I've been going back and forth debating on whether or not I should buy a new car, since both of my cars are old. My 2008 Toyota Yaris acts as my daily commuter, while my 2006 Acura TL is used sparingly here and there. Although both are in great running condition, I really like the look of the 2018 Acura TLX, which is considered to be a performance luxury sedan.
If I bought it, I'd most likely sell the Yaris and TL, consolidating down to one car. There are only two things holding me back.
1. I love my 2006 TL. I love the look and it's the best car I've ever owned.
2. The 2018 TLX I built online is close to 50k.
With that being said, I'm about 99.9% certain that I'll be sticking with the Yaris and TL combination for now and saving my money for hopefully a rental property.
I kicked off this post about my car situation, because it kind of relates to my sports card collection. Three weeks ago, I crossed off one of my 2018 hobby resolutions when I purchased this 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens rookie card:
If I bought it, I'd most likely sell the Yaris and TL, consolidating down to one car. There are only two things holding me back.
1. I love my 2006 TL. I love the look and it's the best car I've ever owned.
2. The 2018 TLX I built online is close to 50k.
With that being said, I'm about 99.9% certain that I'll be sticking with the Yaris and TL combination for now and saving my money for hopefully a rental property.
I kicked off this post about my car situation, because it kind of relates to my sports card collection. Three weeks ago, I crossed off one of my 2018 hobby resolutions when I purchased this 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens rookie card:
How does this apply to cars? Well for years, this card was one of those luxury cards, I thought I'd never own. It's not that I couldn't afford to buy one. It's just that like the 2018 Acura TLX, I couldn't justify paying the ridiculous prices people once sought.
Thankfully, Clemens' popularity is at an all-time low and his baseball card values have followed suit. That's why a few months ago, I decided to target the 7x Cy Young Award winner's best rookie card.
My goal was to find a PSA 8 graded copy for $100 or less. Why graded? Well... I didn't want to worry about counterfeits. And NM-MT is the lowest grade I want to deal with in regards to 80's rookie cards.
Unfortunately, PSA 8 copies typically sell in the $120 to $130 range. Then a few weeks ago, a copy was being auctioned off. I ended up getting outbid and it sold for $105 (free shipping). Two days later, eBay offered a 20% coupon on any purchase ($25 or higher). I decided that this was the perfect opportunity for me to score the Clemens.
I found a guy who had one listed for $125 or best offer (+ $3.75 shipping). I sent him an offer of $105. He countered with $120. I countered with $110 and explained that one sold for $105 two days earlier. I also sent him a link to 4 Sharp Corners who had one listed on their site for $110 (with free shipping).
He accepted.
After I applied the 20% eBay coupon, the price of the Clemens dropped down to $88 (+ $3.75 shipping).
I can definitely live with that price.
Did anyone else take advantage of eBay's 20% coupon?
If so... what did you buy?
Now if I can only find an Acura dealership willing to give me a 20% discount.
Nah. Who am I kidding? This teacher wasn't meant to live the life of luxury. He was meant to collect discounted baseball cards.
Happy Opening Day and sayonara!
I completely missed eBay's 20% coupon and only heard about it after the fact. Kinda bummed about that, but I've got to save my pennies anyhow. Congrats on crossing the Clemens off your list, that's a sweet RC!
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to All Time Low in years..gonna leave this post up and play it after dinner :)
I did. Got a big chunk of '62s which I'm chasing and a T205 Bender. It was a nice deal. They had a 15% one also just a few days ago and I took advantage of that, too.
ReplyDeleteI bring coupons on a date (Weird Al thinks I'm tacky).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I bought a bunch of shipping supplies and pages with my 20% coupon. I live a life of insanity over here.
That Clemens at $88 is a nifty score BTW.
Congrats on the grab! And no, I totally missed the coupon thing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I got a 20% coupon, but I got a couple of 15% promos over the past two weeks - ended up with a pair of musty old cards for my collection - a 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski and a 1957 Topps Don Drysdale.
ReplyDeleteNice card. Way to use the discount to your advantage!
ReplyDeleteI used the 20% coupon to get a big ol' lot of 2012 Cooperstown Crystal parallels.
ReplyDeleteThey'd had a lot of coupons lately I've noticed. Almost daily.
ReplyDeleteI think I used the 20% coupon on some 2018 Heritage. I used the 15% coupon a couple of days ago on some PSA-graded cards for a secret project I'm working on.
ReplyDeleteI used the 15% coupon they offered me on a Roy Campanella card I've been after for a long time
ReplyDeleteeBay never tells me about these discount deals; I've got to hope somebody shares it on Twitter or something. Not cool, eBay!
ReplyDeleteI did not. Nothing I was particularly chasing at the moment. But is seems like eBay is running more and more of these deals lately....or at least they are being advertised more in different forums. Great pick up!
ReplyDeleteJust jumping in here to say how much I like the Mazda 3.
ReplyDeleteChris - eBay has been on a coupon run as of late. I've received at least 2 15% coupons, but this 20% was the first time I had seen anything like this. I actually dropped the ball. Wish I had added more cards to my cart. Oh well. It was nice to cross this card off of my list.
ReplyDeleteCommishbob - Another Bender? Nice. Super jealous.
jacobmrley - Coupons on a date? I like your style.
John Miller - Thanks. Hopefully you were able to take advantage of their 15% coupons.
Laurens - Congratulations! Two hall of fame rookie cards is a good use of coupons.
Base Card Hero - Thanks! Very excited to get this card (especially at this price).
Jon - Just saw that post. Nice score!
The Lost Collector - I know... it was crazy. I only used one of the 15% coupons. Had to control myself.
RAZ - Secret project? Can't wait to hear about it... assuming that one day you reveal the secret.
Greg Zakwin - Can't wait to read about it. Love me some Campy!
defgav - I lucked out. My buddy texted me to let me know. Btw... if you go to the eBay main page, you can scroll through their deals of the day. There's like a deal going on at least 2, maybe 3 times a week. But this was the first 20% deal I've ever taken advantage of.
SumoMenkoMan - Yeah... they went a little wild on them. Ended up having to stop, because I was spending too much money.
Adam Kaningher - Just dropped $1,200 into my Yaris, so it looks like I'll be rolling with these two cards for a while. But thanks for the suggestion. If and when I do buy a new car... I'll try to keep Mazda in mind.
The secret project was my Wally Moon PSA-graded Topps run. I grabbed a bunch of those cards in one cart using the coupon, which made for a large chunk of savings.
DeleteGot it. That's one sweet collection!
Delete