Monday, March 9, 2026

Coffee Break:2026 Topps Baseball Series 1 Easter Egg Tin

*coffee is ready, pictures are in the post, time to party*

*takes a sip*

I am a little late to the party on this post, but here it is anyways for you enjoyment and eyes.

When February hits, it means the Super Bowl, NASCAR, creeping closer towards spring and some girls that set up at Walmart and sell me cookies.

Because they know every year I am buying.

And with every year, I have to get a box of my favorites, Samoas. I wished I had gotten more than one box.

 
Then I had to grab my second favorite cookie, Do-Si-Dos. I am not one for the chocolate covered peanut butter ones, I am all in on these though.

And finally and disappointingly, they didn't make S'mores this year as they replaced it with a new one,
Exploremores, which is terrible by the way. Bring back S'mores!!

I should set up at their location and protest for them to bring it back!

But, I will wait on that. 

At least they have my Somoas still. If those ever leave, well, you will see me walking those picket lines and I will be the one with the microphone on the news.

*takes a bite of Somoa to go with the freshly brewed cup of coffee*

I suppose February also brings along something else. Something that every baseball collector counts down to. What's this? A new season of baseball cards being kicked off by 2026 Topps Series 1.
And even though baseball cards are not on my radar like they used to be, it's still fun to open a new product of a new year and I always find a way to open some version of Series 1 yearly.

So I went egg this time. Usually the only egg I go for are those Cadbury ones that are stuffed with that delicious gooey insides.

Each one of these Easter Eggs comes with 54 base cards, 2 holiday variations, 1 polka dot parallel, 1 1991 Topps insert, and 1 Stars of MLB or Titans of the Game insert. They run about $15 each.

I didn't feel like posting all 59 cards since it was a pretty lame/boring break, but here are the key cards I found in it,







 
The parallels look cool. That's about it. I feel Topps has beaten the Stars Of The MLB insert into the ground and I am tired of seeing it. Just like they did with the 87 and 88 throwbacks.

Overall, it was boring, didn't even hit the one rookie I wanted, Anthony (this is from a Red Sox hater too), and didn't feel like I got my $15 back. But, that's the chance you take and ripping stuff is still fun. I think if I was going to rip Series 1 again, I go blaster. It's much more fun to rip more than one pack. Odds are though, I won't open anymore and will just try to get the Anthony rookie and any Griffey inserts especially the Profiles one of Judge and Griffey.

Ratings (ratings based on 1-5 🍵)

Design 🍵🍵
Photography 🍵
Inserts: 🍵
Hits N/A
Price 🍵
Value 🍵

There are my ratings. Just take them as it is because that's what they are.

Let me know in comments your thoughts on my break, my evaluation of Series 1, the Stars Of The MLB inserts and what your favorite Girl Scout Cookie is.

Hope everyone is having a magnificent Monday. I know I am. I have coffee, cookies and fifty degrees. Couldn't ask for more today.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Saturday, March 7, 2026

The Continuing Saga

*coffee is ready now, time to pour a cup and get ready for a new post*

*takes a sip*

The season of downsizing has continued.

If you are just reading about this, last year I made a big decision that I was finally going to start downsizing my collection.

First, it was unloading 75,000 base cards to my father. Then it went on to moving hundreds of relic and autograph cards and sending them to fellow blogger for trade around Christmas time.

And now, on Monday, my father came over for another visit and once again I took some time away from school to make a trade with him and continue the downsizing.

For about four hours, I dug through boxes again. Getting rid of base that didn't have any meaning and pulling out ones with great photography and from my favorite era of collecting, 1995-1999.

 

 

 
 

 
In the end, another whopping 14,403 cards left my collection. Yes, I counted them by hand so I can keep my numbers updated on here accurately. 

In exchange,

I added 41 cards. Yes, just 41 cards and nothing that is outstanding, just stuff I wanted.

Here are a few key ones,




(one of the top rookies in the NBA this year)










 
Like I said, nothing outstanding, just stuff I wanted.

The important part with a trade like this is the amount of cards I was able to unload. I am sure there is more to come from this downsizing when spring comes around and I get the opportunity to get on spring break.

I have a ton of 80's sets that don't interest me and possibly some others as well. 

My next move is to update my numbers on here which will probably also mean another new small milestone post coming up.

My goal this year was to trade/send more cards out I don't want for my PC, then adding more that I actually do. I am on great pace for this.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday.

In comments, let me know how you are approaching your collecting. Downsizing? Adding? Trading? Selling?

*takes final sip of the post*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Friday, March 6, 2026

Coffee Break:2025 Topps Archives Baseball Blaster Box

*it's too late for coffee, but, not too late for a post*

As I sit here finishing up my homework for the week, I decided that maybe I had time for a blog post as well.

Especially since family is visiting and playing Boggle with my wife. I refuse to play word games. No Scrabble, no Boggle. I don't have the brain compacity for that.

So, I will blog which is just enough for my brain compacity.

ESPECIALLY WITHOUT COFFEE.

The easiest thing I have to blog about tonight is a blaster box of 2025 Topps Archives Baseball I got for free from a contest win on Twitter from @NavyYardNats.

Let's rip it!

Each blaster box of 2025 Topps Archives baseball comes with 7 packs of 8 cards. Each blaster is roughly $20-$25 depending on where you buy.

There are no guarantees other than 4 exclusive parallels.

*yawns, hears family laughing over a long word that I don't get*

*tries to join in on the fun, but dropped a lame dad joke*

*back to blogging*

Archives is a fun product seeing new and old players in designs you may not have seen them in before.

This year's has 1964, 1996, and 2005.

Here they are,

 

 

 

Now onto the four black parallels,
 

 
(PC card alert)

and finally,
 

Now onto the inserts,
 
Juan Soto All-Star insert


Brookes Lee Boardwalk

Jazz Chisholm Jr Boardwalk

And that was it. Nothing too exciting and to be honest, it was a boring break. Not something I will go back and break again.

Ratings (ratings based on 1-5 🍵)

Design 🍵🍵🍵
Photography 🍵
Inserts: 🍵
Hits N/A
Price 🍵
Value 🍵

Thanks again to @NavyYardNats for the contest box break!

Hope everyone has a good night sleep, that's where I am heading counting down to coffee in the morning.

Let me know your thoughts on this break and product in comments.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

$28.80 Is Why I Don't Mail Often

*coffee is ready, already poured a cup. steamy, hot and fresh. the best cup*

*takes a sip*

Well, I made a few trades on Twitter/X last week that required me to mail some bubble mailers, something I haven't done since Christmas.

I can see why after I had to pay for it.

To mail out three bubble mailers, it came to almost $30.

THIRTY BUCKS.

PROOF:

 
(ignore $10 of this, my wife had to mail out a package as well which don't get me going on how long that took to get to it's location and the travel path it went.....)

I basically spent money on a blaster box to send these out. I don't even spend the money on a blaster box.

And do you know how many cups of coffee that could be as well?

Yeah. I think outside the box.

I find spending that much money to ship absolutely ridiculous thinking about the lack of contents in each package.

Let's break it down shall we?

 
Flat package, small bubbler, one card, staying on the east coast with me to NJ. $7.50!!!!! SEVEN DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS. Remember when you could mail on your own coast or zone and it was just a couple dollars? Pepperidge farm does (some of you will get this reference)

Kansas was the second location. A little further and the fullest package of the three so I expected more. This one was $10.38. Which didn't make sense since I paid $7.50 for one card in my supposed zone. I thought the further away the more it costs?

Then the final package was to Illinois, a lot less cards and is closer than Kansas, but cost more. This one finished with $10.92.

Make it all make sense.

This is why you rarely see me send anything bubbler or do any form of trading that way. I really, really have to want something to fork out all of the extra funds I don't always have to mail this way.

I can't imagine what it must cost to send something out of the USA. Another thing I won't do.

 
I would rather send three of these for under $3 any day. Which is why I ask for stamps for Christmas every year.

Let's also quickly discuss the way mail has been recently as well. I have had two packages that were incoming with cards partially opened, the bubblers you pay more for are taking longer to be received than the PWE's, I have had some incoming packages lost from eBay, and I feel like sometimes they must drive their cars over the packages before delivering them because they are covered with dirt and more.

Let me know in comments if you feel the same way or what your thoughts are on the rising costs of using USPS or how you feel they are doing or what your preferred version of mailing is.

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday, well except the USPS. They owe me many cups of coffee.

*final sip of the post*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Monday, March 2, 2026

Card #100 Of 2026 Has Arrived

*coffee is in hand, blogger is finding time to blog, let's go*

*takes a sip*

*takes another, it's -13 so far today, needs all hot coffee can intake*

Well, I have reached the second minor milestone of 2026 and I reached it at the end of February, two weeks after I reached the first minor one. 

It's card #100 of the year. Doesn't seem like many when you really break it down.

With this newest update, this means I am now averaging 1.69 cards a day over a 59 day span which is more than what I was averaging two weeks ago when it was 1.14 cards a day.

Hopefully, my numbers will continue to increase as the year goes on.

Without further ado, Card #100 of the year and it's a shiny one at that.

This card, a 2025 Mosaic Bang Mosaic Parallel of Brian Burns, comes via my friend @TCovCards11, he sent me a few goodies and after I got down adding them to my yearly total, this was card #100.

Thanks again to TCov for the cards and for helping reach this goal.

Hope everyone has a magnificent Monday. Stay warm.

*takes another sip*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*