Zistle Trade #42: tidalwav90

Here is another Zistle trade with Jesse.  This time he sent a trade request looking for some early 90's card needs.

Filled some set needs with this trade.  Obtained Dave Magadan card showing him with the Mariners.  I enjoyed watching Magadan play for the Mets when I was younger.  He was an excellent hitter for us.  I was bummed to see him go, but kept up with through the rest of his career.

eBay: 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen

Like most collectors, I browse eBay from time to time looking for some good deals.  I came across a seller who does a lot of case breaks of Topps products.  I recalled the seller's name from Twitter and remember reading nothing but good things about him.  I am almost sure most of you have done business with Brent before and I have to agree with everyone's comments about him.

I decided to give Brent a try for the 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen release.  I enjoyed this release and like the design and look of the cards.  I think the Mets have some pretty good looking cards in this set, too.

The Mets have some pretty good looking inserts, too.  I think I like the Lenny Dykstra the best.  The Queen's Throwbacks is an interesting card, too.  Curtis Granderson is shown wearing a throwback jersey from a 2014 game against the Pirates.  The jersey says "Royal Giants" and would actually foreshadow (coincidentally, of course) the 2014 World Series match-up between the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants.

I also decided to try some of Brent's single card auctions and picked up an auto and relic card.  Overall, I have to say this was a great experience just purchasing the team's master set and along with a hit card or two.  It does take a little bit out of the chase of completing a set, but I still have plenty of sets to complete.  Doing things the easy way is sometimes the way to go.

Zistle Trade #41: OrlandoBolts

This Zistle trade was with new trade partner Jason.  Jason reached out with a request for some
Toronto Blue Jays cards.  This was another quick trade with no back and forth.

I only received two Mets cards from this trade, but two pretty decent ones.  I guess this would be considered Jose Reyes' rookie card for Upper Deck, though Topps had already released a few rookie cards in 2001 and 2002.

Zistle Trade #40: bdlehman18

Here is another trade with user Brian.  He requested a few needs and sent along a couple of Mets in this trade.

That 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen card is the mini version of R.A. Dickey.  Keen observers would note that this is not Dickey on the card, but rather Mike Pelfrey.  Does this make the card a photo variation card?  I am pretty sure some eBay seller is trying (or has tried) to pass it off as one.

Zistle Trade #39: mattdamick

Up next is another Zistle trade in the books.  This time with a new trade partner in Matthew.  He requested some 2015 Topps flagship insert needs and sent some in return.

Only two Mets cards were received in this trade, but I am happy with them just fine.

I really like the image choice for this Mookie Wilson card.  To me, it shows what kind of player Mookie was with the Mets.  I am also pretty sure the photo shows him hitting in the 1986 World Series.

Mookie does not seem to get enough credit for his part in the famous "Buckner play" in Game 6 of the World Series.  Mookie's speed perhaps forced Buckner to rush and misplay the ball.  Buckner also gets the brunt of noise about the Red Sox losing that World Series, but few seem to remember that there was still a game 7 to be played. 

Group Break: Crackin' Wax - 2015 Topps Finest

I participated in another group break with Topher over at Crackin' Wax.  This was my second group break with him and was for the 20015 Topps Finest release.

I like the look and design of this Finest release.  The cards look even better in hand versus image scans.  There are only 111 cards in the set (11 being short prints) and the Mets got four of those slots.  Kind of surprised not to see Matt Harvey anywhere in this set. 

I did not get much more than a team set with this break.  Not a big deal as that is how group breaks go sometimes.  This was a charity break, so the proceeds went to good cause. 

Zistle Trade #38: AUTaxMan

Here is another Zistle trade with Brandon.  This was another quick and simple trade that was offered and accepted with no changes.

Here are the Mets I received from Brandon.

Filled some open spots in my 2014 Topps Update set.  I enjoy easy trades like this one.  Here are some cards I want and here are some I have to offer.  Cool?  Cool, they are on their way.

Zistle Trade #37: ccards

This was another nice and simple trade.  Corey only requested a couple of cards in this trade and sent six cards in return.  In fact, this trade was so simple, I apparently overlooked scanning the cards he sent.  Or perhaps, I scanned them along with another trade? 

Well, he sent along some 2008 Topps Mets Team Set cards.  They look exactly like the 2008 Topps cards, but with different numbering.  Let's see if anyone can spot them in future posts. 

Zistle Trade #36: Olerud363

This Zistle trade is with Rodrick from the Great White North.  Rodrick reached out with a request from some various Topps needs.  I know some US-based traders are concerned about doing trades to other countries, but trading with those up in Canada has been pretty easy going.

Rodrick has probably the most complete John Olerud collection (at least that I know of).  Check out his collection at Cardboard Corner.   Not one John Olerud card was traded during this trade, though.

Hey!  It looks like Olerud does make a cameo appearance in this trade!

It looks like to me Donruss stopped caring right around the time they were putting together their 2004 set. 

Apparently, a stray Bryce Harper got in with these scans.

This was my third or maybe fourth trade to Canada.  Since then I have done another five or six and once or twice over to Europe.  There are some great traders outside of the U.S. that have a hard time finding good trade partners for whatever reason.  There is not that many hobby shops left here, but there is probably even less outside of the U.S.  Give these collectors another look.

Zistle Trade #35: MiJohn

Let's squeeze out a third post for today.  Trying to burn through these drafts to catch up with more recent trades.

Next up was a quick trade with John.  He requested some various Topps Archives cards with me getting some various Mets in return.  These are the highlights from that trade.

Nothing too special here.  Some set needs filled.  Still a solid trade!

Zistle Trade #34: dmk250

Here we are with a back-to-back large trade (and two posts in one day!).  It is nice getting rid of a stack of cards that do not get a whole lot of love in my collection, but will somewhere else.  Dean is a Phillies fan and requested some Phillies needs along with some set needs in return.

I was a little confused by the 1992 Confex cards of Gregg Jefferies and David Cone (shown below).  Neither of the cards have an image on Zistle, so the first time I saw them was when I received this trade package.  I thought it was kind of strange for baseball cards to poke fun at players.  As it turns out, this set if full of such cards with some being more cruel than others.

Cone's card is not too cruel with it making light of his partying ways during his time with the Mets.  Jefferies' card is little more cruel that depicts his open letter to New York Mets fans.

Finishing up this trade is a nice eclectic mix of cards.

Zistle Trade #33: hpennington22

Here is another trade with Henry.  He reached out before the trade offer making sure I was ready for a large trade offer.  This was definitely the biggest trade offer on Zistle, yet.  I think it was this trade that has made me decide to not scan each and every Mets card I receive in a trade.  So, here are some of the highlights of this trade.

First up are some various 1980's cards.  If I knew how to make Gifs, I would make those Sportflics cards come alive. 

I think Fleer made some cool cards with those earlier Flair releases.  I guess you can call it their fancy release along the same lines of Topps Stadium Club back in the early 1990's.  Or was Fleer Ultra their answer to Stadium Club?

Henry was nice enough to throw in a Dwight Gooden auto card he obtained in person.

Finishing up this trade is an MLB Chipz, uh, poker chip.  These are a pretty cool novelty item, but not very liked by collectors.  Maybe it was too novelty.  It reminds me of the old Topps Coins.  I remember having a tall stack of those coins.

All in all, this was a great trade!

Zistle Trade #32: Rosenort

Here we are with my first post of 2016.  I have not been reading many blogs recently, but have noticed a trend of "State of the Blog" type posts.  I do not have anything against those posts and those that I did read were well done.  That whole thing is just not for me.

I like my current setup of showing some cards I get via trade or whatever with a little commentary here and there.  I will have better, more well-rounded posts on occasion if the creative juices flow.  For now, though, we keep it nice and simple.

Speaking of nice and simple, here is another trade completed on Zistle with user rosenort.

Not much "Wow!" factor, but still a solid trade to fill some holes in my collection.