Card Shop Review: Turn Two Collectibles

Posted by Jonathan @ RGB Cards | Posted in

The second shop that I visited was Turn Two Collectibles in Raleigh. Turn Two has been around for a while - in fact, I think I may have gone there when I was a kid. Regardless, it doesn't look like things have changed for a long time. I mentioned in my earlier post that when I went to Cardiacs, even though it wasn't the biggest store, it felt roomy. Well, Turn Two was the opposite - it was bigger, but there was so much stuff, it felt claustrophobic in a way.

For all it's inventory, there wasn't a lot as far as new stuff goes. I was able to get some 2009 Series 2 cards off my list, which was good, since I got a bunch of Series 1 the day before. But the customer service was, sadly, lacking. I was the only person in the store, but the guy behind the counter didn't seem interested in striking up a conversation. I guess the CSI repeat was more important than a new customer. Basically, there was one box of cards from 2009 (none from this year, I was told) and I was handed the box, pointed in the direction of a card, and went through it. No conversations, no small talk, nothing, really. So I made the decision to get what I need and get out.

At Cardiacs, I bought some stuff I didn't really need because I wanted to give them some extra business. At Turn Two, it was strictly business. Oh well, their loss.

Here's some highlights of what I did purchase:


2009 Topps 206 George Sisler (bronze parallel)
The card I got is exactly like that one, except it has a bronze border. If you check my want lists, you'd see that Sisler is one of four old-time players whose cards I will always endeavor to pick up if given the chance. That's because of his connection to Ichiro, first due to the single-season hit record, then due to the fact that they're both really good hitters. This means I find more than a few cards with both players on them, which is a win/win for me.


2005 Heritage Flashbacks Luis Aparicio
Another player on my "get whatever card you see" list (the Robinson boys are the other two, by the way). I'm a bit lucky I got this card, honestly, because as a 2005 card, it was obviously mis-filed with the 2009s. No matter, I'm happy to spend the dime or whatever it was and add it to my Little Looie collection.

(ed note: Holy crap, I just looked at the COMC entry and the asking price is a buck! Instant profit - if, you know, I was going to sell it. Which I'm not.)


2009 SP Authentic Ken Griffey Jr.
After coming across this SP Authentic cards in the box, I must say, I am a fan. Too bad it's another product line that was killed following the move to a single license for baseball cards. I liked the feel of this particular set, and have since tracked down the Lincecum and Hernandez cards as well (okay, I confess, I went back to Cardiacs). I'll also have to look for '08 Authentics and older. But I'm too lazy to look it up - are there parallels I have to find, too?



2009 Upper Deck Spectrum Felix Hernandez base
This is funny, because I actually got the red parallel of this card before I found the base. There was a pile of Spectrums in the '09 box, and I was hoping King Felix would be in there. He was. I was so happy, I went and bought a playmate for him the next day.

Grade for Turn Two
Store - Presentation: C-; Inventory: B
Customer Service: C-
Overall: C
If I was in the point in my collection  that I was looking for cards older than the past few years, I'd probably find them here. But because their newer inventory wasn't as robust as I would like, not as good a trip as the one to Cardiacs.

Photo credits:
George Sisler courtesy of Amazon
Luis Aparicio courtesy of Check Out My Cards
Ken Griffey Jr and Felix Hernandez courtesy of eBay

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