The Shinys are Here, Part VIII: The eBay Motherload (100+ Shinys)

As many of my readers know, originally I had purchased a case of 2011 Topps from a (what appeared to be) reputable seller on eBay.  It turned out, however, that the seller did nothing more than amass a bunch of positives and then list a whole boatload of pre-sells of different products and tried to make off with the cash.  Luckily for me, I knew enough to purchase the pre-sell within the 45 day window where eBay will allow you to file a claim to get your money back.  And, roughly 45 days later, I did get my money back (and credit goes to eBay for that).

Long story short, getting my money back in my PayPal account meant I had some cash to purchase some stuff on eBay.  I couldn't buy a case of Topps (prices for a case basically doubled what I had originally paid), so I purchased a few lots of the diamond parallel cards figuring I could use any duplicates as trade bait.  I've already shown off the smaller auctions (they arrived first), today's post highlights the major purchase - a lot of 105 shiny cards!

Of the 105 shiny cards in the lot, I ended up needing only 64 of them - meaning the other 41 cards were all duplicates!  This now puts my total collection (as of the time I am writing this post) at roughly 48% of the total diamond parallel set!  I haven't quite decided what to do with the duplicates - do I list them on eBay and try to recoup some of my money?  Do I try and trade them for cards off my want list?  Do you have other suggestions?  Let me know.

Anyhow, back to the cards, here are some of my favorites that I still needed:

1.  Ryan Braun

Whenever I decide I'm going to collect a set, I try to acquire a binder to hold the set as I build it.  It's always nice to have the first card in the set - without it, it sends a message that I've still got a long way to go.  With it, the set seems doable (even if I still do have a long way to go)!


60.  Andrew McCutchen

McCutchen has hit .286 for each of his only two years in the big leagues.  He also played in Williamsport back 2005 (my "hometown" team) - but I was too busy with college stuff then to care about the minor leagues.  Too bad for me, huh?


105.  Jonathan Lucroy

There are plenty of catcher cards out there featuring the player in full gear.  There aren't many (that I'm aware of at least) the feature a catcher sitting on the bench in half-gear.  


191.  Jay Bruce

The BEST card of Series 1, bar none.  Having it all shinied up makes it even better.  I don't think I'll ever grow tired of this particular card or image!  Too bad I cut the left side off of the card in the scan...though I'm sure I'll find another reason to include a scan of this card in the future!


204.  Oakland Athletics

I love the team cards in the base set.  I think I like the Franchise History cards better from last year, but even so, the team cards do make for some great shiny cards!  It's nice to have more than one player standing out from the shiny background - and most (if not all) of the team cards feature more than one player who gets the special effects treatment.


269.  Stephen Drew

This card represents the essence that makes baseball so compelling.  The bright green grass, the brown dirt, and the satisfying home run trot.  I can only hope this home run was hit against someone other than my Reds.


293.  Justin Morneau

Most of the horizontal cards in Series 1 are awesome - this one is no exception.  For Twins' fans sake, I hope Morneau bounces back and has a monster year (at least until the World Series if my Reds are in it)!


And there's a small selection of some of my favorite cards from the lot.  Remember, let me know what you think I ought to do with my duplicate shiny cards...I've got a pretty decent stack of doubles now!