Blogged But Not Blogged: Redemption Freed From Fed-Ex Prison

This is the type of post that I have probably done many times before, I call this type of post "Blogged, But Not Blogged". Long story short since Aug 2007 I have been blogging about my card mail days over at TCC on my blog over there, and since July 2012 duplicating those posts in a mail day thread at the TCZ forums. There are many cards I have mentioned in detail at those sites that I have never blogged about here on what I consider to be my official trading card blog. A few times, mostly in the early days, I mentioned a card in my mail day and even scanned it (at least the front) but never blogged about it over here.

This is the story of one such card:

16 Feb 2009:
From TCC Mail Day Forum Post "Finally From Fed-Ex Foulball: A Redemption":

This is quite a story. From the Official TCC Baseball Box Breaking Group I had gotten a redemption card from 2007 SWEET SPOT BASEBALL I don't recall when I logged in the request for it online, but here is it's story.

Back of redemption card

The thing was being delivered via FedEx with SIGNATURE REQUIRED Delivery. Well long story short FedEx attempts to deliver it 3 times when I'm not available.

So about a week or two ago I contact FedEx and take a day off of work (since I had to accept a UPS package with the same sort of deal) and wait. FedEx didn't try delivering that day. The package didn't get on the truck or something. I arrange for a special delivery to my Apartment's Management office on a Friday (which would screw things up some more) only to find that my Management office doesn't sign for any packages, when they had told me on the phone they did.*

I arranged another delivery and take off Monday to wait. Their operator calls in the morning to verify that they will be sending it out and it was on a truck. I wait and wait and wait. When I finally go out to check my regular mail I notice a door tag that says they had attempted to deliver it at 10:00 AM (the other times they had attempted to deliver it was afternoon times 1:30 PM,3:00 PM etc) well I was really really PO'd. I had taken off of work and they try to deliver in the morning around the time I was in the bathroom showering (I should have not showered until after getting the dang thing).

Well I contact them and get directions to their station where they are holding the package. I get there about 15 minutes before they close and they can't find the thing. The system says it's still on the truck. They said they will call me when they find it. Um yeah sure. As it turns out that particular time it was a Manager who had tried to deliver it so it didn't go into the system as it normally would (I found that out today)

Finally today (16 Feb 2009)  I get a call saying the package is waiting and I can pick it up anytime. Fortunately I had the day off for Presidents Day and FedEx was open, that surprised me. OK so I went back out to their station and sprung the package from it's FedEx prison.

I don't have a scan of the card (Not sure when I'll get my scanner hooked back up**) but it is a:

2007 UD Sweet Spots Baseball Dual Signatures of Alex Gordon Royals and Cal Ripken Jr. Orioles Glove Leather black sharpie 4/5.

This puppy ain't going anywhere (Cal Ripken Jr PC) so don't ask to trade for it. Not sure what it's BV is or if it is even listed as having one.

UPDATE: 26 NOV 2009 Added the scan. Hadn't gotten round to posting the scan here (meaning TCC as this is a cut/paste copy of my original post there), but it has been in my Photobucket# for a few months.

From TCC Blog post "Redemption Freed From Fed-Ex Prison":

After a long game of cat and mouse with FedEx delivering the package with "REQUIRED SIGNATURE" I finally got my redemption. In the mail day page  I gave most of the horrid details of trying to get the thing. (as reposted up above) Anyway it is:

2007 UD SWEET SPOT BASEBALL Sweet Spot Dual Signatures

ALEX GORDON (Royals) and CAL RIPKEN JR (Orioles)

Glove Leather Black Sharpie #4/5

Not bloody likely for trade at anytime. If I ever get around to finding a price for it, I might consider selling if I like the price, or if someone offers a really ridiculous amount for it.

Notes:
* When I first moved into my Apartment 01 Aug 2008 the management office would accept and sign for packages for tenants and then notify them of the package. I think by a notice shoved onto your door. They quickly stopped sometime within my first few months of living at the apartment complex. Looks like I was in my apartment for just 6 months when this package arrived. Update since around the holidays of last year (2017) the leasing office accepts some FedEx packages on behalf of residents now.

** Wow I had forgotten I had gone a while (several months it seems) without my scanner hooked up. I probably hooked it up shortly after this mess. I still don't have a printer hooked up, or my regular stereo set up. I have been in my apartment for nearly 10 years (come Aug 01). Yeah 10 years without a printer and a stereo. I print stuff at work when I need to and scan papers there. The lack of stereo only means I can't play vinyl records. I have portable and other tape and CD players to use. I don't listen to music as intently or as often as I used to several years ago. Those are stories for another time if at all.

# Photobucket has banned free 3rd party hosting. So any attempt at linking images at PB look like this:

This image is intentional this time only. If it appears anyplace else on my blog it is not intended.

Washington Wednesday: A Couple of Unseld Autos

 Washington Wednesday: A Couple of Unseld Autos

It seems like there is always a long time between my Washington Wednesday posts. I should fix that. Hmm when was that Last one? You can click that link to find out. Moving On!

In this episode I will actually mention and show the cards that I briefly blogged about on my Kirk's Knook blog to make my self appointed minimum monthly posting quota way back in April of last year 2017. What I mentioned cards over there? And in APRIL? LAST YEAR? Egads Man PROCRASTINATE MUCH?

On Friday 21 April 2017 as part of my mail day one of the two packages contained an Ebay BIN single card $4.90 + $3.25 Shipping. Bidding had started at only $1.99 but got dangerously close to my max bid of $5.00. Was it a shill? I don't think so, but sometimes when I win auctions very close to or at my max bid I do wonder.

So here it that beaut:

 2015-16 Panini Excalibur Basketball: Regal Endorsements Autograph:

RE-WUN Wes Unseld Bullets on sticker blue sharpie #d 135/200

Then that following Wednesday 26 April 2017 on a single package mail day coming from Ebay. A BIN auction for a single card $1.99 + $4.99 shipping. Short story with this one that I first posted on my regular blog (Kirk's Knook Blog as linked at the beginning of this post). It was mainly a rant about ordering from Ebay without checking out the seller and where they were located. Which was why I posted it on that blog. I knee-jerk bought the card without seeing where it was coming from. It was from a dealer in China. Sometimes that means you will get some kind of counterfeit product. Original tracking information said it would arrive sometime between early May to early June. Fortunately it arrived well before the estimated date.

It was this beaut: Looks like a Dave Bing Cameo. I played some with the post-scanning photo editing to help bring out some of the features. I am far from a pro at it.

2015-16 Panini Threads Basketball: Century Signatures:

CS-WUN Wes Unseld Bullets on sticker autograph blue sharpie #d 137/199

The seller included 3 bonus cards: Fortunately all basketball. I like surprise bonus cards when it makes sense like these from the same sport, but I don’t like it when you order non-sports and they send sports or vice verse, or they send different sports than what you ordered. I like all (well most) sports but some people are just one sport collectors, or Non-Sport only.

2016-17 Panini Donruss Basketball: At first I thought these were special “gold” versions turns out the regular base has the gold/bronze coloring.

142 Marcin Gortat Wizards - Hey they sent the “same” team.

Yes Gortat was the subject of  the previous WW episode.

197 Tyrone Wallace Jazz

2016-17 Panini Select Basketball: Yes I did have to play with the post-scanning settings for this "chrome" card. I didn't realize until after the initial scan that the right side edge and some of the left side had some kind of smudged schmutz on it as shiny chrome cards tend to have if not wiped as soon as gotten and put into a penny sleeve. I wiped the card of the smudge but haven't sleeved it yet.

9 Zaza Pachulia Warriors

The Wallace and the Pachulia cards are of course up for trade.

Secret Santa 2017: Walked The Plank? NO He Homered!

HO HO HO. It's Cardsmas in January? February? Well not really but it is now that I am posting my Ill-Gotten Holiday Pirate Booty from last year's Card Exchange Apocalypse. As many of you bloggers out there know Matt from "Bob Walk The Plank" hosted a Blogger's Secret Santa Gift Exchange for the 2017 Holiday Season. Think a White Elephant Yankee Gift Exchange on PEDs or more accurately ON 2.5" x 3.5" pieces of Cardboard, and memorabilia sometimes smaller sometimes larger. Mostly sports related sometimes not.

I was a little hesitant about signing up because I am still delinquent on some cardboard trades in the trading card universe from several years ago now. A few I have made up some I have not. I have to remind myself of that occasionally in the hopes I'll speed up my recovery efforts.

I "blogged" about my Secret Santa Mail Day at my usual spots on TCC and TCZ. Those are mostly just listings of what I got with some detail, but rarely any pics. The true blogging with pics happens here. This post has extra Holiday Fat Pics.

On Saturday 23 Dec 2017 I  received my Blogger Secret Santa package to me on the same day I sent my Secret Santa package out to Greg. The small package came from Tim B. of "I love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning" blog.

He hit a multi-run Homer I'd say it was a 3 runner. Total of 38 cards at least one from each of the 4US sports food groups some PC snacks and niche noschs.

BASEBALL: 27 cards the bulk of the package 1 or 2 dupes 3 at the very most.

2008 Donruss Threads Baseball: 50 Frank Howard Washington (dupe) No problem it's Hondo one of my fave Washington Senators of All-Time.

2012 Bowman Chrome Baseball: 61 Gio Gonzalez Nationals (possible dupe)
2014 Bowman Baseball: 55 Ian Desmond Nationals Blue Parallel 074/500

2015 Topps Chrome Baseball: 56 Ian Desmond Nationals
2015 Topps Baseball: National League: NL-9 Bryce Harper Nationals
2015 Topps Baseball: First Pitch: FP-22 Lars Ulrich Musician Giants - I love the First Pitch cards. I need to double check which ones I still need to get.

2015 Topps Baseball Update: Gold Parallel: US300 Max Scherzer Nationals AS Game 1064/2015

2016 Panini Black Friday Baseball: 19 Stephen Strasburg Washington - Wow this is one of the best Non-licensed Panini Baseball cards I've seen in a while. Almost looks like a licensed card. In fact I thought it was one at first glance then I saw it was Panini and just said "Washington".

2016 Topps Baseball: Purple Parallel: 342 Jayson Werth Nationals
2016 Topps Baseball: New Era?: 1 Bryce Harper Nationals

2016 Topps Baseball: First Pitch:
FP-1 Jeff Bauman Boston Bombing Survivor Red Sox
FP-2 Jake Gyllenhaal Actor Red Sox (cameo of Jeff Bauman)
FP-4 Brady Kahle Red Sox - Kid who sold baseball card collection to help pay for his friends brain cancer treatment. Cameo of Wally The Green Monster.
FP-5 Keith Urban Musician Dodgers
FP-7 Chance The Rapper Hip-Hop "artist" White Sox
FP-9 Craig Sager Reporter Cubs
FP-10 Jojo Fletcher Bachelorette (reality personality) Dodgers
FP-12 Tom Watson Golfer Royals

FP-6 Aubrey Plaza Actress Dodgers - Love her Mostly just seen her in commercials. At times she reminds me of Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13, Stitchers)

Allison Scagliotti as Claudia Donovan in Warehouse 13 Season 4 Episode 15 "Instinct"

2016 Topps Opening Day Baseball: Mascots:
M-4 Wally The Green Monster Red Sox
M-13 Dinger Rockies
M-20 Fredbird Cardinals
Mascots are one of my niche PCs as is evident from my Mascot Monday series of posts.

2016 Topps Baseball: Spring Fever: SF-29 Bryce Harper Nationals
2017 Topps Stadium Club Baseball: Scoreless Streak: SS-SS Stephen Strasburg Nationals
2017 Topps Baseball: Refractor? 212 Tanner Roark Nationals

2017 Topps Baseball: Gold: 327 Danny Espinosa Nationals 1501/2017

2015 Topps Archives Baseball: WF-8 Will Ferrell Giants

BASKETBALL: 5 cards 1 sticker no dupes that I know of.

2013-14 Panini Basketball Stickers: 154 Bradley Beal Wizards

2003-04 Fleer Ultra Basketball:
33 Juan Dixon Wizards
130 Jared Jeffries Wizards
Gold Medallion: 130 Jared Jeffries Wizards die-cut curved corner

2002-03 Fleer Genuine Basketball: Names of the Game: NG 7 of 15 Michael Jordan Wizards

2001-02 Topps Basketball: Top Tandems: TT6 Michael Jordan and Richard Hamilton Wizards

FOOTBALL: 1 card not a dupe.

1971 Topps Football: Game Insert: 7 O.J. Simpson Bills

HOCKEY: 4 cards 3 possible dupes.

1993 Classic Games 4 Sport Collection: 253 Manon Rheaume Atlanta Knights

1993 Classic Games Pro Hockey Prospects: The possible dupes.
1 Manon Rheaume
2 Manon Rheaume
100 Manon Rheume
Manon Rheume one of my PC Players and sort of a niche PC as well.

So yeah this post barely makes it into the end of January to preserve my bare minimum one post a month quota.

Strive For '65 Saturday: The One Where I Keep Procrastinating.

STRIVE FOR '65 STATUS:

30 Dec 2017 Strive for '65 | 1965 Set Build | Master Want List Current card count: 270/598 (272/600) 45.5%
Here is the link to my last update. I'm not sure if I've been consistent on these posts but I think from now on I'll try to keep the posting order of newest arrivals to oldest.

Well procrastination granted me a few more cards to add on this post. Originally I just had the two from the same seller back in mid November. Later in November I won two more cards from Sportlots auctions from two different dealers both shipped with other cards so individual shipping looks great but since Sportlots Auctions don't combine the total shipping stinks. I really need to stop doing the auctions there and have started an effort to avoid checking them. The Sportlots stores you don't get as burned with the shipping. Needless to say I won't list the shipping since they weren't the only cards shipped. Then just when I thought I was going to put this post to bed, a little more procrastination and boom I got another card from a Sportlots Store with some other cards.

Saturday 16 Dec 2017:  Or Sunday 17?
On Sunday evening 17 Dec 2017 I noticed I had a flat mailer envelope from USPS at my door. I'm thinking a neighbor had gotten it by mistake. Saturday morning 16 Dec I heard the delivery person knock on my door. I had a medium flat rate priority box from one the SCF Football Team Traders loaded with mostly Rams and a few Redskins cards (about 90% to 10%), but I don't recall this envelope being there at that time. I don't recall the flat mailer being there Saturday night when I went out to get something for dinner. Last year around this time (actually between Oct and mid Dec) I had a couple of packages (probably boxes) that I think were stolen by neighbors, there are a lot of teenagers in the development. One was a trade I never got any shipping info on and the other an order(from a Sportlots auction) had tracking and when I checked the status on a Thursday it said it had been shipped that Monday. Garden style apartment a big box in front of my door can easily be seen from the mail boxes porch.

This card came from a Sportlots Store along with a couple of Roman Gabriel Football cards, one I think I already had but wanted to make sure I had it. Oh and the final piece to put into my Bloggers Secret Santa package hosted by Matt at Bob Walk The Plank blog. Now I can package that puppy up and ship out. Got it for $4.50 - I did ship that out on last Saturday 23 December.

295 Dick Radatz Red Sox

Thursday 30 Nov 2017:
Another card from a Sportlots Auction. Now this one I have tried to get before a few times but got outbid due to its popularity and often too high prices. I managed to find this one for $5.50.

519 Bob Uecker Cardinals

Monday 27 Nov 2017:
This one I got from a Sportlots auction for the opening 25¢ bid. He is part of the same name club. This is a card I thought I already had, but I apparently didn't. I might be thinking of one of his other cards I might or might not have.

298 Jim Stewart Cubs

Monday 13 Nov 2017:
Went on a mini Sportlots spending splurge I got two cards from one seller two auctions, both I got for the opening 25¢ bid shipping for both cards was $3.00.

The first card is from a childhood fave PC guy 193 Gaylord Perry Giants. I remember Gaylord from his Indians days. His 1975 Topps card is iconic for me it may have been the first and for a while only? card I had of him. I might have had his '74 card as well til sometime between 81-83 when I got more of his cards.

193 Gaylord Perry Giants

Next is card 380 Rocky Colavito Indians. Him I have no idea about. Interesting he started with the Indians in 1955 then spent some time with the Tigers and Athletics then back to the Indians in '65. It appears that the picture on this card is a cropped version of the picture on his 1964 Topps Giant card when he was with the A's. The KC logo was airbrushed off.

380 Rocky Colavito Indians

The Latest Additions:
Sat/Sun 16/17 Dec 2017:
295 Dick Radatz Red Sox

Thursday 30 Nov 2017:
519 Bob Uecker Cardinals

Monday 27 Nov 2017:
298 Jim Stewart Cubs

Monday 13 Nov 2017:
193 Gaylord Perry Giants
380 Rocky Colavito Indians