The other story and the almost daily giveaway too

 The winner last night was: SanJose Fuji

Okay, let's get to my other story. I will try to make this one go very quick. The Villages card show as a couple of weeks ago, and the week leading up to the show there were at least two maybe a third blog that I read posting about the 1956 Topps. I even commented on Owl's about how I only had about 73 cards and would likely never complete it.

Half way through the show I got to the dealer that always has lesser conditioned partial sets. I bought many of them a few years back, skipped them these last two years the prices were NUTS. I stopped in my tracks right away. There was a binder that the insert he put in the plastic on the front of the binder stated 91% complete $1,300.00. I perused through it, and I be damned, the set wasn't missing any cards, not one. The Mantle was there Jackie, Willie, Sandy everyone. I closed the book, it was a done deal in my head. Made me a little queasy for a second, he asked what was wrong. I handed him the book, first mistake. I said to him we need to talk about this binder, 2nd mistake. By then the dealer started flipping through the pages, and landed on the Mantle and he realized that was the wrong book or insert. He said this is wrong, pointed to a dry erase board where he listed the partial and the complete set. $6,400.00. He pulled out the insert. I should have just stroked a check and left. My mouth cost me a deal! My conscious would have eaten me up though, so I guess I can live in peace. I was heartbroken for sure, and now I am truly sick to my stomach. I wanted that damn complete set, boom one fell swoop. Nah, he looked around didn't find the correct binder for the insert he had out. He did have another 56' binder partially complete (76%). He said it was in better shape than the other one. 

I told the guy you know me, I was dead set on that 1,300.00, no way am I forking out $2K for one that still needs 24% of the cards......the key cards at that.  We start haggling back and forth, my answer was the same for the 5 or 6 rounds we went, $1,300.00 plus I need a couple of big names. He showed me another Mantle and it was super sweet compared to the one in the first binder. Nope, he wasn't throwing that one in, he wanted $3.4K for it. He had a couple of Mays at $450.00 each. he was doing that either. I could have gone with some bigger names than what I took, but settled for a pair of Braves HOFers.

Those are sticker prices he wanted for those two cards. WE made the deal for the binder that now had 260 cards and twelve HOFers. What is really weird, is the 70 ish cards I had only four or five that doubled up with the binder.  Now I only need 64 cards not to mention I had the Aaron already, so 1 big name down. If I had only kept my mouth shut. One that could and would never happen. I once bought myself a comical license plate for the front a vehicle (only one on the back is required down here). I kept it on a bookcase it said: Help, I'm talking and can't shut up! Still, I will remember that for a very very long time.

Here is my needs list:

1956 TOPPS: 5, 8, 11, 15, 24, 25, 26, 30, 33, 42, 61, 62, 63, 72, 77, 79, 80, 83, 89, 99, 101, 110, 111, 120, 121, 125, 130, 140, 145, 146, 150, 166, 176, 177, 181, 184, 187, 188, 190, 194, 213, 225, 226, 233, 235, 240, 250, 251, 252, 263, 280, 288, 292, 295, 299, 303, 306, 308, 320, 321, 324, 328, 332, 335.

It is absolutely okay for you to cheery pick the big names and send them too me. I promise I won't mind.