At this point a good $65 had been spent at the card show. $10 went to the entrance fee, $49 went to the autographs and the remaining $6 went to the dime box bargains.
In spite of this there were some more things I wanted. Hockey things. Non-sports things.
To be more precise, I wanted some hockey stuff for myself and vintage non-sports wax packs for my collecting buds overseas. Accomplishing both in one swoop on a limited budget wasn't going to be easy. In fact I'd dare call it impossible. But I found a way.
I found one hockey vendor with a Hartford Whalers hat and shirt. They were the only hockey-focused vendor in the entire show. Other vendors had some hockey but mainly big ticket items like the Connor McDavids or Auston Matthews or Mathew Barzals. I wanted Rangers. More specifically I wanted Rangers no one particularly knows or cares about (#MyBrand).
Case in point, this Rob O'Gara Young Guns card. This had been at the top of my mental want list for no reason other than "he's a Ranger now currently playing for the Hartford Wolfpack". There it was at the card show. I quickly had an idea of how to get it in a trade, but I'd need some more stuff for myself.
The vendor had a box with some old non-sport stuff. Stuff that would cost me $20 (s/h included) if I tried buying them all on eBay separately like a moron. I had some of them included.
They offered me a fair price for a big bundle. I countered with a trade offer.
I traded away the Brock Boeser Young Guns RC.
On the surface this is a bad trade for me. Because it really is. That Boeser YG goes for $30 on a bad day and $50 on a good one. At the same time, I had no real use for it other than as trade bait. I cashed it in to get two things I really wanted in one swoop. That matters more to me than what this could've potentially gotten me on eBay.
The seller threw in some extras to make it a bit more fair for me with that Jimmy Vesey rookie card and the Ryan Spooner rookie card. Vesey recently got signed to a two year extension to show what he can do under a different system/coach and reach his ceiling. Spooner is prime trade bait material but still with the Rangers at this time.
Maybe in time I'll come to regret this trade, but as for now Boeser isn't a Ranger so I'm pretty okay. I'm sure some of you are probably thinking I'm a moron and also thinking of how to swindle me out of my better cards, but the thing with me is that most of my better cards are really just assets I'm willing to trade away when I see something I REALLY like. I got one card I really wanted, two extras, and some fun stuff for friends for one non-autographed/non-serial numbered card. That's as much as I could reasonably want in a trade. Most of all the fact that I didn't end up spending even more cash on stuff is what really helps. I'm a lot more reluctant to spend $30+ in cash as opposed to trading away $30+ in card value.
As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).
It's been nice seeing a few bloggers show off their hockey hauls. I feel a little guilty, since I've been neglecting my Sharks PC for way too long. Maybe I'll find some nice Black Friday deals and add some new stuff this hockey season.
ReplyDeleteAs for your trade... can't imagine too many dealers who are willing to trade straight up value for value considering they have to cover table/travel expenses, so if you walked away happy, I'd call it a successful trade.
Don't feel too bad. The Sharks are actually good this year and their cards might cost a bit. Plus it's probably best to wait until cards featuring Karlsson in his new digs are actually available.
DeleteYeah I'd call the trade successful too. As far as value goes it's pretty close to what the Boeser would fetch on a bad day. The thing is that the Boeser is currently one of those cards that has an extra layer of value in that it's a quick mover. If you put on the market for a decent price it'll be sold in an instant. Hence why the vendor didn't even think twice about this trade and accepted it right on the spot.