Check Out My Impulse Purchases: Steelers Edition

 I have a love/hate relationship with COMC.  It's given me access to hundreds of cards I most likely would never come across at some pretty nice prices.  It also gives me access to thousands of cards I most likely would never know existed at prices that make them somehow arrive at my doorstep.

I don't buy from COMC nearly as often as I used to.  Since the website change, it seems like many of the sellers are now taking a "showcase" approach to pricing, listing cards well above what they might sell for at a show in hopes of finding one desperate (or deep pocketed) collector willing overpay.  I suppose that's all well and good (well, no...it actually pisses me off quite a bit), but they certainly aren't going to get my money.

Nothing in this post cost more than $2.  Most of the cards, including a few of the autos and gu cards fell between $.50-$1.  Even though most of the cards I'll be showing off over the next few posts fall into my more neglected Steelers, Penguins, and college collections, my most recent COMC additions add some nice flash to those collections at very low cost.  And who doesn't love looking through their new additions!

Amos Zereoue is one of those rare players who manage to fit into two sub-collections.  A standout at WVU, he went on to be drafted by the Steelers and became a fan favorite during his time in Pittsburgh.  Even though I loathed WVU at the time as a Pitt fan, Famous Amos was one of my favorite Steelers for a time.  It was only natural that I would start building a small collection of his once I started my grad work at WVU.  For under a buck, his rookie refractor was a nice addition, though I still need to figure out whether Amos' cards will be residing in my WVU bider or Steelers binder.

 An auto of last year's first round pick for $1.50?  Yes please.  I know offensive linemen aren't the most fashionable of cards, but DeCastro looks to be a mainstay of the Steelers o-line for quite some time, and even though he isn't in his Steelers uni, the scouting combine was kind enough to put him in black and gold none the less.

 CJ was my favorite Steeler growing up, primarily because my dad came home from work one day with an autographed photo - my first ever autograph, if I recall correctly.  Johnson had been doing a signing at a car dealership whose ad campaign my dad was working on, so the client was nice enough to set aside one for my dad to bring home for me.   Again, it's one of those "when the price is right" player collections.

 I'm not ashamed to say some of the cards in my collection are "well loved."  Mostly that applies to vintage cards, but this rookie auto of one the Steelers new number two receiver has some slight paper loss on the upper left corner.  I hardly noticed it, and it's not really something that bothers me.

 

 Football collectors go wild over the hottest rookies.  But more often than not it seems like many draft picks (at least for a more veteran team like the Steelers have been over the last decade or so) never even make it onto the field in black and gold.  Still, they're cards I enjoy adding to my collection and can often be found at great prices.

While Plax has found his way back to the Steelers, both these guys seemed to have pretty similar early careers: 

Immensely talented athletes who just did not seem to fit in with the city or the organization.  The Dolphins are my second favorite team, so I hope Wallace does well for them, but I can't say I'm all that heartbroken to see him leave.

Worilds as some big shoes to replace as he slides in for James Harrison, but the Steelers have a pretty good track record with linebackers. 

Hawkins, like the Charles Johnson above, looks much better in person than the scan shows.  If you read this blog regularly you know my love for black and/or gold color schemes, and this card does not disappoint.  Both cards are numbered /100, and I believe I paid around $1.25 for both.  I love the 90's.

I'm finally trying to be proactive with my scanning, so keep an eye out for my Pens, Pitt, and of course Pirate additions from the same glorious shipment over the next day or two.