Bipping Brando

Card Spotlight: 2-5-10

2007 Topps Triple Threads Sepia #73 - Jermaine Dye (277/559)

Many players are finding themselves without a team, as Spring Training approaches. Jermaine Dye seems to be one of them. At the time of this writing, he hasn't found a team. In January, he reportedly turned down $3.3 million from the Cubs, who gave that money directly to Xavier Nady.

Wherever Dye ends up, I will always have fond, fuzzy memories of his tenure with the White Sox. He was one of the key signings in the offseason before the magical 2005 season. There were many players deserving of World Series MVP in 2005, but it ultimately went to Dye.

When I got back into card collecting full time, in 2007, I was all over the place. I wanted to sample a little bit of everything. I still knew the value of money spent, so I never bought a box of Triple Threads. I was burned too badly with the fiasco of Moments & Milestones. It was an enjoyable box break, since it was my first since 1991, but it left an artificially numbered bad taste in my mouth.

Triple Threads seemed like a hit or miss product to me. Instead of wasting my money and hoping to recoup the price of a box with a hit, I opted to hunt down the base card singles and variations of just the White Sox. I have examples of every White Sox card, but no variation is yet complete. In some instances, I am only one card away from completing a variation.

This year, I am going to try to get this team set (and its variations) completed. Soon after, I hope to close the book on 2007. I know it will be next to impossible, but I think it can be done. Surely, it will be a simpler task than trying to complete 2008.

You Bet Your Sweet Bippy

Mailbox Joys: Bacon From Cheeseland

2008 Donruss Sports Legends College Heroes #CH-5 - Gordon Beckham (0830/1000)

Another card that I really didn't need, but I'm glad I purchased it. When Thorzul mentioned that he put a few items on eBay, I wasn't expecting too much. Anything that he puts up that is of any interest to me, I'm usually outbid on. In fact, I believe everything up to this point I've been outbid on.

So imagine my surprise when I actually won a Gordon Beckham card for the opening bid! Low shipping to boot!

The card arrived in a flash, which it should, since it was departing from the state directly above mine. But that was not all. I received an eBay bonus from Thorzul!

The White Sox Limited Edition Pin-Card from 1995. The thing is sealed in that impossible to open, all plastic, blister packaging. This covered all 28 teams and celebrated MLB's 125th anniversary, which was in 1994. There is a cool looking pin and an odd looking card.

I tried scanning it, but it wouldn't scan properly. I'm feeling too lazy today to take a picture, load it into the computer and resize it for quick loading, so I won't. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the extra. I think it's pretty cool! Which is why it will never leave the packaging.

Thanks for a pleasant eBay experience, Thorzul!

Image Of A Bipping Nature

2010 Upper Deck

"Oh what a tangled web we weave.
When first we practice to deceive." - Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808)

The above quote is often mistaken for Shakespeare. It is quite apropos to the lovely mess that is the 2010 Upper Deck flagship set. Without the proper licensing, this set would seem to suffer from lack of logos. Yet logos sneak in, sometimes blatantly, as a gigantic middle finger to MLB Properties.

Unable to use the new "Rookie Card" logo, Upper Deck created their own. The use of certain photographs to avoid MLB team logos has been executed with the sheer brilliance of a shrewd businessman selling a product he does not have a right to sell. Caps are dropped out and uniforms are photographed from side views and back shots. The action and intimacy of a Major League baseball game is captured efficiently and effectively.

Then there are the photographs that should have been airbrushed. Multiple licensed logos are in full view on many cards. If Upper Deck felt compelled enough to crop out logos, why didn't they finish the job throughout the entire set? If Upper Deck wanted to disregard the licensing issue, why didn't they just go ahead and produce this set as they normally would? This is a set without a direction.

The White Sox have twenty cards in this set.

9 – Tyler Flowers
125 – Tony Pena
126 – Carlos Quentin
127 – A.J. Pierzynski
128 – Scott Podsednik
129 – Alexei Ramirez
130 – Paul Konerko
131 – Josh Fields
132 – Alex Rios
133 – Matt Thornton
134 – Mark Buehrle
135 – Scott Linebrink
136 – Freddy Garcia
137 – John Danks
138 – Bobby Jenks
139 – Gavin Floyd
140 – D.J. Carrasco
141 – Jake Peavy
546 – U.S. Cellular Field
576 – Checklist (Buehrle, Quentin)

The design is what we've come to expect from Upper Deck. It reminds me of the 1994 base set, without the squished black and white photo on the side. The usual gloss, foil and anti-counterfeit hologram is on every base card. The anti-counterfeit hologram is laughable, considering that Upper Deck was caught counterfeiting their own cards.

This is a drab, final stab at validity. Upper Deck's efforts are mixed. This is a set of contradiction. It's almost as if the company is throwing everything they have at one spot just to see what sticks. The problem with that approach is that barely anything in that mix has had the type of attention that it needs.

Over the past year, Upper Deck has done exactly what they wanted. How has that worked out? It has resulted in lawsuits, license pulls and lackluster releases. Much like the company, this set seems to be in transition. Collect what you absolutely have to and leave the rest behind.

Be Good Or No TV

The White Sox released their television and radio schedule for the 2010 season. Just like last season, a Saturday game in Oakland vs. the White Sox will not be televised.

Here's my plea to both clubs. Be good. Be so overwhelmingly good that a Chicago area station has no choice but to pick up this lone untelevised game. It's a shame that I can't spend a Saturday watching my favorite ballclub on television in its own city.

Maybe a Twitter play by play will be in order again this year.

Pondering My New Al Weis Rookie Card

I thought that might get your attention.



I did get this for a decent price.



I also beat out a few other bidders.



Since this is the hardest card to obtain for my 1963 Topps master White Sox set...



I was forced to settle for this.

Best $6.37 I ever spent on a counterfeit card.

Those first few comments were priceless.

I wish I had that kind of disposable income to spend on cards.

This will have to do until that time comes.

Another Image For Impending Bips

Jules: Mmmm! Doggone, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet stuff! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster's Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET stuff on us! What flavor is this?

Jimmie: Knock it off, Julie.

Jules: [pause] What?

Jimmie: I don't need you to tell me how freaking good my coffee is, okay? I'm the one who buys it. I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping she buys CRAP. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it I want to taste it. But you know what's on my mind right now? It AIN'T the coffee in my kitchen, it's the Bip Roberts cards in my mail.

Jules: Oh, Jimmie, don't even worry about that...

Jimmie: No, No, No, No, let me ask you a question. When you came pulling in here, did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Bip Card Storage?

Jules: Jimmie, you know I ain't seen no...

Jimmie: Did you notice a sign out in front of my house that said Bip Card Storage?

Jules: [pause] No. I didn't.

Jimmie: You know WHY you didn't see that sign?

Jules: Why?

Jimmie: 'Cause it ain't there, 'cause storing Bip cards ain't my freaking business, that's why!

2010 Upper Deck Cards In Hand

News of 2010 Upper Deck having hit the streets is true! I found a blaster at Wal-Mart while killing time waiting to pick up my dog from the groomers.

8 cards per pack. 10 packs to the blaster. Let's see how the White Sox stack up in the blaster.

The first 2010 Upper Deck White Sox card is...

139 - Gavin Floyd

Minimal logo showing. Enough to get a warning, but not much else.

9 - Tyler Flowers

No logo showing. Nice card within the parameters.

129 - Alexei Ramirez

Full logo showing on Alexei and Jose Guillen. Hence, the lawsuit.

2010 Phungo Cards

Ahhh. There's nothing like a brand new card release to start the year off right! A fresh, brand spankin' new pack of 2010 Phungo Cards awaited me this week.

This is always one of my favorite sets of the year. It never fails to deliver fantastic and unique photography that I never see anywhere else. Let's rip it open!

19 - Greg Luzinski
37 - Juan Pierre & Jeff Kent

We start off the pack with a former White Sox and a current White Sox. The less said about Jeff Kent, the better. You can never go wrong with the Bull.

14 - Harey Carey
49 - Jose Contreras

A former White Sox opinionated broadcaster and a former starting White Sox pitcher. What's with Chicago and obnoxious loud-mouthed broadcasters? The windy city, indeed!

1993 Finest #125 - Carlton Fisk
2009 Topps T206 Piedmont Mini #238 - Mark Buehrle
1993 Finest #153 - Harold Baines

Truly, three of baseball's finest!

47 - Alanis Morissette

Rounding out the pack is alternative angsty singer, Alanis Morissette. My favorite recording of hers is the EP "Space Cakes", featuring six songs off of "Jagged Little Pill" done acoustically. This was done near the height of her JLP fame and captures the original mood of the songs much better than the much later acoustic JLP album released in 2005.

Plus, any person that can play God of the Askewniverse and have a You Can't Do That On Television background is OK in my book.

Great pack!

Card Spotlight: 1-29-10

1993 Score Select Rookie/Traded #3T - Tim Belcher

In 1993, the White Sox were on the verge of making the playoffs, which they eventually did. One move that everybody thought would put them over the top and deep into the playoffs was the acquisition of Tim Belcher.

Despite Tim's questionable performances during the latter half of the season, after he was traded to Chicago, Belcher sparkled in relief against the Blue Jays in the postseason and came away with a win in Game 4 of the ALCS in 1993. I was very psyched when the Sox got Tim Belcher. I'm not exactly sure why. It must have been from his time as a Dodger and as a Red. After the White Sox, Belcher had a down year with Detroit, followed by a number of average years.

This is a card that has escaped me for the better part of two decades. I really wasn't aware of its existence until a few years ago. I finally received the card in a trade. 1993 was the year that my interest in cards started to wane a bit. One of the last packs that I collected in 1993 was Score Select. I remember not being very impressed by the design. It's still not one of my favorites, but it has grown on me over the years.

The rookie/traded set is a vast improvement over the base set. A little color change makes the difference. Here is another example of a card set that I wasn't aware of back then, being a possible reason for the continuation of my collecting. I may have held on a little stronger, until the 1994 strike crushed my interest for good in the nineties.

Check Out My Cards Package

I have been squirreling away a few tiny purchases over the past few months at checkoutmycards.com. When I reached 50 cards, I figured it was time to ship. Combining cards into one order saves on shipping.

50 cards = $26.60

Shipping = $15.25

$15.25???? What!!!???

Let's break this down.

50 penny sleeves = $0.50

3 team bags = $0.12

6 toploaders = $1.50

1 bubble mailer = $1.00

Postage to mail = $2.75

Total cost = $5.87

Cost not accounted for = $9.38

That's a huge difference, don't you think? Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my order and the cards I received (except for the Windsor Green & Linen Green colors being mixed up), but the sticker shock of unaccounted shipping money is atrocious.

I can understand a few bucks, but nearly $10?

The Final Straw Of An eBay Seller

After three years of service, I am sad to say that my eBay store is finally going to close.

I have endured policy changes that seemed designed to destroy the very product that I sold, sports cards. Every year there would come a new restriction that further hindered my business plan. My sales dwindled. Sometimes the store was just operating to sustain itself and nothing of a profit was seen.

First, the geniuses at ebay took away store items for under a dollar. My business was made by adding commons to a few higher purchased items. It was usually between 5 and 50 cents, but I added the allure of combined shipping and cards flew out the door. These initial changes were something that I almost did not recover from.

Then, optional insurance was taken away. You were supposed to increase your already high prices or increase the shipping to include things like insurance. Either you offered it or you didn't. Choice was taken away. Already overpriced commons priced at one dollar, with a low shipping price of $1.75 and the allure of combined shipping, sat there even longer.

What made me stay? Well, eBay lowered the insertion fees, which helped my bottom line a little more. I was able to offer a few more cards and not worry about unsold product chipping away at my small profit.

Now, comes word that on March 30, eBay is requiring basic stores (which I have) to have fixed inventory at 20 cents per month per item. That is a jump of 17 cents per listing per month! Part of the attraction of having the basic store was the reduced listing fees for store inventory. By paying the fees for a basic store, I was able to list each store item for 3 cents per month. This luxury is now vanished. It is replaced by greed and manipulation.

I have no doubt that this will decrease the overall listings and sales on eBay. Why would a company founded on the consumer getting the best deal, shoot itself in the foot at almost every opportunity in the past two years? I haven't been able to offer the best deal on some items for two years. Now, I can't even afford to keep the good fight going.

Here's where you can help me, dear readers and friends. I would like to open an online store where I can price items for any price that I see fit. This way I can offer a bunch of commons, along with the higher priced cards. Basically, something for the set/team builders and player collectors, etc...

I would prefer to have no insertion fees, if possible. I would like to keep the inventory up until it's sold. In essence, very low overhead. Operating my eBay store has been one of the great pleasures of the last few years for me. It's hard for me to accept that this experience has to end, but my time with eBay as a store option is forced to a premature end.

Any suggestions?

Twin Thome

Thome is now a Twin. Fare thee well gentleman masher. You shall be one of the few newly undomed team in Minnesota players that I will be rooting for in the 2010 season. That is, until you face the Pale Hose. I will root for you to do well, but not enough to claim your new team victorious on those days.

Chicago shall miss you greatly. Even more so if the DH by committee experiment fails.