Anthony Carter University of Michigan Bobblehead

 Here's a bobblehead that I had my want list for a while.  I knew of it but also knew it rarely became available.  Most of the older Michigan Wolverine bobbles tend to be like that.  I believe this was sold on campus.  He was a favorite of mine when he played for the Minnesota Vikings (ding ding, there is the MN connection).  It's even autographed on the back (something that won't be seen as I don't display them backwards).  

New Add - Brad Johnson Prototype

Pretty excited to add this one to my collection.  I had seen a picture of it (marketing flyer only) so I knew it was out there but since its a prototype, you can never be certain if it was actually made or not.  I had reliable resources tell me there were a couple of them and now one happily resides in my collection.  Introducing one of my latest acquisitions - Brad Johnson, Minnesota Vikings. 

Bud Grant Bobblehead

After years of discussion and negotiation, Bud Grant will have a bobblehead.  This is the second Bud Grant bobble, but this is the first one that will be produced for the retail market.  Check out this link for more information on the first one!  Grant will sell this bobblehead at his annual garage sale in a couple weeks.  The detail is quite remarkable and Im sure it'll be a fan favorite!  Obviously it has Vikings purple and gold, along with his dog Boom.

New Addition - Bud Grant Bobblehead

I acquired this bobblehead a while ago and finally got around to getting some pictures of it.  I had only heard about this one from a buddy of mine who is a memorabilia dealer.  He had a picture of it and I was hooked.  Then he told me there were only 3 produced...ever.  I believe the 3 in circulation (really they aren't circulating anywhere) were prototypes.  The 2 guys that had them made, brought them to Bud to sign off on (after he originally gave the go-ahead).  Bud ended up not signing off on them so they weren't produced for retail sale.

I told my friend, if he ever got one or knew of one that was available, I'd definitely be interested in it. Luckily that day came and I was able to add it to my collection.  This one is priceless and I definitely spent a pretty penny but in my mind, its the star of my collection.

Paul Allen Bobblehead - Canterbury Park

Sunday the 21st of August is Minnesota Festival of Champions Day at Canterbury Park.  It'll feature 8 races with $600,000 in purse money up for grabs.  Canterbury Park is also giving away a Paul Allen talking bobblehead!  Obviously most of my readers will know what Canterbury Park is and who Paul Allen is.  If you don't, click the links. This will be PA's second Canterbury Park bobblehead.  A unique twist on this one is, its a talking bobblehead.  The first 4000 paid attendees will get the bobble and will be able to hear PA make his legendary call of "AP is Loose!"  You might think the audio is in reference to Vikings stud running back Adrian Peterson, but "AP is Loose" is also the name of a horse at Canterbury Park and is expected to run on August 21st!

I'm sure you'll hear PA make his iconic call this fall, but now you can hear it whenever you want - IF you get the bobblehead!  It's a great bobblehead and I can't wait to add it to my collection!!

New Addition - Chris Doleman

I've blogged about this bobble a few times already.  I was pretty excited when I heard the news of this one being released.  The York Revolution released about 10 days ago and from everything I heard, it was really well received.  Doleman, a former Viking standout is depicted in bobblehead form here wearing his high school jersey.  It even came with a personalized box as well!  Great bobble!

Chris Doleman Bobblehead

Back in March I announced an upcoming bobblehead date that a lot of Minnesota fans would be excited about, especially Viking fans!  Check that blog out here!

Well, tomorrow is the day!  The York Revolution will be handing out 1500 Doleman bobbleheads! Unlike some bobbleheads, the likeness to Doleman is spot on.  As a Viking fan and Doleman being a favorite of mine, this bobblehead looks awesome!

Chuck Foreman Bobblehead

I got this bobble from a buddy of mine.  He told me about it and I figured I'd use it as trade bait to get something else I wanted.  But then I saw it was autographed (with inscription) and knew I was keeping it.  The gold really pops against the Viking purple!  There aren't a ton of Viking bobbleheads, but this is definitely one of my favorites, highly detailed and quality made!

Sneak Peek - Chris Doleman Bobblehead!!

The Vikings (as with all NFL teams) don't do SGA bobbleheads.  There really is no need, they don't do giveaways in general as most teams sellout all their home games without the promotion angle. However, some other professional and semi-professional teams do giveaways of football players.

Minor league baseball teams are the best at coming up with completely awesome and unique bobbleheads.  As one minor league marketing manager told me, "creativity is the life force of minor league baseball!" That simple message speaks volumes about the promotions most teams do during the summer.

Luckily for all Minnesota Vikings fans and bobblehead collectors, the York Revolution is giving away a Chris Doleman bobblehead this summer.  Doleman went to school at York High, (technically, William Penn Senior High School) and obviously went on to be one of the best Vikings of all-time. It's the Revolution's 10th anniversary so they are doing some wonderful giveaways and Doleman (depicted wearing his York High football jersey) is one of the best!

Book your tickets now to get to York on June 3rd!  The first 1500 people will get the Doleman bobblehead.  Here's the link to buy tickets to the giveaway game.  And lastly, check out the picture below, pretty sweet football related bobblehead eh!?!  SKOL!!!

Twinsfest 2016

Twinsfest 2016 has come and gone.  I wasn't nearly as fortunate as I was last year or even the year prior (it's first year at Target Field).  It was still fun and I took advantage of a few decent deals.  I went into it thinking about different things I'd do, but the major focus of Twinsfest is the autograph seekers, the lines they stand in and the areas the players sit in, ready to scribble their name hundreds of times.

I have to think, even tho the Twins would love to keep Twinsfest at Target Field for several more years, the whole 3 day event would be much better served at a larger venue.  I think US Bank Stadium would be a great fit.  I've been fortunate enough to see detailed plans and maps of how the Vikings plan to draw larger events like Twinfest and it almost makes too much sense.  Everything is so clustered at Target Field, since the Twins can only truly use the space behind the dugouts and the Club level as everything else is outside.  And moving this event to a bigger space such as the Vikings stadium would help solve several issues.

Twitter & Facebook lit up with pictures and posts from the weekend and it was fun to see a lot of baseball related stuff in January!

Perhaps another new section?

What do I do on a random Friday night while my wife is out of town enjoying a "girls weekend?"  Great question - I've been relaxing on the couch watching the Vikings game and playing catch with my dog, Murphy.  I've also been contemplating a new section on my blog and I'm not exactly sure how it'll work. So, before I get too far ahead of myself, I was hoping to get some input from YOU!

Would you, the reader, be interested in some sort of "want list" section.  This is where you'd send me pictures of the bobbleheads you are looking for, in hopes of making a trade with a fellow collector or a cash deal?  I'm not sure if I can have more than 1 slideshow, so it might just be a link on the sidebar.  Am thinking the name of the section might be something like "The Trading Block" I'd rather not go thru the trouble of setting this section up if there isn't much interest in it.

Since this is a "want list" post, I'll include a picture of one bobblehead I'm still looking for.  Let me know if you have one you'd trade/sell.

2014 "Goals"

It's January so everyone is talking about the resolutions for the new year.  These aren't exactly resolutions, but I'll call them "Goals."  If you are a recent visitor, you've probably noticed that I try to keep the blog somewhat light-hearted.  Hence "Goals" :)

At the end of 2014 I'll go thru and review my "Goals" and see what I accomplished - if anything.  Or perhaps I'll just be completely bored with this blog and say screw it!  Onto the "Goals"

1. Get a couple more Twins red base bobbleheads.  These are given to season ticket holders and currently I have roughly half of them.  There are some rare and hard to find ones, but I'll do my best to hunt them down.

2. Find 1 ecumen bobblehead (for a price I'm willing to pay).  There are 10 total.  I figure if I find 1 a year, it'll only take me 10 years to fulfill the set!  I know I can buy most any of them on ebay for $100 per...but I'm not interested in shelling out that much cash!

3. Find the 1991 World Series set.  Again, I can pay good money to get this off Craigslist or eBay, but will wait it out until I find someone willing to take what I feel is a fair offer.

4. Much like the previous "Goal" I'd like to find the Twins Managers set

5. Come across a couple local celebrity bobbleheads.  The ones I have now, I only knew of about 1/2 of them.  So I'm not even sure who'd they be!

6. I'd like to get the Paul Krause and Bill Brown Viking bobbleheads.  I know I'll have to pay for these, and I'm fine with that.  I just need to pull the trigger.

7. I'd also like to find a Goldy bobblehead that I currently don't have.  Right now I believe there are 4 out there that I'd like to own one day.  It'd be nice to come across one of them in 2014.

8. I'd like to come across and Timberwolves bobblehead that I don't have, either a mini Crunch or Johnny Flynn.  I also found out I need an Al Jefferson.

9. I'd like to complete the 2013-14 Wild bobblehead giveaway collection.  There are 5 in total, I already have one (I'll blog about that sometime soon).

10. Last, but certainly not least...I want to have fun hunting.  My wife asked me the other day if I ever think about the mileage and time I spend on bobbleheads - I do, I certainly consider that when making an offer for a bobblehead or selling one.  To me, the excitement is finding the bobblehead.  Getting lucky when emailing someone on Craigslist or finding something unique or cool at a garage sale.  And of course meeting people along the way.

We'll see if I accomplish any of these in 11 months...I know number 10 will undoubtedly happen!

2013 Best Garage Sale Finds #5

Garage sales are hit and miss for bobbleheads.  Even ones listed on Craigslist aren't always that great, while others turn out to be diamonds in the rough.  When I'm going thru my top "finds" in 2013, a lot has to do with the price I paid for them and/or the rarity of the bobblehead.  And sometimes, its just becuase I find the bobblehead to be unique in some way or cool in another!

So...#5 on my list is a bobblehead I find for a whopping 2 bucks!  Joe, I mean, Jim Kleinsasser.  Rainbow Foods sponsored this bobblehead and the box has the name "Joe" on it, while the bobblehead is truly that of Jim Kleinsasser, Tight End for the Minnesota Vikings.  The bobblehead is pretty cool in general as it depicts Kleinsasser after drinking some milk, similar to the "Got Milk" ad campaigns.  On top of finding the bobblehead for $2...it came with the box as well and the box is in great shape.  Even tho I don't show a picture of the box (it's in some tote somewhere in my storage room and I really don't wanna dig for it right now) believe me, it came with the box!

Not just local garage sales

This fall I was browsing craigslist and I figured I'd take a look at a few of the surrounding states.  I checked out ads in North and South Dakota as well as Iowa and Wisconsin.  I found a couple that were promising.  I made a few phone calls which ultimately eliminated all but 1 option.  I emailed the only option I had left, a garage sale in Iowa.  The garage sale was posted for a weekend in September, so I knew my chances of hearing back were slim.  The listing mentioned Viking bobbleheads.  Knowing there are plenty of retail Viking bobbleheads, I wanted to make sure I was truly interested in the bobbleheads this guy had.  He sent pictures and much to my surprise, the group he had was the exact type I was looking (and hoping) for.  He had 11 bobbleheads, I didn't have 4 of them, but as you know by now, I don't pass up the option to bundle. Knowing they typically go for $25 each, I was happy to see what he wanted for them.  We agreed on a price of $150 with an additional $20 for shipping.  This is where things get tricky.  I feel like I get a very good read on people and felt super comfortable in dealing with this guy.  But the problem is...I needed to send him money without the guarantee (or support) that he'd mail the bobbleheads to me.  I went with my gut and Im glad I did.  I sent the money via paypal and within 7 days I had the bobbleheads on my door step! They were all in great shape.  I put the 4 I needed in my collection and took pictures of the other 7 that I'd be selling.

I knew a couple of my regular buyers might be interested.  The first guy wasn't, but the second guy I talked to was all over the opportunity.  He wanted 4 of the bobbleheads and we agreed on a price of $90.  After that sale my average price paid went from a bit over $15/bobblehead to a little over $11/bobblehead. I figure I'll be able to sell the other 3 bobbleheads in time for roughly $50-60, which means I'll have got the 4 bobbleheads I needed for my collection for an average of $7.50/bobblehead.  And so far, I haven't seen any of those go for less than $20 a piece!

Im very happy I looked into ads on the Iowa craigslist site!!