Are you ready? For the rest of the story.

 The winner last night was Dime box Nick.

Let's gets some typing done here. Junk wax: Analogy? Those were the days. Some of you older folks know where that song was heard daily.

The 80's & 90's was definitely a different time in just about all aspects of baseball cards. They were everywhere. No, they were not limited to Walmart or Target. I was buying cards at Sam's Club, Eckerds (now CVS), card shops, Toys R Us, Walgreen's, K-Mart, Books-A-Million, and even Barnes & Noble. Not just packs either full 36 pack wax boxes at prices in the $20-29 range for the good stuff. No shortage of cards at all they were literally everywhere including gas stations and convenient stores too. Heck back then you could still get people to pump your gas and check the fluids, wash your windshield too. Those were the days.

Back then I was an original flipper, not in the negative sense that the term has today. I would buy boxes 6 or 8 at a time even straight form a distributor. They too were not like they are today. Bought lots of boxes right out of the van. They sold to anyone. I'd rip them open keep whatever I was collecting at that time, flip the rest just to get my money back not for profit. Well other than my goal to get my cards for free. There were also card catalogues that would come with either monthly or quarterly too. Ebay popped up later in the mix as well and YES they were different back then. The original founder started Ebay FOR THE COLLECTOR. 

Life was good to be collecting baseball cards for us and those above us (manufacturers, distributors, stores everyone). Mass production was obviously the cause and this over production period known today as "junk"  caused the overall value of the cards during this period to drop like a bomb. There are a few exceptions like the BIG 3 in 83', the Ripken in 82' and a few others scattered. I will say this it was fun, none of the multiple parallel garbage of today, nope just one if any. Usually GOLD. 

The 90's especially brought us some NEW technologies and high end cards were amuck. I loved them. Stadium Club, Flair, Finest (set off the refractor craze). Originally the refractor was on the back of the 94' Finest set. Stupid right? The fronts were all refractor technology on the 93' & 94' set. I was hooked on them immediately. I liked the 95' set too. 96' & 97' got a little weird, but then they bounced right back in 98' and have been strong ever since when they had a set.

The 80's blew up the boxed set many exclusive to whatever store, and there were tons by Fleer and Topps. Just all over the place. In fact I just dumped about $12K (boxed sets) in today's dollars on Fred (from Jax) to get rid of for me. The bulk though was actually non-sport sets from the 80's and 90's. You see that period blew up all over the realm not just baseball cards. No mid 90's the over production was so blatant that the cases and cases of unopened stuff could be had for $5.00 a box. Yeah the "junk Wax" era was awesome. Lots of great stuff and the ugly sets too. But just like any thing too much of has its' cost: ie: de-values it. side tracked again.

Serial numbers started during this era. I am still trying to get Justin to get off of this kick, he thinks that card numbered no matter how high is more valuable. I explain to him every month that Not to me the collector. Maybe a player collector (I know I am one but not like that: I don't chase any of my PC guys cards). If a card has the same image just a printed serial number on it, I don't give a rat's ass about the card. Not worth a penny more to me, maybe if it is numbered say....25 or less, then okay. Same image same card to me, like the parallels. A dime card is a dime card. But it's numbered. Whooped dee doo da shxt!  I think that I am done trying to reach the kid, so pretty sure I won't be buying cards from him going forward. I've spent 6 months, and he has got to better when he buys cards. At the Jax show he bought a whole box, the price was aokay, but he bought it because half of them were numbered. You know to 999, 3499 etc. 

Okay I have certainly typed some words here tonight. Let's put an end to this story about the junk I bought from Justin in Jacksonville Saturday before last. Put a fork in it if you will. 

He paid $150.00 for what he thought was 50K cards. I grazed through them and spotted a couple of things I was interested in, but not much else at that time. I knew that I did not want them and made that very clear several times. I did agree to look at his table and see what I might put together and I am happy with that deal, then I would buy his junk for what he paid. 

I did a make a deal with Justin at his table and I was happy so I got the junk. I have gone through it pulled enough out for me that I believe I got my value if not in keepers but highly tradeable cards. So I am sort of okay there sort of. But what makes it really okay is that Jeremy who I had in mind for the cards to begin with most certainly will get the value worth (lot of QT with the son to boot). As well as reader Bill Kearney who I met up with at the show. I pulled a bunch of inserts 2 or 3 hundred to send off  to him, so he too will get the value. 

That's right I said inserts you see in that junk there were 24 binders with sets inside. The sets had whatever parallels with them you knwo the gold cards for topps and stadium club, the museum for pinnacle, and gold rush or dug out for score. Wow, I was not expecting that as I perused them. Then you get to the back of the set and whammo the inserts. So what made it easy for to get MY VALUE, was pulling my Braves and PC guys inserts and parallels. I found a complete set of 1995 Pacific for me, and a 75% complete set of 1994 Finest (I have the complete set), but that is $100-150.00 set so it is going to be trade bait. I pulled all of the gold cards too as they are trade bait in the groups I belong too. The 1992 and 1994 Topps (94' TSC) had near complete parallel sets. I think I pulled close to 2000 of them. Lots of rookies too. I pulled a few just because, but Jeremy should have a blast with them. I think I need to show the deal I made with Justin at his tables. I am not showing the junk from his car. No I will save JUNK for another day, because 4 days later in Ormond I bought another junk wax collection, but with a twist or two or three. Those have scans and not so much writing as per my usual. 

Okay here are some pretty pictures.

Here is how the deal inside came together. Justin had 1 box his fifty cent box. I pulled 150 cards from there and in my head $10.00. Told him don't touch them until I am done.

The next 2 boxes I went through were his $1-3 boxes. I pulled another 150 cards from there. In my head I was thinking $50.00 for that stack.

The last box I pulled from was his $3-5 and up box. I pulled another cards here and put them in a stack. In my head $90.00. One cards was a $30.00 card and another $25.00. 

All in all $150.00 in my mind that with the junk would be $300.00 and although not what I planned to do at the show would be okay with. That is before I actually went through the junk at home. Now I made a good deal. Justin was like ugh, I said if you want me to take the junk this is what it will have to be. He begged and pleaded and finally squeezed another $25.00 out of me. You can tack that on to the good cards or the junk wither way in the end It was a good deal for me.

I scanned up the Braves that I pulled and needed. Other than those there is no rhyme or reason to the order of the scans above. Sorry to be so wordy today, but I did tell y'all that there was more to the story. LOL! 

I will get to the Ormond stuff after I finish with the Jax show stuff. I think I have Fred's stuff to cover, and a brand new to me dealer (some good stuff). After that Ormond shop visit I'll be covering 1 deal just 1 that I made in Clearwater this past Saturday. I am also heading back to Ormond tomorrow and probably checking a new to me show this weekend in New Port Richey.