A few weeks ago I posted a call out to Twitter seeking some used top loaders. In an attempt to keep my costs down in trades and PWE sales, I try to buy top loaders for a few pennies a piece.
During the pandemic finding cheap top loaders is about as easy as finding basketball cards in your local Target. The main companies like BCW and Ultra Pro are backed out several months, and their prices have tripled.
Fortunately, there are some really awesome people in this hobby and several reached out and sent me supplies via trade or gave me great deals on purchases.
George in Massachusetts gave me a killer deal on a medium flat rate box full of top loaders. This helped me tremendously. He sent me a message last week asking if I needed penny sleeves and additional top loaders.
Always!
In fact, I was running low on penny sleeves. Well, I have hundreds of them in boxes protecting various junk wax era cards I have acquired through the years. But, digging through boxes just to pull 30-year old penny sleeves that I can buy new for a half penny each isn’t something I should be spending time on.
George put together another flat rate box and stuffed it full with penny sleeves, top loaders AND Cubs cards. He said he had about 20 Cubs cards lying around, and this would be a good way to purge.
I was quite surprised when I pulled out the pile of Cubs cards safely tucked in the middle of the supplies. Several new additions to my collection, and I’ll have to kick it off with Javier Baez from 2019 Topps Tribute.
Another newbie is a serial numbered Ian Happ from 2018 Topps Inception. It is numbered 71/99.
Anthony Rizzo checks in on a 2013 Topps Museum Collection numbered 417/424.
Now we head back to a great era in Cubs baseball. I actually cried in 2003 after the Cubs lost game 7 of the NLCS to the Florida Marlins. I also cried after game 7 of the 2016 World Series. But we all know those two occasions had much different outcomes.
The key members from the former series were Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. I typically don’t like horizontal baseball cards, but this Kerry Wood 2005 Playoff Prestige does it for me.
Another one from 2005 and it’s a serial numbered Mark Prior, 40/50, from Leaf Certified Materials.
Well, I have to book end this post. You guessed it: Javier Baez. Here’s a refractor from 2018 Topps Chrome Update numbered 144/250.
Thanks so much for the additional supplies, George. A tremendous help. And hey, who would have thought Cubs baseball cards would be secondary to supplies in a Mailday. What a world this has become!