I participated in sports card Twitter and I feel all the worse for it

 Holy crap is the sports card discussion on Twitter toxic.

I don't use Twitter much. I actually never used it when it was allegedly popular. I knew zero people who used it here in Canada. It always seemed like a platform for celebrities and politicians to publicize themselves without using mainstream media, and for journalists and content creators to attract attention by getting a following and then redirecting that following offsite. If you didn't fall into one of those categories, it seemed pointless.

I joined a couple of years ago. I was actually on Bluesky way before, back when Bluesky was invite only and mostly black and queer voices. But I like to talk about old pro wrestling, and the Bluesky community for that niche is terrible. There is a strong community of older wrestling fans on Twitter that are fun to engage with, but I really just wish they would all move over to Bluesky. I barely used that Twitter account. I also had a Threads account the day it launched, but that platform felt like a living television commercial and I never enjoyed it. I have a burner account on TikTok, but I hoenstly don't get the appeal and feel that I am too old to understand. I don't use Facebook, although I was first on it back when it was university only in 2004. Yes, I'm old and growing older with each word I type.

I've been trying different social media platforms for sports cards. Bluesky has been my favourite, with the best engagement and the most like minded people. I'm using Instagram, but I find it boring. Instagram, however, is useful because a lot of local businesses post updates on their Instagram accounts, so that is at least one reason to use it. But I find there is little actual social interaction on Instagram and it feels more like looking at classified ads.

I decided to create a sports card account on Twitter. I figured it would suck, but I guess I'm a masochist. You're probably thinking I'm more of a moron than a masochist, and perhaps you are right. What I really wanted was to be able to stay updated with what's going on in the sports card world from a news perspective. Bluesky is great for discussing old cards and stuff, but it rarely feels like a breaking news sort of app.

Well, after being on Twitter a few days I no longer want to stay updated on sports cards. Nearly every user I have interacted with on there is someone who I would not want to meet in real life. It was a mix of people complaining about Fanatics anti-consumer practices (obvious solution is to stop buying their shit), men breathlessly masturbating over the high prices paid by other wealthier men for nonsense collectibles, and toxic, angry arguments about things like digital assets, scammers, social media influencers, and basically everything else.

I felt like I was in a room full of the grossest, dumbest people who all hate one another and have been driven to insanity by the collective stench they have created. 

Why are people so desperate for attention these days? It's weird. I see so many accounts posting "hot takes" with the obvious purpose of trying to get others to argue with them to boost their algorithm ranking. Why? I see female card collectors talking about how they like to walk around naked in their homes when they get back from work. Who cares? And all of these people are so greedy, to the point where I think none of them actually watch the sports they collect and are only interested in "breaking" and "flipping".

The best collectors are the ones who care little about cost and a lot about value. People who don't care if something is junk wax or in poor condition if it is something they enjoy. People who can actually discuss the details of the sports and teams they follow in a joyful and positive manner that is easily reflected in their collecting habits.

Twitter has none of that. You can feel the greasy, desperate greed of its users. These are people who badly want to be someone they are not and never will be, but think somehow they can get there by selling baseball cards. They would be better off spending a fraction of that money they are losing on therapy, and the rest of us would be better off for it.

Yes, I had expected it to suck, but I had figured it would be easy to steer clear of the nonsense and that I would find some accounts to follow that would simply provide news and updates about what is going on in the sports card bubble. But even those accounts spent huge amounts of time arguing with other users and complaining endlessly about every little thing that I realized Twitter has nothing to offer besides the feeling of being dunked into a septic tank head first.

I deleted my Twitter account shortly after joining, and then had a shower. 

Honestly, my preference is to have no social media. I've tried that in past, and it works okay. The problem is that so often you need to have at least an account somewhere to keep up with what's going on, even if it's a burner account that you never post on. It's the nature of the world we live in now.

I feel like a complete idiot for joining Twitter in 2026. At least I'm open minded enough to try new things, but smart enough to duck out when a bad idea is obvious. I value my time and mental health too much, even if sometimes I'm dumb enough to take a risk. 

A handful of free 1965 Topps

 I received these three 1966 Topps cards after participating in a giveaway thread on Bluesky. It was a thread where you post some cards you will send for free, and in return you can claim some cards.

It was very expensive to mail cards from here to the US, so it's not something I'm going to participate in again. However, people on Bluesky south of the border were kind enough to match my expensive shipping and send some stuff up my way.

I got these three cards from one user. They are the oldest cards in my collection now, and I've never owned anything from 66 Topps before. In the past, I have owned 50s cards from Bowman and 50s hockey cards from Parkhurst in low grade, but that was long ago. I can't recall if I've owned anything from the 60s.

I enjoy these cards so much more than most modern stuff. I do have an appreciation for modern cards, so I don't want to be completely pessimistic. But there is something so charming about getting a glimpse into the past, glancing at the way ballplayers used to look.

 I'm unfamiliar with these three players, but that's cool. When I was a kind I learned so much about baseball and hockey by reading cards, and it's still fun to do that as an adult. Not everything should be about looking stuff up online.

I am in the process of refocusing my collection and shedding a lot of cards I don't want, so I can purchase vintage baseball, hockey, and basketball. I never really feel buyer's remorse picking up vintage. It sometimes happens with modern. It happens all the time opening boxes.

I got these cards for free (kinda, I guess I got them because I paid to ship cards to someone else), and I like them more than stuff I've pulled out of packs and blaster boxes that cost way too much money. I'm quite sure most other card bloggers feel this way, so this isn't an abnormal experience. 

I value aesthetics over price, but I'm goofy that way

 Last night I ended up going to a trade night at the card shop closest to my apartment. It's 401 Games in downtown Toronto. They mostly sell board games and Pokemon cards and other stuff I know nothing about, but they had a sports card counter at the back. Once a month they do a trade night where they do raffles and that sort of thing.

I had never been before and wasn't sure what to expect. I figured it would be at least a chance to just chat with some people locally about cards, if not anything else.

Upper Deck Series 2 hockey came out this week. I've opened a lot of packs and blaster boxes in the past few weeks since starting this blog, but honestly I'm kinda tired of new product already. I started collecting cards in 1990 back when I was a kid, and it's literally the same old hype cycle with every single new product. And there are a lot of new products these days, so the hype is endless.

The other problem with all this hype is there is no institutional memory of previous hype cycles. For those of us who have been collecting this nonsense for awhile, we all remember times when big rookie cards would debut and a few years later those cards would be worthless when the rookie doesn't pan out. But every new star rookie card in every new sport is hyped like the second coming of Babe Ruth.

Opening packs is fun. It has the same kind of vibe as opening Christmas presents or playing scratch-and-win tickets. But's expensive. At this trade night, to enter their raffle you had to buy a pack of Series 2. They were $18 a pack. Holy! Well, I bought one, because I think if you are going to one of these card store events, you should spend some money because the store is putting on this event to drum up business. It doesn't seem fair to the shop owner to show up and not purchase anything.

Anyway, I ended up pulling this card, which has made its rounds on social media.

It's goofy as hell, but I'm goofy as hell, so it all works out. Of course, I think the photographer was clearly inspired by the poster for this movie:

 These are the kind of unique cards I like to add to my collection. I enjoy having conversation pieces. That's one of the big aspects of collecting that attracts me. I like to have the type of collection where I can show my cards to someone who doesn't collect, and even they enjoy the cards because there is something unique about all of them. It could be the design, the photography, the player, or the card being iconic. 

I think aesthetics matter a lot when it comes to collecting. I have a hard time justifying owning ugly cards even if they are valuable. I don't necessarily want a valuable collection if the cards are unattractive. Aesthetics are important to me, to the point where I want every piece of my collection to fit into an aesthetic theme.

To me, aesthetic value matters more than monetary value. If I have a card that is valuable but ugly, really my hope for that card is for it to increase in price, so I can sell it for more than I paid. After I can buy something I really want.

For vintage, of course condition matters. But there are some card sets I just find gorgeous, even if they don't have anything valuable. I like 89-90 Fleer basketball, for example. It's more or less junk wax, but the design has such vibrant coloured borders. Contrast that with 87-88 Fleer basketball, which is worth significantly more, but is butt ugly. 

I'm big on coloured borders, unique photography, high quality card stock. I also like full bleed photos, but only if the photography is incredible. For modern cards, I prefer parallel cards that have a colour scheme that match's the team colours. So, like blue parallels for the Blue Jays. The value doesn't matter so much. I like the idea of having all the cards next to one another to create an aesthetic theme.

How much do aesthetics matter to you? 

The dilemma of what to do with inserts that are "hits"

 I picked up a hanger box of 2026 Topps Series 1 from EB Games because I'm just so happy to have somewhere to buy new baseball cards that's within walking distance of my apartment. I had opened two fat packs the other day and pulled a huge card, so like with the blaster of Upper Deck Allure yesterday I thought I would test my luck again.

I didn't pull anything I really wanted this time, though. Here's what I got:

The box was all base cards and low level inserts and parallels. I think the parallels look nice. I'm not as negative as other collectors on parallels, as long as the parallel design is different enough from the base card that it feels like a different card. Like, those parallels from Stadium Club where the font is a different colour are pretty stupid. I am more negative on parallels of insert cards, though, as it feels like a hat on a hat.

I'm not sure if I am going to build the base set or not. I've not tried to build a current baseball base set in close to twenty years. I'm not super keen on dropping a bunch of money to do this one, but it gives me an excuse to keep buying new product because then I am actually doing something with the base cards. 

I also didn't watch much baseball last year until the playoffs, so my feeling is that this will help familiarize myself with the players outside of the Blue Jays. I mean, I learned players and stats and stuff as a kid from the backs of baseball and hockey cards. I used to sit on the living room floor and play games with my cards, and that's how I learned about this stuff. I'm getting a bit of childhood nostalgia opening packs of baseball cards again.

I don't really know what to do with these inserts, though. I don't really want any of them. Shipping costs in Canada makes it impossible to sell, because I have to charge something like ten times the value of the card in shipping. Trading is hard because I would need to trade them to other Canadians to make it worthwhile, and most other Canadian baseball fans are Jays fans like me and wouldn't want any of these cards.

I'll probably end up sending them off to COMC once I have enough of them. I've done that in the past, but the problem there is that it's expensive to list them and often they just sit in the account for ages.

To be honest, if I am building the base set, I would rather just get more base cards than some crappy inserts that no one wants. Or instead of a pile of crappy inserts, maybe just one good insert that sells for more than a buck, so it's worth it to sell or use as trade bait. These aren't really the "hits" that Topps makes them out to be, as they are more of a pain in the ass to deal with than anything else.

People always say give them out to kids, but there are a ton of problems with that. First, I know zero kids and zero people with kids. Second, most charities here don't want products. They don't even accept toys or gift cards. Just cash. Third, kids in Canada give less than a shit about baseball. And honestly? If you're going to donate to a cause, donate something worthwhile and don't pawn off your junk onto others who are less fortunate. I know I'm in the minority on this one, but it's how I feel.

 If anyone has some Jays cards they want to be rid of, I would be happy to trade all of these in your favour. Even junk wax would be appreciated.

I'm still dumb so I bought a blaster of 25-26 Upper Deck Allure

 

Since I've had a run of good luck lately, I decided to buy a blaster box of 2025-26 Upper Deck Allure Hockey. I've never owned anything from this series before. It was quite alluring. I was hoping my luck would keep going, but it ran out with this box. Hockey blaster boxes usually really suck, so it's not surprising.

 

The cards are really nice. They are really high quality card stock. It's such a weird thing that these card companies put so much effort into designing these really nice base cards that feel great physically, and they are absolutely worthless crap that no one wants and will be forgotten about in a few months time. Like, the cards are so high quality that it is tempting to collect a base set of these cards, but this is a parallel type product, so that would be a difficult and expensive feat with little reward. It's just so strange.

One thing I really like that Upper Deck does with their parallels is that they actually tell you what the parallel is on the back of the card. This is a Glitter Bomb, which are blaster exclusive. I got two of these in this box. It makes things so much easier, because Topps doesn't do this and these companies really such an ungodly amount of parallels that after I open packs I spend more time trying to figure out what the hell I pulled than actually enjoying the cards. Upper Deck assumes I am too dumb to figure it out, and they are correct. I appreciate it.

 

These are two Color Flow cards I pulled. The cards are really nice. The only knock I have is that Upper Deck hockey cards are plainly for the Canadian market, so they can at least spell the word 'colour' correctly.

 These are the other 'hits', including the other Glitter Bomb I pulled and two Black parallels. None of these players are of any interest to me, and in fact I haven't heard of most of them. It was a waste of money, and I knew my luck would run out at some point.

Upper Deck has had the NHL license since 1990. In fact, since 2005 besides Upper Deck only Panini briefly had an NHL license before the NHL went exclusively with Upper Deck again. I know a lot of people hate what Fanatics is doing with Topps (for good reason!), but I have never been a fan of Upper Deck. I liked it when Panini was making hockey cards, too, because competition is good for the consumer.

I wish both Upper Deck and Topps had NHL licenses. I don't like all of this exclusivity in the major sports, and wish the leagues would allow at least two licenses. Both Panini and Topps could have easily shared the NBA license, for example, because there is so much demand for product. 

I know Upper Deck does O-Pee-Chee retro parallels, but they kinda suck and I badly wish there were Topps Heritage hockey products. I hope Topps at least does NBA Heritage, although NBA products are nearly impossible to find in Canada, so I guess it doesn't really matter. 

I also collect comics because I'm a huge dork

 I'm a great big dork. It's fun being a great big dork. Why would someone want to be anything else?

As a great big dork, I also collect comics. I mostly just collect random old stuff that has cover art I like. I almost never read any comics. If I do read, it's usually non-superhero stuff. I find a lot of modern superhero comics to be unimaginative. I also rarely watch Marvel movies.

But I love old comics! I don't buy for condition or money or whatever. I mean, who cares? I could go on a long rant about "investing" in comics or cards, but all I will say is that you shouldn't take financial advice from people who cannot discern between investment and rank speculation. Just because it's plausible to make money selling something, does not make it an investment.

I buy most of my comics at BMV Books in Toronto, which is a four-story used bookstore on Bloor Street in the Annex. They have tons of new stuff all the time for great deals, and they are open late nights on Saturdays. Because, being the great big dork that I am, I enjoy spending my Saturday night's shopping for comics.

Here is some stuff I grabbed recently.

 World's Finest #164. I bought this because I loved the silly cover, and it has all three of Batman, Superman, and Robin. I don't collect this title or anything, but it's just fun picking up classic DC stuff.

 GI Joe and the Transformers #3. This is the only issue I have of this miniseries. Like all little boys from the 80s, I was a huge fan of both these toylines. I wish the toys themselves weren't so expensive these days, though. My mom still likes to tell the story of when we went to a mall in Cleveland. I found an Optimus Prime in a hobby store, and took it and ran out of the store to show my parents so they could buy it. The cashier chased me. I was three.

 Ghost Rider #15. This is a cool 90s cover. Nineties comics mostly suck, but Ghost Rider's design really lends itself to cool cover art. I think this is an iconic cover for its era.

 Detective Comics #402. Really poor condition comic, but I don't care. The cover is gorgeous. I love Batman comics from this era. To me, Batman really ended as a character with the Frank Miller stuff in the 80s, which was peak Batman. Everything after that has been derivative of what artists and writers have done with the character in the past.

 Justice League of America #146. I bought this because I thought it was funny seeing Wonder Woman punch Superman. Although I doubt Superman found it funny!

 Adventure Comics #401. I love the retro vibe of this cover, from the title font to Supergirl's hairstyle. I'm not a fan of the character or anything, and this comic is in lousy condition. But for a cheap price it's just a neat addition to the collection.

 Avengers #239. I dislike the Avengers and I'm so sick of their endless crappy movies. I stopped watching a decade ago. However, this comic is just goofy and I used to watch Letterman all the time back in the 90s.

Two fat packs of 2026 Topps brought me good luck, which always confuses me

 I'm so used to having no luck at all with anything, so whenever something lucky happens I usually feel a bit stunned. If I get a lucky hit on a pack of cards, my immediate thinking is that perhaps this was intended for someone else. If I open a pack of baseball cards and my hair catches on fire, then that seems like it was more likely intended for me.

I had two crowns put in at the dentist the other day. Ouchie. I decided to reward myself for being a good boy and not fussing too much in the dental chair. I wandered down to the Eaton Centre. I live in the heart of downtown Toronto, which I guess is like living in Manhattan. I guess it's like being in Seinfeld or Friends, but more homeless drug addicts and terrible weather. 

The Eaton Centre is a huge mall, mostly for tourists, but also for bored locals. I rarely buy anything there because there are no good deals, so I mostly get something to drink and browse to kill some time and get some steps in. I decided to hunt around for baseball cards. I've had a helluva time finding 2026 Topps locally. One sports card store told me Fanatics ships very little to Canada. We are, however, in an era where even the silliest of retailers are selling sports cards again, and I run into them in the oddest of places now.

I check out a few stores at the Eaton Centre, but no luck. Lots of Pokemon and hockey cards. I leave the Eaton Centre dejectedly, wondering perhaps if good boys don't always get rewards. Across Yonge Street there is a Gamestop, which in Canada has alternated between being called that and EB Games. They used to have one in the mall, too, but it's a comic book store now that sells almost no zero comics and tons of Funko Pops. Junk.

I decide to cross the street and peruse EB Games. Or Gamestop, whatever. They barely sell video games anymore, and they have lots of oddball toys and collectibles, so maybe I'll get lucky with baseball cards.

Boy did I ever. I noticed at the back of the store there was a new glass showcase. It is absolutely full of sports cards, and the wall behind it is hanging full of packs. Like ripe fruit waiting to be plucked. It's so well stocked with current releases. I found a new spot minutes from my apartment where I can buy cards that aren't hockey. See, make sure you are nice at the dentist and you will be rewarded.

I stand at the sports card counter for a few minutes perusing their offerings. It's unmanned. The customer service desk has two employees checking other customers out. They glance over and see me standing there. They look disinterested. I don't blame them, since their employer seems to have them manning two customer service desks at once.

One of them rushes over to me and I select what I want. Two fat packs of 2026 Topps Series 1. I ask him how long this sports card desk has been here, and he says not long. He's not interested in chit chat. I check out with the other employee and they ask if I have their loyalty card. I ask what's in it for sports card buyers. She has no idea. "I dunno, it just helps track your purchases or something," she informs me. I decline. I'm not upset because working retail post-Covid in downtown Toronto is a nightmare.

I come home and open the packs. My luck continues!

 

I'm initially so confused as to what this card is. It's a parallel of some sort of Samuel Basallo, a rookie from the Orioles with whom I am unfamiliar. There are so many parallels that I have no idea what the heck this is, and I search in vain trying to figure out what the heck this is. I finally check Ebay, and it turns out this is a super short printed base card variation that is going for like $150. Geez. I get kinda scared now because now I feel as if I am going to have bad luck to revert my luck to the mean. This is the second valuable card I have pulled from packs in the past week. I also won money on a scratch ticket and have won four(!) free coffees at Tim Hortons. I swear, I'd better not get hit by a car.

 It's a Trea Turner Major League Materials relic card. Now, of course this is only worth a couple of bucks, but I'm just amazed that I pulled this card along with the Basallo parallel in the two packs I bought. For fat packs, relic odds are like 1:45. The odds of me pulling both of these cards in two straight packs must have been crazy high. I'm not a fan of relic cards at all (for the most part), so it doesn't do much for me personally. I'm just more amazed at my luck.

 

Each pack also had an Ohtani insert. I mean, if I had pulled these two cards and not the others, I still would have considered each of these packs a winner. I'm not an Ohtani fan at all, but I can't really complain about getting cards of such a highly sought after player. It just means I should be able to move these cards for something I really like.

These are the rest of the "hits". I really hate how team name looks on the 91 Topps insert. Why on earth did they do that? None of these are cards or players I care about and am looking to trade them all away, but I really had fun opening these packs.

Let's just hope my luck doesn't suddenly revert to the mean.