Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Vacation LCS visit + Contest

This past Saturday, I returned home from a week-long vacation on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. We stay in a small cottage on the west side of the lake.

Each year, I try and visit All Sports Cards, a nice card shop about 15 minutes away from the cottage we rent. I first went there in 2013 and had a very pleasant experience. I also went last year, so it's becoming a tradition I look forward to during our trip.

I always try and wait until both kids are napping to sneak out, but Joey, my 5-year-old, is pretty much over naps. He was being kind of annoying and stir crazy, so I asked him if he wanted to come with me. He said yes.

Big mistake.

Ok, so spending time with 5-year-old is not a mistake. It's the best. But you know how annoying they can be. I figured he'd give me a few minutes to browse, but he was a pest wandering around and whining to leave. It was annoying, to say the least. I barely got to converse with the shop owner, who I always enjoy talking to. I barely got to look through boxes of singles.

At one point, the shop owner goes to me, "Um, your kid just left." I turned around, and Joey had decided to walk down the stairs toward the front door.

Frustratingly, I quickly grabbed 5 packs of Series 2, as I hadn't busted any yet. I appreciated that they were priced at $2 each, which is what they should be. I feel like hobby shops always jack up the price on packs.

Here are a few of the goods from S2, although nothing special came from the packs. I was bummed he had already sold out of Archives, as I would have loved a few packs of those. I nabbed two Rediscover Topps cards in five packs, which was interesting. The Harper All-Star is pretty cool too.
That brings me to my other purchase, and the CONTEST. In 2013, the shop had grab bags for $1 each. However, they are buy one, get one free, so really they are $.50 each. And I remember them being a lot of fun and wishing I had gotten more. So I plucked down $3 and snagged six grab bags total - buy three, get three free. Each one has about 25 cards, with a few current issues, a few stars, and some older junk wax, as expected. I got some pretty cool cards in the five I opened, including a few '17 Archives singles, which was ironic since that's what I was hoping to bust.
You might notice I only said "the five I opened." I left one sealed. In 2013, I had regretted not buying one to give away on the blog. As tempting as it was, I didn't give in. I saved one grab to give away to YOU.
All you have to do to join is comment below. No pimping (unless you want to), no extra entries. Just a comment will do. I'll select a winner via random.org. I wouldn't expect anything too spectacular, but you never know. In 2013, I got an autograph in one. Hopefully you come away with a cool card or two, and let me know what you end up with.

The giveaway will close at 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, July 9.

32 comments:

  1. Cool, gotta love Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains

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  2. Grab bags are awesome! Count me in.

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  3. Sweet.. thanks for the contest!

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  4. Here is my entry..thanks for doing this contest!

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  5. Sweet! Grab bag packs are always a treat.

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  6. Sure, why not? Good luck, everyone, and thanks, A.J.!

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  7. Any amount of time in a card shop is time well spent. Nice grab bag pulls.

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  8. Count me in.

    I just noticed the Jacoby Jones Gypsy Queen. What the heck is he doing there?

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  9. Great show! Love the big hurt

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  10. Vacation Card Shops (VCSs) are always pretty fun. Good find!

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  11. Wow sweet pulls. Those are some great grab bags.

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  12. The group with which I spent last weekend in Utah is going to Winnipesaukee next year for its meeting (I think). I'm not going next year though...

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  13. Thanks for the contest! Your kid sounds like mine :)

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  14. I'm in, thank you for the contest

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  15. I'm in for a grab bag, thanks for the contest.

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  16. Hooray! I'm in, and thanks for the contest!

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  17. I'll try for a grab bag. Thanks!

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  18. I think those grab bags look like fun. Thanks for the shot at one.

    I used to put together some for my yard sales to hand to kids.

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  19. Great post, LC! Hope your time at the lake was fantastic - we just wrapped up a family vacation two weeks ago. And with little ones...it can be anything but peaceful! I also went to a LCS in the spring with my boys and they gave me the same trouble...(sigh) here's to us! (Ryan) RyansPitch

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  20. It won't be too long before Joey is begging you to take him to a card show. Hang in there and thanks for the contest!

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  21. Pretty cool stuff. Even the grab bag stuff. Back in the early 1990s either summer of 91 or 92. There was a local card show and one of the tables had plain grab bags. I forget what the prices were but I think there were two sizes based on the number of cards in the bag, as they used the same size bag for each lot. I know they couldn't have been more than $5 otherwise I wouldn't have gotten them. I think I only got the baseball bags but I think they had football as well. I recall there were a lot 1990 and 1988 Fleer cards including some multiples. Too bad your 5 year old was acting well like a five year old.

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  22. I love shops(or show vendors) that put together cool grab bags! Thanks for the contest.

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  23. Thanks for the contest. I enjoy your website a lot.

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