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Friday, August 24, 2018

This Ol' Box: Part 2










 
Time for the 2nd installment of "This Ol Box". Here are the next 5 cards out of my original collection

2006-07 UD Chronology Signature Decades Tiny Archibald (#03/70)
 
Man does Tiny Archibald have a great sig. This was an Ebay purchase and I didn't keep it because it was on card auto of a Hall of Famer. I kept it because it's heavily damaged on the back. There are creases GALORE on the card. I guess I was too lazy to return it at the time, but there was no way I was going to sell it damaged so I just kept it. Hey..an auto's an auto.

94-95 Finest Glenn Robinson RC
 
I remember this was part of a bulk purchase from a seller on Ebay who had a bunch of cheap cards and free shipping. I bought a ton of low end rookie cards for like .50-$1.00 apiece including this Big Dog Robinson. It was a card I wanted as a kid because Robinson was a highly coveted rookie to collect back in his rookie season as the #1 pick of the 1994 draft. He had a respectable career but was big time overshadowed by future Hall of Famers Jason Kidd and Grant Hill. Obviously I wasn't going to try to sell a 50 cent card on Ebay so I kept it.

1999-00 SPX Elton Brand RC (#2319/3500)
 
Ah yes my Elton Brand collecting phase. Back in my early days of Ebay he and Edgerrin James seemed to DOMINATE my purchases. I don't think I bought this during his absolute peak, but I still probably spent 4 or 5 bucks on it. Back when even serial numbered rookie card to 3500 (!) were a big deal, Brand was one of the few non auto rookies in SPX that was coveted. Again, nowadays this is $1 or less fodder, so I just kept it.

95-96 Finest Michael Finley RC (No Peel)
 
Part of the bulk Ebay purchase that included the Glenn Robinson, this was actually my 2nd time owning this card. I had traded for it years ago when my friend Javy had it and then ended up trading it to my best friend Kenny because he was a huge Mavs and Finley fan. I probably paid $1 or under for this. This doesn't have to protective film that Finest cards in this era have, which is a matter of preference for collectors. Some collectors need it, some don't. Another "not worth putting on ebay" type of card.

99-00 Fleer Focus Feel The Game Vince Carter
 
I kept this card because the memories it brings me are just so awesome..it takes me back to probably the most fun I ever had in the hobby..Vinsanity. Enjoying what was going on with Vince with my best friend Kenny was so awesome. The Dunk Contest, the in season dunks, just everything, it was truly fun to be a fan. Now I was a sophomore in high school so my funds were quite limited back then. Game Used Jersey cards were still considered holy grail pulls even though there quickly becoming easier and easier to pull. When I saw this card though..I wanted it...SO...FREAKING....BAD. I knew there was no way I'd ever be able to afford (it booked at $350.00 at one time) and it was a pipe dream. When I finally gathered enough money to buy my first game used jersey card  I went with the Grant Hill card of this set ($75.00 for my first ever game used jersey card..my how times CHANGE). Years later with game used cards diluted in value thanks to saturation I finally picked this card up. Probably for around $10.00..crazy thing is..I could probably get it even CHEAPER TODAY. Still there's no way I was ever going to sell this card. Too much sentimental value and still a cool looking card.


That's it for this installment!

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Box Breaks: 10 Boxes of 2017-18 Crown Royale Basketball

 

So I actually broke this Monday night and am just getting aroud to posting it now. When I bought this at presale as I was SUPER excited about this product. On card autos, no redemptions, and I got it at about $25 less per box than what it is going for (thanks to Ebay's 15% off code). I thought to myself it was a can't lose product..than I remember who made it....PANINI. If ANYONE can find a way to ruin a good thing it's them. And sure enough the product came out and the breaks were.....TERRIBLE. I mean absolute garbage for the most part and a sure money loser. I went into this break basically knowing this is where my luck would end. But I sucked it up and ripped anyway. So here's what i got

Box 1

Crystal Parallel
Jordan Clarkson (#61/99)

Panini's Choice Award Blue
Bogdan Bogdanovic (#14/25)

Jerseys
Kevin Garnett (#204/249)

Autographs
Trevor Ariza (#61/99) 

Box 2

Crystal Parallel
Victor Oladipo (#63/99)

Panini's Choice Award
Luke Kennard (#03/99)

Rookie Jerseys
Markelle Fultz (#238/249)


Rookie Jersey Auto

Caleb Swanigan (#118/199)

Box 3

Crystal Parallel
Dirk Nowitzki (#99/99)

Panini's Choice Award
James Harden (#26/99)


Jerseys

Serge Ibaka (#197/249)

Autographs
Ricky Rubio (#10/49)

Box 4


Crystal Parallel

Anthony Davis (#35/99)


Roundball Royalty

Gary Payton (#89/99)

Rookie Jerseys
Caleb Swanigan (#149/249)


Rookie Silhouettes

Kyle Kuzma (#67/199)

Box 5


Crystal Parallel

Kareem Abdul Jabbar (#45/99)

Power In The Paint
Dirk Nowitzki

Rookie Jerseys
Sindarius Thornwell (#17/249)

Rookie Silhouettes
Dennis Smith Jr. (#77/199)

Box 6

Crystal Parallel
Bogdan Bogdanovic RC (#34/99)


Mamba's Choice

Kawhi Leonard (#50/99)

Jerseys
Shaquille O'Neal (#190/249)

Rookie Silhouettes
T.J. Leaf (#100/199)

Box 7

Crystal Parallel
Chris Paul (#9/99)

Panini's Choice Award Red
Karl Anthony Towns (#39/75)

Jerseys
Karl Anthony Towns (#187/249)

Autographs
Kyle Korver (#22/99)

Box 8

Crystal Parallel
Rajon Rondo (#20/99)

Panini's Choice Award
Lauri Markkanen (#01/99) (Top tip is damaged though)

Jerseys
Kenneth Faried (#163/249)


Autographs Blue Parallel

Alonzo Mourning (#4/25) 

Box 9


Purple Crystal Parallel

Paul Millsap (#23/25)

Gold Crystal Parallel
Devin Booker (#9/10)


Jerseys

David Robinson (#177/249)

Rookie Jersey Auto
Semi Ojeleye (#132/199)

Box 10

Crystal Base
Ryan Anderson (#43/99)


Roundball Royalty Red Parallel

Stephon Marbury (#18/75)

Jerseys
Rodney Hood (#21/249)

Autographs
Josh Hart (#13/199) 

Overall Thoughts: Yup..no reverse psychology here..it was pretty much as brutal as I expected and just like that, all that luck I had throughout the weekend was flushed down the toilet. Let's start with the cards themselves. I LOVE the die cut base set and parallels. I also LOVE the inserts..they are very 90's like and this product would've been such a better product if it was priced in the $60 or so range like Revolution (yeah right, like Panini would ever do that)..but at $100 (some places have it at $112 or as high as $125!!) it's 1000% not worth it. You only get two hits and one of them is a damn jersey card (which of course pisses me off because jersey cards shouldn't be considered "hits" anymore..nobody wants them...ESPECIALLY when they constantly put crap players like Rodney Hood, and Ibaka in these sets. I really don't get this..SUPERSTAR jersey cards sell for 2-3 bucks..why would ANYONE want a Rodney Hood Jersey? I reallllly wish jersey cards would go away) and odds are the auto is gonna suck. I THOUGHT I was hitting a turn when I pulled the Kuzma and Dennis Smith Jr. Rookie Silhouettes (along with a nice Dirk insert that was a case hit) but nope..it went right back to crap with the only other good auto being a Zo numbered to 25. One of my better cards was a Lauri Markkanen Panini's Choice insert, but of course it came damaged at the top. The main draw is the Silhouette Patch cards, pull a Tatum/Mitchell and you're looking at a 2,000.00 card. At it's current price point..there's just no WAY I could recommend opening this product. It's not worth it whatsoever.

Success/Failure: I don't have enough of a market to gauge the ROI..but I can just tell you off the bat it's a massive failure. Even the Kuzma/Smith don't for as much as I thought (I guess plain swatch Silhouettes autos aren't that great after all). There's no way I'd get half of my investment back if I sold everything and that's BECAUSE I GOT IT AT AN OUTSTANDING PRICE. This will be 10 times worse at current prices. My Basketball luck has been pretty crappy recently and it continues with Crown Royale. Pics of the cards























Top 5 Pulls of 2018
#1 2017-18 National Treasures FOTL RPA Exclusive Lonzo Ball (#13/15)
#2 2017-18 National Treasures FOTL RPA Exclusive De'Aaron Fox (#3/15)
#3 2018 Topps Tier One Triple Patch Autographs Ichiro (#1/1)
#4 2018 Bowman Chrome Prospects Red Refractor Autograph Jeren Kendall (#2/5)
#5 (Tie) 2018 Topps Tier One Tier One Signatures Derek Jeter (#7/15)
#5 (Tie) 2018 Donruss Optic Rated Rookies Autographs Black Holo FOTL Exclusive Shohei Ohtani (#10/12)
#5 (Tie) 2018 Topps Clearly Authentic Autograph Black Parallel Redemption Shohei Ohtani (# to 75)