Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Surprise, Surprise

See if this one sounds familiar:

You collect a player.  Some might call it fanatically.  You have an unhealthily large percentage of the baseball cards in existence.  Of those you don't have, they are few and far between, and only rarely come up online.

And then there it is.  One you don't have.  An autograph, no less.  A low numbered autograph!  You hoist the sails, ready the cannons.  You are going into this auction will all guns blazing.  You will not go home until victory is yours.  You set an early bid to kill the BIN, just in case someone is on to your ways.  You place a second bid, the proverbial skull and crossbones saying "None shall pass alive."  You set your snipe.  You set a backup bid, sitting and ready to go in your browser, just in case some smarty pants thinks he can steal this away from you.

Ready for a bidding war, you're prepared to pay well above what the card is really "worth."  You shall not be defeated on the open seas.  

Ten seconds left.  Nothing.  A sneaky enemy waiting until the very last second to pounce.

Five seconds left.  Wait for it, wait for it.

Three.  Silence.

Two.  Here it comes.

One.  Nothing.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Next thing you know, the card is headed towards your mailbox for $.99+ shipping.  


Hmm, maybe it was a cold war...  

10 comments:

  1. Congrats. Been a while since I picked up a new Jack Wilson. What is that one numbered to? I have a few from that set.

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    1. This one is /25. I was actually a little surprised I needed it. I have a huge stack of Jacks from 05 DK, but between the gu, autos, and gu/autos and all the various foil and border combinations...it's like Mission: Impossible.

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  2. Nice, that is one of the most satisfying feelings in the hobby.

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    1. Any time I come across a new Jack, I'm ready to do a little happy dance. Additions have become few and far between.

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  3. Great pickup, I love it when what you outlined happens, agree with shoeboxlegends that is it one of the most satisfying feelings.

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    1. Thanks. When I only see a handful of the 200 or so cards I still need each year, you really learn to savor each new addition.

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  4. Nothing like digging in and then realizing it was unneeded. But keep your guard up for the next one.

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    1. Every ebay auction I bid on is like that old Under Armor commercial: "We must protect this house!"

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  5. My goodness, you actually turned into a Pirate to snag this card. Congrats my friend. I'm glad to see you snag a card you needed for your PC.

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    1. Thanks Mike. It's a blessing and a curse to collect a guy that only has about 800 non 1/1 cards. Having a nearly complete collection could legitimately happen, yet crossing off these last 200 cards feels like Mission: Impossible. I'm checking multiple sites nearly daily to see if any new cards have surfaced.

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