A Tale of Three Boxes

Went to the spring edition of the card show at the Shriners Hall in Wilmington. While the winter version of the show is run by the Shriners themselves and benefits charity, this show was run by Hollywood Collectibles and benefits Hollywood Collectibles. When I saw that it was $7 just to enter the show, I almost turned around and left. When I saw a hall that was a third empty with tables much more spread out than normal, I felt like asking for a refund. I’m just glad that I wasn’t looking to pick up any of the autographs from the show. Why pay $180 for Bill Russell’s autograph when I got it for around $27 at his book signing? Why pay $30 for an autograph of a player that you can get on eBay for $5?

Those of you who live within driving distance to the Boston area and collect vintage cards, you have to check out the winter edition of this show. Even if I don’t buy anything, I just enjoy paying my admission (which goes to charity) and then walking up and down the aisles checking out the amazing cards that are for sale. So, I knew that I would at least see some nice cardboard eye candy even if the show didn’t live up to the usual expectations.

I dug through quarter and fifty cent boxes and ended up with 32 Piazza and Ortiz cards for my collection along with some other insert cards for $10. I really wanted to bust some wax, but there wasn’t a lot to choose from since there was only one wax dealer in the whole show (out of around 100 tables). I checked out his tables and ended up walking away with 2010-11 Donruss Basketball (Upper Deck made me want to give Panini another chance), 2010 Topps Pro Debut 2 and what I thought was 2011 Opening Day, but ended up being 2010 Opening Day (which explains the $20 price tag).

You may have seen spoilers if you follow my Twitter, but if not you’re in for some surprises. Which box do you think ended up being the best? Which box underdelivered and underwhelmed? I’ll post the box breaks throughout the day today and at the end you can see if the final results matched what you thought it would be. Which box would you be most excited to open?