2012 TOPPS ALLEN & GINTER

2012 TOPPS ALLEN AND GINTER

With 2012 ALLEN GINTER set to arrive in mid July, my pre-christmas childhood
giddyness is slowly creeping into my stomach day by day.  Im sure like many others, ALLEN & GINTER has become a summer rite of passage for myself.

My appetite was whetted back in 2007 as I stepped into a LCS looking for product to rip.  I knew nothing about Ginter other than the much publicized DNA cards and Cut Signatures.  As I ripped into the box, I was amazed at the beauty of the base cards, the minis, and the pure oddness of the product.  It seemed that there was so much to feast on, and for me, the guaranteed hits were simply a bonus.  I ended up pulling a DAISUKE rip card, and can remember the immediate rush I had when I had to decide to rip it or put it up for sale on the GIANT (Ebay).

From that moment on, I was hooked on this product, and proceeded to complete every master set from there on out (through 2011).

As a collector first, I love Ginter for the simple fact that there is so much to explore in each and every box, and I love being able to slowly sift through 24 packs looking for that one of a kind find.  We are guaranteed 3 hits, but for this collector it goes beyond that, there is so much to look for:  Box Toppers, Hand numbered minis, printing plates, silk cards, oddballs that differ from year to year, rip cards (1 per case), short prints, printing errors, and micro history lessons in each and every box.  Where else can you bust a box and find a swimming champion, an archery champ, a code buster, or even a card you plant in your front yard (Rhetorical Question Farley!). 

This years version offers a colony in card, canine minis, autos from all over the sports world, military leaders, and historical turning points--to name a few!  And the auto checklist?  Looks to be pretty solid this year, as Topps has incorporated more retired vets, and Hall of Famers, which is a step ahead  in comparison to last years checklist in my eyes.

2012 should be another fun break, whether or not I hit a "big one", I know there will be plenty of fun involved, and much more oddness!!  But for now I must sit and wait, for CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!

2012 BOWMAN HOBBY & RETAIL RESULTS

 .............2012 BOWMAN CONTINUED............

Hobby..1      Retail..0
Hobby looks to have won this round of breaks.  
RECAP:

*GERRIT COLE CHROME
*1 SILVER ICE INSERT
*(8) RETAIL EXCLUSIVE PURPLE
(shorted in one pack, and as you can see I left the
Harper pack sealed to put up for auction on EBAY.)

Everything I pulled was mainly base, chrome, and RC's---no autos or color
but this is how Retail goes at times.  On the glass half full approach, I was
able to collate a huge lot of 2012 Bowman along with the previous stuff
I had busted.  I like the product and will definitely look into more....at least to fill time
before my efforts will be consumed by 2012 TOPPS SERIES 2.
___________________________________________________________

As I had stated last night, I would like to give a shout out to
DANEDEE23.  You can find him on BlogTv doing group breaks, and
raffling off high end singles @ super low prices.  Super customer service (shipping
printed the very next day....on a Sunday!!!), honest, and reliable.  Be sure to check
him out on BlogTv....and see what BREAKO is all about!!

____________________________________________________________

SOME NEW NPN's

NPN 2012 TOPPS BB SERIES 1
P.O. Box 2220
Duryea, PA 18642

NPN 2012 BOWMAN BB
P.O. Box 2036
Duryea, PA 18642

NPN 2012 BOWMAN BB
P.O. Box 2008
Duryea, PA 18642

2012 BOWMAN....Hobby VS. Retail

If you read my last post, you will find my thoughts on a recent hobby box break of 2012 Bowman Baseball.  I paid $74 for the hobby box, and thought it was a decent box.  Tonight I will be breaking (4) Retail 3-packs (Ten cards), each containing 3 bonus parallels, and one Blaster--the cost for these just under $60.

I will be posting the highlights of the Retail break in pictures.  I am anxious to see what I can pull from retail for $60 in comparison to what I pulled from Hobby ($74).

As far as odds per pack go, retail is a tougher adventure as far as pulling higher end product, but one will tend to end up with more base for their money, and will tend to have more to rip---in exchange for smaller odds.  While Hobby costs more, it doesn't always guarantee success in comparison to retail.  I discovered this last year when I bought a case of Gypsy Blasters.  For around $400 dollars I had this case in my hands.  $400 of Hobby would have gotten me roughly 2.5 boxes worth (10 hits....jersey heavy!).  After busting through the blasters, I had a stack of Minis, 2 Relics (of that, one Jackie Robinson Bat), 5 autos (Chapman, Ortiz, Soto, and a Gypsy Auto were the highlights), and had completed 95% of a master set.  Not bad, considering the stuff I was seeing pulled from the Hobby Boxes. I proceeded picked up some hanger packs at Target and pulled a Gypsy Queen Jewel Relic---I was literally destroying the odds.  I later discovered on http://www.cardboardconnection.com, that roughly, only 2500 Hobby cases were produced, which leads me to believe that Retail was absolutely loaded!!??

Now I'm off to see what I can pull from these Retail Bowman packs----mojo or not---It will make a fun talking point in comparing the two!!!

Check out the Blog tomorrow night for the update, along with a little love for a recent BlogTv room I visited.  I earned a nice little mail day for $24.  More on that tomorrow, where I will have info pertaining to my mailday video on Youtube later this week + more NPN to share!!!

2012 BOWMAN BASEBALL....THOUGHTS.

 2012 BOWMAN BASEBALL

2012 Bowman Baseball is and has been alive and well....at least for the 2nd week and a half after release.  I was a little unsure about this product simply because of the hangover of the Harper craze in 2011.  I parlayed my skepticism of the Harper hangover with my very own moderate interest in a prospect heavy product. 
That being said, I still couldn't help but to find out more information on the 2012 product.  Upon release, I searched Youtube, and numerous blogs to see what this 2012 release had to offer.  I found myself watching break after break, and it seemed the more I honed in, the more interested I became.  In 2011 the chase was focused on mainly Harper, 2012 looked to offer many great RC opportunities, namely DARVISH, COLE, CESPEDES, ROSS, RENDON, and HULTZEN.  With more options out there, I couldn't help but to be interested, especially seeing multiple Darvish Autos, 1/1's, and MLB contract offers, all being pulled in week #1.  Most notably, http://www.mojobreak.com busting a jumbo case, and pulling not one, but two Darvish Refractor Autos, a plate 1/1, and plentiful Harper, Cole, and Darvish base....from 1 case!!
2012 was looking pretty decent, and there was color abound, so I caved and purchased a hobby box.
I was initially pleased with the simple design, and great photography, and can say that I truly enjoyed the break.  I have included a small sampling of the pulls from the break.  No Harper to be found, but I did pull a Cole 1st Bowman card, a Darvish base, a Danks blue /500, a Tommy Joseph auto, and Bryan Brickhouse Red Ice SP /25. 
Adding to the overall box value is a redemption program for 1 pack of (5) Blue Wave Refractor parallels for each 7 HTA or 24 Hobby returned to Topps (limited to 10,000).  Bonus autos are randomly inserted into these packs in addition. 
Overall 2012 Bowman, in my opinion, is a better than average release with plenty of parallels, inserts, and chase prospects to keep the collector happy. 
I will be listing 2012 Bowman on my ECRATER page, check it out below:
http://www.jssportscards-jscards.blogspot.com

Thanks for checking out the Blog!!!

2012 SPORTSCARD NPN (TOPPS, PANINI)

HERE ARE SOME CURRENT NPN UPDATES:  Some will be repeats which I have posted before, and the majority of these NPN's are newbies.

NPN 2012 Topps Opening Day BB
P.O. BOX 785
PITTSTON, PA 18640
(1 per household---Jun. 6th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps BB Series 1
P.O. Box 785
Pittston, PA 18640
(1 per household---Nov. 14th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps BB Series 1
P.O. Box 765
Pittston, PA 18640
(1 per household---Nov. 14th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps BB Series 1
P.O. Box 766
Pittston, PA 18640
(1 per household---Nov. 14th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen BB
P.O. Box 2098
Duryea, PA 18642
(1 per household---July 18th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps Heritage BB
P.O. Box 2036
Duryea, PA 18642
(1 per household---June 13th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps Heritage BB
P.O. Box 2220
Duryea, PA 18642
(1 per household---June 13th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps Heritage BB
P.O. Box 2230
Duryea, PA 18642
(1 per household---June 13th, 2012)

NPN 2012 Topps Heritage BB
P.O. Box 2008
Duryea, PA 18642
(1 per household---June 13th, 2012)

NPN 2011-2012 Panini Hoops Basketball
5325 FAA BLVD. Suite 100A
Irving, TX 75061-3601
(2 per household---mailed separately by May 30th, 2012)

NPN's are a great way to score some freebies (less the .45 cent stamp).  In my past experiences, PANINI is great with these, as they typically fulfill them, and even include toploaders for all cards.  On the other hand TOPPS tends to be rather lazy, and careless, as they fail to penny sleeve, let alone topload any cards.  Also with Topps you will find that they send out a ton of regular inserts, while PANINI has always come through with numbered parallels, jerseys, or even autos--even bonus hits!!  While I have no right to complain about free cards, i feel that if they are offered, the company should at least show some gratitude to those out there who actually buy the products.  At the very least, protect the product from damage, or simply don't send them at all.  Check out Upper Deck as well, as they run all their NPN's through their website.

Stay tuned for new posts as we head into a fun period of collecting with 2012 Bowman, Topps Series 2, and Ginter on the way, not to mention a plethora of one BRYCE HARPER on the way!!!

Happy Collecting all!!!!