Trying

I remember a time when trade packages flowed in my mailbox like wine.

Cards still arrive at Dime Box HQ pretty often these days, but they're mostly Sportlots orders and other miscellaneous purchases. And while buying specific cards is fun, I do often miss the thrill of seeing a package from a fellow blogger and not knowing what awaits. So much of my collection is in debt to those surprises.

It makes sense that a dip in posting would mean a similar scaling back of trade packages - but to my delight I still have a good amount of people who generously send me stuff despite my blogging darkness. And while I try to post them in a (somewhat) timely manner, I still find myself woefully behind in gratitude.

Greg from the illustrious Night Owl Cards sent me a package last year that I hadn't gotten around to posting about till now (sorry!) - a card as cool as this Jackie Robinson has no business sitting in a trade folder for that long.

Greg is always good at parsing through my want lists, and he came up with a few this time around as well.

(Seems like just yesterday I was watching Stephen Strasburg's debut, and now he's completely out of baseball.)

I believe I specifically requested that Baseball Cards Magazine Hershiser from Greg (love, love, love magazine-issued cards!).

I saw that 2023 Platinum Anniversary is out now (here in May of 2024) - I definitely support the set existing, if for no other reason that it gives us shiny cards of dudes like Derrek Lee that don't get many cards these days.

A reader named Alex who's no stranger to massive acts of generosity asked me about a Lance Johnson stadium issue I unearthed at the National last year.

I knew Alex was a big Lance collector, and agreed to send him the said stadium issue without a second thought, despite the fact that Alex promised me "something nice" in return. 

Little did I know that "something" would turn out to be a minor league card signed by LIMA TIME himself(!!!).

Dennis from Too Many Verlanders offered up a surplus of Swell cards he had available, and I took him up on that because I've found that, despite what I'd previously believed, I don't have everything I need from these sets.

A fair amount of the cards Dennis sent were indeed dupes, but a healthy portion were glorious needs like that Andre Thornton (where else are you gonna find guys like Thornton and Honus Wagner in the same set?).

Dennis was nice enough to throw a few extras in with the swell Swells, including new gets for a couple of my bigger player collections and some fun Cubs content which is always appreciated around here.

Laurens of Card Buzz surprised me with a two-card PWE recently...both of which were needs!

First up was this otherwise innocuous Glenallen Hill - a former "Dime Box Dozen" need due to the fact that Hill played all of a half-season with the Mariners and I had the Gold Medallion parallel of it without the base card (I can't emphasize enough how much that bugs me).

Better yet, an Anthony Rizzo relic came along for the ride as well!

I've probably said this before, but despite my dime-box leanings I still welcome autographs/jersey cards - although these days I treat them just like any other insert.

I couldn't tell you how long I've been sending cards back and forth with Jim (aka gcrl) of cards as i see them - but I do know he's one of my oldest and best trading partners.

I also don't keep stats on "Dime Box Dozen" needs, but I feel certain in saying that Jim has taken down more of them than any other blogger - a streak that continued with this painfully common '95 Topps card I somehow still needed of Obscure Favorite Danny Bautista.

It's hard to have a handle on everything I collect - heck, it's a challenge for me to define it a lot of the time - but Jim always seems to know exactly the right mix of stuff to send me.

Along with Darryl Kiles and broken bats came a couple 2023 A&G needs, a set I was admittedly kinda meh about at first but have really come around on lately.

More mini-collection hits - including a parallel of one of the more adorable cards ever made with that Shawon Dunston - and a shiny Tim Anderson (still weird to me that he's not on the White Sox anymore).

I feel like I have to whisper whenever I put an overproduction-era card on my "Dime Box Dozen" list...psst, hey, does anyone have an '89 UD Paul Molitor?

I've been collecting baseball cards for two decades. I shouldn't need anymore so-called "junk wax" at this point, right? Wrong. Jim helped me correct a glaring flaw this time, but I can guarantee you it won't be the last wait, how do I not already have THAT? moment. As is collecting.

There's no excuse for taking seven months to post a trade package, but please don't mistake that for a lack of appreciation - because where else am I gonna find people willing to dig through '89 Upper Deck dupes for me?