This "Blaster" Brought To You By COMC

COMC is possibly the most addicting hobby site out there, at least in my humble opinion.  If you're a collector and you haven't shopped on there yet, I'm not sure what you're waiting for.  As an experiment, let's see how far $20 went on the site recently.  Sure, I could have taken the same $20 and gone down to my local Target for a blaster of Allen & Ginter, but instead I browsed around and actually got some cards I wanted.

Like this Ron Gant short print from 2012 Topps Archives, a set I'm still painfully putting together.  At $.49 it was just too reasonable to leave behind.  I don't think I'll have that kind of luck with the rest of the short prints that I'm still searching for.

Outside of eBay, I'm not aware of too many sites with the sheer variety that COMC has to offer.  I'm always on the lookout for rarer Red Sox cards when I'm browsing around, and this black refractor from 2005 Topps Chrome (numbered to /225) seemed reasonably priced at $1.60.

Here's one that sat on the Most Wanted list in my sidebar for well over a year, with a couple clicks of the mouse I'm now the proud owner of a copy for just $.61!

One of the final 2008 Allen & Ginter cards that I needed for my team set (also a short print) was this Kevin Youkilis.  Mine for $.63.

I don't limit myself to just Red Sox, I'm always on the lookout for a good bargain or anything that just catches my eye for the right price.  This Metal Wayne Gretzky from 2012-13 Fleer Retro is a card I'd snag any day if I encountered it in a dollar box, so I was happy to shell out $1.04 for it.

The 2005 Donruss Threads baseball set seems to suffer from an obscene number of parallels, but any way you slice it I thought this Johnny Damon insert, serial numbered to /45 was a good bargain at $.69.

I even like the design of the back on this one.  Definitely one of my favorite cheapo picks from my last shipment of cards from the site.

If you love parallels like I do, you can spend hours just browsing around.  This 2006 Upper Deck Special F/X purple parallel of Trot Nixon set me back just $.65, and is serial numbered to /150.

I really broke the bank on this one, spending a whopping $2.17 to land this 2013 Topps Mini Adam Greenberg.  I've wanted a card to commemorate his lone at-bat and remarkable story, and with just 25 copies in existence this pink parallel knocks that one off of my list.

From purple, to pink, to yellow!  This 2014 Bowman Jon Lester is the very last card in the print run (99/99) and cost a reasonable $.70.

I don't have any particular interest in Matt Moulson, or the Islanders, but the Prizm hockey parallels are gorgeous, and this one was modestly priced at $.52.

Some day I'll track down all of the emerald Red Sox parallels from the 2008 Baseball Heroes set.  I think I've got around half a dozen now, with Mike Lowell here going for $.57.

In case you can't tell, I have never quite gotten over the allure of a new Wayne Gretzky card.  Just about every order I've ever had shipped from COMC has had at least one or two Gretzky cards in it.  This one, from 2013-14 MVP, was a $.60 buy.

This gold refractor of World Series Champ Jake Peavy is numbered to /250, and came in those mega-boxes you can find in retail locations sometimes.  Looking back on it this was probably one of my poorer pick-ups at $1.45.  If you're keeping track at home we're at $11.72 and counting at this point.

This 1981 Kellogg's Nolan Ryan might be my absolute best steal of this past shipment.  I know the '81 set isn't quite as desirable as the '70s cards, but this is Nolan Ryan here!  It's also completely mint with no cracking, and features that sweet retro Astros jersey.  How much would you guess I paid for this one?  How about $1.00 even!

A very solid addition to my Nolan Ryan collection for just a buck.

Let's go back to some colored Red Sox parallels again.  This blue refractor from 2013 Topps Chrome is numbered to /199.  I love the photo on this one, and have always thought it was one of Ellsbury's better cards from his time in Boston.  $1.25 well spent.

Here's one that would give that Peavy refractor a run for worst use of funds in this post.  I spent $1.50, and I'm really not even sure why.  I think I was just wrapped up in a parallel/completist frenzy and before I knew it this was in my inventory.  I could have picked up a nice card from the '50s for this price.  What was I thinking?

I'm always on the lookout for new Adrian Gonzalez cards from his brief stint with Boston, and this 2011 Topps Chrome purple was one of the few refractors I still didn't have of his from this set.  My best offer of $.90 was accepted, and the rest is history.

Closing out the Red Sox parallels from this post is a cheap pickup, as this Stephen Drew was had for just $.35.  Our running total is now $16.72, room for a few more cards at least!

Surprise, surprise, another Gretzky.  I still haven't finished off the '92-93 Hockey Heroes insert set yet, but I'm one card closer and $.71 lighter in the wallet.

Aside from 1960 A & BC Gum, if there were another soccer set I'd love to build it would be the 2014 Panini Prizm World Cup set.  These cards look fantastic, and I had a great time watching the games last summer.  Even though Brazil had a disappointing home showing to say the least, I couldn't resist adding this card to my inventory for $.40.  I mean, the guy's name is Hulk.  That alone is worth $.40.

Here's one where I just liked the photo so much that I had to have the card.  The angle is interesting, but the puck just inside the post along the top of the picture really makes the card.  A small piece of art (hey, it's even on canvas) for $.57.

I'm under the sick delusion that someday I'll acquire all 100 of the Framed Paper parallels from the first Gypsy Queen set.  Dave Winfield fed that delusion for just $.53.

I think we'll end it here.  This Figures of Sport die-cut from 2011 Goodwin Champions was just so bizarre that I had to have it.  I'm certain it's the only card I have in the shape of a can.  $.57 for this odd card of one of the NHL's brightest talents was a deal I couldn't resist.

Everything you see in this entire post came to a grand total of $19.50.  Probably could find another card in my box to sneak in and still come in at under $20, but I think I've made my point.  Sometimes the temptation to rip wax is too much to resist, but other times I can't help but wonder why I ever find myself in the card aisle in Target at all...

All these great cards, and I never even had to get off my couch.