As human beings, we're not perfect... so it's only natural that we make mistakes from time to time. However, some of us make more mistakes than others.
Last October, I managed to buy an empty box of football cards for $4.99 (99¢ + $4 shipping). Click here if you're bored... as a bonus, there's a picture of me dressed up as a geisha girl.
Since I'm a creature of habit, I'll use the same format as my previous experience...
Who: That would be me.
What: Five COLOR PHOTO COPIES of Star Wars sketch cards
When: Last Sunday
Why: The illustrations were so awesome, I figured they were worth a couple of bucks a piece... even if they weren't pack inserted sketch cards.
How: Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied with the artistic beauty... I didn't notice the word PRINT in the title.
So, somebody scanned photos of their homemade Star Wars sketch cards, made color copies of them, and then I purchased them, because I didn't take the time to read the ad carefully.
On a humorous side note... I wasn't the only guy to bid on this lot.
However, the jokes on me... since I'm the one who won it.
Actually, it could have been worse. My max bid was set for $10. Thank goodness we didn't get into a bidding war.
Okay I've shared not one, but two stories of mistakes I've made while collecting cardboard. Don't worry, I've got more to share. But before I do, it's your turn first.
Share with your blogger buddies an embarrassing sports memorabilia story from your past.
C'mon... we all make mistakes. I promise not to pass judgement... although I can't speak for other collectors.
1 Point - Leave your response below.
3 Points - Post your response on your blog and leave a link below, so others can enjoy what you wrote.
I'll accept responses to this post until Sunday at 3pm (PST) and look forward to reading your responses.
Happy Friday and sayonara!
44 comments:
Hmmm...well just recently I was trying out Listia on the advice of several bloggers, where everything is "free." I bid one credit on a serial #'d gold card because 1 credit for a serial #'d card is nothing. Someone bid it up to 2, and then I bid it up to 3, and then somehow I won. Which seemed too good to be true - a free card mailed my way for just 3 credits?
Well turns out that SOME auctions on the site have a shipping charge added, and I was too big of an idiot to notice this was one of those cards. Needless to say it was 3 credits plus $2.5, and I only wanted the card if it was free so that changed my mind. I messaged the seller, said I'd good/don't ship it, and gave up my 3 credits. Hardly a big loss, but still me being a big dumbhead!
Funny stuff, we all make silly mistakes from time to time. Mine is similar in I bid on an E-Bay auction a few years back for a Playstation 2 game called Luminos. I is a Tetris like puzzle game but I also didnt read the listing properly and didnt see that it was for the case only so when the package arrived I was nsurprised to see no game disc. Luckily I went back and re-read the auction and saw my mistake before I complained to the seller and looked foolish. It only cost me like 3 bucks so it was a cheap lesson on reading auctions more carefully.
The first one that comes to mind involves an online trade I made a few years ago.
I was to receive a few cards and a couple bucks in cash for some extras I had. When the envelope arrived, I completely forgot there was money (as well as cards) inside, and I mistakenly ripped it open. As a result, the couple dollar bills were torn in half. (Although the cards were alright since they were in a holder.)
Needless to say, I've been a lot more careful opening envelopes ever since.
I don't know HOW many times (well, three for sure) that I've bought "cross-dresser" GU cards (players in Twins uni but on a different team, which I DON'T collect), so now I'm really careful when buying 2008 Torii Hunter or Johan Santana cards, or Jacque Jones, Shannon Stewart, or even Matt Lawton cards.
I won't mention the time I mailed cards to the wrong trader.
way back in the day when I came back into the hobby.... I discovered a new site called ebay.
I had always wanted to collect autographs and saw a bunch on there real cheap. This is how I learned the lesson of ebay shysters selling pre-printed autos on 8x10's.
Who does this????
anyways, I fell for it.
No real stupid ebay moves yet!
Still time to make plenty!
Nothing really funny/stupid here either... bought some rookies which I thought were auto'd rookies and weren't... that's about it. With over 1,200 transactions on eBay, I guess that means I'm quite anal about what I buy. :)
1992 Pinnacle # 365 Eric Lindros card---this was when it was first released and it depicted Eric in a Team Canada uniform--anyhoo, dealer had a sticker on the top loader for $1.00--I think it was going for around $10.00--I scooped it up before anyone else had a chance--now the sticker was in the middle of t he top loader--guess what--it was hiding the spot where some of t he card was torn off--after that, taught me to check everything carefully
My story:
http://plaschkethysweaterisargyle.blogspot.com/2012/06/embarrassed-yes-happy-yes.html
I bought a baseball once at a stadium thinking it was a pretty good deal ($20.00 if I remember and it had a bunch of signatures). Of course, it ended up being one of those printed signature balls that are all over every baseball stadium. I was young then (luckily so I can blame the error on youthful innocence).
The timing is perfect:
http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/2012/06/embarrassed-every-day-man-every-day.html
Funny you should mention that. I just was in a $50 bidding war for a $5 card: http://1967ers.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/someone-on-ebay-is-dumber-than-me/
Alrighty then, let's try this one:
http://dawgbonesaphilliesphan.blogspot.com/2012/06/waxing-contestic.html
though I have screwed up at least once and sent extra "goodies" of the wrong team in a trade package!!
Thanks again for the contest Fuji,
Dawgbones
Man, tough question. I think the closest I could come up with is embarrassment in retrospect that I bought a bunch of Nomar Garciaparra Diamond Ink points from 1997 or 98 Fleer, in hopes of gathering enough to get a ball (500 I think). Unfortunately I bought them in small lots, and never even found enough for sale to get close. I still have a bunch of them somewhere, but there certainly are cooler things I could have spent that cash on.
In what was probably my first eBay experience I intended to bid $20.00 on a frank Robinson rookie card. This was back in 1999 or so. But I failed to enter a decimal point and my bid was $2000. I didn't realize what had happened unti I won the card at a little over $20 IIRC. I've never failed to double check my bits or snipes again. It could have been far worse than it was.
Can't post this on my blog because I'm on the road and blogging via phone apps makes me want to stomp on kittens.
The closest I've come to a crash and burn was bidding on a redemption card. Shortly after putting a bid in at the fair market value of the autograph card to be redeemed, I was out bid, but not by much. I was ready to rebid but caught some fine print I hadn't seen before. The auction was for a redemption card that had already been redeemed. The winner of the auction would receive the actual redemption card, not the autograph card associated with it. Needless to say, I did not put in another bid. I felt sorry for the person who won the auction. It taught me to carefully read everything and now if I find a auction I'm interested in but the details are a little ambiguous or self contradictory, I stay away.
Way back in September 2011 I was opening a box of 2011 Bowman Chrome hoping for a Bryce Harper card. When one popped out of a pack after a high-pitched screech I hugged my friend out of exitement, seconds later I realised that we'd been doing the box break in McDonalds and dozens of eyeballs were looking at us. Funny thing is though that the box also contained a superfractor and a Jesus Montero gold die-cut #'d to 25 (both combined could get me $400+ on eBay should I sell them), yet that was the only time my heart skipped a beat that day.
I still harbor shame from my first trip to a baseball card shop in 1987 when I was six. My mother took a neighborhood kid, my brother, and I to "The Batters Box" located near Thunderbird High School in Phoenix. My mother knew less about cards than we did, and we didn't know a thing.
Full of the unwarranted self-confidence possessed by only 6 year-olds and people who listen to "news" talk radio on a daily basis I became insistent that not only was there a 1981 Topps Tim Wallach, but I had one with me. To prove it I produced an '82 Topps Wallach, believing that the last year of stats on the back (1981) meant it was an '81.
Everyone over the age of 25 probably remembers what card shop owners were like in the 80's, they were dicks. I believe it was a pre-resiquite for ownership. Well, the two grown men behind the counter started laughing at me, and it must have been less than polite laughter, because my mother took offense. This didn't bother them, and they started an argument with my mother. Anyways, we left, my mother made a scene, declared we'd never come back (and didn't aside from once (and sometimes 2 or 3) a week trips for the next 4 years.
But that day, I've known that you need to add +1 to the last year of stats listed to know what year a card is.
Also, I feel it's important to note, that over time the owners of "The Batters Box" proved themselves to be the least dick-ish of any of the card shops we frequented in the greater Phoenix area. A store called "The Umpires Choice" by Shea still holds the title for worst/rudest owners ever.
My most embarrassing collecting memory goes back to the time Ihave just purchased some vintage basketball cards at a flea market. I had some regular sized 1971-72 Topps and some of the oversized 1969-70 Topps.
I had stopped along the way through the market to look at some of the cards, putting aside the big cards as I reviewed the others.
As I was headed back to the car, I remembered I had put down the big cards and now did not have them with me. So in essence, I left behind about 50 cards which might have ncluded Wilt Chamberlain and a host of Hall of Famers ... but I will never really know as I did not get to look through the pile.
It won't let me copy and paste from my phone but I just posted my answer!
DON'T LOOK AT ME OH GOD I'M SO STUPID I JUST WANNA CRAWL IN A HOLE AND DIE
http://cardjunk.blogspot.com/2012/07/im-slightly-embarrassed-to-admit-this.html
Wow... close call. Glad you caught that before you rebid.
Congratulations on pulling the Harper & the Montero... great cards.
I remember those type of card shop employees in the late 80's and 90's. I was always surprised the way some of the talked to adults compared to children.
Btw... it took me a while to figure out the +1 rule, so don't feel bad.
Great post +1 extra credit.
Bummer. Well at least someone was treated to a nice surprise.
thanks... i'll check it out right now.
I've been debating on using Listia... I have an account, but haven't bid on anything yet. Guess if I start, I need to check their shipping policy.
Contest entries are closed for this post... stay tuned for updated contest totals.
After talking with a buddy... it seems sellers do this sometimes with the intent to deceive... which is kinda sad. But then again, it's our responsibility to read the eBay ad carefully.
I've done that myself... and I'm a lot more careful these days myself.
You should definitely mention the time you mailed cards to the wrong trader... sounds like a great story.
Back in 1999, Vince Carter had a fan club and if you became a member, you received an autographed photo. I spent a ton of $$$ on three memberships. The autographs weren't facsimiles, but they were signed with an autopen. I wasn't a happy camper.
Congratulations... hopefully you won't ever have any.
That's a good way to look at it. I've made hundreds of purchases and have only made a few idiotic moves. But sadly those are the stories I tend to remember.
That's wrong... shame on the seller!
thanks for sharing!
I remember having an A's ball from the 80's with all of those facsimile signatures. I loved that thing... it was on a shelf next to my baseball trophies for most of my childhood.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
I remember that promotion... but I too never came close to saving enough to get anything.
That issue is always in the back of my mind. I haven't done it before, but I definitely can see this happening to me.
Thanks :) yeah I got my money's worth that day lol.
返事ありがとうね＾０＾。
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