Review: BrentAndBecca

This one is long overdue - but I figured it's never too late to give a recommendation or provide feedback for fellow hobby enthusiasts.

Brent Williams is a very active, energetic and enthusiastic player in the sports card hobby.   Most of us know him and his business - "BrentAndBecca" - in several different mediums.   He regularly reviews Topps products and comments on the various attributes of the product breaks he conducts from the perspectives of both a collector and "dealer".   Is that term accurate?   Topics such as profitability, overall enjoyment and collectability are usually the heart and soul of his articles and I enjoy them a lot.   I try not to get too bogged down in the financial details of our hobby but with the varying costs of different products and conservative status of most family budgets these days (including my own) - a little reading and research can go a long way towards maximizing our enjoyment and comfort as the consuming collector.   His reviews can be found at the Cardboard Connection throughout the year as the 'collecting calendar' progresses through various sports and Topps releases.

BrentAndBecca also has a very active presence on Twitter as, wait for it.......... @brentandbecca  (https://mobile.twitter.com/brentandbecca)!   Looks like some great minds think alike when choosing twitter handles and website and blog names!   He tweets pretty regularly to promote upcoming products or highlight interesting items in his inventory.   He's a collector like us, so some of the cardboard he encounters finds its way into his own collection but the rest of it is packaged up nicely and available for the rest of us via his Ebay Store.   One thing that I find to be really useful is Brent's frequent twitter banter with the folks at Topps.   I can usually gleam some very insightful information and updates from their conversations, thereby saving both time and money on my end.   That's a win-win - and absolutely free.

You can read much more about Brent and how his business got started in an archived CC article, so I won't get too bogged down in the details of recreating that wheel.   Let's move on to my own experience with BrentAndBecca.

I tried out several different collecting approaches last year, as I was on a mission to compile a very diverse assortment of the year's sets for my son's future enjoyment.   Even though I enjoy hand-building complete sets pack by pack, it's way too expensive for me to do that with every release.   So, I tried to save some funds by buying one of the complete sets from a dealer (Seller?) like BrentAndBecca.   The set I was looking for?   2012 Topps Heritage.   I had purchased several blasters of '11 Heritage the year before and, while I am now closer than ever to complete my building of that set (YES!), I had a run of bad luck and suffered through a high duplication rate and lack of "hits" amongst the blasters I bought.   It's all random and part of the chase, but it left a bad (placebo effect) taste in my mouth.   Therefore, 2012 Heritage would be bought outright as a complete set.   My E-Bay searches provided plenty of options, as you might imagine.   I considered several but definitely felt very comfortable with the company I was most familiar with, B&B.

His prices were never THE lowest - depending on how you look at it, how much time you were willing to spend and how much risk you wanted to eliminate.   Sure, there were some sets up for bid that were a few bucks lower than B&B's no-haggle, "Buy It Now" price point.   But most of these came with shipping costs that were just as much if not higher than B&B AND......they were open bids.   So you never knew where the final sales price would fall.   Brent Williams and his team conducts an incredible amount of research and is usually quite fair with their assessment of value and price for the sets they collate and sell from their break efforts.   In the end, price was definitely a big PLUS for B&B and it carries the largest weight with me for consideration.

But what about quality?   Will the cards be packaged well?   Shipped quickly?

Since this was my first experience with BrentAndBecca, I would have to find out for myself when my Heritage set arrived.   The good news was that customer reviews and Ebay feedback scores were all very positive and I detected no negatives for them when it came to collectors' experience with purchasing collated sets.

So, I rolled the dice and took the plunge.  Within 7 working days of the product's release date, the package arrived!   Here it was:

Highlighter Provided By Ryan's Pitch

Exactly what you want to see from a dealer.   It doesn't have to be an official USPS box - but that certainly doesn't hurt.   And while it's common practice for us individual collectors to recycle packaging supplies in an effort to keep costs down, I didn't want to see my Heritage set arrive in a shoe box.   The box was neatly and thoroughly sealed.   Looking good!

Amongst the packing worms and bubble wrap were these two card boxes.   The exact "count" sizes elude me but I am sure some of the astute collectors out there can size them up pretty easily.   The fact that two boxes were used threw me off a little bit as I had ordered one complete set.   Had there been a mistake made?  

Beautiful

Of course not!   The two boxes contained my complete base set of Heritage.   The 'breaking up' of the set into two separate boxes allowed BrentAndBecca to fit my order into the USPS box pictured above and may very well have saved them (and therefore, me) some shipping costs.   I would like to point out that both card boxes were brand-spanking new and in perfect condition.   That counts.   And while I will definitely have to say that dealing with two boxes is a hassle for me, it's because of a personal preference for having sets in a single box.   A reason for visiting a card shop or ordering card supplies?   Always welcome.   In the end, definitely not a deal breaker - particularly if it saved everybody money.

Collector Weirdness - The Smell Was Even Better Than You Think

Finally, here's a peek at how the cards were collated and packaged inside.   They were VERY neatly handled and placed into both boxes, resulting in perfect alignment.   While that's a fantastic sight for my OCD, I think it provides some legitimate support for the cards as they are shipped and helps to prevent the damage of edges and corners belonging to cards should they have been out-of-line with the rest of the set and poking out.   And just for good measure, BrentAndBecca surrounded the wide-side of the cards with strips of bubble mailer, to secure the set even more.

I'm still assessing my enjoyment of the various collecting methods I used (and continue to use!) for chasing last year's sets.   I have every intention of going through the entire '12 Heritage set and checking out each card for appreciation...but I have yet to do so.  I can't say the same for the other sets I am building for 2012.   Might be something to that!

But as for my experience with BrentAndBecca - it was a great experience and I would recommend them without hesitation to my fellow collectors.   Great quality control with their products and it's obvious they appreciate the cardboard just as much as we do.   Again, I would also encourage you to follow @BrentAndBecca on Twitter and check out Brent's columns when he takes a break from busting cases of Topps to put pen to paper.   I think you will find it to be both enjoyable and well worth your collecting time.

Thanks for the excellent service, Brent.

Thanks for reading!      

 

Two Birds With One Stone

I'm a golfer.

I've played golf my whole life.   When my baseball playing dreams died on the final day of tryouts during my freshman year, it was golf that was there waiting for me as I figured out what kind of student athlete I would be.   In high school, that is.   I also played football to complete my bizarre, full year, 2-sport cycle - but my fall semester adventures on the gridiron are for another time.

I retired from football after that final game in '96 against Hillsborough HS in central Florida.   I remember it vividly.   Mostly proud, a little sad and yes - relieved, too.   Since we weren't State Champions.....it was a loss.   You learn and move on but I never played again.   I didn't, however, stop playing golf after my my final match the following spring, though.   My passion for the game, as a player, continues today.   I love the game and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm already introducing it to my daughter.   Heck, my toddler son even has a plush putter and little 'mock' golf hole to get that part of his sports brain active early.   What can I say?   The dream is a family golf outing one day......I hope we'll get there.   But even if we don't and my clan goes the route of soccer or swimming or violins or clay sculpting......golf will always be there for us all.

This year has been a great year of golf for me.   My old junior golf circuit nemesis, Bubba Watson, claimed a Green Jacket at Augusta.   This was THE pinnacle of my vicarious professional golf career.   What might have been, you know?!   I wasn't able to snag tickets this year, but possibilities for 2013 are looking great - and you can bet that I'll be looking for that spot in the trees and pine needles on #10.   The shot......awesome.

I've also had some once-in-a-lifetime chances to play at some extraordinary private courses.   Through various wonderful circumstances and good fortune, I had the opportunity play at Sage Valley (Graniteville, SC) and Palmetto Golf Club (Aiken, SC) earlier this spring.   Leading up to these two rounds (which I played on back-to-back days), I could barely contain myself.   I turned into a woman, needing new clothes and equipment for the huge occasion(s).   I needed new irons as I had been desperately clinging to the illusion that I was better than I truly am at this point in my life......I had been playing Hogan blades since about 2003.   Sure, they provide a beautiful sensation when you hit them flush.   But it was becoming more of a rarity for me.   Chalk it up to old(er) age or a lack of time to keep my game up (family).   A dose of reality but two very unavoidable and GOOD reasons.   SO, it was time to embrace modern technology and go shopping.   I had utilized the Bay of E for many cardboard needs over the past year - why not peruse for some new irons?

SUCCESS

They were Taylor Made Burner 2.0 (steel, stiff flex) irons, for those of you keeping score at home.   Taylor Made hasn't produced a lucrative offer for sponsorship yet - but I haven't given up hope :)  I didn't play my best during my two epic rounds, but the fault didn't rest with my irons and I GREATLY enjoyed two fantastic rounds of golf on two beautiful courses.   Awe struck = me.

So what does this have to do with baseball or baseball cards or ANYTHING related to Ryan's Pitch?   I'm glad you asked and I'll move quickly to the point - that little incentive called "Ebay Bucks", of course!   My new set of irons was definitely the most expensive item that I had ever purchased through the site and, therefore, produced the LARGEST lump sum of Ebay Bucks that I could have ever dreamed of.....................like $9.    Jackpot!   I couldn't find myself a new putter for $9 but I could certainly wrestle up some cardboard.

So what did $9 and some change bring me?   Less than half the price of a blaster..........this is what I ended up with:

Cecil Cooper! And Carlton Fisk, too.

 I know.   Red Sox.   Bleh!   But Pudge was one of the finest competitors the game ever saw and I have a soft-spot for vintage cards, nay - ROOKIE cards of Hall of Famers.   At $6, I couldn't turn this one down and am stoked to add it to my collection.   The 1972 design is so bizarre and colorful!   I am building all Topps sets from my birth through the end of my first collecting period ~ 1994.   I'm about 60% right now (you can check it out under my Sets Needs tab to the right).   Once I finish these, I'll work my way backwards for newer older (see what I did there?) set-building challenges.   And I seriously hope that I make it back to '72.   Just to do some more exploring of this set!

This Fisk is completely crease-free and while the centering is contentious, I am pretty pleased that I can still see at least some of the white border around the entire card.   I saw many for sale where this wasn't the case - and were more expensive.   YES!   The corners are the roughest aspect of this Fisk Rookie Card, but that's okay.   It cost the same thing as lunch at Subway (less, actually).   I love it.

Here's the second card I picked up:

Way to finish strong, Harvey!

I'm not a Cardinals fan or a Harvey Haddix super-collector.....but I love vintage cards and I especially LOVE the 1956 Topps set.   This set is routinely a favorite amongst collectors and I can easily say that this design is in my personal Top 5.   The full color action & mug-shot combo is terrific alongside the neat and symmetrical boxes of name/position/team.   Topps even threw in Harvey's signature for good measure - BONUS!   1956 is also one of the issues that came with those GREAT, colorful comic strips on the back.   Haryvey's card has a baseball-playing cat.   It doesn't get any sweeter.

Since I wasn't a Harvey Haddix expert, I did my usual research.   Not too shabby!   Mr. Haddix was a 3-time All Star and 3-time Gold Glove winner.   He won a World Series ring with the Pirates in 1960.   Hmmm, I wonder if he had anything to do with that whole "Mazeroski" incident?   Why yes.   Yes he did.   After winning Game 5, he came in for relief in Game 7 and got the W upon Mazeroski's ball clearing the fence in the 9th inning.   Dammit.   But that's awesome.

One more great fact about Harvey - he is often remembered for his near perfect game against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959.  I say "near" because Harvey finally relinquished a hit in the 13th inning.

UH......yeah.   The 13th inning.

Harvey Haddix pitched 12 innings of perfection until Joe Adcock made a hit (that was eventually ruled a double) that scored one of the two base runners on base at the time.   So close.   Harvey's fraternity at Texas A&M was nice enough to send a congratulatory letter that read:

"Dear Harvey, Tough Shit."

You can laugh.   I did - and I am pretty sure that Harvey eventually did, too.   Haddix also appeared as a major league player, for the last time, on my birthday.   FACT.   So there you go - a random piece of '56 Topps goodness for 99 cents.   Love it - and the card is in really good condition, too.   The centering is a little high, but just like the Pudge - I can still see the white border all the way around.   There are no creases and, most importantly to me, there is no paper loss.   If I snag a piece of history like this, I want to be able to read it!   Great pick up that came with a great story!

One more card to go!   It's another Red Sox (Boo!) but it's another great ballplayer.   And it's his Rookie Card.  And it's from another 'groovy' design year from Topps.   take it away, Mr. Lynn:

This is the worst conditioned card from the trio.   Creases and rounded corners galore.   This one was 59 cents.   Mr. Lynn was a 9-time All Star and 4-time Gold Glove Award winner.  He was even the AL MVP AND Rookie of the Year in '75.   Freddy!?!   That's amazing.   Imagine if Mr. Trout were to pull that off this year?   Think it's possible?

So yes - it's a Red Sox rookie card, but Fred Lynn is no slouch.   The card is in pretty bad condition, but I couldn't even buy a coke out of the machine for the price-tag on this great '75 card.   Very excited to add it to my collection.

So - there you go.   These three cards for about $9.   Three completely random cards - but I am really digging them.   How do you think I did?

Thanks for reading - and don't forget to watch Bubba go for another Major this weekend at Kiawah!