Boof Bonser Bobblehead

I hadn't seen this bobblehead before...but its a 2016 SGA of Boof Bonser.  Got it on eBay a while ago.  I went back and forth on this one....since Boof is no longer a member of the Twins and this affiliate isn't Twins related, but with a name like Boof, how could I pass up his (probably) only bobblehead?  Bonser was inducted into the Hagerstown Suns Hall of Fame and they treated to him with his very own bobblehead.

Wild Bobblehad

I hadn't seen this one before, so when I ran across it on eBay I bought it.  Reminds me of the Twins version that Forever Collectibles put out commemorating the 2003 All Star Game.  I'm not sure what other collectors call these bobbles, but I refer to these as "logo" bobbleheads.  Again, it's not a surprise to anyone out there that I'm not a fan of Forever Collectibles bobbleheads...this probably brings my total to a whopping 6 or 7.  It'll look good next to my Twins one!

LaTroy Hawkins Bobblehead

I blogged about a recent addition of a Hawkins bobblehead a couple weeks ago, read about it here. This is the other bobble I was looking for!  Funny how things work at times, found this through a guy on eBay.  I was interested in a couple other items he had and ended up getting this and a few other things he hadn't listed yet.  Asking questions proves to work at times, other times I'm sure sellers just get cranky and pissed.

This is LaTroy in his Gary Southshore Railcats days!  Awesome and heavy bobblehead!

Tires Plus - Tuffy Bobblehead

Here's another mini bobblehead for Tires Plus - a locally based company.  A local company - Graphic Source, also produced the bobbleheads for them!  I had been looking a long time for this one. Knowing its not all that valuable, I did have a spending limit in mind.  Recently a couple came up on eBay.  One was an auction the other was a fixed price, although they accepted offers.  Knowing there were 2 of them, I figured why not make an offer and see what happens.  It was accepted, I paid immediately and a few days later this one is added to my collection!  

Torii Hunter Season Ticket Bobblehead

So the Twins are at it again, this year giving out a limited edition Torii Hunter bobblehead to select Season Ticket Holders through their "Sweet Spot" program.  A couple have already sold on eBay for $100.  They say only 1300 were produced, which is less than last year's edition (Brian Dozier - 1500) and the year before (Joe Mauer - 2500).

Here's the detail from the Twins and once I have the bobblehead I'll take a close-up!

So the picture is just of the box, but I promise the Hunter bobblehead is inside!

Dammit - it happened again

10 days?  10 freaking days between posts?  That is absolutely ridiculous!  I'm sorry to all of my loyal readers!  Well...I guess readers is plural...that means there is more than 1 of you...which I'm unsure of!

Anyway...it's been far too long.  However I have several blog posts lined up for the next few weeks! Hopefully life doesn't get in the way, or at least not as long as it did this time!

The Bierstube Guy!  Based on the Bierstube Bar.  A friend of mine gave me a tip on this one and I got it off eBay a few months ago.  Pretty cool bobblehead, it's well made and nice and heavy!  Happy to add this local "celebrity" to my collection!

Shipping Bobbles - How to package them!

I've read a lot about the shipping part of bobbleheads.  Whether you buy from eBay or Craigslist or thru an online retailer, there are plenty of shipping options.  That's the easy part.  The most important part of shipping is how you pack the bobblehead.  I've seen several people blame the post office for a damaged bobble and then file a claim (even tho the shipping package had no visible damage).  I've received bobbleheads in the mail...and 90% of the time I can tell without opening the package if the bobblehead is in good condition or not.

1 recent (in the past couple of months) example of poor shipping.  Unfortunately I don't have pictures to show.  I picked up the box and immediately things rattled around.  Obviously this is the first sign that something is broken.  How much rattling usually is a good indicator of how many broken pieces there are.  I opened the box and found 3 pieces.  The main bobble, its head decapitated and the base of the bobble, detached from the feet.  To me, this bobble is ruined, I can glue it back together, but in my mind...(and I have a very steady hand) it's no longer in good condition, even if it looks "ok."

How do you avoid this...NEVER ship in bubble mailers.  Several eBay sellers ship bobbles only in bubble mailers.  Typically this is a cheaper option (depending on the weight of the bobblehead).  I always ship in boxes...never bubble mailers (I use them for padding tho).  It's not really rocket science.  Take the bobblehead, wrap the neck (or all spots it bobbles/moves) with bubble wrap.  I usually wrap tissue paper around that for extra cushion.  Then I wrap the entire bobblehead with bubble wrap (it should go around the bobble at least 2 times.  If I dont have the original box, I use bigger bubble wrap one more time, again to make sure its double padded.  I then place it in a box and put anything (more bubble wrap, newspaper, plastic bags) around it so it can't move.  Once the box is stuffed, I tape it shut.  Then I shake it.  Weird huh - shake a box with a bobblehead in it - call me crazy but it works!  If you can't hear it move...you are set.  If you can, open the box up and stuff more crap in it!

This is not a hard process, use common sense (I know at times, it's not that common), and remember - bubble wrap is pretty cheap!

Bobblehead Boxes

So...you buy a bobblehead off eBay, Craigslist, at a Garage Sale, from a buddy...wherever you get it...a lot of the times, it doesn't have a box.  More teams are doing specialized boxes nowadays, but several still do the generic plain white boxes.  That's a problem for a lot of us.  Even if we display our bobbleheads, at some point they might need a box, or perhaps you don't have the space (like me) to display them all.  Bobbles in boxes are much better than un-boxed bobbles!  I've seen too many damaged and chipped bobbles because they are all thrown into one box.  Hell, one of my first deals I made was at a garage sale, but it was over the phone.  The lady was very honest with me saying several were damaged but plenty weren't.  My sister-in-law picked them up for me.  The lady crammed them into one box (minimal bubble wrap) and sent her on her way.  I get the box and honestly I wasn't expecting much (over 30 bobbles for $20...I couldn't go wrong).  About half of them were damaged, scuffed, or chipped in one way or another.  Obviously the lady no longer had the boxes.

Well...now you never have to worry about having an un-boxed bobblehead!  My buddy Bill (quite the entrepreneur) has bobblehead boxes available.  Feel free to email him to buy your boxes!  They are heavier/sturdier than the giveaway boxes too and measure 3 x 3 x 7 5/8!

Wow...found it! AJ Pierzynski

This particular AJ Pierzynski bobblehead has been on my Want List for quite some time.  I found this one while doing some random searching about 2 years ago.  Since then, I haven't seen one.  2 weeks ago, my buddy Ross emailed me to let me know it was on eBay.  I put a bid on it and after 7 days, nobody else bid on it, so I got it.  Received it in the mail last week, with the original box and its in great shape.  The New Britain Rock Cats gave out this bobblehead several years ago.  This is a classic case that if you keep looking, eventually you'll find what you want (or get lucky - exactly how it happened for me).

Former Gopher Bobblehead

I had heard of this bobblehead giveaway a couple months ago.  In that time I had to think about whether or not I was going to try to get one.  Kyle Okposo played for the Gophers and I figured, if I could find it for a decent price, I'd pick it up.  I searched for it a few different times on eBay and I never saw it for less than $50.  At that price and since he's wearing his Islanders jersey, I wasn't too interested.  I got lucky tho and emailed a New York seller to see if he was going to have any.  We made a deal and I had my bobblehead.

I believe this was a special giveaway.  First, season ticket holders had the chance to get them and then they sold special tickets (I'm guessing similar to that of the Sid Hartman bobbleheads that were given away last year a Twins game) that fans were able to purchase.

Bobblehead buys...gone wrong!?! Suspicious to me!

I don't buy a ton of bobbleheads - at least not compared to some collectors out there but this has happened to me, and I'm sure to some of you at some point in the past.  It's beyond frustrating and to me, just downright wrong.  

I was recently reading posts on a bobblehead group and one of them was about this exact situation. 

Here's the background...You bid on a bobblehead on eBay, watch it until the item ends.  eBay says you won the bobblehead.  You pay for it and wait for the seller to update the item with shipping and tracking information.  That doesn't happen for a day or 2.  You get an email from the seller saying something along the lines of "sorry but the bobblehead fell off the counter and broke, I'll refund you your money."  At which point, you probably aren't happy and probably somewhat frustrated.  You get your refund and move on with life.  

My question - did the dog really eat the seller's homework?  I'm 100% confident in saying that at times, yes, the dog did eat the homework.  I'm also 100% confident in saying, quite often that homework, err...the bobblehead (that you won) is in perfectly fine condition and in the hands of someone else or in a box heading somewhere else.  Some seller's on eBay (and Craigslist too) make this move.  Another buyer comes along within 12-24 hours of the auction ending on eBay and offering a price above the one you won the bid at.  Seller sees more money, takes more money, refunds you your money and everyone...but the buyer, is happy. 

But, at least you got your money back, right?  Frustrating tho, right?  It happens.  I completely sympathize with any buyer that goes through this.  And I completely despise any seller who does. I've had multiple opportunities to sell something for a higher price, but I've never done it and never will do it.  Once I make a deal, in my mind, it's a done deal.  Story closed, that bobblehead is no longer for sale.  I've held bobbleheads for months for guys that I've done deals with in the past.  I have no problem doing that.  If I haven't dealt with someone before, they don't get the same type of treatment. But I'll never make that type of play.  

I've also had similar things happen.  For instance, guy responds to craigslist ad, says he wants items A, B and 4.  (like what I did there?) :)  We agree on price.  He says he's not local and he doesn't have paypal (suspicious in this day and age, especially when you are looking at other state's craigslist ads). I tell him thats fine, send me a check.  I'll hold the bobbleheads for a few days (giving the post office a day or 2 extra).  Check never arrives.  I email potential buyer, tell him, he says it went out on a specific day.  I wait 3 business days from then.  At this point, 95% chance he's lying.  100% chance I'll never do business with him again.  

Just some food for thought on a sunny Friday in Minneapolis.  Try not to get too offended or frustrated when this happens...but know that most of us sympathize with you!  Happy Friday!  

Apparently I have a "Professional Eye"

Recently I was contacted by a couple people about pricing some bobbleheads they were looking to sell.  This came out of left field, ya know...much like Delmon Young played the position, never knew what you were walking into!  Crap, that's 2 Delmon Young references in consecutive blog posts, pretty sure I've met that quota for...ever.  Anyway, back to the story.

After reading the email, I instantly knew I was going to help if our schedules lined up.  As I've wrote about several times, simply basing everything off eBay is a huge frustration of mine and the seller probably won't sell too much.  Luckily the sellers were motivated and completely understood the eBay vs. local idea.  I believe they had roughly 60 some bobbleheads, ranging widely over the past 10-15 years of giveaways and retails.  We met after several emails and I went thru everything they had and priced them out fairly (both for them and whoever was going to buy them).  That's important to me, they asked for my help, so I certainly wanted to be fair to them.  But part of being fair to them was pricing the bobbleheads at a value that would sell which leaves a fairly small sweet spot.

Shortly after I provided the help I received a thank you note saying that my "professional eye" was a lifesaver and they were so incredibly happy and gracious that I gave them my time.  In all honesty, it was totally my pleasure to help them.  I'd do that for most anyone.  It's fun looking at bobbleheads, maybe I'd see one that I didn't have, maybe I'd look at a bunch of common ones, no matter what I'll always try to help, especially since I have that "professional eye!"

Be courteous!

I've wanted to write this post for a long time.  No matter if you buy or sell.  Use eBay or Craiglist (or some other alternative). Are on the good or bad end of things.  Be courteous!  I've had tons of great experiences using eBay, Craigslist and at card shows.  I've also had a few terrible ones.  Obviously its always easy to remember the bad experiences.  Even with those, don't automatically blame the seller.  Here are a few examples why.

Recently I had sold something thru eBay.  Sent it off from the post office and got a note from the buyer asking me why the bobblehead was in a different country...not state...country, on the day it was supposed to be delivered.  He wasn't mad, but perhaps worried and maybe even a bit confused.  He wasn't alone.  I immediately called USPS, who unfortunately didn't help one bit.  The next day I went to my local post office where they were super helpful, very apologetic and even offered a refund.  Human error is what happened. It certainly wasn't my fault or the buyers (obviously) and really I don't even blame the post office, mistakes happen.  They made up for it.  The buyer eventually received the bobblehead and everything turned out just fine.

Earlier this year, as a buyer, I had a similar experience.  I had purchased a bobblehead off eBay.  The seller shipped the item but never supplied me with tracking information.  After a few emails we figured the bobblehead was completely lost.  The seller gave me 2 options.  Refund me in full or they'd buy a similar priced bobblehead (the same one if possible) and have it shipped to me.  I opted for the latter.  A couple weeks later, the new bobblehead came and everyone was happy.

Sometimes things happen that is out of control for both the buyer and the seller.  Remember that.  Don't jump to conclusions right away.  Feedback on eBay is crucial - if they have great feedback, they are more than likely trustworthy buyers and sellers.  It's a bit more difficult through craigslist, but usually you can get a good feel for a buyer (and seller) over a couple emails or a phone call.

Charlie Brown Bobblehead Day

Today the Saints did a 2nd edition of the Charlie Brown bobblehead.  I had previously blogged about this, check it out here.  Based on some limited intel - I was worried it was going to be the same exact bobblehead.  Luckily its different and easily defined as the 2014 version or 2nd edition.  Prices on eBay are already crazy.  For those of you with patience...wait a week or two...Im sure they'll come down a bit.  I'm betting plenty of people walked out of Midway Stadium with a handful of bobbleheads.  1000 were given away and several will find their way to eBay and/or Craigslist.  Below is a picture of the one from today. You can compare that to the 1st edition on the post I linked above.

A simple email led to dozens of bobbleheads

Earlier this year (I believe sometime in January or February) an email exchange happened through eBay.  2 collectors talking bobbleheads, I don't think either of us thought it would come to what it has.  I was looking for a few bobbleheads as was he, we exchanged numbers and texted a little off and on.  Eventually we made a trade...I can't even remember what our first trade was.  And it's not because it was insignificant, mainly because we've made several trades since then and they all kind of blend together.

Now we text on a weekly basis for the most part.  He's also a collector, but not huge on bobbleheads, he knows several other collectors and dealers who might be looking for specific bobbleheads.  He has my want list and he knows I try to buy in bulk so usually have something decent to trade.

This relationship works out well for both of us.  We agree on fair trades, introduce each other to bobbleheads the other didn't know much about and generally have a great time learning more about the world of bobblehead collecting.  He's given me some great advice on collecting in general too!

If you've read many of my other posts you'll know I'm not one to drop names it's just not my style and a lot of people wish to stay anonymous.  So I'll keep it that way.

I just find it very interesting that a simple email has led to dozens of bobbleheads being exchanged between 2 guys.  I'm extremely fortunate that the email thread even started.  It's certainly increased my collection a lot!  Just a little lesson to anyone out there - you never know what could come from a one sentence email!

Parise Bobblehead - no...not Zach

Several months ago I saw a picture of a JP Parise Bobblehead.  At the time, I knew I wanted to add it to my collection.  However, I also knew it would be fairly hard to find.  I've seen one on eBay since (the seller wanted nearly $100 for it and recently sold it for about $35 I believe).  Other than that I hadn't seen one. Then fate intervened.

I hadn't told many people about my blog until a little over a month ago when I made an announcement on my facebook page.  Thru that I was connected with a friend of a friend.  He had been collecting for quite some time and after a couple weeks of negotiations we came to an agreement.  The JP Parise bobblehead was the main part of the deal.  Obviously people know the last name of Parise because of Zach.  But his dad also played hockey, specifically for the Minnesota North Stars.  In 2008 he was named Head Coach and GM of the Des Moines Buccaneers.  To honor the hockey legend, the Buccaneers did a bobblehead giveaway of JP in 2009.  What's unique about this bobblehead?  Parise is depicted in a Minnesota North Stars jersey! On top of that...this one is signed.  I'm not into signatures, but since this one had already been signed, it made it a bit more special.

Check it out!  Leave your comments please!!

2014 All Star Game & More

I'm guessing anyone who reads my blog probably knows the All Star game was held at Target Field last week.  Leading up to it, MLB had plenty of events, one was something they call "Fanfest."  In June I blogged about the 3 mini bobbleheads that were being given away at Fanfest - TC Bear, Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer. Jess and I went down to Fanfest last Sunday.  A buddy of mine had some extra tickets so we checked it out. It was pretty cool but also fairly overwhelming.  However, lets be real - we probably went on the worst day possible, Sunday early afternoon.  There were tons of people but also so much cool stuff to see.  I kinda thought the "Collectors Showcase" would be just as big (if not bigger) than Twinsfest.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case at all as there was only a handful of dealers.

However, with TC being given away to kids on Friday, I knew that would be the hardest bobblehead of the 3 to get.  I noticed a listing on eBay early on Friday morning and I thought it was a very good and fair deal, so I bought the TC bobblehead.  Of course this meant I was committed to getting the other 2 bobbleheads. Once I receive all 3 of them, I'll update this posting with a picture.  They are cool mini bobbleheads, but as is the case with most any mini bobblehead - they aren't very sturdy and quite fragile at times!  The TC Bear bobblehead routinely goes for between $40 and $50 on eBay while Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer are going for quite a bit less.  If you are looking for the set...TC will be the hardest and/or the most spendy of the bunch. Good luck!

Update: Here's the picture of the 3 bobbleheads.  They are pretty tiny!

Tom Brunansky Bobblehead Day

July 5th was Brunansky Bobblehead Day at Target Field.  By the looks of eBay and Craigslist, lots of people got these bobbleheads that have no interest in keeping them.  The prices on both sites are in the $30-$50 range.  I'm not surprised by those prices and can only assume they'll drop a little bit in a week or two. Below is a picture of the Brunansky bobblehead in case you are looking for it!

Harmon Killebrew Bobblehead Night

Killebrew bobblehead night was this past Friday, the 20th of June.  Since Killebrew is such a fan favorite, I knew there would be lots of bobbleheads on eBay and Craigslist!  However, there are even more than I thought.  There are several on Craigslist, ranging from $45 to $100 or so.  There are roughly 40 or so listed on eBay (as of this blog post).  And of the bobbleheads that have already been sold, $40 has been the lowest they've gone for, while the most expensive one sold for just over $72.  Based on that, the Craigslisters are asking a bit too much.  $30-35 is a good cash price, otherwise, hold out and set your buying limit at $40 on eBay.  eBay usually sees the same trends from popular giveaways, the first few go for about double of whatever the average price is a few days after the giveaway.  That'll last for a couple weeks, then they won't pop up nearly as often.  At that point, all bets are off as far as price goes.  You'll see some sell for $25 while others will probably fetch something close to $75.

My advice - be patient.

Minnesota Wild Complete SGA Set - 2010-11

The Wild have done 2 different season SGA sets.  One in 2010-11 and one in 2013-14.  I'll blog about the 2013-14 set later this week.  This set named the 6 players on the Year X All-Time Team.  Included in the set were Niklas Backstrom, Andrew Brunette, Brent Burns, Mikko Koivu, Nick Schultz, and Marian Gaborik.  All come in specialized boxes, something I really wish the Twins would copy (instead of the generic plain white boxes).  At the time, this set was somewhat difficult to complete, but now you see these bobbleheads fairly often on eBay for relatively good prices too!