Collection Reflection, Feb 2013

Whenever I take a break from blogging, I spend half of that first post talking about the reasons why. My first holiday season working in retail. Well, I was without a computer for most of December, so there's that. 'Nuf said.

I've been updating my overall MTG collection worksheet and will update that page after this post.

Let's skip to the goodies. No football updates. I did get some football cards, and possibly some good ones, but nothing that sticks in my mind - prices for football cards appeared to rise in connection with playoffs, Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, etc. That noted, I was rather pleased to see Warren Sapp make it into the HOF, and Ray Lewis retire with a SB Ring.

Moving on.

I got my first autographed photo of Playboy model Jennifer Vaughn. Two, actually.

Turned out to be an excellent choice. Just this week, JV was selected as Playboy's Cyber Girl of the Year for 2013. Also, she's very sweet towards her fans.

I received another surprise angel. For Xmas, I got a M13 fatpack. And the last card in the last pack was this foil beauty:

At around $50, this makes this one of the more valuable cards in my collection.

Return to Ravnica has been pretty good to me, as well. (Aside, I thought those Holiday gift boxes were awesome.) I've pulled a couple Steam Vents, pulled my very first Jace (not as high dollar as the Worldwake Jace) - which is somewhat ironic, since I lean towards Jund (black, red, green) when I think about deckbuilding. I always seem to pull good white and blue cards. The Universe is trying to tell me something, perhaps.

Along those lines, though, early on I pulled a Deathrite Shaman, which is exactly the kind of card I would use in my Jund Werewolf deck, to go along with my Garruks and Huntmasters. Insert peals of manic laughter here. ;-)

I ordered my Gatecrash booster box - and, as happens on Ebay occasionally, it didn't ship. So, while I do already have some good GTC cards, I'll talk about those next time.

When I first started collecting cards, I did it chaotically - whenever I had a few extra dollars in my pocket, I'd buy a pack or go searching online for good deals.

For 2013, I've got it in my mind to approach it like a monthly investment. One 'magic', one 'autograph' and one 'football' purchase. Magic has 4 expansions this year, in addition to the FTV:20 just announced, the Jace duel deck, the Modern release, and a Commander product - Magic's going to take a lot of my spare cash this year.

I think the autographed photos will be easier to approach, as I've been sourcing them out and researching them for months.

And football? I'll be keeping an eye on the draft and just pick up a pack of cards once a month. My inventory and collection goal bears greater scrutiny in the near future.

Now to update the inventory page. Pulled anything good lately?

Collection Reflection - wk of October 20 2012

A few months ago, after my near-death experience, I decided that I needed a solid alternative/retirement plan. It's not that I don't have great faith in my writing - it's that publishing is a hard business to break into, and I wanted an alternative 'win strategy', as it's called in Magic: The Gathering.

Essentially, I wanted a hobby that would pay off in 20 years or so. I'm confident that my health will hold up until then, but I'm also realistic about what my limitations will be after a colon resection, when I start to get near to 60.

Initially, I began with Magic: The Gathering. I have accumulated a healthy bit of cards in 2 years, but I don't play much - so, as noted in my update post, I'm just striving to complete the sets, 4 of each ideally, with more than that in cards that have value beyond bulk pricing (as per starcitygames.com).

For my birthday, I got an amazon gift certificate, so I used that to get the new Duel Deck (Izzet vs Golgari) and then a 1000 card deal. Unfortunately, the 1000 card bulk deal wasn't all that impressive, and I forgot to set aside the rares / higher value cards.

Izzet vs Golgari - Because you can never really go wrong with a Foil legendary creature.

Although, I will admit, the 1000 card deal had a bunch of 3rd/Revised cards with it. I may have to save up and get some more 9 pocket pages, and add Revised to my inventory. As of right now, Revised are the oldest cards I have in my collection. 

Also for my birthday, I got a money card from Mom (my Mom rules), so I did indulge in a Return to Ravnica Fat Pack. (Normally, I pick up a booster box for each release, but times are tough, so that's gotta wait.) 

I haven't valued / inventoried Return to Ravnica yet, so here's a few that caught my eye. 

Ironic, since I already have one of these from the Duel Deck.

I do like Green. Not White so much. I wonder sometimes if the cards I find are trying to tell me something.

I don't think this card's going anywhere anytime soon. Plus, I got one in Foil. 

My collection plan has a 3 prong attack. The third prong is signed photographs. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any, yet. But I am following a bunch of playboy models on twitter. LOL. This is one of those things I'm keeping in the back of my mind; investing in social icons is slightly more speculative. Still, if I accumulate 1000 signed photos in the next 20 years, that's going to be worth something. (But getting 50 a year would be awfully expensive, that's one a week, and they average about $50 each). I'm still in the planning stages, let's say. 

Which brings us to Tier 2, football cards. This has basically boiled down to picking up cards on a whim and sticking them in penny sleeves and putting them in a box. My roommate has hundreds (thousands?) of cards, and most of them are either autograph and/or jersey (memorabilia) cards. I'm following three teams this year: Miami, Tampa and Carolina. 

When I started off, I focused on finding Cam Newton rookie cards, but as the year went on, the good cards were already out of my price range. But, as I pointed out recently, I paid attention to the draft and the analysts this year. Truly, while there are some veterans that are great - the last two draft classes, particularly in QB's, has been pretty awesome. It's still possible to go out and pick up a 2011 pack and get lucky. Which  I do on occasion. 

But, for the most part, when so inclined, I scour EBay for good 'lot' deals and take my chances. I recently sold a bulk pack of Magic cards, so I had a few bucks to spend. I grabbed these: 

Ryan Tannehill rookie numbered Jersey cards. 

He's getting better with each game, plain and simple. The last rookie QB that the Dolphins drafted in the first round? Dan Marino. I know there's not a lot of Dolphins fans out there in the universe, but Tannehill is smart, stays poised under pressure and can take a hit. He doesn't repeat mistakes. Yes, he's still learning, but his passer rating is high and consistent. You really can't want more out of a rookie quarterback. Those cards might be the best $14 I ever spent. 

I spent the rest of my Ebay sales on another bulk pack, so we'll see if it shows up next week and if there aren't some good cards in there. Until the next, have a great weekend!