Monday, July 13, 2015

Free begets free

A lot of this world likes to claim free stuff. You see it all over television, hear it on the radio, read it in print and deal with in numerous places on the internet. Buy one get one free. Get two free. You would think with all this free someone has to be losing money.

And then reality hits. And the old adage is true: no such thing as a free lunch. All those infomercials that is you call now, you'll get another one free. Holy cow, you think, as you barely hear the "pay separate shipping and handling". And then, somehow, S&H on the first one is $4, but the second one is $25 in costs. And you realize it was never free. Or that software is a free trial, but a month later you are charged a full year for a program you hardly used, and doesn't really work right. Free t-shirts, for the first 500 people. Free gift, for the first 100 callers. Buy three tires - get the fourth for free. Who has ever bought just 3 tires?

I paid full price for that one!
Luckily, I like doing real free. When possible, I give away what I can. I never want or ask for anything in return. The amazing thing is that most people seem to always send something back! It shows the generosity of everyone that they want to return something. And I am not the only one. From Wes to Matt to Hoyle to Kevin to Brian to Nick to Chris to Greg to a hundred other bloggers I did not list - "Free" is a word we all throw around without ever saying it. Here's three mailings I received based on free cards I sent out with no expectations except the recipient enjoys them.


First up is Greg, who I don't think has a blog (if you do, please let me know). Greg said heck yeah to some free hockey cards, which I still have more to send and teams not even claimed. Greg took time to research my want lists, because each and every card was a keeper. Like two for the 2002 team set and a Webb for the '14.


And then he dropped in some 2010 Turkey Red, and that Torii which puts me one short for the base Heritage. But here was the star.


Six cards to beat down the 2009 OPC team checklist. How did the Rockies get floating heads? There are no images of Coors Field? Or was the Coors company being jerks? No biggie. Greg has me down to under half of the teams needed to complete. Thanks for the return, Greg.

Next up is Tom. Now, I just have it marked as "Tom T" and forgot to note the blog, but I believe these are from Tom at The Angels In Order. Correct me if I am wrong, Tom whom sent these cards.


I know I have dropped cards on Tom via Tis the Season card dumps and Club PWE (which, I REALLY need to get back to mailings - sorry folks). Tom also must have peaked at some want list cards with the Pearson and the Schoenweis. The Thomas - that was just a mini bonus. Errr....more on that in a bit.


Green border for the Throwbacks binder? Okay. Konerko Documentary for the Paulie binder? Okay. And I believe I am starting to hoard all the Chris Young Bowman relic cards. That one makes three if I recall. Let me sew then together and rebuild the uniform. Here's the jumbo surprise Tom dropped.


Now you get the mini reference above. This is one of the 5x7 cards that came from Toys R Us (obviously). I vaguely recall how one obtained it, though, so anybody that wants to comment, I am all ears. Sox Box for this beaut - into a large catch all 8.5x11 clear holder I have taped to the inside of the box lid. Tom - thank you again.

Lastly is a single image from a package of 8 cards I received from Jeff over at Fan-Attic Sports Cards Blog. A quiet blogger, but super kind in his mailings.


Jeff completed my 1994 UD Home Field Advantage subset. Why did the style of the card change from series 1 to series 2. I prefer the series 1 with the field dimensions being the prime subject. When Topps infects a card world, it infects it hard. And that Hubbard was a former Baker's Dozen common in the sidebar. In fact, that Glenn was an original member and one of the first cards to give me the idea of the list. Salutes ya, Mr. Hubbard. Enjoy your space in the binder. And than you Jeff.

I don't like to sound too weird, but I like to think of the cards as having some kind of soul. The cards I add to my collection are hopefully happy. But I bet the cards in my trade boxes are sad. I can't say for sure the number of cards I sent out to receive the ones I've shown here (and not scanned either), but I like to think the cards I sent are much happier now, being with someone that can appreciate them much more than I ever will. And the ones I received in return are glad to be in Casa 2x3.

That ended up sounding creepy, didn't it? Ah, DARN!

5 comments:

  1. Free is good. It's always cool to send free back at you

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  2. Hmm, never seen that '85 Fleer Hubbard double dip. There seem to be a decent amount of nice shots from that set that I have yet to discover.

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  3. The floating head team cards are kind of creepy. Plus that Glen Hubbard double dip card looks like the least athletic double play in history.

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  4. I've got a blog, but I only add posts a handful of times per year, and I don't think anybody actually reads them. http://thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/ Glad you liked the return fire.

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  5. I have a few freebies for ya, once I find them. :)

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