Just an Order from Just Commons

I'm pretty open to trying new things, so when I read from a couple other bloggers about Just Commons, I decided to give them a try.

I put in a pretty large order, going through some of my less-hunted want lists. I didn't get word from the site for a few days about shipment after paying, and my ship-to address is here in Japan, so I sent an email and got a pretty quick reply. Three cards on my list weren't available but since shipping to Japan isn't free (and not calculated by the ordering system) some of that "cost" was used for shipping. I expected to need to cover shipping here so that wasn't a big shock.

The cards were sent soon after, as promised, and arrived about a week later. There were three cards in the order that were incorrect, with other cards sent instead. I emailed them about the order and mentioned that I intended to place another order soon, so they said they'll include them with that order.

I placed a new order about a week ago, but again haven't had contact following the purchase. I've just sent a follow-up message; my only real complaint so far about Just Commons is that both times I've ordered I have needed to initiate the conversations (despite asking this time to be told about shipping costs). 

I'm curious - for those of you who have used the site and shipped to the US, have you had any issues with shipments not being sent?

Anyway, here's a sampling of what I ordered:

 2011 Goodwin Champions SPs: I've attacked this set a lot lately and I'll probably finish it by the end of the year. After this order, I need 11, but several of those are part of my second order.

 Another set that's really challenging to complete is my 2012 Triple Play set. I haven't even touched 2013 yet, though I only need 8 cards now for my 2012 master set! This was the last card from the Focus subset I needed.

 I still need three more of the Hall of Fame cards, which might be the best looking cards in the set. I also need two more When I Was A Kid singles.

 The last few cards in the set are relics, and there are three more I need. I had ordered two on Just Commons, but apparently one of them was out of stock. I still see some stock on the site now for that card... perhaps I should order it again!

 I tackled some of my 2012 Allen & Ginter set needs, too. As of right now, I still need four more from the Historical Turning Points, plus ten of the Highlight Sketches.

 My base set is still not complete either. There are nineteen cards left for my set, though fourteen of those are SPs.

 Speaking of SPs, I still need a ton of Topps 206 cards from over 10 years ago. And a smaller number of Topps 205 from 2003.

 I completed a few sets, though, including the Calling Card insert set from last year's Topps set. The silly titles on front just add to my interest in this set.

 I'm not sure why the O-Pee-Chee Team Checklist cards are so tough to find. I still need 10 more!

 But I did finish off my 2010 Upper Deck Ballparks subset.

 Just Commons singles start at 5 cents each. The 1992 Bowman Team USA cards I bought weren't that cheap, but I put together most of the team set at once, and now I only need three more cards.

 The 1993 Stadium Club Murphy Team USA team set was really cheap, though - but I still need 11 cards from that set.

Rounding out my Team USA purchases was a lone Topps Big card from 1989, meaning I still need six from that set.

The selection at Just Commons is pretty good for modern cards, going back to the 1980s, though some somewhat-obscure issues can't be found on the site (Black Diamond and Topps Stickers for example) and since the site focuses on commons it's tough to find inserts from prior years, which is a large portion of my set-building want lists right now.

That said, as long as Just Commons keeps its pricing structures intact and selection high, it has a lot to offer me for my collecting goals! Now they just need to get my next order headed to Japan...

One Little Corner: 2013 Allen & Ginter Set Gallery

 Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are...

Goodwin Champion's Wonders of the Universe wasn't the only space-based insert set found in baseball card products last year. Ginter had its own celestial set, called One Little Corner. The cards have more to the design and use art (or, art-styled photos) instead of photos (or, photo-realistic art). At first glance, these look much better. However, the soft, somewhat grainy images used on these cards aren't as attractive as the images found on Wonders. With the exception of the last card, Centaur (my favorite), Corner's images seem flat, especially when they're mostly planets and not enough detail is found in the picture to give them depth. Wonders takes advantage of shadows and texture to really make the planets and galaxies feel three-dimensional; Wonders also seems to use a greater depth of color. Both sets are great, but I have to give Wonders of the Universe the win. What do you think?

2012 Allen & Ginter Want List

Want list last updated 4-4-2013. E-mail me for a trade!

I've been super-busy these past couple weeks as I continue to try to clean up, catalog, and organize a lot of the stuff I've accumulated over the past year. I've done well with cards, but souvenirs and such have been somewhat neglected. Plus, having just passed my one-year anniversary of teaching in Japan, I needed to give my apartment a thorough cleaning - one which isn't really done yet. 

Anyway, I'm going to knock this out pretty quick. If you have any of the cards below and would like to trade, let me know. Remember, I'm in Japan so I can usually only offer Japanese cards. Kenny gave me a bunch of singles so if you have needs in A&G and Heritage I'll be glad to work something out with you but I'm dragging a bit on the turnaround time. I hope to get to the post office to ship off a couple packages I owe (sorry Scott, Nachos).

 Base set: 52, 60, 75, 95, 100, 103, 114, 150, 187, 221, 301, 304, 308, 309, 318, 320, 326, 327, 329, 332, 334, 342, 344, 346, 349.
PENDING: 4, 20, 55, 63, 71, 73, 165, 196, 225, 229, 265, 274, 279, 303, 310, 331, 341 (JW)

 Baseball Highlight Sketches: 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 20, 23-?? (21 PENDING JW)

 Historical Turning Points: 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 20-??

World's Tallest Buildings: #1 only needed

Any help is appreciated! Leave a comment or email me, thanks! Hopefully I'll have time for a good post tomorrow...

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah! Cards from Zippy Zappy

Most of you know Kenny as Zippy Zappy. He lives here in Japan for now, and we've met up a few times. He's Japanese, but may be more American since he grew up in New York (correct me if I'm wrong!). Anyway, every time we get together the Japanese in him shows through, as he's very generous with gifts. I wish I had great stuff I could trade him in return.

 First, he gave me a box full of Allen & Ginter base cards. He hasn't finished his set (how about posting your want list in the comments, Kenny?) despite buying three boxes? He's promised more Ginters on the way.

 Where are the sexy women surfers?

 Hammerin' Hank is a welcome addition to the Topps lineup. I feel he hasn't gotten the attention he deserves on cardboard. And I'm glad Koufax is getting cards too.

 I really like Verlander.

 There were a few of the regular-sized inserts. I've been to the top of this one.

 And I've been to the top of this one, when it was called the Sears Tower.

 I really like the Highlight Sketches. I'll eventually have a set.

 I'm not sure if I'm into these cards.

 The images just aren't exciting enough.

 What if Topps did a manupatch in that circle, or perhaps a ring or coin or something?

 I am glad they went with the retro Orioles logo here. I miss fun cartoonish logos.

 I mentioned before that Kenny plays the CardGen game. For 200 yen, you get to play for about 7-10 minutes (one game) plus the arcade machine dispenses another card. Kenny gave me a few singles. Did I mention before that he's trying to put together the entire set? It isn't easy!

 The game works like this: you pick out your roster - a full nine players, plus relief pitchers and a bench player or two. You have to actually own the cards and place them on the game, which then uses some kind of RFID-style technology to read the cards. And the stars on the front of the card add up. You're allowed a certain number of stars total, like a salary cap. This way, new players with very little pocket money don't face off against someone new who dropped $100 on an all-star starting nine.

 You can get a different ID card to log in to the game and play seasons. By doing this, you will eventually increase the total number of stars you can use on your team. Kenny fields a pretty good team. Plus, your starting lineup and pitching rotation are established and the game becomes even more realistic.

 Once your lineup is ready, you can play the game. Kenny tells me there are two modes: simulation-only or a combination simulation and play mode.

 Kenny plays the combo mode, and so he gets to bat and pitch in certain key situations. As a pitcher, he can select his pitch type and location, and like most baseball games a bit of skill is involved in tapping the button at the right time to get the most from your pitch. He can also call for pickoffs or other managerial moves.

 While batting, he tries to guess the kind of pitch and location. If he guesses the right pitch, he is more successful at getting a hit. Again, a bit of skill is involved in timing the swing.

 When you play CardGen in an arcade, you actually play online and someone else is controlling the other team. You can sometimes go up against the same player, and once you reach Kenny's level you tend to see a lot of superstars. While the level of play isn't up there with games found on consoles, the inclusion of cards and fast gameplay make this a good way to spend a couple bucks and a bit of time. Prizes can be had through trades at the arcades. A special Ichiro card and case was released to arcades but was out of stock by the time we got there.

 This Justin Smoak card is already in the mail, on its way to a fan in America. The rest of the CardGen cards are available for trade. If Kenny posts his Ginter want-list and you have cards he needs, I'll be glad to help with that trade.

 Here is the playing guide. It's in Japanese.

But you can look at this part of the guide to get an idea of how the arcade game looks and (if you can read Japanese) what information is included on the card.

Thank you very much Kenny for the awesome cards! I hope you have time to get together in January or February. I want to head your way soon anyway.