My Collecting Journey

[Eric72]

“If you love something, let it go…”

Isn’t that how the classic maxim begins? In literature, it makes for a romantic tale. In my card collecting reality, it makes for a quick story with a happy ending. In today’s world, those are generally the most well received stories.

For starters, I wouldn’t recommend letting go of your favorite cards. Life doesn’t usually play out like a fairy tale. They usually don’t come back to you. They’re usually gone for good. As I wrote in a previous post, I don’t have much left from my childhood collection. I was constantly trading and selling. Even as an adult, I found myself wheeling and dealing with regularity.

One time, around nine years ago, I sold a T206 HOFer here on Net54. I regretted the sale almost instantly. I remember packing the card for shipment and wondering why the hell I’d decided to let it go. In the weeks (and months) that followed, I checked eBay, looking for a replacement copy. Of course, they were all either priced higher, centered worse, or “not nice enough” in some way.

Then, by a sheer stroke of luck, I found a nice-looking copy for sale here on the BST. It looked as nice as the one I’d let go. Hey, wait a minute…that IS the one I let go. And it’s being sold by the same person who bought it from me. The price is only slightly more than I sold it for.

Remember, this was 2014. I sold it for peanuts. It was now being offered for sale for those same peanuts and maybe a couple cashews. ($140 to $150, in case anyone is wondering)

I posted “I’ll take it” instantly.

The transaction went without a hitch. The card came back to me; it was meant to be, after all.

It’s easily one of my favorite cards. A classic image of a great player…on a card to which I’ve formed a sentimental attachment. I’ll drop an image in the next post.