Extra Innings - When 9 Isn't Enough!

Ebay Will Soon Be A Tax Concern!

threeofakindcards — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:49:59 +0000

This weekend I started to read blogs about what my tax accountant would soon be an inevidible -> The IRS is coming after income made on ebay (see proposed form below).

Starting with 2011, Paypal and other third party merchants will be required to report to the IRS details on any seller that pulls in more than $20,000 in sales/year and has more than 200 transactions in the same year. If you don’t meet one of theses pre-requisutes then nothing is required. In baseball card terms, this means if you sold your Mantle rookie card for $30k and that was the only sale on ebay you had all year…lucky you, no reporting to the IRS! The big guys who rip and flip all year will obviously have to report their paypal transactions thanks to this rule.
Articles here:
Article on Auction Bytes
Taxgirl

This will most definitely seem daunting to may hobby enthusiasts as they are now possibly faced with the fact of “Do I really have to report to the IRS my baseball card sales”?
The rules around a hobby and income are in the tax code and they most likely will require a tax accountant to decipher and translate the specifics. However each hobby enthusiast must look at their own habits and ask themselves if they will fall into the category of reportable transactions to the IRS. If so, now might be a good time to actually start keeping track of your spending amounts as well as sales on ebay. While it might be annoying and time consuming it will definitely save you alot of time if the IRS does come looking for your numbers in 2011. There is no worse person to bump heads with than with uncle Sam the tax man!
Some folks are thinking about only taking checks and money orders from now on and not dealing with paypal any longer because of this. Another dilemma is giving paypal your tax ID# which will now be a requirement as per this rule. Not doing so will make your sales subject to a withholding tax…as if their fees weren’t enough!
What are your thoughts on this topic? What do you plan to do if you feel you will be forced to report your income to the IRS? Give me your thoughts in the comment section and enjoy your last year outside of the IRS radar!
Play Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related Tagged: 2011, baseball cards, Credit Card Merchants, Hobby, IRS, Taxes

2010 Topps Opening Day!

threeofakindcards — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:47:07 +0000

2010 Topps Opening day is always one of those sets where people stop, scratch their heads and say “WHY?”. Not too many folks out there purchase this stuff, but I always do. Low and behold this year it featured the already infamous Cliff Lee error card that has the “HK” patch still on his Mariners jersey. Of course, the picture is not a realy picture as Topps seemed to “photoshop” the jersey onto Cliff but forgot to remove the “HK” patch. The HK patch was a memoriam patch that was on the Phillies jersey last year.

We have several copies for sale as well as the full sets which do include this card! We also just listed some of the mascot sets which I always find are neat…especially for the kids!

We also have tons of the blue parrallels…check out our store in case you are looking for your favorite player!

Enjoy and Play Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related Tagged: 2010 Topps Opening Day

New Format!

threeofakindcards — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:29:23 +0000

So I have been very bad with my updates…I know! I definitely don’t have the schedule capabilities to come on here everyday so my posts will start to be very brief. More like updates on what’s new in our store and any of our listings.
From time to time we will definitely bring you product updates but as you know without Upper Deck doing baseball, there just won’t be that many products released!
Our contest will still continue however not as consistently as they used to be. The good thing about this all is that there are so many good sites and blogs out there with product updates so if you have a site please let me know about it and I would be glad to list it on my blog roll so that all of our readers can stay up to date.
Thanks for reading!
Play Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related Tagged: New format, product updates, Store updates

2010 Heritage Case Breaks!

threeofakindcards — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:46:01 +0000

Well I finally found my way out of the basement of my house! Pretty much spent most of my day thursday, friday and sunday down there getting through multiple cases of 2010 Topps Heritage and 2010 Opening Day! Its always a blast and I am lucky to have some help in the form of my wife and my oldest daughter. I have pondered hiring help to sort cards out and I may just do that for the 2010 Bowman releases and Topps Series 2 releases (more to come on that in another post). Apologies for not updating our blog as well – the juggling of ripping cases, orders, a FT job and family sometimes puts this blog on the backburner!

But let’s get to the good stuff. Heritage was yet again a very nice product! Cases were hit and miss but overall are a thrill to open..I was lucky enough to break four! The one thing that I did not like about the Heritage release and it was probably the only thing I didn’t like was the Stamp inserts. These are short printed but I don’t see them holding any value. The look doesn’t appeal to me and it looks like Topps inserted them as pulls.
The Real One autos were back and again these were hit and miss. I was lucky enough to pull an Al Rosen Real One Blue Auto which is one of the better names as well as a Bob Gibson Flashback auto.

Then there is the ever growing trend in my personal breaks regarding Cardinals karma. It is truly amazing how many big Cardinal pulls I have had in the last couple of months (seperate blog post to follow on that). 2010 Heritage yielded a Matt Holliday / Red Schoendienst dual GU bat and auto #d to 10 and a Red Schoendienst GU auto and jersey #d to 25!

In addition to the above I pulled a Mickey Mantle seat relic although I have never figured how these seat relics are relevant?? But hey people like them!

It was nice of Topps to include another insert set – Babe Ruth’s chase in 61. I personally enjoy insert sets of Mantle, Ruth or any legendary players. All in all this makes the typical master set 560 cards strong!
The orioginal vintage buybacks have returned and in the 3 years I have ripped this product I have yet tp pull out a big name vintage card….do they exist???
The SPS this year had a lighter color back than the regular cards. A definite plus when sorting cards…thanks to Topps for this! This year’s SPs were 426-500. There are variations out there like #60 Babe Ruth and #61 Roger Maris. I’ve heard that there is a variation Albert Pujols out there with a light colored SP back…any one heard of any others?
The chrome inserts are back…as always I am a big fan of the black chrome cards. The design jumps out at you! News flashbacks, baseball flashbacks and then & now round out the insert sets. Clubhouse collection game used cards are back…not much excitement on these. There are cards however out there part of this set that I believe have triple game used pants of Ruth Mantle and Gehrig! Finally topps included variations of a handful of base cardas that had a dice game on the back. I guess this was popular back in 1961. Anyone know how the game is played?

All in all…another fun break! We will be giving away some Heritage stuff this week when we are back with WOW Wednesday! Below are scans of most of my hits…you will see some of the cards above repeated again..enjoy!
Play Ball America!
Cesar
SOME CHROME REFRACTORS

CLUBHOUSE COLLECTION RELICS

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x310/legacyny99/ExtraInnings/0225100004.jpg

Filed under: Baseball Card Related, Case Breaks Tagged: 2010 Topps heritage, bob gibson, Case Break, Clubhouse Collections, Heritage SPS, Matt Holliday, Red Autos

CASE BREAKS! – 2010 Topps Heritage & Opening Day!

threeofakindcards — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:58:56 +0000

Hey everyone, I know its been a while since I have posted an entry! I’ve been making an all out effort in not having to give up the hobby that I love for the sake of family life, which means I have been juggling the two and the price that was paid was blogging a little less! With that being said, I’ve cleared my calendar for the next few days as I will be several cases of Topps Heritage and Opening Day. Check back over the course of today and the next couple of days to view the hits!
Play Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 2010 Topps heritage, 2010 Topps Opening Day, Case Break, MLB Opening Day, Set Builders

CLOSED – WOW Wednesday Contest Time – Snow Day Edition!

threeofakindcards — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:18:13 +0000

CONGRATS to JAred D who correctly guessed Alfonso Soriano! Thanks to everyone who participated on this snowy day!

Its Wednesday, and as some of you might have come to expect that means its a WOW Wednesday (Win On Wednesdays) here at Extra Innings! I decided to start today’s contest a little later in the day to give the west coast readers a shot. I’ve been told that they are just waking up by the time some folks guess the answers!!

Today’s prize will be:
2009 Topps Triple Threads Bob Gibson Triple Game Used Jersey #d to #6!

How to win? I will start by giving clues periodically. First person to figure out the active player I am describing wins the card. Later today and tomorrow if need be, I will add additional clues if no one has guessed the player. To guess, just post your guess in the comments section. If no one has correctly guessed the player by Friday (doubt that will happen!) then I will randomly select someone who has placed their guesses in the comments section as the winner.

IMPORTANT RULES FOR PARTICIPATION AND CONSIDERATION:
Please limit 3 total guesses to each person. If you post a guess you must make sure to leave your name and you email address so that I can contact you if you guess the correct player! If you happen to guess the answer but don’t leave your name or email I cannot declare you the winner and if someone guesses the right answer after you then I will declare them the winner.

Also in the interest of fairness the following readers are ineligible for this week’s contest as they have won a contest in the last 30 days..sorry guys!

1/13/2010-Brian J.
1/20/2010-Aaron S.
1/27/2010- Chris –(ordner5@comcast.net)
2/3/2010 – Alan R

Good luck and Play Ball America!
Cesar

Clues To Our Mystery Player:
-I’ve been fortunate to have a great career! With trips to the all star game and world series, who can ask for more!
-Its been a while but I started my career in the far east! Konichiwa!
-I also have seen both sides of the coin, have been on a first place team and a last place team!
-My current manager and I are both alumni of a particular MLB team!

Filed under: Baseball Card Related, Contest Tagged: 2009 Triple threads, bob gibson, Contest, Giveaway, Wow Wednesday

2010 Topps Series 1 – Jumbo Cases Reviewed

threeofakindcards — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:50:19 +0000

The 2010 topps jumbos finally released on friday and I must say, they are packed with more goodies than the hobby cases. One would automatically rush to pick up jumbos in the future and write off hobby cases in general, but let’s not do that just yet! After cracking two hobby and two jumbo cases, I have noticed that there aren’t as many insert cards in the jumbo cases as there are in the hobby cases. I was able to put together 3 complete turkey red sets and 90 percent of a fourth set just out of the two hobby cases. I couldn’t get one complete set from 2 jumbos. Similar things can be said for the ‘Peak Performance’ and the ‘Cards Your Mom Threw Out’ sets. In general if you want those insert sets completed, its best to pick up some hobby boxes.
Clearly as far as hits goes, autos and Hat Logos are far easier to get in jumbo cases. With that being said you can probably expect the prices of hat logos to start going down a bit this week once all of the jumbo cases are busted opened.
Below I’ve shared the hits in the two jumbo cases. All of them are up on ebay now.
To wrap up the Topps Series jumbos, they are even better if you like the hits! Might be a letdown if your a set builder but with everything in life, there is a give and take.
My overall grade on the jumbos: A-, together with the hobby cases they make series one an overall A+. Topps really came out of the gate flying with this product! Let’s hope they continue this throughout 2010!
Enjoy the scans below! If you are reading this on the Blowout Cards board, click on the site link to see the scans!
Play Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related Tagged: 2010 Topps Series 1, Autographs, Case Break, Hobby, Jumbo, Set Builders

Autograph Updates From Topps!

threeofakindcards — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:11:34 +0000

A few months there were some very unhappy collectors who had pulled redemption cards for Cat Osterman’s autograph as part of 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter. Topps had sent out replacements for her autograph as they were unable to fulfill the redemption.
But low and behold, Topps today announced that they finally got Ms Osterman to sign her cards and they will be shipping out those redemption cards even if you previously got a replacement from Topps. A great gesture by Topps in my opinion, but one question: What the heck took Cat Osterman so long!!???

BEFORE!

AFTER!

Also in other autograph news, Topps today announced that Giants prospect Buster Posey will have ON CARD autographs in the upcoming 2010 Topps Heritage product (set to release 2/25/10). He will also have on card letter patch autographs in the also upcoming 2010 Topps Finest product (set to release 3/24/10)! The announcement was not simply about the cards but instead that he already signed them! Guess what, no redemptions for these! Way to go again Topps!
Play Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related, Individual Player Tagged: 2010 Topps Finest, 2010 Topps heritage, Auto, Buster Posey, Cat Osterman, redemption

The Sports Card Blog Legend Is Back!

threeofakindcards — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:21:05 +0000

No I am not declaring myself a blog legend at all! I am referring to Mario of Wax Heaven! Some of you might have read hsi blog and as you know, he stopped writing a few months ago. That’s kind of around the time that I started my blog partly as an attempt to fill the void that Wax Heaven had left.
I am in no way proclaiming that I did, but I’d like to think that I gave the hobby world a different view on things and at the same time gave everyone alot more giveaways and contests!
Today I noticed that Mario made another entry, inspired by the whole Upper Deck litigation drama. I have personally steered clear of this topic because it makes me sick but if you want to read about the topic you can follow this link.

Many people might think I am crazy to mention another blogger’s name in my posts, let alone tell readers to go visit his blog! But when you think about it, really we aren’t competitors! We are all in this hobby together and Mario was one of the pioneers of the hobby blogosphere. When it comes to his blog or any other, sometimes I learn things from other blogs and sometimes they will learn things from mine. Its all about spreading the wealth of information thats out there!
Therefore I am personally welcoming back and encouraging everyone else to do the same! As always he can be found at www.waxheaven.com!

Welcome Back Mario and PLay Ball America!
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related Tagged: Blog, Mario, Upper Deck, Wax heaven

Tim Lincecum Was A Collector!

threeofakindcards — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:35:18 +0000

Its always great to see the same people that we collect cards of, do some collecting of their own. I was a big fan a couple of years back of Phil Hughes of the Yankees being into the hobby so much that he would preview cards that he was signing on the Beckett Message boards. Recently I stumbled upon an article that talks about Tim Lincecum collecting cards. The article isn’t actually about him but its rather an ESPN writer, Jim Caple, going to a shop where Lincecum grew up and taking a look at today’s baseball cards. He opens a pack of 2010 Topps Series 1 in the article and of course, he pulls a Lincecum card!
The article itself is a great article, it talks about the thrill of opening walks, especially at a hobby shop! Seems as if many people still enjoy cards, I mean what’s not to enjoy about them right? The article even kind of gives credit for a couple being married 42 years simply because the husband gives his wife a pack of baseball cards every year for her birthday. Try showing your wife this every time she attacks you for having a card collection!
Kudos to DJ’s Sportscards in Renton, Washington for having this article done about them!
Enjoy!
Play Ball America,
Cesar

Filed under: Baseball Card Related, Individual Player Tagged: 2010 Topps, Tim Lincecum