Monday, May 28, 2012

Interview with Elton Brand Super Collection Winner

Recently, we got to catch up with Kevin M. of Washington, to hear more about how his life has changed ever since becoming the proud new owner of the Elton Brand Super Collection.  Read this exclusive interview here. 

How did you run across this auction?
Actually, I wrote a computer program that aggregates my searches across Craigslist, Amazon, Ebay, PoliceAuctions.com, ShopGoodwill.com and a few other sites like MuletsGalore.com and its sister site, nightowlcards.blogspot.com. The program has been running on my supercomputer for several years with zero hits, so when this one came up, I knew I had to have it.

What was first going through your mind when you found it?
Mostly that Jennifer Lopez had really gone downhill! Then I realized there were no pics of J-Lo, just Elton. That was a bummer.

What did you have to eat the night before you won? Do you feel like that positively affected the outcome of your winning the auction?
I ate a basketball rim because my favorite nickname for Brand is 'Front Rim' Brand. Hehe, that's funny. BTW, basketball rims are not as chewy as they look.

How long have you been a die-hard Elton Brand stalker....errr...collector?
All my life. You see, it was prophesied when I was still in the womb that I would start a jeans company called Elton Brand jeans. When I finally got enough venture capital to start the company, some upstart basketball chump from Duke blocked my trademark request. Since then, it's been kind of an obsession.

Now that you have the collection, how do you expect it to change your life?
I will offer it to Sir Elton himself in a last attempt to mollify him into letting me start Elton Brand Jeans Co. With whatever cards are left over after that, I have a few rooms that need wallpapering.

Is it true that you are planning on throwing them all in your bed, and rolling around in the cards?
I was told there would be no personal questions in this interview!! But no, if I roll around in these priceless cards, it will be in the bathtub.

How many requests from media outlets and talk shows have you been contacted to be a guest on, and what are they?
My agent has received a total of -3 requests. I have been asked to stay away from Conan, The New York Times and, most emphatically, Beckett.

J-Lo has been in contact with me about your date. As a special favor to me, she had agreed to go out with you, and reported back to me. She said that you had taken her to McDonalds, ordered, and requested she pay for you. After that, you took her to the movies and had her flirt with the ticket guy so you could both get in free. What's up with that?
I can't think of ANY reason to be with a hot, female celebrity other than to get free stuff from her fame. Wait...no...NO other reason.

It is no surprise how high the Elton Brand Super Collection went for on Ebay. I am just amazed at how quickly you were able to pay. Were there any financial backers helping fund this purchase? Did you have to mortgage your house?
What? J-Lo actually paid for the E.B. Super Collection. That's how much she wanted to go out with me!

Do you have anything else you would like for our blog subscribers to know?
Well, not to get all serious, but it was really cool to win this. The philanthropy aspect of the auction is really great, I'd like to do something like that sometime. I'm not the biggest Elton Brand fan out there. Actually, I could take him or leave him. But I do really like the crazy variety of the lot. The refractors and die cuts are super cool and I'll enjoy them. Also, I initially heard about the auction right here on 6 Million Cards, so blogging really paid off! Sorry the lot didn't go for more though.

Thanks a bunch and I'll let you know how it works out with J-Lo!

Thank you, Kevin - you've been a great sport.  I got a real kick out of your answers!

Friday, May 25, 2012

A note to myself when getting googly-eyed at blaster boxes


I was gonna do a video of myself addressing me of the future, but figured I'd chillax on the whole vid thang for a while.  Instead, here is a letter:


Dear me of the future,

You are reading this because for whatever reason, you are planning on buying boat loads of blaster and retail boxes ... heck ... even hobby boxes. 



Some of the many, many boxes I picked up this past winter.  Man, was that fun!

Possible causes are:
- it is your birthday or christmas
- there is a monster card show in town
- you have read all the hoopla on a certain product and absolutely must hop on the bandwagon (ahhh, how sweet it would be to pull a Bryce Harper superfractor ... forgettaboutit son ... ain't gonna happen!)
- Walmart or Target have discounted last years crap to 40% off

(don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it)


If this comes in your line of sight, how can you not buy this, with its 25% off sticker?!?!

Flat out, don't do it.  You never pull anything really cool.  Yeah, ok, you pulled the 2010 Bowman Chrome Strasburg purple refractor when he was hot.  Then there were the 2 Lincecum rookie autos, the Griffey letter auto...but think about all the JUNK. 


I still remember pulling this beauty at around mid-night, and waking my wife up in excitement!

Slick pull, had only one box been opened.  The background tells a different story.

You are in this hobby because it is not a leach of your finances.  You are a collection buyer ... able to make your money back on cards, and the only reason you buy cards to begin with is not to keep them, but to flip them to get more cards. 

Unopened stuff at full price (and oftentimes at discounted prices) are a money killer.  Do you hear me, me of the future?!?!? MONEY KILLER!!! 



What, you thought I only bought one?

(don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it don't do it)

You drop a few hundred clams on some boxes because you simply cannot shake the excitement / obsession of sitting down and tearing through the wrappers (which, might I add, are so much more difficult to open than they were when I was growing up.  I seriously doubt that me of the future at 9 years old could even successfully open one unassisted.)

Remember how it feels.  Recognize the signs.  Logic goes out the window once you get in these buying modes.  Pure bliss, you think.  But me of the future, I guarantee you this:  unless you get a fantastic HIT, the most enjoyment you will have is the actual time before buying them, due to the anticipation of opening. 



You see, me of the future, here is the problem.  Let's take one single box.  $20, at the cheapest, right?  Let's say you get lucky and land an autograph. 

YESSSSSSSSSS!!!! I GOT A HIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Let's up the ante here ... let's say you get two...no, three....no!  FOUR autographed cards in one $20 box!  This surely would land you in the guiness book of world records for mostest awesomest box eva.  What happens then?!?!?!?!  Reselling will likely net you $6, and you will have a pile of base cards that you might be able to get a few bucks off of.  When the wrappers hit the ground, you will try your hardest to say it was fun, but you will realize in the pit of your stomach it was a waste of money...and what is worse ... that feeling *stays* with you ... for a long time. 

Hmmm, wonder how many autographs were in these... :)

You see, me of the future - it just isn't worth it. The only time it really is fine is when you buy a lot, and it is vastly, vastly discounted.  But even then, having cases of unopened cards is like a drunk living in a bar.  They oftentimes just won't last. 


Don't deny it - this picture is just flat out sexy.

You have a sickness, me of the future.  A disease.  The first step is to admit it.  Besides, who in their right mind would throw down $20 for the cheapest of unopened new boxes, that only come with 7 or 8 packs?!?!  Remember the glory days of the 80's and 90's, when $15 would get you over 500 cards, inside of 36 packs?!  Not only were they much easier to open, but they also came with a pepto bismo flavored razor blade - one to a pack.  Ahh, the fun. 


Not nearly as fun, but super cheap compared to the new cards.

But it gets better, me of the future.  Not only do I implore you to stick to wax to only times when you get vast discounts, I also beg of you to stick with what you know.  Buying entire collections.  Sure, it can be more money, but it is so much more fun, and in the end, you almost always get your money back, while being able to have some cool extra cards to show for it.  Not only that, but sometimes these collections have unopened packs in them for a fraction of what the stores sell them for!

I know, I know, I know!  Collections for sale are oftentimes few and far between, (or is it far and few between?  Good thing this is a personal note, because that woulda been embarrassing.)  But I implore you - BE PATIENT!  They'll come along! 


A small sampling of the 5,700+ unopened packs I bought from someone - ahh, memories!

Still feeling the itch?  Let's be honest here.  You don't want a $20 box.  You want 5-10 $20 boxes.  Hop on ebay right now.  Do it.  Think of the coolest cards you want right now.  93 SP Jeter?  Several Pujols inserts?  Josh Hamilton autographs?  Look around at what you can get for that money, visualize them in your hands, and then visualize the pile of 300 cards that came from the blaster boxes... not a one of them worth more than $5.  Which would you rather? 


Trust me, a 93 SP Jeter Rookie is *much* more photogenic.

Me of the future, you are bright, smart, hilarious and gorgeous.  Don't let anyone tell you different.  Just stay away from the wax!

Mine Faithfully,
Me of the now

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I'm a Greedy American

It has been an absolute blast doing these goofball auctions.  I thought it would be a good idea for half of the money I get from these auctions to go to help kids in need. 

I have changed my mind.  It is not a good idea to give half.  It is a good idea to give it all.  The video explains a bit more about this. 



Will you join me in doing the same?  If you do, I'd love to hear about it.  Tell me what you do so we can inspire others to help those in need.

I have just been thinking a lot lately.  If I get $2, $20, $50, etc. from these silly auctions, what good is it going to do me?  Probably no good whatsoever.  It is odd to think that for the price of a dinner at a restaurant, that same money could literally help save the life of someone. 

Does that resonate with you?  It really does with me, though, not nearly as much as it should. 

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Elton Brand Super Collection on Ebay + Date with Jennifer Lopez ?

I posted an auction for this at on ebay - Hopefully it will give you a good laugh. 

They don't take kindly to folks saying anything about charity, but half of the proceeds for this auction will go to help children in need, so bid it up!  When the winner pays, I'll post here where the money went.  Here is the ad below.  


=========

Hello, my friend. I do not believe that it is by chance that you have stumbled upon my internet page. It is fate, no? You clearly have clicked on this link to view the goodness of him ... Elton Brand, or EB as I call him (I am very close friends with someone who knows of him.)

I have made the difficult decision to sell off this very prestigious collection. Enough with the chit-chat. I will start off the bidding of his wonderful rookie card of EB himself, in all his finger pointy goodness.



Impressive, no? Well, if that's not enough, how about I double the offer?



Still with me? Well I am about to knock your knickers clean off you. I will double the double offer.



Hello ... sir? Wake up and pick yourself up off the floor. I know you are thinking to yourself "This cannot be! they must be fake!" That is not true. I have taken a picture of the back of one to show you. See?  The amount of conviction in his eyes on the back of his card simply cannot be from a fake.



I truly am an EB super collecting boss, and am allowing you to get on the ground floor of a multi-million dollar lifestyle - for pennies on the dollar. EB will be going to the hall of fame. Don't believe me? How about I add some more finger pointy rookies?



BOOOM. Yes, BOOM. One is even a refractor. Don't take me wrong, ok? EB can be serious. Because of this, I am throwing in, at no additional charge to you, eight special serious face EB rookie cards.



Worried about the serious versions scaring your wives, children and goats? You may want to keep these babies tucked away, and only display them if needed. For all those other times though, I have happy EB rookie cards too.



What's that? You are sick of finger pointy, serious and smiley EB rookie cards? How about this sweet action?



EB in action! Clearly, he is about to jam upon Kobe, MJ, Lebron, Durant, Griffin and Chamberlain all at the same time. Now for the high end stuff.



BAM! Finest, Stadium Club Chrome, Bowman's Best and inserts! What, want more?



How do you like my Gold Label style? Truly worth their weight in gold.



Your children and wives must be going to bed now, because the goodness doesn't stop here. Now, it gets even crazier.



See this??? One of them is serial numbered to #500. It is the only one that is #ed 088 of the 500, making it a true one of one.



ELTON FREAKING BRAND, PEOPLE!!!



The ladies will flock to you, after you show off your new ELTON BRAND Super Collection.



What is this? You may say. Can it be? Yes, it is! An E-XCEPTIONAL insert and a TRUE, REAL autograph of EB himself ... while he was in college. Yes, this card was touched by the finger pointy hand of EB.  The autograph itself was

Dear friend, I want to thank you for looking at my super collection of Elton Brand.  No, scratch that.  You want to thank me for showing you your future super collection of Elton Brand.  There are none of those annoying cards with fabric on them. Just cardboardy, finger pointy goodness. You may think that a collection like this could go for $20,000 or more, which I have been offered by multiple parties in the past year when I was not ready to sell. There are 132 cards here in all, that are either rookies or inserts, and I am starting this auction off at 99 cents with NO RESERVE! 

As a winner of this auction, you will receive all cards shown above, be interviewed, and featured on my blog. 

You could also be granted a date with Jennifer Lopez and a game one on one with Elton Brand himself.
*

Bid now, and bid high.  Winning this Elton Brand Super Collection will change your life forever.


*Date with Jennifer Lopez is contingent upon you contacting J-Lo, asking her out, and saying yes.  The same goes with the one on one basketball game with Elton Brand.  This auction in no way, shape or form guarantees either, winning this auction will dramatically increases your chances on both accounts.

Friday, May 18, 2012

How much did the invisifractor sell for?

Right now, I'm just waiting on the winning bidder to pay.  We'll see if that happens.  Here is a video of the auction view! 

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Invisifractor Video

I have been getting a lot of questions and comments on the invisifractor I have pulled, so here is a video of it!
This is regarding my invisifractor ebay auction that can be found here.



invisifractor just pulled!  Note to the ebay winner:  If you win, and it is not what you expected, you will most definitely receive a refund, and the next bidder in line will get a crack at it.  50% goes to charity to help less fortunate kids and the winner will get both a t-shirt as well as an exclusive interview on my website!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Interview with a vampire, err...pack searcher

So this past week, one would find me celebrating my birthday 12th 21st birthday the way I always do - with baseball cards, good food and cheesecake.  During my lunch break, before going out to eat with the fam, we went to hit up a few targets and wal-marts.  I normally don't buy full-priced boxes, and usually only buy full collections, but I thought I would go ahead and splurge, since you only turn 21 12 times! 

At target, my wife left my son and I to rummage through all the blaster boxes, and here he came:  a man who was all business, barrelling to the '12 bowman.  He swiftly grabbed all of the loose 2012 bowman packs from the gravity box, spread them out on the conveyer belt of the unoccupied checkout station.  I looked back and said "wow, you must really like '12 bowman!  There are some blaster boxes over here too."  He then reached in his pocket to pull out some calculator thingy and place packs on it one by one.  "I can't tell if there are any autographs in those though." he responded. 

WHAT!??!?!!?

Have I just stumbled across a pack searcher???  Previously, I had only read online how evil these people are, and how they rip off everyone by sucking the good stuff from stores.  Certainly, they were discreet in doing these things, and not in front of others. 

Nope, nothing discreet here.  He was setting up shop and going to town. 

"There are about four of us in the area that do this full time.  I have been to 70 stores.  See this?  This pack weighs 2.35 ounces, instead of 2.29 ounces.  This means that there is a card in here with a sticker that has an autograph." 

My jaw hath dropped.  How is this ok? 

He dug with his nails at the back of the pack "see here ... the autograph is always 4th from the back, and if you push them back, you can see the initials of the card....JG is the one here."

He then proceeded to pull out his smart phone to find out who it is. 

My mind was racing ... what do I do?  Do I take a picture of him in action to show this monster in action?  Do I tell him it isn't fair to everyone else buying?  Is it ok for him to do this?  What right does he...

"Uhm, excuse me ... I don't think I can use this auto.  Would you like to buy it?" 

"YES!  Thank you so much.  That is so nice of you!"

I admit, my mind blanked while I said yes and was on my way to the checkout station.  Was I a hypocrite?  Wait ... did I even think it was wrong that he was doing this?  Surely there is justification somewhere in here, seeings how I was not the one who searched the pack.  'Twas merely a gift.  Yes, a gift!  No matter what people's stance are on this situation, one thing was for sure - I wasn't about to turn this down. 

Later on that night, we went around to get some more boxes, and lo & behold - I found SIX 2011 Topps value boxes.  I was rather pleased, as I had heard that these puppies had been sucked back up by Topps.  Gladly, I grabbed them all, plus some Gypsy Queen and Allen & Ginters. 

While I didn't pull anything phenomenal from any of the boxes I bought, I did have a really fun time opening them with my wife and son.

Some of the boxes I dove into for my bday.

2012 Invisifractor Just Hit Ebay!

After not getting anything hugely awesome in my birthday baseball card box break, I decided to have some fun and post up my 2012 Bowman Prospects Bryce Harper, plus my 2012 invisifractor on ebay to see how well it would do.  I've gotta admit - the attention it has already gotten was well worth it, lol! 

The Ebay Auction

2012 Invisifractor Discovered; More Rare than SuperfractorMay 11, 2012 from Card Mfr. Headquarters
For Immediate Release

After a number of excited collectors and investors have discovered in its 2012 retail product, it just doesn't hold a candle to its hobby and jumbo counterparts. An unofficial Spokesman from the popular baseball card manufacturer has confirmed and extra surprise in the retail version. Something more rare than the superfractors.

Enter: the Invisifractor. A slickly designed card using cutting edge technology to give the appearance that it is invisible.

"You can literally see right through it" an unofficial spokesperson in an exclusive interview.

"The best part about it, is that when placed on top of a regular base or chrome card, the card actually *becomes* an invisifractor. It is truly remarkable. It is so rare in fact, that there is not a serial number anywhere, making each invisifractor rarer than a superfractor. Yes, that means that it is a 0/0 card."

One has been pulled from boxes at a well known retail outlet, though, the lack of markings on the card make it difficult to substantiate the claim.

When asked what he was going to do with it, the proud new owner mentioned that he is going to put it up on ebay.

"I'm going to make a killing off of this puppy! Imagine the value of a superfractor Stephen Strasburg, combined with a superfractor Bryce Harper. I'm going to be riiiiiiich! When purchased off of ebay, the owner should IMMEDIATELY send it off for grading, as it should certainly receive a 10."

While some are not clear about if this is a hoax or not, others claim they see right through this shameless shenanigan to score some easy money to buy some more baseball cards.


Front of the Invisifractor



Back of the Invisifractor


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Fun Mailday + Blaster Boxes!

It is a well known fact:  baseball cards can make any good day, great.  I figured I would let loose by cracking open a few blasters today.  With wife and 2 kids in tow, we went to a few wal-marts and targets in the area.  Since my birthday is coming up, and I moved virtually all the Astros find, I figured I could splurge a bit.  I picked up a blaster of 2012 Gypsy Queen, 2011 Allen & Ginter and 2012 Bowman. 

I admit, I am not a fan of bowman, but this year, with its white borders and clean design, I like them!  Among others, here is what I got out of the blasters.

There are the notables anyhow (there were plenty of other rookies and such).  2012 Bowman Gold Yu Darvish (YEAH!)  2012 Bowman Yoennis Cespedes (I have wanted a card of his for quite some time now), a black mini Frank Thomas, a mini Matt Moore rc and a chrome Bryce Harper.  Can you believe, at the time of  this post, that the '12 Harper fetches $10 or so on ebay?  One of the Darvish went for $50 yesterday, but I think that was a fluke.  Oh, and I can't forget Nolan Ryan in all of his orange and yellow Astro-ey goodness.

When I got home, I was delighted to see a package I have been waiting a very, very, VERY long time for.  It was light a few cards, and 2 had issues, but here is a pic (the crummy pic of course, as always is thanks to my phone.)  I'll explain a bit below the picture what you are looking at. 


Briefly speaking, there are rookies of:  Hunter Pence, Dan Uggla (auto), Lincecum, Puckett, Bonds, Clemens, King Felix, Kershaw, Chipper Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Ichiro, Matt Moore, Michael Jordan, Evan Longoria, Bryce Harper, Mike....ahem...Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Gonzalez, Mark Trumbo, Bo Jackson, Greg Maddux, some By the Letter, Autos, etc.  Yes, as always, ALL are FS!