That's probably a sign from the Cardboard Gods, since I've been spending way too much money on cards lately. I already showed off the $140 worth of blaster boxes I purchased earlier in the month. Then last week, I went a little crazy and spent $61.88 (+ $4 shipping) on this card:
1982 Topps #164
Back in the early 80's... I was obsessed with looking up box scores every morning in the San Jose Mercury News. One of my favorite stats was stolen bases and for four straight seasons (1981 to 1984) these two guys were atop the leader boards. Both of them terrorized pitchers and catchers on the base paths and both were very popular among fans.
So when I saw this card pop up on one of my saved eBay searches, I was determined to go all-in on this card and when the dust settled, I walked away with the winning bid of $61.88 (+ $4 shipping).
Unfortunately, it was a Probstein123 auction, which means there's a good chance shill bidding was involved. But I can't complain. Nobody forced me to enter my bid. And honestly... I'm pretty stoked to add this card to my Rickey Henderson collection.
Believe it or not, according to Beckett... these two hall of famers have only been featured together on a card ten times and four of them are very rare memorabilia cards. Maybe one day, Stadium Club will bring back their Co-Signers autographs and put these two on the same card. I know I'd definitely be interested in adding that card to my collection.
By the way, I've been really busy with the start of the new school year and finalizing a bunch of care packages for fellow bloggers. I originally thought I'd have them shipped out by today, but it looks like I won't be able to make it to the post office until tomorrow. I also apologize for not taking the time to read any of your blog posts the past few days. I'm hoping to sit down and catch up over this upcoming weekend.
Until then... happy Thursday and sayonara!
10 comments:
Nice card. Is Probstein known for shill bidding? Booo.
Probstein is one of the bigger consignment houses out there. They are known for shill bidding and for listing a lot of stolen or at least questionably-obtained items.
I definitely had a few trapper keepers, although I know I didn't end up using them frequently for school. One year I upgraded to one of the Five Stars with a zipper!
Just looked on eBay and Trapper Keepers are selling for upwards of $30.
That is a sweet card! Congrats
I live in Maryland. Sometimes probstein sets up at a smal but very well run monthly show. I have also won a couple of smaller auctions from them. They seem knowledgeable, maybe a bit of New York arrogant but pleasant enough. Never heard of anything shady but as with any big time seller just be careful. I love that Henderson Raines auto!! Recently purchased the 84 Topps Ryan Carlton Perry all signed and certified. Just a few bucks more than yours so probably both cards pretty fairly priced considering the effort it would take to get them on our own
I will occasionally bid on Probstein auctions, but rarely win because I set my max bid in advance and don't let myself get caught up in emotional bidding at the end of the auction. They were set up at The National. Needless to say, but I avoided their booth.
SumoMenkoMan - Although I don't have evidence... that's the reputation they've established among people I've spoken to.
RAZ - Never heard about the "stolen" stuff, but that's good to know as well. Thanks for sharing this info.
The Lost Collector - Man... I don't know what I would have done without my Trapper Keepers. Sure wish I had kept them.
SumoMenkoMan Pt. 2 - Wowza. That's good money. Now I really wish I would've kept them.
zman40 - Thanks. My buddy and I hung out this weekend and he said he was bidding on the same card. He only bid it up to $40, so I don't feel too bad. It was another person out there that drove the price up.
Baltmoss68 - That Ryan, Carlton, Perry sounds awesome! Pretty sure I know the card you're talking about.
carlsonjok - That's how I treat 99.9% of the auctions I bid on regardless of the seller. It's just unfortunate that the .1% occurrence happened to be a Probstein auction. :)
A company called Pastime was scheduled to release a set called Presidential Portraits a few years ago. They commissioned a bunch of artwork and sketch cards, but dropped off the face of the earth before any of the artists got paid. A little while later, all of the sketches popped up on Probstein's listings. Even though many artists reported their cards as stolen goods, the auction listings went on as scheduled and the artists never got their artwork back. Probstein is just a consignment house, but there was plenty of evidence in that case that something wrong was going on, and they ignored it.
Wow. That's just wrong. I hope the people who ran Pastime got some jail time for their poor choices. I just searched it up and found that tntnorthnj has boxes of this product on eBay. I guess this product eventually made its way into the hobby through a few different avenues.
Post a Comment