Sunday, April 29, 2018

The Mega-Trade Proposition

I recently ended up with an extra 2004 Topps Retired Hank Aaron autograph. Yep, I just recently landed this white whale of mine, and then funny enough, I was in the right place at the right time to snag another. Instead of selling the dupe for a substantial profit, I set out for a mega trade. I had 3 big cards in mind owned by 3 trader buddies. So I dug up cards to supplement the Hammer auto tailored to each trade prospect.


My #1 choice card was pulled a few years back by Tony Burbs, well-respected Cubs collector, so I gathered up some good Cubbies to back up Hank.

If that didn't pan out for me, Card #2 on my list was Shoebox Shane's Mike Trout liquorfractor rookie. I didn't have high hopes for him being agreeable, but I would have swapped out the Cubs for some good Sox and hoped for the best.

If that didn't work out for me, Card #3 in my sights was the Tim Duncan auto that Fuji recently stumbled upon.**

And if those all didn't work out, I'd field offers on the blog and Twitter, and if nothing seemed right, throw Hank on eBay.

But that's a moot point because Tony Burbs graciously agreed to my offer (with only a minor alteration), and I was able to score my first choice. :)


BOOM!!! Axl Rose auto from 2013 Topps Archives. This was a huge card I had been pining for for a long time. I knew Tony lucked into pulling it, his greatest pull, and I had hoped to one day be able to put together a strong enough offer for it. Very happy to have swung this mega trade!

I've realized recently that Guns N' Roses is currently my favorite band, as you might've guessed with them frequently getting worked into my posts over the past few months. What can I say, they're just the band I most dig listening to these days. (I'm musing on typing up a post covering my favorite bands over the years.) Appetite For Destruction was among the first few cassettes I ever bought for myself as a kid in the late 80s, so there's plenty of sentimental value for me there, too.

In difficult times, I turn to the lyrics of W. Axl Rose, with his wisdom being a beacon steering me towards the right course of action. They've got dozens of songs I love deeply, though I might have to say my favorite song is "Locomotive".


"Locomotive" is my jam, especially on a Friday afternoon when I get off work. If I were a professional baseball player, it'd be my walk-up music.


Anyways, back to the card.. Looks like Axl has two Topps certified autos on the market: this card from 2013 Archives, and a framed mini from 2013 Allen & Ginter. Both cards consistently sell on eBay for $300+.


Tony kindly threw in a couple surprise bonus cards too. Sweet auto of Joe Musgrove, a hometown hero of mine, and a Desperate Double Dozen need of Tim Blackwell's mustache. (Expect a big Tim Blackwell PC post coming soon.)

Before Tony agreed to the trade (I had to wait a little while before I made the offer because I had gotten a card off his "most wanted" in a recent order of mine, so had to wait for that to show up so I could add it to the offer), I came up with a list of big-money cards I would be interested in mega-trading for:

Axl Rose Topps 2013 Archives or Ginter auto
Mike Trout 2011 Topps Update cognac parallel
Tim Duncan auto (pack-certified and on-card)
Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Hoyt Wilhelm 1952 Topps (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Gavvy Cravath 1914 Cracker Jack (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Kirby Puckett 2003 Topps Retired refractor auto
Andre The Giant auto (certified authentic)
Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer (PSA graded, low grade is fine)
Mickey Mantle 1953 Topps (graded, low grade is fine)
Mickey Mantle 1957 Topps (graded PSA 4 or better)
It would be reaching on my part, but certified autos of Clemente, Mantle, or Ted Williams would also have my interest, for sure.

I guess that's sort of an Expensive White Whale list for me. I'll have to keep that handy in the event I end up with another really nice card to trade someday (or win the lottery or something).

** I hit Fuji with an alternate trade proposition for the Duncan, sans-Hank, but still with plenty of pop. He declined, which I totally respect, though it was an impressive lot, but he gave me some solid personal reasons for his inclination to retain the card, and it seems like the card has "untouchable" status for him, and would still be even if the Hank was part of the offer.

Welcome to the collection, we've got cards for days
Anyways, I can't thank Tony enough for this successful mega-trade knocking off a dream card for me!

14 comments:

  1. Congrats on your new add! Mega trades can be the toughest ones to work out. I have a few auto cards like Ozzie Albies and Heliot Ramos I wouldn't mind moving but it would take a decent deal to do it. Sometimes you find the right trading partner and other times you don't. Glad you did. I know I have one guy who I do my biggest trades with

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  2. whoa - that's a cool one! Having a second Aaron auto perhaps made this trade easier for you. Would you have traded your only Aaron for Axl? I miss a lot around the blogs but this has to be one of the biggest trades I've seen. Congrats to you and Burbs!

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    1. Oh man, if I didn't have the dupe, probably not. That would have incompleted my 2014 Retired auto set!

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  3. This was certainly a deal that brought me to my shun n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees. Glad that Axl made it safe and he fits in with your collection far better anyway!

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    1. Ha, we made the "shun n-n-n-n knees" joke at the same time.. me on twitter. Thanks again for the trade! I'll continue keeping an eye out for interesting Cubs cards for future swaps.

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  4. Would you have any interest in the 1987 "Welcome To The Jungle" digital promo CD?

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    1. Hmm.. I don't really collect CDs, but maybe.. what would you have in mind in return?

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    2. Cards...don't have a particular item in mind, but if we can figure out what it's worth I'm sure you could put something fair together.

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  5. Wow, you don't see trades done on this scale too often. Well done for both parties.
    I'm relatively surprised that this even exists because I remember people saying they've been waiting on their redemptions forever. But at least you've got one now.

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    1. Yeah, looks like it took a while for the redemptions to be filled, but eventually Axl signed 'em. I think this and the Devers ref auto trade with Bubba are the highest-rolling trades I've pulled off to date. Definitely appreciate doing deals like this with guys I know/trust rather than take my chances with strangers on social media.

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  6. Wow! Some heavy hitters trading hands there. Glad you and Tony worked out a blockbuster!

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  7. Nice Axl! Glad you were able to make that swap. As for the Duncan being "untouchable"... it's pretty close.

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  8. Glad it worked out with WRJ, as my Trout will only leave my collection when it's pried from my cold (November Rain) dead hands! Awesome trade, really cool to see two cards of that magnitude exchanging hands between bloggers. Beautiful Axl!

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