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Kardboard Fantasy : Mystic Korner

07/07

Monday is usually spent working on writing and other aspects that don’t have much to do with cards. Unless we get a collection in, then we’ll be working on sorting that collection as fast as possible. Luckily for us, our whole week in review that we usually write was gone, and we had to re write it. It;s probably missing 50% of what we had in the original, but you got a great summary there.

We missed plenty of days with the holiday weekend, and now we’re back on our 30 day plan, it’s day 4 right now and our task is to “Optimize Page Load Speed – Caching & Plugins.”

That’s what we did, we fixed the Caching options, somehow figured out how to load pictures before they load. That doesn’t make sense to me but it was an option. Hopefully the website is a little faster right now.

Got an order on the website, and I’m missing one of the items. This is the first time this happened on KardboardKorner.com, there have been a couple of mistakes on TCG Player and eBay, but never on our own site. Sent the kind gentleman an e-mail, hopefully they’ll get back to me before the night is over.

07/08

Hit up the Robbins Flea Market today, after one of the Vendors told me that it’s poppin’ on Tuesdays and that I should get there real early. I thought I’ll give it a try and got there around 9AM. It would have been earlier, but my son did not want to wake up. He’s going to bed early tonight.

We got there, and it was, they even had vendors outside of the space, cause there was no space inside. We started making the rounds, and I noticed that we did come late. Lots of cool stuff, but nothing in particular for me, until I stumbled upon a box of Nintendo Switch Accessories. Docks and Controller Grips (I think that’s what they’re called). I picked them up and called it a day.

Spent the afternoon, Trying to organize the office once more. It seems like the more I try and organize, the messier it becomes. Maybe more space could do the trick, but we don’t have that right now.

07/09

Hit the Swap today and all I got was a big fat skunk.

Almost picked up a metal detector today. Thought about it, looked at it, passed it came back, but I left it there. Then I regretted it. If I find him tomorrow at Robbins, I’ll pick it up. Might have some fun with it, going on paths and just searching for precious metals.

30 day plan, Day 5 – Checked that the website works good on Mobile devices. Make sure that the links are clickable, same thing goes for the menu too. So far everything looks good. Didn’t have to complete much today, as it was already done.

Was testing out a bunch of Cassette Tapes today. I was using a Walkman for them. And, that Walkman is either going out, or the batteries I got went empty in about 15 minutes. That’s Dollar Tree batteries for you.

07/10

Robbins, that’s where we’re headed today. I went looking for the metal detector right away, and I’m guessing the guy sold it, because he didn’t have it. Went around the first time, and some guy had a bunch of Atari games, I didn’t have enough on me to pick them up today. And, it’s a good thing I didn’t cause I would have over paid for them.

Another Interesting thing I found was a Tiger Over Lap, the one with the whole front of the car. I left that there as well. Although it looks cool and all, I have a similar one, that is just sitting there collecting dust.

Next, I found a Marshall Full Stack. And, if I was still playing guitar, and in a band, I would have picked it right up.

Ended up just picking up a pair of On Clouds. These supposedly do well.

The kids always ask me to play Roblox with them, and tonight I managed to get all my orders ready pretty quick, so I jumped on without telling them. They got excited. We played for a couple of hours before I had to send them off to bed.

07/11

I just realized, we’re 3 weeks away from Gunslinger in the Abyss Prerelease. That means that Midnight Prerelease is right around the Korner! And I never got a restock for Tears of the Planet. Let’s hope this release goes a lot better.

Spent the day sorting, and restocking Opus VI on eBay and TCG Player.

Day 5 of the 30 day plan. And all it was was making sure that the website’s menus load up correctly on Mobile devices, and that the links are clickable. Checked and they were all goo to go.

I also grilled 20 pounds of chicken breast for some fajitas.

07/12

I woke up later than usual again.

Still have to get up, and go. No point in staying home. I got to the Swap and I thought to myself, I should have stayed home.
Not much there, and when I got to Robbins it was even worst.

Didn’t head out to 42nd and Ashland today, cause I had to take my wife to her sisters house to help with a party.

Went to the restaurant, left the restaurant, went to the party. That’s what all the chicken breast was for.

07/13

I drank too much in too short of a time. That was last night.

Got up, got ready headed to the restaurant. Was there all day. Hopefully, our other employee is coming back next week, and I’ll have more time to get back to what I’m supposed to be doing.

Got all the weekend orders ready to go. And, now it’s time to get back to it. Boots on the Ground.

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The Legend of Kardboard

04/28

Well the Toploaders came in, right as we were running out of our old stock. And, I was about to head on over to the local sports card shop to pick up a few. Sometimes time is on our side. Sometimes it’s not.

We also got a few new Full Arts that are now listed on the site, and some Tears of the Planet Singles that are on TCG Player.

04/29

Started the day off with restocking Opus XVI – Emissaries of Light.

Then I watched the Champion’s League game. Arsenal – PSG. I haven’t watched much soccer since 2013 and I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t know any players, but I still thought I’d know at least one person.

04/30

Wednesday, that means we’re heading to the Flea Market. Pretty much struck out today. The guy that told me to come back didn’t show up. All I ended up finding was a PS2 controller in ok condition. If it works, I can start testing PS2 games.

Turns out that something happened since the last time I turned it on. Didn’t want to start or nothing. Took it apart hoping that maybe something was off. Reached the Power Supply Board and I started smelling something burnt. Got to order one and hopefully it’ll be fine after that.

Decided that I should go through all of my old Consoles. I know that some just need cables, but others like all 3 Xboxs probably need a lot more work.

05/01

It’s raining again. Always on the days that I got Garage Sales to go to. That didn’t stop me though. I still took a drive around and actually found one. Nothing great but did grab a couple of CDs.

Bunch of Legends and Heroes added to TCG Player.

On the way home we found a rummage sale. I didn’t even know that it was going on. Of course I turned the car around and headed straight for it. And, of course as we’re walking in, we see someone walking out with a big Five Nights at Freddy’s Plush. This thing was huge. Not much else was there.

Ordered the Power Supply Board for the PS2. Fingers crossed it will work once I replace it.

05/02

We’re getting a small restock of Hidden Legends in today. They’re already up on the website, and they might be sold out by the time that you read this. There’s also some Final Fantasy VII Anniversary Art Museum Vol.1 and Vol.2.

Went sailing again. It’s almost like no one is having Garage Sales anymore, and the people that do, they want to charge eBay prices for everything.

05/03

Saturday means Flea Market and Garage Sales.

Got up really early today, thinking I’d beat the crowd. I did beat the crowd, and the vendors. I got there around 7:30 and everyone was still setting up. No time to waste, I started making my rounds, decided to walk around a few times looking for anything that would peak my interest. Didn’t find much the first time as everyone was still setting up.

Second time around, about the same.

Just found a Led Zeppelin cassette and a Wii U game-pad, which I needed. I started thinking that this Flea Market isn’t good on Saturdays. it was 2 hours and didn’t find much of anything. Started heading towards the exit, and I noticed a bunch of PS4 games that just made it on to a table. Crash Bandicoot 4, and CTR Nitro Fueled. ended up getting all of the games the gentleman had on the table.

Time to go. Nothing left to find here, other than Vendors selling they’re items at the prices that I would sell.

Off to the Garage Sales.

Drove around and found some. These are always hit or miss. Mostly miss. And sometimes you’re just a second too late. Drove up to one, and saw someone paying for a WWE folding chair from a show.

05/04

Decided to take a lazy day today.

Tested out all the games, made sure they worked, and got orders ready to be shipped out on Monday.

Shop for Singles and more at our TCG Player Store!

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Tales from the Board

04/21

I’ve been looking for Toploaders all morning. They’re out there, they just have gone up quite a bit with these tariffs. We might start looking into alternatives for shipping out cheaper cards.

Also did a restock for Opus XII Crystal Awakening on TCG Player and eBay.

04/22

Purchased Japanese Pokemon EX cards for the vending machine at the restaurant. These are a hit with the kids. 50 cents well spent in their eyes. People have started coming in just to get Pokemon cards, they easily spend 5 to 10 dollars at a time.

Started working on decks for Final Fantasy IV.

04/23

Tried going to the Flea Market this morning. It was rained out. I was hoping to catch my guy there where I got all the Pokemon games last time. Guess we’ll have to wait another week.

Managed to find some Final Fantasy VII Anniversary Art Museum Vol.1 and Vol.2. And also some Hidden Legends. No News on a restock for Tears of the Planet and Legacy Collection.

04/24

It was time for sailing, Garage Sales. Saw a Craigslist post, and I got excited. 15 family garage sale, all at one address. Dropped the kids off at school and headed straight over there. I should have known better. When they hype up the garage sale, that’s when there is mostly junk. Junk for me that is. But, it’s ok I did manage to find a 5 pound scale that I can use at another garage sale.

But, the morning still isn’t over. Still have some time before I have to get to my “real” job. There’s a Rummage Sale going on at a VFW. I got there I didn’t expect much, but sometimes you do find some good stuff. As I’m walking around, I see a gentleman starting to grab a lot of books, I take a closer look, cause curiosity gets the better of me, and he’s grabbing old Stephen King hardcovers. That could have been me if I got there 5 minutes earlier, which I would have, If I didn’t go to Lemont.

But, that’s how it is sometimes. You win some lose some. I did walk away with a Walking Dead figure.

Finished the TCG Player/eBay restock for Opus XIV Crystal Abyss.

04/25

Sailing again. Today wasn’t much better than yesterday, but I did manage to find an auto of Lou Brock. I don’t even know who that is. But, apparently this card is worth around $20. It’s on eBay if you want it.

After that we restocked Opus XV Crystal Dominion. Also added some Yu-Gi-Oh singles as well.

04/26

Nothing of importance today.

04/27

It’s Flea Market Sunday. Didn’t find much for inventory other than New Super Mario Bros Wii, and The Rock Brawlin’ Buddy. But, I did manage to find some things for the office. A tablet and a Chrome Desktop. Still need to figure out if they work or not, but it’s a cheap gamble. can’t go wrong with $15 for both.

Had the little ones with me, we probably walked a few miles going up and down every lane, checking out what each vendor had to offer.

The highlight at the Flea Market for them is always the Lemonade. You buy the cup, and every time you go back, you get to refill it for 3 bucks.

Shop for singles and more at our TCG Player Store!

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Back On Getting Side-Tracked

Now, where did we leave off?

We did get sidetracked with Tears of the Planet, and everything that came with it. But, now it seams like everything is back on track. For the most part. Running a business feels like it’s a train wreck waiting to happen. We just have to make sure that when things go wrong, we can steer that train back on the tracks. Hopefully we can avoid the wreck and go around it.

And, that’s what we have been doing for the last 6 and a half years.

6.5 Years?

It seems like yesterday.

We started off with an eBay store. I just checked the date too. Nov-26-2018.

It took us quite a while to get that first sale. But, it finally came, and slowly Kardboard Korner began to grow.

I don’t even know how I got to talking about the begining, but I remember that we had gone to the Flea Market, and found some Pokemon packs selling for a dollar. I thought to myself, how are they getting them so cheap that they can sell them for a dollar each. This was back when packs were going 3 for $10 at your local LGS.

Some of you might have already read this story before, and yes those packs were fake.

As you can see, we can get sidetracked pretty easily.

And, I just spent 2 hours looking at Japanese Vending Machines, trying to find a purveyor for Japanese stickers and cards. I’ve been meaning to change up the Sticker Machine at the store with something a little more unique. It seams like everywhere I go that has vending machines, it’s always the same stickers and tattoos that are in there.

Most of them aren’t even worth putting in. The only thing that really moves is the Pokemon card section. I could easily have put in a bunch of bulk, but I decided on Double Rares and anything unique that I can get for around a quarter. Luckily I managed to get a good deal on some Japanese EX cards, and those have people coming in just for the cards. I see people drop in 5 dollars at a time, trying to “Catch ‘Em All”.

Back on the Japanese stickers and cards, I haven’t found anyone selling them.

I’ll keep looking though.

Selling? kardboardkorner@gmail.com

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The “Real” Tears of the Planet and More

Shop for Singles and more at our TCG Player Store!

It’s April, and what do we have going on?

Tears of the Planet has come, but it’s like it never arrived. As you already know, our order was cut in half, and we’ve been trying to get some stock of it, but everything is sold out. Almost everywhere. Is it because it is a great set? Maybe, plenty of great cards in there. Is it because Aerith is on the box? That can be it too, Plus that Full Art Gold Signature Aerith looks amazing.

We’ve had other shops in our area asking us if we had any extras. So, I know I’m not the only one without any stock. Never the less, we’ll keep on looking to see if any more will become available.

April 6th, we will be at the Toy Con Toy Show in Bridgeview, it is a two day event different vendors for each day. As we said Sunday morning April 6th. We’ll have a table there and we’ll have all kinds of cards and collectables. I’d say about 40% of what we have will be Final Fantasy. But, there will be more to it than that. Video Games, Action Figures, Toys you name it. There’s a good chance you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Did you check out our updated Final Fantasy Singles? We have close to 200 cards available for you. All these cards are from pack to sleeve, and straight to a binder.

And, as we mentioned before, we need your bulk! If it’s just in the closet gathering dust, we’ll give you $10 per 1000 cards. If you have something that’s worth more than bulk, send us a message, and we’ll go from there.

kardboardkorner@gmail.com