30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Paying Top Dollar for Mr. Baseball

I have wanted to add a vintage baseball card of Mr. Baseball ever since his days on Mr. Belvedere and Major League.  Recently I decided to stop procrastinating and finally do something about it.  The first thing I had to do was decide on which card I wanted.  Luckily for me, Uecker only has a handful of cards from his playing days.

He was first featured with four other players on his rookie card in the 1962 Topps set.  Topps would also feature him on their baseball card checklists for the next five years.  If my selection was based purely on card design, then his 1965 card would hands down be the winner.  That card also features my favorite photograph of him as well.

However I decided to go with his 1963 Topps card, because I like the dual photo design and the fact that he's featured with the Milwaukee Braves... his hometown team.

Next... I had to figure out a nice balance between condition and purchase price.  At first I was content with picking up a cheap copy... even one that I could use as my next Wallet Card.  Cheap copies can be picked up for as little as a dollar on eBay.  Unfortunately... after several attempts, I was unable to secure one at that price for myself.


Then one day back in May, I stumbled across a signed copy that was SGC authenticated.  After one week of the 10 day auction... the card was already at $25, which is about the most I originally wanted to spend.  The next day the card shot up to $40.

At this point, I almost stopped watching the card.  This was way over my budget and was beginning to get out of hand.  But the fact that this was a signed copy of the card I really wanted made me hang in there.

On the final day of the auction, the card reached $50 and I honestly had no business bidding on it... but I decided to enter a bid (of what I believe was $55) at the last second and won it for $51 (+ $3.95 shipping).

Did I overpay?  Hell yeah, I did.  I could have picked up a PSA 7 copy and had enough money leftover to buy a blaster.  Plus... nobody really knows if Bob Uecker actually signed this card.  But believe it or not... as a guy who actually considers himself to be a budget collector... I have zero regrets about this purchase.

It allows me to cross Bob Uecker's name off of my wantlist.  That's a name that's been on there for over two decades.  And I choose to have faith that Mr. Baseball once held and signed this card which was destined to be in my collection.

What about you?


Have you ever knowingly overpaid for a card, because you wanted it that badly?

Looking forward to seeing if there are others out there like myself... or if I'm a lone wolf.  Comment away!

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

12 comments:

Billy Kingsley said...

Absolutely. As a set collector I will do whatever is necessary to complete a set. I once traded an autograph and cash to get a checklist.

Zippy Zappy said...

Yes. I think like 99% of my Torrens PC is like that.

Marc said...

Definitely have over paid for a card that I wanted on more than one occasion. The cards that have been found at bargain prices help to offset the cost.

J. Meeks said...

Yeah, I definitely have overpaid for some cards (especially some cards in my Matt Harrison PC). Some of the lower-numbered parallels are the main culprit for this, but I got to have 'em, so I overpay. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that.

The Lost Collector said...

I don't so much overpay for the card as much as I overpay for shipping on the card I want.

Man said...

Fantastic- love him-he is one of the tougher cards for Cardinals' collectors trying to complete the '64 and '65 Topps team sets.

BobWalkthePlank said...

No matter how much I try to stop it I will overpay for a handful of cards a year. You just have to look on the bright side that you received something you wanted. Congrats on a great pickup.

GCA said...

I remember picking out a big pile of Redskins from a dealer at a mall show. The guy quoted me a price that was a dollar per card or more. I was so giddy to get them that I had to go to the ATM for the cash. Most of the cards were 25¢ commons or less, but I just had to have them that time. I've learned to walk away now....

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Yep! On a side note nice Braves card!

Corky said...

I have paid over on a couple of occasions just so I could add a card I really wanted to my collection. Bob Uecker is no longer signing so that is a pretty rare find. I think the 1963 card is probably his best looking card.

Fuji said...

Thanks for all of the feedback. Glad to know that I'm not alone.

Billy - Great point. I completely forgot about all of the times I paid full book or overpaid for a card (or cards) I needed for a set.

Zippy - When he hits the show... you'll hit the jackpot. That's one heck of a collection you have.

Marc - I like the way you think. I'm all about averaging out the cost over the long haul.

J. Meeks - No need to be embarrassed. You're among plenty of other who have overpaid. We're here to support each other.

TLC - For as long as I can remember... I always factor shipping into my cost... so I've overpaid from both angles.

Brady - I'm still looking to add his '65 card to my collection. Maybe I'll find it at Serramonte.

Mr. Scott - Agree. Positive thinking goes a long way.

GCA - I might have shaken my head before... but now that I've thought about it. I've been in your shoes a few times in my life.

John Miller - Thanks!

Corky - Didn't realize he doesn't sign anymore. Thanks for the info.

Matt said...

Yup. I needed a couple of pieces for that Rueben RAndle topps chrome rainbow and belted out a bit more than I like to pay. But, I did it for the sake of finishing it off