Monday, October 7, 2019

An Out of Character Purchase

Last Friday, my buddy Ben asked me to stop by his place on my way home from work.  He recently traded for a huge collection that contained some really nice cards and wanted me to check it out.  Actually... he wanted to give me first shot at stuff before he started listing stuff on eBay and Facebook.

Unfortunately, I purchased a huge relic and autograph collection (still haven't finished sorting it) from him a few weeks ago.  Plus I've picked up two really cool sets and a nice autograph that I'll be showing off in the very near future.  And if that weren't enough money spent, I also dropped over $150 at the card show two weekends ago.

So my original plan was to say "thanks, but no thanks" to him and just enjoy flipping through all of his stuff.  Then halfway through one of the shoeboxes, I stumbled across a huge stack of Ronald Acuña rookie cards.  Within the stack, he had two of the very popular Update cards... so I asked him how much he'd want for one of them.

He turned on the car salesman charm and made me a package deal that included the following:

2018 Topps Chrome #193 (x5)
2018 Topps Update #US250
2018 Topps Holiday #HMW50
2018 Topps Update #US43

The price?  $50

This is one of those "out of character" purchases, since I don't usually go out of my way to pick up hot rookie cards.  But Ben convinced me that the price was right.  I guess we'll find out in a few years.

As a bonus, he handed me a box that contained a bunch of 80's Kellogg's cards, a few Tony Gwynns, some 1984 Mother's Cookies San Francisco Giants, and these Fernando Tatis Jr. cards:


What about you...

Have you made any "out of character" hobby purchases recently?

Well that's it for today.  Have a great week.  Happy Monday and sayonara!

13 comments:

Jeremya1um said...

I don’t really purchase complete sets all that often, but I recently purchased 2019 Topps Series 1, 2, and pre-ordered the Update set. I’ll probably keep doing so every year and try not to purchase so much wax and get the set every year and purchase individual cards more than wax.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Yeah, I did last month, and you can read about it on tonight's post. It's wasn't the first time either. I did the same thing back in January too.

The Lost Collector said...

Solid pickup!

Dennis said...

Is that Ronald "ruining baseball" Acuña? Nothing wrong with mixing it up once in a while. Though based on what you mentioned I'm more excited to see the sets and autograph you'll be showing off.

At this point for me an out-of-character purchase would probably be unopened boxes/packs, especially of the retail variety. I've been putting more effort into buying stuff I know I'll want in the form of singles.

Peter K Steinberg said...

Wow. On the surface it looks like you got a great deal. Congrats. I don't think I've made any out of character purchases recently. Maybe I should.

Henry Blanchette said...

Acuña is one of the hottest and most sought after players in Baseball. People are going crazy over his Update rookies right now, so I think you made the right decision purchasing this lot.

Nick Vossbrink said...

Hmm. I did just buy two 1938 boxing cards and a 1910 card of a flower. None of those make *any* sense for a Giants collector but sometimes you've got to buy what you've got to buy.

SumoMenkoMan said...

Nothing too out of the ordinary. I did buy those car cards that was a unique purchase for me. Love how you still stumble across fun stuff!

Fuji said...

jeremya1um - i like your idea. i probably should start doing that myself instead of busting blasters and flooding my collection with dime cards.

johnnys trading spot - looking forward to reading your post.

the lost collector - thanks. hopefully it works out in the long run

dennis - i'm so stoked about the additions of these two sets... and the autograph is something i've wanted for quite some time. stay tuned

peter k steinberg - if i flipped it now, i could make a few dollars. i'm banking on acuna becoming a perennial all-star who matures and doesn't annoy fans. if he does that, this will become a really nice purchase

henry blanchette - yeah... not sure what the hype is, but i've officially bought into it ;)

nick vossbrink - i totally agree. whatever makes us smile, right?

sumomenkoman - hopefully we find some out of character things to purchase at the card show in a few weeks

Brett Alan said...

Yeah, my last purchase (the only one I've made since I've been back in Singapore) was most definitely out of character. I have generally shown no interest in buying Topps Now cards, apart from the one time I found two Mets cards from Topps Now in a dime box. But when the card for Pete Alonso's 53rd home run (breaking the rookie record) came out, and I realized it was available on eBay for $5.00 shipped, I broke down and bought one. Ordinarily I wouldn't pay $5 for a card that isn't vintage, an autograph, a relic, nor particularly rare, but it was a big moment for Mets fans and I don't anticipate seeing it that cheap again anytime soon.

Bulldog said...

When I was younger I was more prone to those types of purchases. That said blasters and packs to chase those young guys is something I tend to fall for so I get it.

Matt said...

Steal on the Acunas!

Fuji said...

brett alan - nice find on that alonso. i don't go out of my way to buy topps now cards (unless i attended the game), but i've got to admit, i probably would have bought that card too for the price.

bulldog - i try really hard to avoid buying retail, but i always seem to buy a few boxes every year. it's an addiction.

sport card collectors - hopefully we'll be saying that in 10 years ;)