Bobbleheads Bobble Sniper

Gun to my head….There won’t be SGA Bobbleheads this year and here’s why!

by | Apr 20, 2020 | Sniper Rants

Listen, no one is more pissed than me about this season being in jeopardy but according to Donny, this “Invisible Enemy” is nasty and their are thousands of people dying daily. We all want our game back and we’re all impatient including myself. Will my Red Sox contend for a title this year? Fuck no, but I still want to see them on the diamond as baseball provides us entertainment and gives us a sense of happiness, which keeps our spirits up. Whenever you have a shit day at work you know damn well you have plans that night because your team practically plays every night of the week. We always have something to watch whether our team sucks and it’s the ultimate escape from the everyday craziness within our world.

The most recent news coming out of Rob Manfred’s ass is playing games out in Arizona with brand new divisions but more importantly, to start the season with no fans. Listen, health is the most important thing and MLB wants to ease the game back into the stadiums slowly. All we need is a relapse and more people get infected with Covid. If you read between the lines here, baseball will start soon. I’m talking within weeks and yes, with no fans.

Reality has to sink in and if games do get back into our regular stadiums, baseball will seat people in every other seat or some shit like that. As far as the bobbleheads go, this is the LAST priority teams want to deal with. Let’s say our teams go back to our stadiums in early August with an obvious shortened season, how would promotional departments back track and hand out 7 bobblehead games that already passed? It’s not logical. Take the Dodgers for example: they hand out 18 bobbles per year, so how in the world could they manage the outrage of every fan who missed the previous 11 giveaways? And let me tell you something, teams in no way will ship your bobble to you if you had a ticket. That would not be a smart economical move by any team. If anything, and I mean anything, they will designate a certain date for you to sit in a line of cars at the stadium to claim your bobblehead which isn’t the worst idea in the world. 

Gun to my head, SGA’s will not be given out this year. It makes total sense and more importantly, teams have to figure out what to do with games that weren’t even played and how to refund or adjust tickets that fans bought already. I spoke with a close source of a MLB team and this person told me “some” bobbleheads have arrived and due to a shortage of space, the team has rented out a storage facility that they will use to store the bobbleheads away for now. There’s still so many uncertainties, but if you read the writing on the wall, and keep in mind teams don’t want upset fans, the easiest solution is to plan for next year. 

I hope I’m wrong. 

What to do during the self quarantine Coronavirus period

by | Mar 19, 2020 | Sniper Rants

Besides the normal stuff like going outside, taking a walk, riding a bicycle since it’s been pleasantly nice out, when the sun goes down it could spell for major boredom. There’s constant news 24/7 with local stations, CNN which can get tiresome after awhile listening to our world problems. Sportscenter for Christ sakes has absolutely nothing to talk about and they have turned to airing replays of vintage games.

I’m sure most of you Snipers have organized your bobbleheads over the winter months and have already highlighted the SGA games you plan on going to. The harsh reality of the majority of games being canceled is evident. 

So where does that leave us as far as our passion of collecting bobbleheads? Enjoy them. Cherish them. Look at them 3-4 times daily as they are displayed beautifully in your cabinets. Reminisce how long you stayed in line to obtain that bobble. Think back to when you sniped that very hard to find one on eBay and be proud you applied patience. Look at all the ones you traded for and think about how important it was making those connections with other collectors.

It’s pretty much “wait out the season” time as nobody knows where this world is headed to. But seriously, take a long step back and admire what you have and how long it took you to get where you are today. Take pictures of your collection and save them to show your kids 20 years down the road and explain this was when the entire nation shut down because of this virus.

On another note…if you’re really in desperation mode of wanting to add more and more bobbles to your collection, there’s MANY eBay sellers who are in dire need of money. They are selling anything and everything on eBay at low prices. Keep a sharp eye out as you can really get some quality bobbles for your collection or to flip. It seems like the physical motion of the world is closed but the internet world is still up and running which means it’s a great time to BUILD LEVERAGE. 

What you need to know about the Coronavirus and how it will impact 2020 Bobbleheads

by | Mar 11, 2020 | Sniper Rants

It seems like every day another new city, state or country is getting more and more infected with COVID-19. Tons of people have been exposed or has had contact with someone who’s been infected with the virus. A lot of collector’s including myself are worried and have questions regarding the bobbleheads this season if they will be delivered in time. We all know they are manufactured in China so there is immediate concern. 

I’ve spoken to several manufactures and as of right now 90% are expected to be delivered on time. Several factories in China were shut down weeks ago but are slowly starting to open back up. Many of the bobbleheads have already been completed as the factories have had ample time to make them the past 6 months. I know the Cleveland Cavaliers Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye dual bobblehead is being delayed so it all comes down to what factories were ordered to shut down. Also, as of last night, I found out that the Diamondbacks Ketel Marte bobblehead was removed from the website and we can all assume production won’t be completed in time.

Now, there’s several options teams can choose to do in the event that pallets of bobbleheads aren’t delivered on time. First, teams can push the date back but I’m going to assume that will fuck up the fans plans to attend the game on that day. Second, which I believe is the right decision to do is give out vouchers. The day of the game, if the bobbles aren’t ready, hand each fan a voucher to redeem their bobblehead at a later date. This is the safest way to guarantee that the fan will receive his or her bobblehead.

In conclusion, this virus is super deadly and is spreading faster than an Astros player can bang the shit out of a trash can. Our health as a country is obviously more important than our bobbleheads but I understand the cause for concern. We are all excited since the promo schedules came out and as of right now, expect deliveries to be on time for the majority of giveaways but keep this in mind. I spoke to a top manufacturer the other day and he said for me to be cautious as anything can happen. I read between the lines what he told me and I could only assume that if this virus spreads even more rapidly, that our bobbles can be delayed. This is definitely a situation to monitor for the next 3-4 weeks. 

The Travis Scott bobblehead apparently went viral last night

by | Feb 25, 2020 | Sniper Rants

Any time a Hip Hop artist bobblehead is being given out it’s naturally going to gain national attention. Travis Scott is on his way to becoming a mogal in the Hip Hop game. He’s fairly new but he’s dropped hits like Highest in the Room, SICKO MODE, Goosebumps and Antidote to name a few. I personally bump many of his songs especially while working in the Bobble Cave, hence why I like him so much. 

So the Rockets handed out Scott’s bobble last night as he’s a Houston, Texas native. Only 3,000 of these puppies were given out which is considerably low given most of us are used to 20k or more given out at games. Ultimately, the 3,000 amount makes this collectible an immediate “Somehwat rare” bobble. 

The open market prices were skyrocketing last night. From what I saw the average price was going for roughly $130.00. Many sellers have them still listed for $300-$400 and several in the $600.00 range. And you know what, I applaud these sellers. I saw on social last night that fans stood in line for up to 12 hours to get one. Yes, 12 hours! These sellers should capitalize on the highest amount of pay dirt they can get. After all, they are the ones who sacrificed their time and stood in line and gutted it out. Now, $600.00 is a bit excessive but anything in the $125-$200 range is nothing crazy considering only 3,000 were given out.

It looks like Success Promotions manufactured this and I’m not surprised one bit. Just about every bobblehead they manufacture is top notch which leaves us collector’s happy. 

If you’re in need for one of these I would wait. I do not see the value going up anytime soon as all it takes is one slap dick who throws a few on eBay for $85.00 and that immediately devalues the market. 

By the way, I still don’t have one locked up and I’m on the hunt…

What you should now be doing to prepare for the 2020 Bobblehead season

by | Feb 16, 2020 | Sniper Rants

It’s now the time year being very close to Spring Training starting, that just about all MLB and Minor League team have released their promotional schedules. Each promotional department actually starts generating ideas for new SGA bobbleheads right after the World Series is concluded. In order for their bobbles to be handed out in 2020, molds, graphic designs and prototypes have to be viewed way in advance. More importantly, this gives each and every factory time to actually manufacture the bobbleheads to arrive in time. Keep in mind there’s probably well over a million bobbles being manufactured from multiple companies so they need extensive time over in China to make them.  In addition, keep in mind that the Chinese New Year happens in early February which lasts roughly 2 weeks as factories are literally shut down.

So, NOW is the time for YOU to start mapping out which ones you wish to obtain this Spring and Summer. You’ve had the chance to check Instagram, Twitter and Facebook groups as collectors post what teams are giving what bobblehead away. Now, grab your laptop or notepad and record what ones catch your eye. This means which games you want to attend and more importantly, start making connections with other Snipers around the country to set up trades. I’ll be the first to tell you that if you’re deep into the bobble game and you don’t make a list ahead of time, you will drive yourself fucking crazy during mid-season. You will forget which ones came out and you’ll have to revert to Ebay in which ultimately, will cost you more money. Football is over, the NBA is exercising All-Star weekend in which they are on a 9 day break so there’s not much going on. Spend a few hours in your office and create a list so you’re not playing catch up and overpaying. The season will be here faster than you can blink. It’s time to put in the work as you’ll be happy you did. 

Why the Fall and Winter months are just as important as the Summer Sniping season

by | Oct 11, 2019 | Sniper Rants

Anywhere from October to late December are my second favorite bobblehead months. Obviously, the summer months are prime for collector’s to Snipe and create leverage but the middle of the Fall season is just as important. The heavy, heavy sniping season has calmed down dramatically as there still are SGA games sprayed in here or there, but nothing like the summer months.

For me, it’s a time to regroup from the craziness of the sniping season. The leaves start to change, the weather gets cooler, football is in full swing and major holidays are right around the corner.

If you’re a big time collector and you like adding tons of bobbles to your collection, then you know how busy the summer months get. You’re always checking Facebook and Twitter pages for the new SGA coming out. You’re either going to the game to Snipe or setting up multiple trades with other Snipers across the country. You know you have to be on top of your fucking game and not allow anything to slip by.

During these Fall and Winter months, I spend a ton time organizing and displaying all Sga’s I’ve acquired throughout the year. Given all of the inventory that goes in and out of the bobble cave, it’s my personal time to organize and get my life back in order. I contact trade partners to get rid of extra bobbles or list them on eBay to make room. I also calculate my expenses throughout the sniping season to see what I’ve spent and what I traded away. This is extremely important to look at year in and year out for financial reasons. I also record which bobbles I haven’t scored but are still on my radar. 

I’m in a little bit of a different situation than most as I also spend countless hours on creating content which takes an enormous amount of time, which is the main reason why I enjoy the Fall and Winter months. You heavy duty Snipers know what I’m talking about as I know many of you have stacks and stacks of bobbles just laying around. Grab a cold beer on a cold Thursday night, turn on the game and get to work. Take a long look at what you’ve built over the year and the leverage you created. Learn from what you did well and what you can work on the following year.

Lastly, if you ask me in my honest opinion what sort of weather is my favorite to work down in the Bobble Cave is…..without question a 12 hour down pour of snow when the entire East Coast is on lockdown and nobody can move. That’s when I get the most amount of work done and it puts my mind at ease. The coziness of a cold, snowy night with awesome fucking bobbles to work on is ideal for any collector.