Few things bring me as much joy as finding discarded hobby gems at the thrift store for less than the price of a handful of modern packs.
It’s easy to get sucked into paying $3, $4, or $5 for a pack of cards at retail hoping to pull something that makes you feel like a hobby winner. And we all know that the agony of defeat happens much more than any sort of victory. So when we can find items that make us smile — even if some portion of the hobby doesn’t get it — it’s really a priceless experience.
Such was the case Wednesday when I stopped at a local Goodwill before dropping off two packages at the post office. It’s been a while since I’d found cards at thrift stores, so imagine the joy I felt when I found a two-row shoebox that showed some promise … and for only $9.99.
True, 75% of this box had what was obviously 1989 Donruss. But that stack of cards in Card Savers II held so much promise. I wasn’t expecting the world, but cards stored in semi-rigids can be gold hiding in plain sight.
I looked all around the store hoping to find more boxes but there were none. The box was priced some five days earlier so odds are someone beat me to the punch for others.
Nonetheless, this box was mine and as it turned out, the box wound up being a hobby time capsule for one of the most exciting times in our hobby, 1990-1992.
The mention of those years will turn people away, thinking it’s just junk wax era. Hell, after I posted a picture of the wrapped box, one Twitter follower said he wouldn’t even risk the purchase unless there were relics inside.
Insert facepalm emoji here …
I digress. I ripped open the cellophane, grabbed a handful of Card Savers IIs and almost immediately found an absolute masterpiece of our hobby, the 1991 Elite Series Jose Canseco, serial numbered to just 10,000 copies.
The Canseco isn’t rare by today’s standards. But in 1991 trying to pull any Elite Series insert was literally like trying to find a needle in a haystack — they were legitimately like 1:10 cases. In their hay day the cards were selling for several hundred dollars; today the Canseco is still a $30-$50 card on occasion, and even more of graded well.
The Canseco would prove to be the pinnacle of this box in terms of current monetary re-sell value, but there was so much good stuff in here.
This image here is basically a summary of collecting from 1990-1992:
You’ve got the Canseco Elite, the awesome and tough-pulls in the Pinnacle “Team Pinnacle”, the 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald error card, the 1991 Upper Deck “Baseball Heroes” Nolan Ryan Header Card, the 1990 Score Bo Jackson baseball/football card and the 1990 Score Rookie/Traded Eric Lindros.
The McDonald is actually a neat card I’d never owned. He was a top rookie that year and his basic UD rookie card had the “Rookie” logo. But in early batches of UD, there were a bunch of errors, including the McDonald rookie showing the Orioles logo. it’s still a $10-$20 card in today’s market.
Speaking of errors, there were also these other tough (for the time) 1990 UD screwups:
Jeff Innis and Scott Garrelts cards show wrong player photos on front; the Team checklist and Jamie Weston cards have him listed as Jamie instead of Mickey Weston, and the Nolan Ryan is the banner variation. Errors and variations were a big deal at the time … and some of the younger collectors don’t understand how difficult it was tracking them down at the time.
In addition to the errors and inserts, there were some big rookies in here too. And while it’s not 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. or 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas big, we’re talking some stuff that had considerable hobby weight at a time in the not so distant past … and they all look like they’ve been in these Card Savers for nearly three decades.
And there was a fair amount of hobby stars, including a very nice 1972 Topps Joe Morgan.
In terms of today’s hobby “worth” these cards wouldn’t fetch a ton at eBay or at any show. But for a guy who cut his teeth in this hobby during this era, to basically locate a rookie collectors collection from the era, and to nail down some highly desirable errors and tough insert pulls, especially the Canseco Elite Series, is absolutely priceless. I know I’ve said it before, but this was truly a time capsule, and frankly better than most massive collections that some people are still hoarding in their basements.
Oh, and the 1989 Donruss? As I suspected there was no Griffey. But the sight of these brought back the memory of a hot summer in which I walked 40 minutes to Thrifty’s to buy cello packs of the product.
Total cost of this Thrift Treasure: $9.99
You can seen more Thrift Treasures posts here
Returns in our hobby should NOT be accepted, especially without questions (New COMC policy)
Posted in Commentary with tags baseball, baseball cards, collectibles, return policies, sports cards on October 21, 2019 by Cardboard IconsMonday I returned home after a weekend getaway that capped off about six weeks of non-stop, non-hobby related stuff I’ll just call “Life.” I’d been thinking about getting back to my writing lately because I miss sharing thoughts and being involved. So when I opened my email this afternoon and saw a message from COMC advertising that it is now accepting returns “no questions asked” I knew I had to sit down and get my thoughts out.
I’ll say this up front: I love COMC. I love having the victual card shop open 24-7 and the idea of taking a break from every day tasks to so what I love — add items to my collection.
That said, I think this announcement Monday is really a step in the wrong direction.
In it’s email, COMC stated that it would accept returns from buyers within 60 days of the original date or purchase, or 30 days from the delivery date of an item, WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED. The site also says that if someone purchases an item and repriced it (i.e. tried to flip it on the site to no avail) then the returns cannot occur, so that’s good.
While I believe the site decided to do this to improve customer service and grow its footprint in the hobby, I think this advertised policy panders to the ever-growing issue we are facing on other selling platforms such as scams (i.e. cards being switched out), and other unsavory activity, and really opens the door for a lot of uncertainty.
We operate in a very fluid market. The majority of cards are not all that different from one another, with the exception that they may show a photo of a different player. What makes those cards different in value is the demand which is often linked to the player showcased on the cards. And those values fluctuate DAILY based on performance, changes in a team’s standing, any legal issues someone may be facing, and any other reason you can think of. And it is this fluidity that makes the idea of returns an absolutely horrendous idea.
A card that is bought for $100 today and then delivered within a week could lose half of that value by the time it is even in the hands of a buyer. And if that is the case, should that person be able to get their money back no questions asked?
Absolutely not.
When you decide to buy a sports card, regardless of whether you’re buying for your collection, or as an investment, you are taking a chance. Period. This is how collectibles work. You cannot simply just return them when the price dips below the price of what you paid. This creates a very unstable market, and it actually has an adverse affect as a whole because the sellers cannot simply spend that new income, they almost have to let it sit for a while — in this case up to 60 days — before they can be assured the money they are seeing in their account is actually theirs.
And it is at this point that I will point out that COMC is not the only reason I am harping on this topic because other outlets allow for returns, including eBay, which in its present state also fails to recognize the fluidity of the collectibles market as it strives to make buyers happy while not even considering the sellers.
Many sellers such as myself have fallen victim to return policies, and even had eBay FORCE OUR HAND to accept returns even when we check the OPTION as seller which says we do not accept them. I chose not to accept them because the market is fluid. If I offer you an hot item and you buy it at a high price, I should be able to celebrate the transaction without fear that the purchase will be reversed due to BUYER’S REMORSE.
COMC and eBay are not Target and Walmart, and we are not talking about a storage container that does not fit in our garages or a T-Shirt that is one size too small. We are dealing in small pieces of cardboard that appreciate and depreciate in value and if you happen to be on the wrong end of a deal that was done in good faith, then you should have to live with your decision.
As I said earlier, I am sure the return policies were enacted in good faith. And I absolutely believe that if a person receives a card that was improperly portrayed (i.e. a fake card or one in worse condition than described) they should be able to get their money back or be compensated. But such returns should be limited, and the time frame for such returns should be much smaller and ONLY ALLOWED on a case by case basis. Hell, even many big box retailers — which operate on a larger scale and have “loss” factored into their annual budgets — already know how volatile these markets are and typically do not allow returns on cards or collectible toys.
That said, when it comes to COMC’s policy, it really should also protect the seller from financial loss, and any money that is returned to the buyer should be paid for by the company and not the seller, especially if its due to condition reasons since COMC is the entity handling the cards.
I would implore you all to read the policy because the last portion also could have a weird impact for opportunists, The policy now allows sellers to GET THEIR CARDS BACK if they were claim they priced the card wrong and it sold within three hours of listing. In other words, if someone accidentally sells a Michael Jordan autograph for $129 instead of $1299 as intended, they can get their card back. This is insane to me because it takes away one of the charms of COMC, which is the ability to pounce on the error of a careless seller.
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