30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Monday, August 10, 2020

The Waiting Game

It's official.  I spent the final $4.99 sitting in my COMC account on a shipping request that is scheduled to take place on November 2nd of this year.  Is this the last time I buy something on their site?  Not sure.  But for now, I don't have any plans on adding additional credit.

I'm also waiting on a pair of Topps Project 2020 cards that I purchased last month.  Based on a comment I read over on this blog, it looks like I might be waiting awhile.

The question is... will I receive my COMC or Topps Project 2020 order first?  Last week, I would have assumed the latter, but with these COVID-19 delays... I'm not as confident.

The good news is I never have to wait for blogger care packages, since they're exactly that... care packages.  They are not expected.  They're surprise packages that show up in your mailbox, because the sender is a caring, generous human being.

Last month, I showed off some UD Decade bat cards I received in my last COMC shipment and Julie over at A Cracked Bat offered to add one more to my collection:

2001 UD Decade 70's Game-Used Bat #B-MM

Mota once held the MLB record for pinch hits... a fact I probably learned from his 1980 Topps highlights cardForty years later, he's still #3 on the all-time list.  This card is the twenty-third addition to this set build.  Not sure I'll ever complete it, but I'm one card away from being halfway there.

In addition to the sweet Mota (which makes him appear to be staring into the sun), she also sent me some bonus cards:


Ramon Laureano is my favorite current Oakland Athletic and has looked pretty solid so far... although he'll probably be required to take a vacation after yesterday's events.



Julie also included one of those limited 2019 Topps Chrome Sapphire cards that collectors were chasing last yearWho doesn't appreciate a classic handlebar mustache?


According to the note she included in her care package, some of these were cards from her "pick pockets".  I'm not 100% sure which cards are which... but I feel like I claimed that Colt Brennan jersey card for my Hawaii PC.  Up until this past season, he held the NCAA single season record for passing touchdowns.


Thanks Julie for the very generous care package.  I love these "no strings attached" cards we exchange.  I know you stated a return package isn't necessary, but that's not how I roll.  It's going to happen at some point.  I'm just not sure if it'll happen before I receive my COMC and/or Topps Project 2020 shipments.

Okay... today's question involves the waiting game.

Who is currently waiting on shipments from COMC, Topps, or both?

And does anyone know if Topps has announced an updated ETA on these Project 2020 cardsFrom what I can see the latest cards that were shipped to customers are cards #99 and #100.  I wasn't able to find the dates when these two cards were available on the Topps website, but as of last Friday... they were selling cards #193 and #194.

I wonder if the shortage of supplies (plastic protective holders) have anything to do with these shipping delays.

Happy Monday and sayonara!


Extra Innings

     
2019 Topps Stadium Club Autograph #SCA-MC

On a positive note, I purchased a redemption card for this Matt Chapman autograph on eBay back on July 10thReceived it a few days later.  Entered the code a few days after that... and received the card last week.  I was very pleased with the overall turnaround time, so kudos to Topps and their redemption department.  Wait.  Did I just type that?

18 comments:

Elliptical Man said...

Voting for the Mota. Those defensive Laureanos are nice though.

Dan said...

Project 2020 updates are tweeted out every Thursday by Topps. They are currently shipping card #102. It should start speeding up a bit because the highest print run cards have now passed.

night owl said...

I ordered my Project 2020 card in late June and it's not here yet, but they're about 12 cards away from sending it out, so I should get it soon.

COMC, I'm still hesitating on requesting a shipment. Your November news doesn't make me any more eager to hit "ship".

Nachos Grande said...

I have a bunch of cards bought on COMC but that I haven't requested shipping for yet. With the long wait, I figured what's the use? Maybe I'll add more to my order before COMC gets their shipping act together.

Paul said...

I placed my COMC order/requested shipment on July 10th. Right now it still says estimated to ship October 12th. I hope it comes sooner, but I am assuming the worst case for now.

acrackedbat said...

Love those Decades bat cards! Groovy! I held onto your picks to accumulate enough for a bubble mailer since you had the Brennan. I can't send a half-empty mailer. And you want to punish me by sending a return package??? LOL. I guess that's a beating I can handle. I have 50 or so cards sitting at COMC but haven't pressed the ship button yet.

bbcardz said...

I remember Manny Mota as a Dodger and he was clutch. I also saw him walking around in a suit at Dodger Stadium in August 2014 and took a picture with him. He was very nice, too.

As for waiting on shipments, I have 97 cards ordered from COMC but haven't requested shipment yet. I'll likely order a bunch more cards before requesting shipment.

gcrl said...

great to see manny mota leading off the post!

i bought a topps project 2020 card (two, actually) on june 3rd and received them on august 6. i requested shipment from comc on june 30th, and they say they will ship on september 30th with an expected delivery of october 6th. i have one sportlots direct to customer order from july 18th still undelivered (they say to wait since it's coming from canada). i also placed a sportlots box order on august 2nd and things are just now starting to populate the box. i expect i will get that shipment before any of these others.

the worst one is a panini redemption that i initiated in february, and it still shows "in progress". i guess i now have the option of requesting a replacement card, but i really don't want to do that.

buckstorecards said...

I hit ship on some COMC stuff back in May. It was supposed to arrive September 20something, but it showed up this morning. So, I guess I'm not waiting for a shipment any more.

Peter K Steinberg said...

For your Extra Innings...did the runner start on second base? I'm not waiting for anything from either Topps or COMC. I'm done with COMC. Price too high, shipping prices to high. And the delays. Sportlots and ebay for me, mostly. I did get a Topps Turn Back the Clock (off ebay). The turn around time from release/purchase to my receiving it---after it was first sent to the seller---was under 2 weeks. I think that's impressive. Julie is so awesome. Great cards.

Collecting Cutch said...

I received a COMC shipment very quickly in June after requesting shipment in May. I am still waiting on 8 Topps Project 2020 cards. I'm planning on getting another shipment from COMC this year, but am holding off for awhile because none of the items in my cart are must add now items.

Jeremya1um said...

I don’t believe it counts, but 2 days ago, I finally entered my Home Run contest things on the Topps website. Only had 2 cards, Francisco Lindor and Manny Machado, but I picked yesterday, and lo and behold Machado homered twice. So I guess I’m waiting on whatever card they give me to be delivered. I would love to add some cards to my cart on COMC. Perhaps in a few weeks when I get some more PayPal money. I just can’t get excited about them because the 3, 4, 5 month delivery time, while certainly understandable, it is still a long time.

The Snorting Bull said...

I have been waiting on a COMC order for a few months. I think I placed the order in May? It's just a few cards to fill out sets. My current ship date is in early September.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

I am waiting on both. My ComC order is due in next month. I have a weekly order I place with Topps for my Wackys, and those typically take three weeks after to get. They just shipped my July week 3 today. I have week 4 & 5, waiting as well as Aug week 1, and in 2 days week 2.

Nick Vossbrink said...

I'm not done with COMC. Still building a pile and waiting for shipping times to get faster. But I do admit that I'm going there less frequently. For me the delays in getting new stuff processed are hurting them more than anything else. Inventory isn't being added and it's increasingly just people looking to flip stuff that's been on there for months or years.

Laurens said...

COMC - with cards in limbo, do I try scheduling shipping ASAP because it may take 3 months to get my cards.

Do I want to receive mail from the state of Washington, where COMC is located [?] - I have to get my cards sooner than never, pandemic or not; COMC prioritizes their eBay sales outright while shipping port items in a reasonable window of time requires a super duper premium charge.

Understandably, the way things are setup has gotten to be a mess - I don’t like the idea my cards are held hostage while I still see an occasional Tweet about some card someone picked up like it was the greatest place to find cards.

mr haverkamp said...

I've had a 20+ card grouping sitting at COMC for a while....finally decided to suck it up and request shipping today...paid an upcharge and estimated delivery is just prior to labor day. Did not want to wait until November.

Fuji said...

elliptical man - topps has really taken care of laureano this year and last year. love those action shots

dan - thanks. i'll have to figure out the whole twitter thing so i can figure out when i'll receive my cards. good to know that things will be speeding up

night owl - looking forward to seeing which project 2020 you ordered. if i had more funds, i might have held out on shipping a little longer. but my account was drained, so i figured i request a shipment

nachos grande - yeah... if i had more credit, i'd probably wait too.

paul - hopefully the estimated shipping date is a worst case scenario. i'm hoping they'll surprise us and ship a few weeks early

acrackedbat - thanks julie... i appreciate the bonuses for sure.

bbcardz - i'm sure he stood out wearing that suit. i'm sure that photograph is a treasured item in your collection. if i had more credit, i would have held out longer on shipping too. hope you find some cool stuff

gcrl - wow. you had some good luck with the project 2020 turnaround time. i've had a great experience with sportlots, but there was a couple of purchases from canada that took 2 to 3 weeks. i have a panini redemption i've been sitting on for a few years. lol. i'm assuming it'll never get filled

buckstorecards - nice. that gives all of us a little extra hope

peter k steinberg - i assumed that the runner was the batter, but maybe. i'm done with comc too. not sure how long that will last. i'll probably add more credit as soon as i see a card i really want/need

collecting cutch - i totally understand. no need to request shipment if you don't need the cards in your inventory and you still have money in your account

jeremya1um - congratulations on picking a winning date for machado. i haven't participated in their home run challenge, but i like the concept.

the snorting bull - hang in there. early september is just around the corner

johnnys trading spot - good to hear their wackys aren't delayed as nearly as much as their project 2020 cards. i feel like 3 weeks is reasonable

nick vossbrink - i still use comc to look up what certain cards look like or what cards players have. i'm kinda hoping i don't find anything i want, bc i'd like to avoid adding anymore credit to my account in the near future

laurens - yeah, comc is based out of washington. sounds like they are trying to hire people to help speed things up. hopefully they aren't just hiring people for their ebay department

mr haverkamp - lol. i'm too cheap to spend the extra money on shipping. i'm already cutting back, because they're charging tax on store credit ;D