Don't let this happen to you...

It's sad how a lack of knowledge can hurt you. Maybe it's not knowing the speed limit is about to drop from 65 to 40 and there's a cop sitting over the next hill just waiting to get you. Maybe it's not realizing you're the most famous golfer in the world and messing around with over a dozen women IS eventually going to become public knowledge.

Or maybe it's not knowing that card companies will replace damaged cards. That's what happened to me. I was going through some cards looking for stuff to trade and found this monstrosity:

It's a hideous sticker auto of Carlos Zambrano from 2002 Donruss Elite. It's got a low number (3) but a high print run (1500). The autograph is terrible. I think I'll enter this as a candidate in Drewscards bad auto contest. The worst part is the damage at the bottom.




When I pulled this from a pack, I had no idea who Carlos Zambrano was and didn't really care. All I knew was the the foil was peeled up between the O in "OF" and the C in "CENTURY". It was pulled up and twisted, but still attached. I taped the piece down just to keep from losing it. If only I had known that I could request some sort of replacement from Donruss I wouldn't have to look at this hideous creature.

Don't let this happen to you. Of course, if you pull something damaged from Upper Deck...you'll probably be in the same boat as me. You know the one. The USS Out. Of. Luck.