Ebay Shopping Spree

I was excited to see Gellman over at Sports Card Uncensored post plans for another edition of the Blog Bat Around. I enjoyed going back and reading all the posts from his first two BBAs since I missed them the first time.

The idea for a 15 minute shopping spree on Ebay is intriguing. I don't get on Ebay much anymore. I used to sell quite a bit and buy now and then, but that was a while ago. Still, it is a topic that makes you think about what your goals are and besides, who doesn't want to go on a shopping spree? Let's set the timer and get going.

1) 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 3 $10,750
This is a legendary card and was one of the first iconic card I knew about back in the early '80s when I started collecting. It was "worth" around 10K then and to have a copy, even in this condition, would be incredible. Plus, I wanted to spend a big chunk of that $50 K right off the bat.

2) 1970 Topps Complete Set $2,200 NM-MT
I would definitely shop around for a better deal, but the 15 minute time limit must be respected!I'm not a big fan of the '70 set overall, but I've always wanted to have my birth year set so why not take advantage of the shopping spree?

3) 1973 Topps Complete Set $499
Again, I would shop around because shopping when you're in a hurry leads to overpaying. This is a vintage set I've recently started working on and I thought I would take advantage of the spree to do it the easy way. I guess I can trade all those '73s I've accumulated on the Topps MCG site.

4) 2001 Donruss Signature Series Will Clark Notable Nickname Auto $150
Quite a drop off huh? Will Clark has been my favorite player for a long time...since his college days. I've wanted one of these Notable Nickname Will "the Thrill" Clark autos since they came out.

5) 1909 T-206 Ty Cobb Green $7,500
Is this a card I'd love to own? Yes. Would I love to own any T-206? Yes. Would I ever shell out that kind of cash for any card? Only if I hit the lottery and that won't happen since I'm not buying tickets.

6) 1887 N28 Allen & Ginter W.H. Buffalo Bill Cody $629.99
2009 A&G was my first experience with A&G. That fueled my desire to have any vintage A&G card and when I did a search on Ebay, this beauty caught my eye. I'm sure I could always trade it to Beardy for something cool.

7) 2006 Allen & Ginter 12 Box Hobby Case $2,999.99
I love busting wax and what better way than to get in on the some sweet 2006 A&G. I've never busted an entire case of cards even though I bought a case once. I bought a case of 1988 Score when they came out thinking this would be super valuable someday because it was their first release. Of course, it wasn't and I failed to buy any and I mean ONE SINGLE PACK of 1989 Upper Deck because I felt stupid about wasting money on these new "fly by night" companies. Well UD outlasted Score, but I missed out on any chance at a Griffey rookie. Oh my, I'm wasting time when I should be shopping!

8) 1975 Mini Topps Baseball Unopened Packs Lot of 36 $910
I'd love busting these, but I'm sure there are a few bloggers who would like a pack. Why not share the wealth if I were so lucky as to get a shopping spree?

9) 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski Rookie $499
Yaz has been a favorite of mine since I got into the hobby. Even as an 11 year old in 1980, I knew what the Triple Crown was and that Yaz was the last to win it. I have every Yaz from 1970 up and need to start working on adding the 60's to my collection.

10) 1968 Topps Johnny Bench Rookie PSA 9 $925
I don't care about the graded part, but hey, there's a lot of money left to spend so I've got to spend it somewhere. Catchers are my favorite players overall and Bench, Ivan Rodriguez and Joe Mauer are tops in my book. Carlton Fisk too, but I didn't get anything of his during the spree.

11) 2002 Joe Mauer Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Auto $2,650
This spree is all about stuff you'd love to own, but don't have the money to buy. This card is definitely a luxury and wouldn't be the first thing I'd buy if I had that kind of money, but it would be on the list. Wait, it is on the list.

12) 2008 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Nellie Fox $499.99
Nellie Fox wouldn't appear to fit into my collecting goals, but when I was a kid and started collecting cards, my dad swore he had a Nellie Fox autograph somewhere. He never found it and I've always wanted a Nellie Fox auto. I guess in some way it would feel like another connection to my dad, even though it wouldn't be one he gave me.

13) 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Albert Pujols Auto, Black 1/1 $7,995
I see crazy prices for Pujols cards all the time and this one is really crazy. It looks like Albert may have a decent career (there should be a font that conveys a joking manner) and this is one crazy card. It would look really nice sitting on my office bookshelf. Or in the safe deposit box.

14) 1972 Topps Roger Staubach $230
This card represents another connection to my childhood. My older brother had a shoebox full of football cards and he had this card. He would NOT give me the card or even trade it to me even though he had ZERO interest in cards in general. Instead of it sitting in my house, it was "lost" along with every other thing he ever had that was worth anything. What a doofus. This is the last card of the shopping spree, but I'm not done yet.

15) 1989 Nolan Ryan Home Game Worn Rangers Jersey $4999.99
I've always liked game worn uniforms...real ones, not little bitty teeny blah grey swatches. The full deal, actual numbers, letters patches and sweat stains. Unfortunately, I had immediate buyers remorse on this one after my 15 minutes were up and I went back to look closer. It was actually a "warm-up" jersey, supposedly worn by Nolan Ryan. As much as I like game used stuff, the authenticity is always suspect. Unless your walking down the tunnel, hand Mean Joe your coke and he throws you his jersey, you don't know for sure that it's authentic and game used.

16) Ivan Rodriguez Game Worn Jersey $895
This one is actually a game jersey. Of course the authenticity is questionable, but it's my shopping spree so I get to pick what I want.

17) 1999 Rusty Greer Road Grey Game Worn Jersey $299.99
I once owned a pair of Rusty's game worn pants (that's right, I said pants) and game worn cleats. I had some crazy idea I would get a game used jersey, bat and cap and put it all on a mannequin in my man cave. Well, I don't have a man cave and I sold the pants and cleats about 5 years ago. This hobby will do crazy things to you man, crazy things.

18) Johnny Bench Game Used Bat $1,250
I once held a bat that Will Clark hit a home run with (supposedly). That's an awesome feeling to know your favorite player used that piece of lumber to do what they did best. Bench is one of, if not the best, catchers in MLB history and I'd love to have one of his bats in my collection.

19) Joe Mauer Game Used Catcher's Mitt $3900
The tools of ignorance. What a derogatory term. I've loved catchers since I played the position in Little League and I would absolutely put this on display in my office.

Total Spent: $49,782.95

This was a fun little experiment. The 15 minute time limit left no time for bargain shopping or comparison shopping, but that was part of what made it fun. Just pick something and go. I limited my searches to products/players I knew I liked and that made it a little easier. The only particular cards I looked for were the Staubach and Clark cards. The rest just came up in searches and looked good. I knew I wanted a vintage Ginter and T-206 card and picked those from the ones that came up. I knew I wanted the 1970 and 1973 sets. Everything else came up in searches and I went for it.

I can't wait for the packages to start arriving in the mail.

I wish.