eBay Score: Tomas Popperle

Is it really a "score" when the player is someone that no one (or very few people) have ever heard of? If the card fills a void in your collection, then you bet your ass it is! Which, of course, is the motivation behind my eBay pickup of this 2007-08 SPx #160 Tomas Popperle 573/999 rookie card (or Tomáš Pöpperle, for the perfectionists).

Tomas was a product of the sometimes questionable draft practices employed by the then-GM of the Blue Jackets Doug MacLean. In the 2005 draft, which say the likes of Kris Russell and enforcer Jared Boll become Jackets, MacLean snagged Popperle in the fifth round. While those taken ahead of him in the draft have each laced up their skates several hundred times in the NHL, the Czech native saw action just twice - both times during the 2006-07 campaign. Tomas stayed in the AHL for a part of the following season before returning to the Czech Republic, where he continues to play.

As for the card itself, I'm not a huge fan of the design. Too much of the player is obscured by graphic flourishes, and the "digital" font is just a pain in the ass to read. Yet, it fills a void so the $.099 (plus shipping) I sent to the seller in Quarryville, PA is justified.

eBay Score: September 9th, 2012

When that little brown padded envelope arrived in the mail today, I got to thinking about the month-end eBay posts I've been doing. Originally, having won just a card or two a month, the posts weren't too bad length-wise. I've stepped up my hunt, so the acquisitions have been increasing and the blog posts are getting correspondingly larger. Therefore, I'm going to try posting as the packages arrive - starting today.

The first win of September is a three-card score from hockeycv in York, PA. I apologize for the lousy scan quality, but these foil cards and my scanner don't get along very well.

This Pavel Datsyuk 2005-06 UD Black Diamond #134 books for $8, but there are a number on the Beckett Marketplace for less than a buck. I ventured $0.99 on this card, which in itself isn't a great deal, but I needed multiple items to save on shipping so consider this an insurance purchase.

Next up is this Chris Osgood 2000-01 Be A Player Signature Series #235 Ruby parallel, numbered 35/200.

Booking at $5, this card is showing up for $2.50 on Beckett but not getting a lot of love on eBay. Another $0.99 snag.

Finally is this Marc Rodgers 1999-00 SP Authentic #102 rookie card numbered 368/2000. Booking at $5 and selling between $3.00 and $5 on Beckett, I grabbed it for $0.99.

Marc had a brief NHL career, playing in just 21 games with the Red Wings. His last season on the ice was 2001-02 with the Knoxville Speed of the UHL. This isn't a bad looking card, but if I were Marc, I would have sued over the use of that most unfortunate photo on the reverse.

August eBay Wins

Now that more than a month has passed since my last post here at Hockey Card Fanatic, I suppose it's high time that I get it in gear and write about something. Besides all of the typical excuses for posting so rarely, I suppose a lot of the problem rests with the state of disarray that my collection always seems to be in. I've been acquiring cards without pause over these summer months, but getting them organized, scanned, and on the blog tends to be where the logistics break down. I suppose that's just something I'll have to add to my New Year's Resolution list.  Until then....

August was a slightly more productive month on the eBay front, as I snagged nearly half a dozen cards at quite reasonable prices. First up is Fredrik Norrena's 2006-07 SP Game Used Edition #112. Numbered to /999, mine is relatively high at 812.

This RC is just a base card, but the design is pretty slick in a sci-fi sorta way. It books for $8 but there seem to have been very few on the market recently, with just one selling in July for $2 + shipping. I picked this one up for $2.24 (including shipping). From the same seller, and also for a total of $2.24, I picked up Norrena's 2006-07 SPx #157 jersey card. The numbering here was much better, coming in at 64/1999.

Also considered a rookie card, this piece also features a sci-fi motif that doesn't come across as tasteful as the previous card. The jersey swatch, which of course is certified as having been worn during an "official" photo shoot, is also nothing to write home about. Still, I'm happy with the bargain since the card books at $10 and seems to run between $3 and $6 on BIN listings. Norrena seemed to be on the rise as the SEL star took over the starting job in Columbus from Pascal Leclaire in the 2006 season. His grip on the position would soon be pried away by up-and-coming flash-in-the-pan Steve Mason. Displaced back to the AHL, Norrena eventually made his way back to Europe where he currently plays in the SEL.

Next up is Kyle Wilson's 2010-11 Donruss #265 Rated Rookie card.

This is definitely not a very remarkable card, but shelling out $2.07 including shipping for a card that books at $5 and lists between $2 and $5 on eBay was a fairly good bargain. The Ontario native suited up for 32 games with Columbus during the 2010-11 season (plus another 23 with Springfield) before moving on to Nashville for the 2011-12 campaign. From the same seller that I acquired the Wilson card comes my two Red Wing pickups of the month.

This Jimmy Howard 2010-11 Donruss The Goalies #9 card is a pretty sweet little find. You really can't tell from the scan, but it's mostly a clear plastic deal with an opaque splash of color along the lower third. Booking for $4 and listing on eBay for around $3, I obtained mine for $2.07. Making it a three-card deal is this Joey Kocur 2010-11 Donruss Tough Times #3 insert.

I really dig the vintage look of these inserts. Joey is the only tough guy that I need from this set, so the $2.07 I paid for a card that books at $4 and has been going as high as $2 on eBay is a fair bargain in my mind.

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