Sunday, May 17, 2020

Lumberin' Around

Once in a while, a Tino card on eBay pops up that is rarely ever seen. I check a few times a day, so I have a pretty good grasp on what's rare to see in a given search.

Last week, a card I never recall seeing came up. It's not particularly rare, at least I don't think. According to baseballcardpedia, it fell 1:36 in 1998. Yet here I was, staring at a card I don't think I've ever seen on the site.

The price tag was $3.49 + $1.00 shipping. There was even a 'best offer' option. Not wanting to miss out because I wanted to get it for $.50 cheaper, I just hit buy it now. Why risk it?

The card in question? A 1998 Fleer Lumber Company insert.
Crazy that a seemingly run-of-the-mill insert just never came up. There's one on COMC, but as with any "one" card listed on COMC, the price is really high because It'S tHe OnLy OnE LiStEd oN tHe SiTe. On eBay, the cards of the other guys in the set don't go for crazy prices, so they can't be that rare. The Ripken just sold for $3 and $1.50, respectively. Griffey and Gwynn just went for $4. If it was truly a short-printed or hard to find set from '90s, those would go for a lot more.

But I hadn't ever even seen this one.

And it's a great card. Tree rings to represent lumber. Simple idea. The rings are embossed as well, which gives the card a cool texture.

After the arrival of the two cards below, I now sit 26 away from 1K.
And while I've been putting a dent in my chase, I'm really now down to cards that just don't seem to ever pop up.

Should be a fun last 25.

7 comments:

  1. I'll do a $3.49 + $1 shipping purchase for something like that all day. But, I wouldn't pull the trigger for the same card at $1 + $3.49 shipping. There must me something wrong with me, because the only difference is two or three cents in Ebay bucks.
    BTW, the texture of the rings sounds like a really cool idea for a card.

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  2. That's a really cool insert. I don't remember seeing any of those before.

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  3. That patch is sweet. And I've never seen one of those 1998 Score Platinum Team cards before.

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  4. I don't think that I have ever seen a card out of this insert set. Really cool find.

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  5. I'm glad you opted just to hit the b-i-n instead of haggle over a few cents. I had a card I wanted listed for $6 or best offer and I tried to get it for $5. It has never been seen again.

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    1. I've learned my lesson for cards that are a few bucks to just snag 'em.

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