July eBay Wins

I thought I'd break up the monotony of my pack rips with a showcase of my eBay successes for the month of July. My hockey card buying on eBay is sporadic at best, mostly because I hate paying two to three times the cost of a card just for shipping, but this summer has been surprisingly bleak as far as trades are concerned. Of those who have cards that I want in their trade list, I'm encountering precious few who are interested in parting with them. Oh well. That's what eBay is for. Starting off my wins is a pair of Blue Jacket gems, literally.

This Steve Mason 2008-09 Upper Deck Black Diamond Rookie Gem could certainly fetch a decent price back in the day, and still books for around $15, but has been going for around a buck on eBay lately - which is what I snagged it for (plus shipping) from a seller in Maine.

Next up, and from the same seller, is this Derick Brassard 2008-09 UD Black Diamond Rookie Gem. Also booking at $15, Brass has also not been getting much love from collectors these days. Well, probably ever. But such is the joy that comes from being a Blue Jackets collector and my wallet is only .99 lighter because of it.

My highlight acquisition of the month, though for July it's not such a huge honor, is this moderately low-numbered 2002-03 Upper Deck Honor Roll dual jersey card featuring Mikael Samuelsson and Sergei Fedorov. As you can see from the card's reverse, the Fedorov swatch is from an actual game-worn jersey while Samuelsson's is from an "official" photo shoot - a fact that doesn't bother me since I picked this up for the Fedorov relic. Ironically, Samuelsson will don the winged wheel just a couple of years later while Fedorov soon departs for Anaheim. This card books at $30 and has been spotted as a BIN and in the Beckett Marketplace at around $8-$10. I picked it up for less than a buck from DNA Sportscards in PA.

Pack Crackin': 2005-2006 Hereos & Prospects

I know it's been nearly two weeks since my last post, but life managed to get in the way of writing about hockey cards - which it tends to do more often than not. Rather than whine or offer excuses, I'll get right back into it with a pack of 2005-06 Heroes & Prospects. I kinda dig these sets since a lot of attention is given to the guys toughing it out in the minors. They make for great TTM fodder, if nothing else. This particular pack revealed not much of anything of interest, however.

About the only thing even slightly remarkable was this card of Joe(y) Ryan. American-born, he is, but he was also a member of the Cincinnati Cyclone when I first moved down to Kentucky - and got my hockey fix up at U.S. Bank Arena. Yeah, quite a stretch for this card to warrant a post. Here's the rest of the breakdown. Tell me if there was anything more interesting...I dare ya!

192: Borje Salming - Swedish National Team
197: Eric Lindros - Oshawa Generals
212: Mark Hartigan - Syracuse Crunch
252: Nathan Marsters - Portland Pirates

Pack Crackin': 2008-2009 Collector's Choice

Moving on to the next pack in the Meijer value box, we have 2008-09 Collector's Choice. Now, this has always been considered a "lower end" offering and the design has typically reflected that line of thinking over the years. The base cards of this particular set aren't too awful, with the team logo in the background of the card reverse being a nice touch. That being said, the inserts aren't much to write home about.

Found one per pack, the Silver Choice Reserve cards are pretty basic, with an embossed log in the lower right and a silver border distinguishing them from the base set. The logo reminds me a little of the Stadium Club Members Only set, but other than that this isn't a bad parallel.

I guess I lucked out with this pack, scoring a second insert in the form of a Dany Heatley Stick Ums card. I'm not a fan of sticker cards, and the look is rather reminiscent of the junk wax era of the early '90s, so into the trade bin it goes. Also, isn't that an unfortunate photo of Dany?

The one keeper I snagged was this poorly scanned Lidstrom base card. It's not a dupe, so that's good. The rest of the breakdown:
172: Sergei Fedorov - Washington Capitals
199: Zach Parise - New Jersey Devils
253: Marc Savard / Tim Thomas / Zdeno Chara - Boston Bruins

Pack Crackin': 2007-2008 Fleer Ultra

Continuing on with the loot obtained via the Meijer value box purchase, here's a 5-card pack of 2007-08 Ultra. The base card design isn't too terrible, but something about the Gold Medallion parallels just doesn't sit right with me. For example, here's the Johan Holmqvist I pulled:

Besides the uncomfortable way Holmqvist seems to be cut-and-pasted onto the background, what this looks like to me is simply a blaring advertisement for Fleer Ultra. I mean, the product logo tiled in the background? Cheap, fellas. I could see maybe the team logo back there, though that would still be pretty busy. Anway, it is what it is.

Since the "insert" card was of no use to me, would the base cards be any more lucrative? No.

51: R.J. Umberger - Philadelphia Flyers
64: Chris Neill - Ottawa Senators
107: Mike Cammalleri - Los Angeles Kings
120: Dwayne Roloson - Edmonton Oilers