eBay - 2015 Topps Series 2 and more

2016 Topps is already out and I will get to that post, hopefully sooner than later.  But, for now, we catch up and finish the 2015 Topps flagship release.

With my happiness of dealing with Brent for the Gypsy Queen release, I decided to stick with him for Topps Series 2 instead of purchasing a hobby box. 

The Mets in series are pretty basic looking.  None of them really stand out.  Jon Niese's card show him in an old Mets black hat for some reason.  My favorite base card here would probably be either Jacob deGrom or Wilmer Flores shown above. 

In addition to Series 2, I also purchased some 2015 Topps Archives inserts and parallels.  The first few were from Brent to take advantage of some combined shipping.  He also had some really good pricing on a bunch of silver parallels that I could not pass up.

At the same time of the above purchases I was looking to fill a missing hole in my Mets collection.  By this point, I had cards that are base, parallels, numbered, autos, relics, mini, over-sized, etc.  One thing I was missing was a 1 of 1 card.  I found the above Curtis Granderson printing plate auction with a low number of bids and kept watch.  I am not one to really spend a lot of money on a single card, but the auction was not really getting a whole lot of attention and the price remained pretty low for a printing plate (at least for what I think).  Of course, I ended up winning the auction and getting a printing plate.  Below is the back of the printing plate, if you are into that kind of thing.

2014 Topps Chrome Group Break

With 2015 Topps Series One being released next month, I thought what a better time to put up a post featuring some 2014 product.

Alex over at Chavez Ravining held a group break for 2014 Topps Chrome.  This was my second group break I have participated in, so far.  Of course, I selected the Mets, but was also randomly given the Yankees.  I fared a little better with the Yankees, as far as inserts and refractors go.  I am not complaining about the Mets cards that I received, though.

Alex was kind enough to throw in a few extra cards, too.

I also participated in a fantasy league that Alex started last season.  It was my first time doing fantasy baseball since something like 2006.  I was not any good then, so I expected something similar.  Well, I ended in a tie with Alex for first place!  He was kind enough to send some Mets my way for my finish that I will show off in a future post, so thank you Alex for the cards!  I still have to get a package back out to you for hosting the league and allowing me to participate.

Zistle Trade #9

This trade was with user neckababy1.  I reached out to him because it looked like he would be a good trade partner, since he is also a Mets fan.  I targeted the Panini products because I still can not bring myself to buy a pack.  Maybe one day...

Here are the Mets I received:

eBay Summer Purchases (plus a contest pimp)

I had another round with eBay this summer.  I decided to change things up this time around.  Instead of watching the auctions until the end, I decided to just place one or two bids and see what would happen.  Well, when all was said and done, I ended up with a nice stack of Mets cards.

First, lets start with some vintage Mets.

Next up are some modern cards.

The two auto cards are Juan Urbina and Fernando Martinez.

Urbina is one of the young Mets pitching prospects who has been playing in the rookie and low A leagues for the past few years.  He turned 21 years old this year and is the son of former All-Star closer Ugueth Urbina.  The older Urbina, a 2003 World Series champion with the Florida Marlins, has had an interesting post-career life.

Mets fans will remember Fernando Martinez as a promising prospect that eventually went bust.  He was highly ranked amongst multiple publications as the top Mets prospect.  He played very well in the minors, but just never materialized in the majors.  He also played briefly for the Houston Astros who ended up trading him to the New York Yankees.  He was suspended in August 2013 as part of the Biogenesis scandal.

To close out this post is a little contest pimping.  CaptKirk42's Trading Card Blog is having a contest celebrating the fifth anniversary of his blog.  Check it out and join in!