Today's post isn't about those kinds of freebies. It's about two unique situations that have taken place over the past five weeks.
Last Thursday, I submitted a "Best Offer" for a five card 2016 Archives autographed card lot over on eBay. The guy countered my offer and I accepted. Later that afternoon, I received this message:
At first, I was disappointed because I needed four of the five cards for my set. But it was a harmless mistake... and 2016 Archives is still pretty fresh, which means that there are plenty of autograph lots to be had. So it didn't take long for me to move on with my life and card collection.
Earlier in the week, I received this 2016 Bowman Chrome refractor of Yoan Moncada:
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not much of a prospector... but I do love me some shiny refractors. I did a little research and it looks like Moncada has a solid shot at making the Bigs. If not, I feel bad for the Red Sox and the sixty-three million dollars spent on their top prospect. Only time will tell. The good news is I don't have much invested in this card.
A few weeks earlier, I purchased this 2012 Exquisite Legacy Signatures card of Archie Griffin:
Griffin is the only person to ever win the Heisman Trophy twice... and based on what I've read... this feat may be hard to repeat.
I have been wanting to add one of his Press Pass signatures to my collection for several years, but I recently discovered that he has a few Upper Deck autographs as well. Last month, I won this on-card autographed #'d to 60 card with a bid of $19.50 (+ $4.70 shipping).
A week later... the seller sent me a eBay message letting me know that the card had been shipped, but the tracking kept showing up as "In Transit". I wasn't too worried and told him I appreciated him following up on the sale.
Five days later, the seller sent me a full refund with this message:
A little over a week later... a padded envelope arrived in my mailbox. I sent the seller a message on eBay offering to resend the money... but he never replied. I left him positive feedback and a nice note. Figured it was the least I could do, since he essentially gave me an autograph that had been sitting on my Top 10 list for several years.
Two cool freebies from eBay vendors in five weeks. Not bad considering the coolest Free-Bay item before that was a Eric Chavez jersey card I received a few years ago.
What about you...
What are some of the coolest Free-Bay items you've received?
Happy Thursday and sayonara!
10 comments:
That Moncada is sweet. He's rocketing through the Sox system, and actually looks like the real deal. Well, actually, he looks like an NFL linebacker. But, he plays like he's the real deal.
I had a card coming from New York that just showed 'Shipping Label Created' for over a week. I messaged the seller yesterday, and he said he had shipped the card. Today it finally popped up in the USPS tracker at my local sorting station. I had a few other packages in the last couple of weeks that seemed to be hung up for a while before updating when they hit my local processing center.
I've had a few random autos thrown in with orders that I made, and appreciated them even though they didn't really fit my Browns collection, but I just posted the other day about a seller that sent me two Browns cards from an oddball set that I didn't even realize existed. To me, that was awesome!
I once got a Tom Gorzelanny Minor League Baseball card. That's as far as my freebie track record goes.
I've received a few freebies over the years. It is always nice to see posts like this as the majority of people on eBay are honest/understanding.
I've received freebies from time to time. I like getting them. Sometimes they make up for the terrible way the seller packaged the cards, or sometimes they use them as the sacrificial card to take the tape damage. Rookie sellers using regular tape to ship cards out. Sometimes the sellers just want to dump off some common penny cards. That explains the occasional getting a football freebie when you ordered all baseball, or getting an oddball non-sport card as a freebie. Many sellers use the freebies as a way to get rid of what they consider garbage, others use it as a tool to try to entice you to become a repeat customer. I usually just try to look for deals on cards I still want or need especially if they help on a set build. I rarely even notice who the seller is anymore. I do tend to stick with US sellers mostly to insure the quick shipping and to get the shipping tracking. Even with sportlots I don't check the sellers much, I really should because there have been a few I have gotten upset with.
Personally I haven't ever received anything fun and free from sellers on Tha 'Bay but I am pleased to see there are some decent folks out there who tried to do right by you!
One lot of basketball cards I got had a Andre Dawson rookie card at the top of the little plastic case they were shipped in. I was so surprised, I almost thought I'd received a baseball card lot in error.
The one experience that sticks out the most is when I bought two different graded lots from the same seller. I combined shipping and paid a total of $20.15 for everything. I waited and waited and then saw the cards back on ebay for sale. I messaged the guy asking what the heck was going on. He said he had been in the hospital and his grandson was supposed to be taking care of things for him. He said he would make it up to him. I got the cards in the mail shortly thereafter along with a $20 bill.
section 36 - i'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in terms of moncada's career. regardless... it's shiny and i've always been attracted to shiny things.
raz - the united states postal service never ceases to amaze me. i've had packages from the east coast arrive in two days... and packages from southern california take a full week. it's a complete mystery on what's going on over there.
angus - oh yeah... read that post. it's the one with those awesome post cards.
zippy - as a fan of minor league cards... that's not a bad freebie
matthew - agree. there are way more quality dealers than shady ones. unfortunately they're like my students... which means i always seem to remember the negative stories and seem to forget the happy moments
captkirk42 - nailed it. i only subscribe to a handful of eBay dealers. however... i do tend to buy from the same handful of guys on sportlots.
forestrydave - thanks. most of the time, they're just penny cards like kirk mentioned. but i appreciate cards like the griffin and moncada too.
ko rob - now that's what i call a solid freebie. congratulations.
daniel wilson - another success story. glad to know some sellers still make customer service a priority.
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