini, because it’s my lowest numbered one of the batch. Well, not numbered. Lowest assumed/announced print run. I love collecting players that most people don’t as it means I get some good deals on some rare cards. If and when I get back to this order, you can probably guess how many Rizzo, Bryant and Baez cards I was able to find in my price range.
The main takeaway is that SL can be a good source for cheap cards if you know how to shop effectively; and I have a lot more cards that need to find their way into a blog post in the future.
