Menendez Brothers Karma

Last month, the card universe somehow got swept up by a 1990-91 NBA Hoops Mark Jackson basketball card. It's not Jackson that drove the interest, rather two fellows sitting behind him. The Menendez brothers, known for being convicted of killing their parents, are sitting courtside, just to the right of Jackson's hip. Many believe that based on when this game occurred, that they attended the game after they killed their parents, but before they were arrested.

This is the most common of commons from one of the most over-produced sets in basketball card history. These were so overproduced that my grandma used to buy me boxes of these on my birthday int he late 90s. Of course, I was always interested in the Michael Jordan cards from this set.

I knew I had countless cards of the Jackson at some point, but I'm sure I got rid of many of them when I sold large boxes of basketball commons this past summer. Luckily I was able to dig one up in my small Knicks collection rather quickly. The card was going for around $25 on eBay after it went viral, and I was able to capitalize and sell one for $20 before eBay pulled all of the listings (only to reverse course later).

I didn't feel bad about this. If someone wanted to pay $20 for a card that showed two murderers, be my guest!

I decided to turn a card I didn't care about into one I wanted, so taking the winnings from the Jackson card, plus $5 of my own hard-earned dollars, I bought a lot that included a Gleyber Torres signed rookie card, as well as a base card of his from A&G.

I was excited! Basically for $5 and an NBA common, I had my first Gleyber autograph on the way. The package arrived just before Christmas, and I eagerly opened it and found this:

Two Gleyber! But, um, no autograph. Huh. I scampered back to eBay and checked the listing. I definitely bought the autograph, yet there was no autograph here. Two base cards, one of which I expected, one of which wasn't a card I recognized.

My first thought, admittedly, was that of negativity. That the seller didn't get what he wanted for the autograph, so he duped me into two other cards, would claim error, then re-list the card. Terrible way to think, I know, but I, however unfairly, tend to think the worst of sellers and dealers sometimes.

What the seller did do was include his Twitter handle, so I messaged him and he seemed remorseful and that it was an honest mistake, and that the Gleyber autograph somehow managed to find its way into a different outgoing package. I get it, especially around the holidays. He told me to keep the two Gleybers and that he would refund me.

I appreciated the refund, but I must admit it rubbed me the wrong way overall. Because the seller makes an error, all he has to do is refund me and he's done with the process? In the end, it makes more work for me, because now I have to go searching for the card all over again. Maybe that's expecting too much from someone, but if I were the seller, I would have gone out and reacquired the card and sent it my way.

Unrealistic, I know. I just felt it was unfair for him to so easily get off for his error, other than the refund, I guess.

It took me about 10 days to find the same card at a comparable price, and I'm glad to say that I did replace the card and the proper one was sent from the new seller, so now I do officially this Gleyber Torres autograph:

But I guess karma did have  to make it a little more difficult for me. Thanks, Menendez Brothers.