Box Break : 2000 Topps Gallery (and a transatlantic group break also!)

It was ample time for me to buy a box for our transatlantic group break that includes Brian and Matt (hi guys !). I really didn't know what to go with this time, as I've too often been disappointed by early 2000 boxes (those are the ones that are often on sale), and eventhough my preference goes to mid 90s wax, I'm not sure they make for very good trade bait ! So I bought a box that offers great value : 2014 Panini (PANINI !!!!) Classics. We already opened one in West Virginia not long ago, so we simp^ly shuffled the teams so we would'nt get any duplicates.

We then crossed our fingers hoping for a 1/1 Jeter or at least some Hall of famer with a cool signature or relic. I was a little disappointed not to get any of those, but the box wasn't that bad after all. We each got at least one hit, and I got the most interesting one (woohoo).
There it is :

I was psyched to get a 1/1 but to be honest I do not know who Semien is. Not sure it'll ever carry a premium, but still a nice unique card to have !

As for the rest of the break, you'll see on their blogs how Matt and Brian did !

My total amount for the 5 boxes I got was $150. Shipping was pretty low at $45, especially considering there were about 150 packs to be sent out in all. Plus, I got them in 48h, which is amazing (a package usually takes a week to ten days to get here). Unfortunately, as always, there are customs charges. And I don't know why, but they made me pay customs on the entire $195 order instead of just the value of products. I thought I'd pay around $45 customs, but it turns out it was $60. Ah well. As I always say, it comes with the European territory. I'd rather pay extra and get cards than not have access to cards at all (but still, it doesn't seem logical to pay VAT on shipping. I should send a message to UPS to clarify things).

ANYWAY. To avoid paying $40 shipping for just the box of Classics (yes, that's the minimum shipping charge for Europe), I added more boxes. Some Cooperstown, some Collector's Choice and a box of 2 000 Topps Gallery. It turned out to be a great box to open. Lots of fun. No guaranteed hits as autos were 1:153, but some nice inserts and amazing base cards.

Those are seeded 1:12. There are 24 packs in a box, which means I got one extra. Woohoo. Nice trio too, especially at the time. Except there's only one in the bunch who'll ever make it to Cooperstown and who doesn't make people very mad.

I like Bagwell. And it's a fun insert that almost looks like a 90s insert. Can't make a better compliment. Odds were 1:18

 It's silly because it's not cardboard, but I really like acetate cards. Even when there's Pablo Ozuna on there (then again the whole concept was to put a veteran with a youngster). Odds were 1:48

More acetate ! It's always cool to buy cards of your favorite player on ebay or comc, but there's nothing like the thrill of actually pulling one from a pack. Odds were 1:24 for a ten card set. Really great card.

I hadn't seen that card at first, but it's a parallel. And it's numbered to 250. Play'er's private issue, it says. Okay.

I was nicely surprised by the inserts, but I really got the box for the base cards. Great design, awesome photography, and even the backs are nice. I also hope to open a box of masterpieces one day, but I won't hold my breath...

I'm a little disappointed by that Griffey card, I feel like they could've done better, but hey, he's smiling and it's original, so why not ! I needed that Delgado.

 Horizontal shots are few and far between, which is too bad when you see those !

More great photos ! I should make a pun about being head over heels for that set, but I don't think the world is ready for that kind of humor.

Collation wasn't bad either, as I'm only missing one card for the complete base set of 100. The next 50 cards are SP that don't interest me as much.

Well, that sure was fun ! There's a box of 2002 Gallery on sale on Dave & Adam's. I might give it a shot next time, once I lick my financial wounds...