I GOT RIPPED OFF (But I Don't Mind) - PART 2

In my previous post I described my relationship with my LCS owners. Don't get me wrong there's a strong bond that builds between fellow collectors, but some times you just feel ripped off.

Last week I showed four new Cloutier cards (two base, one parallel and one insert) in which I payed a hefty eight dollars for. Three of those cards could probably be found in your local quarter box, but hey, at least I kept my purchases local (yay Canada).

Exhibit B would be the pack of Certified I bought at the same time I did the Cloutiers. I've boughten three packs of Certified (here and here) and all three cost me ten bucks a piece. I knew at the time I bought those three other packs that the sign said they were 13 dollars each and I was getting somewhat of a bargain (although ten dollars is the actual cost listed by Panini).

Unfortunately for me this time I did not get that break, I already had 18 bucks of product in my hand (four Cloutiers and another card I'll list later) so why didn't he shave the access three bucks? I guess I just have to bite the bullet, I'm glad I did though because this is what I got:

My solid four base cards pretty much promised in every pack plus...

An extra Tyler Myers base? What could this mean...

Hey! Another Tyler Myers, this time one I actually care about! I actually do love the monster that is Myers. His size is impressive as is, add on the fact he plays on what I would say is in my top three favourite east coast teams and we got ourselves a keeper. It doesn't hurt that he also wears my third favourite number.

For those of you that are interested, my favourite numbers are: first and most important to me - 13, then 24 and 57. 

If you survived that last sentence, let's talk about the actual card. The card in itself is all foiled, similar to the base cards, it has a square GU window with a cool blue swatch beneath. It's also numbered to 299 copies which is just below average for a GU card these days - not bad.

Now, here is my question to you: what's your relationship like with your LCS owner/employees? Are you sometimes caught in sticky situations like the past two I've shared with you?

Let me know your thoughts...

GO NUCKS GO!

I GOT RIPPED OFF (But I Don't Mind) - PART 1

Relationships are a weird thing in the hobby.

You make a lot of friends that you might not have made due to our obsessions with cardboard. Sometimes, relationships can make deals harder than they have to be. Such is my life at my LCS.

My shop has been open for about 25 years and is owned by an older couple. They're rough around the edges but really nice folks. Problem is, everything in that store is ten dollars overpriced. Of course, they'll always give you a "deal" but it'll still be overpriced.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad. In fact, I think that is great business sense by both of them. They really play up the Vancouver market well, but sometimes I feel ripped off.

For example, I go into the store with a 20 dollar budget. Basically my goal was to go check out their old Canucks base binder for Cloutiers and see what GU and AUTO's they had in stock. With even a 20 dollar bill I thought I could get a lot done, wrong.

 I got two base, one parallel and an insert; let's take a look at them and then I'll let you know what I paid for them.

The one you see on either side of this text comes from what I think is my favourite Upper Deck Series 1 set - ever. Bold statement, I know. Nostalgia has a huge part in me saying that. I just love the borders, the full sized pics and the boxiness of the back design. Plus this was the set I seemed to see most of when I was trading with my buddies.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see this card. This is also very nicely designed; the all foil and pop out figure on the card is quite neat! 

I also like how the back has that red section that is titled "Bowman Briefing." It's that creativity that I believe is missing in a lot of base sets today. You could tell there was great time in writing the "Résumé," "Skills" and "Evolution" portions.

Speaking of nostalgia, this is the definition of the word! McDonalds hockey cards, otherwise known as another excuse to go grab a happy meal as a kid. These things were so fun to rip open with friends. I remember my uncle would come over sometimes and have like 25 packs of this stuff for me to open with him (and the packs weren't cheap)! If you hit a cool insert (especially die-cut ones) or a hot rookie, you were the guy to talk to the next day.

Good old grade five... I know that hitting an AUTO or GU card was near impossible, but if you did, you were a rich man!

I remember when this insert came out and wanting to have it so bad. I did eventually get my hands on a copy but for some reason lost it along the way. Fortunately, I picked this one up with the other three cards at my LCS. Plus, it's in much better shape than my last copy was!

Looks like four pretty solid pick-ups to me. Probably my most exciting low end Cloutiers I have, but what did I pay? Well at a flea market in Florida I would have probably gotten all four card for a dime. At my LCS, I payed two bucks a piece. Yup, eight bones for four cards.

But like I said in the title, I don't mind.

I got to look through three binders packed with IP and TTM AUTO's and laugh at a few good stories with the gentleman store owner. I got to talk hockey (lockout, concussions etc.) But most importantly, I went home with cards I liked and was happy AND the owners got paid so they were happy AND we both had a good time doing it.

That is what the hobby is all about.

But hey, my wallet still had 12 bucks to spare before I hit my cap. Unfortunately my heart thought it had about 32 bucks left...

Stay tuned for "I GOT RIPPED OFF (But I Don't Mind) - Part 2"... There are some interesting cards coming up.

As always take a look at C4K CLOUTIER and mozy through my Dan Cloutier PC.

GO NUCKS GO!

DOUBLE PACK RIP: 2012-13 Certified

After hitting that sweet Taylor Hall/Adam Henrique Redemption from my first pack of Certified, I decided to try my luck two more times.

You know the expression "quit while you're ahead," well I guess you could say that about the next two packs. At the same time though, I'm not totally bummed with what I got; it's just that nothing is gonna beat that crazy dual AUTO.

On to pack numero uno:

Every pack contains five cards and this pack contained its standard four base cards. Like I said last time, I like the look of the cards. I'm not head over heels, but I think they're cool.

Nice! An autograph in my second pack! Looks like I'm two for two. All I can think of though is: I want a Canuck! So for the 11 bucks this pack cost me, I got me a no-namer. But hey, for me any signature (besides Mark Messier) is accepted with open arms in the good old collection. Don't know a whole lot about Cory, if their are any of his collectors out there, let me know! *cricket*




Alright, so now I already think I'm pushing my luck before even busting this third pack. But then again, it's a thick one... Decoy or GU card? Well I opened it up and saw the top of the thick card was white not the regular brownish colour most decoys are. Plus, it looked in good shape unlike the majority of decoys when you open the top of packs.

After brushing through these:

I got to the thick card and...

............

............

............

............

DECOY... Darn it.

But I did get this!

Numbered to /999 copies, this is a pretty cool insert. I really like the banner logo that says "Masked Marvels" and I actually like the fact it showed the goalie's mask as well as the top part of his jersey, I think it adds context to the card.

Overall not bad. More importantly, I'm not kicking myself over the money spent. Now if that first pack was all base, we might have had a different story...

GO NUCKS GO!

OOPSIES! Contest #2 - Answer

A quick little update on the part 2 of 5 "OOPSIES" contest. Like I said before, this was an easy one! You guys didn't disappoint, as everybody earned at least 2 points this round.

ANSWER: Normand Rochefort played Defence as stated on 
the back of the card. The error is on the front of the 1990-91 Score card, where it indicated Normand as a Right Winger.



Like I said, not hard. All 14 responses were correct so everybody gets 2 point added onto their total. But, NordH gets 3 for being the first to respond. I accidentally published his comment before the contest closed so I had to delete it so no one else would see. That's why it shows his comment as being not visible.

Anyways, this is how the points look after two contests:

1. Brad Larocque - 4 points

2. 1976ers - 3 points

    NordH - 3 points

    Jess - 3 points

    Cap'n Canuck - 3 points

    JGBlargh - 3 points

    Sébastian Hell - 3 points

    Kazi - 3 points

    Jason - 3 points

10. Dave H - 2.5 points

      Kevin Osimitz - 2.5 points

      Skroeker - 2.5 points

13. JS - 2 points

      BTHCC Kyle - 2 points

      Sean - 2 points

      Hockey Fan (Paul) - 2 points

17. Matt Pederson - 0.5 points 

GO NUCKS GO!

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - C4K Edition

No you are not reading that title wrong. I'm taking a page out Brett's book from MY HOCKEY CARD OBSESSION and doing my own "Linden Card of the Week." Not many big Linden cards come through my collection, not to mention unique ones like this.

First, some back story. Over the lockout many Canucks have done meet and greets at local Vancouver malls. Alex Burrows had his signing a couple weeks ago and last week Trevor Linden and Ryan Kesler had a dual signing at "The Bay" downtown (for you Americans out there, "The Hudson's Bay Company" is Canada's main department store). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it out to any three of these guys signings.

To my delight though, a buddy in my Electrician Apprenticeship program was going to see Linden along with one of his other friends. He asked if I wanted to come along, but I declined as I had practice that evening. I asked if he could grab me an autograph while he was there and he said he could "see what [he] could do."

The next day he said they limited everyone to one signature per person, but they were handing out extra AUTO's throughout the line. The stack of extra signatures was half of T-Lind and half of Kess, the line was about 500 to 600 people long. So if my math is correct, this oversized card is limited to about 250 to 300 copies.

My buddy handed it to me with a smile today, but I think my smile was bigger. Trevor Linden is after all - Captain Canuck.

Before I continue, let's take a look at the card:

The card is 5" by 7" and is signed by Mr. Linden himself. There are some questions I raise though, why in the world did he not sign it vertically? Also, why does it say "Guys' Night Out" on the top? Whatever the answers are, it doesn't matter - it's Linden after all.

Although, it seems there is a crimp or crease in the top right corner, which is disappointing. Also, the card is blank on the back. Like I said before, I don't care because it's Trevor Linden!

There you have it folks. A C4K version of a MHCO classic, hope it didn't disappoint too much!

GO NUCKS GO!

OOPSIES! Contest #2 - Normand Rochefort

It's time for Round 2 of "OOPSIES!" Considering only a select few of the 14 some that guessed last time got it right, we're making this one a little easier.

In french Normand Rochefort's last name literally means "Hard Rock." Thankfully, this card error is soft as pudding. I'm expecting all of you to guess right this time, and no cheating!

Here she is:

Find the error and the points are all yours!

Here are ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN GET POINTS:

1) Find error and comment correctly (2 points)
2) Be the first person to find the error and comment correctly (3 points)
3) Find the error partially, but not in it's entirety (1 point)
4) READ, but can't find the error although looking. Comments saying "I dunno" or something along those lines (0.5 points)

And if you are wondering where you are in the standings, look no further:

1. 1976ers - 3 points

2. Brad Larocque - 2 points

2. JS - 2 points

4. Jess - 1 point

4. Cap'n Canuck - 1 point

4. JGBlargh - 1 point

4. Sébastian Hell - 1 point

4. Kazi - 1 point

4. Jason - 1 point

10. Dave - 0.5 points

10. Kevin Osimitz - 0.5 points

10. Matt Pederson - 0.5 points 

10. Skroeker - 0.5 points

GO NUCKS GO!

VERSUS: Dan Cloutier Hit VS. 2012-13 Certified

Money in my pocket. Oh why do you taunt me?

With some pocket change to spare this week, I passed by my overpriced but extremely welcoming LCS to pick up some cards. I decided to pace myself...really I did! Of course, things don't always go as planned.

I was talking to the husband (it's a husband and wife that own this shop) and he was telling me one day when I have more time to stop in to see the massive binder of Cloutier cards he has. I agreed and asked him to quickly show me some of his GU and AUTO's of my favourite player.

Turns out he had two on hand. One was an AUTO from the most recent BTP (the one I already have) and the other was a high serial numbered GU card of his.

I asked the price of the GU piece of cardboard and to my utter shock it was a whole 20 bucks! No way José, he knew I wasn't gonna pay anywhere near that price. He then brought it right down to it's BV of 15 bucks.

I politely said "I was thinking more like 5." He smiled and said we could package something up. In the end I bought one pack of Certified and the Cloutier card at a clean 20 bucks total. Perfect for another edition of "VERSUS!"

So let the battle begin:

DAN CLOUTIER HIT

Like I said, high numbered GU card. It's pretty basic and I believe on eBay I could have probably nabbed it for 3.99 plus shipping, but the owners a nice guy. I think that's what it's all about in the end, meeting stand up guys and gals in the hobby. 

What I really like about this card though is actually the info on the back. It says "In 2003-04, Dan wore this Canucks sweater and recorded his 100th win." Now that's cool! 

To think that this jersey is actually a hallmark in Cloutier's career is crazy!

This ten bucks was well spent, but did it beat out my single pack of Certified?

FINAL SCORE: 8.5/10

2012-13 CERTIFIED

This one pack out of ten was a long shot for anything good, but for ten bucks it was worth the gamble; and boy was it worth it!

I won't get into the base cards too much, but I like them. I'm not going crazy over them, but I do think they are really cool. It may not seem like this in the scan but you can see the background through the foil. 

The BIG hit of the pack was this beauty...or soon to be beauty!

My very first redemption! I'm not sure why I'm excited because these things are a huge pain in the arse, but hey it's my FIRST ONE! 

Now let's dissect this bad boy. It's a DUAL Signature numbered to 100 copies and the player selection is of the Adam Henrique and Taylor Hall variety.

WOWZA! This is gonna be a good one!

I already redeemed it via paniniamerica.net and I put my time frame as 4 months. So hopefully this card shows up before then. 

My question is should I raise the time frame to 8 months (if possible)? What do you guys think, from experience, will be the time frame between my redeeming it online until I see it in my mailbox?

By any means this 10 dollar pack of cards get's a well deserved high mark of...

FINAL SCORE: 9.5/10

DAN CLOUTIER - 8.5/10     <     CERTIFIED - 9.5/10

This was certainly a fun one!

Because of that redemption goodness, I bought two more packs of the 2012-13 Certified product.

I'm weak.

More on that tomorrow!

GO NUCKS GO!

OOPSIES - Contest #1 Answer!

The first edition of the ever continuing contest editions of "OOPSIES" was a success. I got a great response from long time readers as well as brand new followers! I love to interact and be up to date with who reads my blog, and this new segment will do just that.

So with that being said, let's see how you guys did this week! The card came out about 20 years ago but is still quite interesting...

ANSWER:

On the back of the card, the picture is NOT of Benoit Hogue, but instead of Dean Kennedy

There you have it folks, now you can get your sleep at night. Let's see what YOU guessed.

I got 13 responses for this first contest and only three got the COMPLETE answer.

Yes, 1976ers, Brad Larocque and JS all get at least two points this week. Since 1976ers was the first to get it right out of the three, he gets three points; well done!

Six of you guessed that the picture on the back is wrong, but couldn't identify who. Some guesses were Rob Ray, Grant Ledyard and Donnelly. So for half a correct answer you all get 1 point.

The final four all didn't know the answer but put up some pretty creative guesses. Two of you guessed that Hogue's position is off, which is kind of true, but vague as many players could make the switch from Left Wing to Center. Another guess was that his team is wrong as Hogue did get traded to the Islanders shortly after this card was produced, but lest, that is not the answer. The most meticulous answer though was how Skroeker took the time to read Hogue's stats and assume that 54 goals in the QMJHL was a bit on the high side. However, he did score 54 goals for the St. John Beavers one season. A+ for effort though!

Here are the standings:

1. 1976ers - 3 points

2. Brad Larocque - 2 points

2. JS - 2 points

4. Jess - 1 point

4. Cap'n Canuck - 1 point

4. JGBlargh - 1 point

4. Sébastian Hell - 1 point

4. Kazi - 1 point

4. Jason - 1 point

10. Dave - 0.5 points

10. Kevin Osimitz - 0.5 points

10. Matt Pederson - 0.5 points 

10. Skroeker - 0.5 points

Looks like it's still anybodies game! Keep on checking back for the upcoming "OOPSIES" contests. I'm still undecided whether to go five contests or ten, so if you have a preference let me know. 

P.S. - Next ones an easy one!

GO NUCKS GO!

DAN CLOUTIER PC - Update

Just a quick little post for today. I wanted to mention that I'm now completely caught up on my Cloutier PC website called C4K CLOUTIER. I went mad and put up ALL my base, insert, rookies etc. from my Cloutier collection.

The only thing missing are two GU cards, I need to scan them and quickly pop them on. Other than that, it's all there!

I put a lot of work into showcasing my virtual Cloutier collection, so let me know what you like, what you don't like and everything in between!

As always, e-mail or leave a comment if you see any cards I don't have for my Cloutier PC!

In other news, I got a great response for the first "OOPSIES" contest yesterday! I'll give it one more day and then I will reveal the answer and the points list! If you haven't entered yet, see below!

And make sure to click the link on the right to visit C4K Cloutier!

GO NUCKS GO!