Numbered EBAY Lot

My EBAY purchases for 2026 have been few are far between.  One reason is something  I mentioned yesterday, the lack of new Ray Lankford cards.  Another is it is getting harder to find good deals on team lots.  So many now are full of junk wax cards that I have duplicates of already.  If  I look hard enough, I will eventually find an auction with a few cards I need, that is reasonably priced, and that no one else is bidding on.  One of those auctions ended last week that I won for about $9 delivered.  This lot contained 22 numbered Cardinals, most of which were from the early 2000s.

2001 Donruss Signature rookies numbered to 800 and a 2004 Absolute Memorabilia rookie numbered to 1000.

I do not remember the Esix Snead era of Cardinals baseball.  That is because he never played a game for them, only 18 games for the Mets.  These 2001 cards are all numbered.  Fleer Showcase to 1500, Leaf Limited to 1500, SP Game Used Edition to 500, and Pros & Prospects to 1250.

Bill Ortega is similar to Snead.  He only played in five games for the Cardinals in 2001, collecting one hit in five at bats.  His 2001 cards are all numbered the same as  Snead, with the Donruss Class of 2001 being the only different one numbered to 1875.

What Cardinal fan does not love a numbered Bob Gibson, even if it is not licensed.  This 2008 Donruss Threads insert is numbered to 500.

The remaining nine cards were either duplicates from the lot, or ones that I already had.  They will be good trade bait for other Cardinal collectors.  I was thrilled to add these to my collection for less than fifty cents each.

  

    

Second New Ray Lankford of 2026

It has been a very slow year for me with regards to adding new Ray Lankford cards to my collection.  To my knowledge he was not included in any sets this year.  That leaves me chasing cards that are mostly numbered to 50 or less and most likely over 20 years old.  Every now and then one pops up that is not numbered, but is a card that is very rarely listed.  One such card was listed on EBAY a couple of weeks ago that I was the only bidder on.  For less than $3 total, I have my second new Lankford card of 2026.

Almost everyone has seen 1998 Topps Gallery Player's Private Issue Action parallels.  These were seeded one per pack.  There are four different point versions:  100, 75, 50, and 25.

For some reason I could never find the 25 point variation.  I do not think it was any more rare than the other three versions.  Just one of those cards you never seem to find.  At least I do not have to worry about it now.

  
    

2026 Card Show #7 Recap

Saturday brought an opportunity to attend a new card show.  This one was about 1.5 hours from home.  It was advertised as 60 tables, which fairly accurate.  There were a few Pokemon tables sprinkled in, but the majority were sports.  That was about the only positive of the show.  Value boxes started at $1 and went up from there.  I found very little value in most of them.  One dealer had 2026 Topps commons for $1 each.  It did not matter if it was Aaron Judge or a Marlins reliever.  Another dealer had $1 boxes of mixed sports cards.  He had a large sign above the boxes that said 10 for $15.  I passed over the table a few times just to see if anyone questioned his math or if he changed his sign.  During my two hours there he never did.  

My pickups from three dealers cost me $29.

Even though these were in a dollar box, the dealer gave them to me for $3 total.  I was excited to find a  Topps Gold Pujols I needed even though one of the corners had a slight ding.  

The second dealer also came off his dollar prices and gave me these for $2.  All trade bait except for the Will Smith rookie that is going to my sister.

My final purchase for $24 was two short print cards from the 1960s.  Both are in good shape.  I never ask for a discount, but assumed the dealer may have come down to $20.  Guess I should have asked, but I was ready to leave.

There were plenty of other ungraded vintage cards there, but most were way over priced.  I did find a 1964 Topps Bob Uecker I needed to complete my Cardinals team set.  It had a couple of soft corners, a pin hole, and was a little off centered.  It looked good though, so I inquired about the price.  For the $80 the dealer wanted, I could buy a low grade copy off EBAY.  It was an easy pass.  I doubt I will be attending this show again.  

  

TCDB Trade with Cards on Cards

Last month I attended an autograph event at Busch Stadium .  Most of the time I try to find cards for players to sign that I have duplicates of, but sometimes I have to pull a card out of my collection.   When I do, I always check Kerry's trade list on TCDB to see if he has a replacement.  Most of the time he does.  He always has other Cardinals I can use, so we make a larger trade to make it worth the postage.  His latest package arrived Saturday after spending 2 weeks in the post office's black hole.  I will spare you the replacement base cards and just show off the new cards to my collection.

1986 Stickers are nice, especially when they are the O-PEE-CHEE variety.  

I just started the 2024 Topps All Star Game set earlier this summer.  I am a little over half way completed.

I now have 472 different Wainwright cards in my collection.  That is good for 8th place on my player list.  I am number #3 on TCDB for Wainwright collectors.  Kerry is number #2, about 140 cards ahead of me.

Two of  my favorite Cardinals.  I love the Whitey Herzog era of Cardinals baseball when speed and defense won a lot of games.  

A couple of colored parallels.  The silver Topps Total looks more gray to me.  Like many other team collectors, I would love for Topps to bring that brand back.

I am slowly collecting the Cardinals relics from the Topps Holiday sets.  I like the designs and most can be had for a few dollars if I need to buy them.  

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #156

Since last week's post, we have seen the baseball playoffs move to the second round.  Once the Cubs lost, I really do not care who wins the Series this year.  It would be nice to see a team like the Rays win.  By this time next week, we will have a clearer picture.  On to the cards.   Today's first package came from member charles hamilton.  

Donruss Elite was one of my favorite brands back in the early 2000s.  The Panini version is not quite as sharp for obvious reasons, but I have seen worse.

I will gladly take any  Rainiel Rodriguez card.  This is an orange parallel.  He is the Cardinals #1 prospect , and should be in all national top 20 lists by the time the season starts next year ( I hope it starts anyway.).

The second trade came from member bplay24.

Topps added a Baseball Seams refractor to the Chrome rainbow this year.  I admit it looks better than the Xfractor.

I was almost shocked to see a new image on this 2026 Chrome insert.  Nice to see Topps does not save them all for Stadium Club.

It is rare for me to show off a card that is not a Cardinal or Altuve, but this Trout card looks so great.  The red and blue border really matches well with his uniform.  I doubt I have this card for long, as I have three trade offers for it already.

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #155

I found myself extremely bored last night due to the lack of baseball.  I cannot stand the Bears or Eagles, so Monday Night Football was not an option.  I believe my wife was watching women's college volleyball when I decided to leave the room and scan cards for today's post.  At least there will be playoff baseball to watch later today.  My first trade came from member stdolan1.

Normally I am not a big fan of trades consisting of less than 4 cards, but when the other member goes to the trouble of proposing the trade, I will make an exception.  When both of these cards look great, it was hard to so no to the deal.

The second trade came from member bdhrbob.  

My 2026 Donruss team set is now complete with the additional of the Doyle card.  Rodriguez will have a very good chance of being a top 10 prospect in all of baseball next year.  Check out his stats as a 19 year old in Double A this season.

These Optic Blue Velocity parallels look great in hand.  The blue and red really stand out with the glossy finish.  I bet Cubs fans love the color match.

My favorite cards of the trade was this Scott Red White and Blue refractor.  I hate to say it, but I think he has played his last game as a Cardinals.  Marmol did not use him very much after he was recalled when the rosters expanded.  Even this last week after the Cardinals were eliminated, he did not play very much.  I admit he cannot hit right now, but maybe he can turn things around like Jordan Walker.  Not to the same extent, but if he could hit just .250, his speed and defense would be well worth a roster spot as a 4th outfielder.

  
    

Trading with My #1

One of my favorite features on TCDB is the stats tab in your transaction history.  You can see how many trades you have completed in any given month, how many cards you have traded, and who you have traded with.  I have a group of members who I trade with often.  My #1 most frequent partner is member timriess.  He is a fellow Cardinals fan who I often exchange duplicates with.  Last week we completed our 22nd trade on the site.  

  
Starting off with some base set needs including a couple of nice 2024 Bowman's Best.

A trio of Chrome base cards from different brands.

A couple of nice cards from 2024 Topps Black & White.  Always nice to get cards from the online sets.

Some miscellaneous cards including a Musial Topps Marque, a Walker Cracker Jack sp, a numbered 2002 Upper Deck Rookie Update, and a 1987 Topps Traded Tiffany.

A pair of Bowman Top 100 prospects.  Bernal from 2026, Wetherholt from 2025.  I like the 2025 design better.  I do not like cards with dark and busy backgrounds.

Last but not least are a couple of Jordan Walker cards.  I really hopes he hits home run #30 in today's last game of the season.  Despite a terrible month of September, he has had a great season.  Normally he would be a lock for a long term deal, but with the looming lockout who know what will happen.