Frustrating evening.....

Jdurg

I've probably spent the past five hours looking for a 2004 Topps Traded Hobby Pack but to no avail. It's the last pack I need to complete my collection of unopened Topps packs and it's being a real pain in the ass to find. I can find all the 2001-2003 and 2005-2006 packs that a man could want, but for some reason 2004 is eluding me. I found a few retail places online, but they were out of stock. I've only seen a few auctions (One on E-Bay and one on Yahoo) for the packs I'm looking for, but neither one takes PayPal and I don't have the time to run out to the post office and pick up a money order for a couple of bucks and then send it out hoping that it doesn't get lost in the mail. (I only purchase items where I can use PayPal to purchase it so that I can verify the payment was received and I have some recourse if the seller is a crook).

Has anybody else had a similar experience where you can't seem to obtain that one final piece of the puzzle you need to finish a collection?

CDsNuts

Do you really need recourse on a $3 item? Put cash in an envelope, fold it in a piece of paper and send it if you don't have the time to buy a money order. I'm pretty sure your problem in finding it isn't because of rarity, but because most people don't bother selling a single pack for a few dollars. I guess if you want to wait around long enough for a seller to list one pack individually and accept paypal, that's your perogative. I just don't see needing protection on a $3 item of any kind. Who is going to run a $3 scam?

Lee

mreuter

Heading across the state on Monday to pick up my new hunting dog, I mapped my route by towns that have card shops, looks like about six of them. If I find one, I'll pick it up.

CDsNuts

Hey mreuter, sounds like fun. I haven't gone on one of them in a while. If you come across any 1990-1994 OPC baseball boxes (not OPC Premier) in the $10-$15 range, could you pick them up for me. I can pay a small finder's fee.

Lee

mreuter

I'll keep my eyes open.

Jdurg

Hey mreuter, thanks for looking for me. I am no longer in need of the single pack as Beckett.com had someone listing them but under a not so easy to find name. So I finally found the listing and purchased that final pack tonight! If you already picked up a pack, then I'll still purchase it from you anyway since you went out of your way to get it and it may actually be fun to open it up.

As for why I won't purchase outside of PayPal, there are many reasons.

1): I work at LEAST 55 hours every week. I simply don't have time to go out to the post office, wait in line for them to deal with the people who are in there looking to talk instead of do business, then purchase the money order, ship it securely, and hope that it gets there.

2): Post offices here in SE Connecticut do whatever they can to be as far out of your way as possible and work as few hours as possible. I simply cannot drive by one without wasting a ton of money on gas, and unless you go in the middle of the day you're SOL.

3): With all that said already, that leaves me one day out of the week where I can get to the post office and not have to take time off of work. If I have something I need to ship out, then I'll ship it out on a Saturday as I did this past Saturday when I shipped out cards to the three individuals whom I traded with.

Whenever I search for auctions online I only look at ones that accept PayPal. It's easy for me to make my payment and know the payment was recieved. I don't have to hope that my local mail service sent my envelope along and didn't get it lost like they do with most all envelopes. (They're good at shipping packages, but far too many regular sized mail items have gotten lost by them and all the complaints in the world have done nothing).

XanaduNow

Durg, I see what you're saying but I have to agree with Lee. If a seller is going to scam you for $3 for a pack that is by no means rare than they have larger problems than bad feedback. Just send cash on something like that.

Arthur

Jdurg

Well the one auction I was looking at only took money orders or personal checks, no cash. If it was just cash I'd have sent it from work, but they demanded a money order which is a PITA for me to get until they start offering them online.

jmbkb4

What if the pack was resealed?

Did the Gary/80sjunkie fiasco teach you all NOTHING!!

This guy is damn smart not to take the chance of getting hosed, screwed, embarrassed -- whatever -- on this hard-to-find pack.

mreuter

I am actually going tomorrow (Monday), glad you found one, I had my wife call the six places that I planned on stopping at on the way, to get store hours and to verify if they had sportscards. Wow, talk about disappointing, one of them called "Home Plate" was a restaurant and it was listed in the yellow pages under sportscards and memorabilia, three others didn't have sportscards, one had "just a few" but they aren't open on Monday and there was no answer on the last one. So, sounds like one out of six since the last one is in the town that I am ending up in and it actually had sportscards and memorabilia in the name. Now, I just hope they are open on Mondays.

Jdurg

Heh. The packs that had the potential to be opened already were bought from Steve Hart, or of years in which nobody would waste their time opening and resealing. From 1994 onward Topps used the foil packs which can't be resealed so those are nice and safe.

BobaFett72

"I've only seen a few auctions (One on E-Bay and one on Yahoo) for the packs I'm looking for, but neither one takes PayPal and I don't have the time to run out to the post office and pick up a money order for a couple of bucks and then send it out hoping that it doesn't get lost in the mail. (I only purchase items where I can use PayPal to purchase it so that I can verify the payment was received and I have some recourse if the seller is a crook)"

geez! lol the real crook is paypal. for a $2.00 transaction they are gonna whack somebody for 50 cents. whats wrong with sending a check? or $2 -$3 in a folded up paper...have a little faith in a seller; 99% of them are good, honest folks.

WinPitcher

What do you mean, mail it and hope it gets there? lol how often do you mail things that do not get there? How come my bills always get here?


Steve

WinPitcher

my local mail service sent my envelope along and didn't get it lost like they do with most all envelopes.


you are kidding...........right


how far is your PO that you have to spend a ton on gas?


lol

This must be an Aprils fool joke.

Steve

Jdurg

I live a good 10-15 minutes away from the closest post office and none of them are on any route close to my home or my work. I work from 7:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening M-F which makes it impossible to get to the post office after work. The local post offices around me are HORRIBLE. I have filed numerous complaints with them for bending mail that shouldn't be bent, not closing the mailbox after delivery so when the rain comes down all the mail gets soaked, sending mail to the wrong house, etc. etc. When sending something through the two local post offices near me it's a risk as to whether or not it's going to get to its destination unless you mail a large, bulky package.

For me to have the security of sending something through the mail I need to make a 30 minute drive to the only other post office I know of in the area.

Just as there are people who won't bid on auctions which have a reserve, I won't bid on auctions that don't accept PayPal. It's too much of a pain in my ass to have to get out to a post office, wait around for a clerk to finally realize I'm there, then get the money order, then send it out. If I'm buying something online then I'm using an online method of payment.

If a seller does free shipping, then I might consider them if they don't take PayPal, but why should I have to pay extra just to pay for the item and then pay for the shipping?

goose3

So should I send these dozen or so Topps you need via BRINKS Truck?