The Undiscovered Country

I make regular trips to a neighboring town for the purpose of visiting a pain clinic where large needles are plunged into my back in an effort to make my life a little more livable.  The efforts of this clinic are at best marginally successful.  Some time back, on one of these journeys, I decided to check to see if the internet would reveal a worthwhile stop in my quest for trading cards.  My search revealed a shop, and the map revealed a location, but when I located the area I did not find a card shop.  A few visits later, my wife professed hunger and we had spotted some eating establishments near the address where the card shop location was so headed back to this area.  I happened to look at the restaurant address and realized that the map for the card shop had caused me to search the wrong side of the street for the card shop......

Gadsden Sports Cards, 512 Broad St, Gadsden, AL

After eating, I waddled over to the card shop and it was 4:40 PM when I arrived and the shop closed at 5:00 PM, this would be a intro visit only.  As I entered the shop, I saw familiar images that let me know; so far so good...there be trading cards here.

The budget collector went to work to utilize his 15 minutes to scope out any bargains.  There was a box to 4 for a $1 packs of cards, 2 for a $1 cards in top loaders, and single cards on display that had 2 prices on the sticker...there was hope.  I understand; the closeout packs box will not have any packs with great treasure in them while the 2 for a $1 box may contain any worthwhile hidden treasures and the dual prices(book and sale price) on the singles told me that the prices were reasonable.

 A little over a week later(2 days ago) it was time for another needle in the back and I ventured back to the card shop.  On this visit, my endurance was undermined, but I was determined.

First visit:

• 2 packs 1990 Score Baseball....had about 30 in my collection
• 2 packs 1991 Series 1 Score Baseball....had about 20 in my collection.
• 4 packs 1989 Pro Set Football....had less than 20 in my collection
• 4 packs 1989 Topps Stickers Baseball....had none in my collection.
• 1 pack 1990 Fleer Baseball....wanted unopened pack.
• 1 pack 1992 Stadium Club Series 1 Baseball....wanted unopened pack.
• 1969 Dark Shadows Green #63 $3
• 1968 Topps Baseball #144 Joe Morgan $3($15)
• 1968 Topps Baseball #85 Gaylord Perry $2($8)

2nd Visit:

• 4 packs 1988 Topps Stickers Baseball....had none.
• 2 packs 1990 Upper Deck Baseball...had about 50 in collection.
• 2 more packs 1989 Pro Set Football
• 1 more pack 1990 Topps Stickers Baseball
• 1 more pack 1990 Score Baseball.
• 15 1981 Fleer Baseball .10c Box...brings collection within 20 of complete.
• 10 cards from 2 for $1 Box
• 1970 Topps Baseball #300 Tom Seaver $15($30)....Very, very nice.
• 1982 Topps Baseball #90 Nolan Ryan $2($6)

The packs, of course, are the budget cards for my collection of as many cards
as I can acquired on my small collecting budget.  The 1981 Fleers brought me some of the common variations that I was missing.  The single cards added some cards that I will not find in my normal budget buys(I know that careful use of that cash could have procured a large number of cards) and as a collector, I am normal, I want those cards also.  The packs allow me the fun of ripping packs to see what will be revealed.

I have decided not to separate Topps Stickers from Sticker Backs but to collect the intact versions of these cards.  I have, also, decided to collect Sticker Backs first and this poses another question,  whether to collect backs with all different stickers or just one example of each Sticker Back.

All in all, I enjoyed my visit to Gadsden Card Shop and will surely return so if you are in the area, I think that it would be a worth while stop for any collector looking for cards.

Happy Collecting.
Jerry Yeager.

Some Links That Could Be Useful

Trading Card Database  Very Nice site for creating online collection as well as resources for researching your collection and images for over half million cards so far
SportLots  Sports Card Auction Site

The Card Collector High end Software for cataloging cards

Sports Card Collector Software better for budget with fewer features.