(The secret is now revealed!) A card is up for auction that I have been looking for approximately 8

frankhardy

I will not disclose what this card is but I found out that a card is being auctioned that have been trying to find for around 8 years or more. Now I have the anxious days and hours of waiting and then knowing how much to bid. I really have no idea what this card will go for. I don't think it will reach 4 figures. I guess that is possible, but I don't think it will. So, I have to decide how much this card is going to set me back.

I'm sure many of you have stories like this. What is the longest you have searched for a card and was finally successful? I think I looked over 5 years for a few cards, but this one will be the longest if I win it. I am excited and anxious at the same time.

mlbfan2

Oooh, I found it.

Snipe set.

halosfan

8 years ... you are all in

DetroitSquirreL

Good luck

charrigan

Go big.

You can recoup the bucks.

Avoiding mental anguish ... priceless.

calaban7

Shane , I collect multiple sets . One of the oddball sets I collect is the 1983 Topps Traded Baseball set . I had most of the set in PSA 10 . When the checklist PSA 10 popped up , I set a nuclear bid , that if someone would have outbid me , I would've realized someone was even more insane than I was for setting a crazy bid . I did win it for around $ 118 dollars , which is still insane . But I wanted the card , knowing that the chances of another of the Checklist in PSA 10 popping up any time soon was extremely thin.

If you want , you are going to have to get it . I do hope you give us a followup after its over and best wishes .------ Sonny

bbuckner22

Sonny,

I was the under bidder on that checklist, and I was insane to bid as much as I did.

1980scollector

I truly hope you get it Frank!

galaxy27

Last night I went after an item I really wanted and ultimately came up short. To plagiarize from Sonny, I put in a nuclear bid. Only one slight problem, however: some dude dropped an A-bomb in the waning seconds. I'm still searching for one of my limbs, in fact. I could have gone higher, and naturally it remains to be seen whether or not that would have mattered. One thing is certain, however: I felt utterly gross.

My advice would be to step out of the batter's box on this 3-0 pitch, take a deep breath, acknowledge the green light from the 3B coach, and do what you have to do.

swartz1

that 1968 3 D is a monster good luck...

frankhardy

<< <i>that 1968 3 D is a monster good luck... >>




Nope, I've got one already.

ajw

I hope it's not the Will Clark card you've asked me about a number of times! (I still think I have it in a box somewhere, I just haven't looked in ANY of my boxes in years...)

justmichael

I'm thinking Retrofractor if memory serves me right.

BunchOBull

I waited more than 20 years to locate one specific copy of one specific card; the 1992 Donruss Elite Frank Thomas card, serialized 00035/10000. It was my "white whale" as a kid, before I ever knew what a white whale was.

mattinglymint23

Think about what you would bid eight years from now then reduce it by 30%
Get the card.

ajw

<< <i>I waited more than 20 years to locate one specific copy of one specific card; the 1992 Donruss Elite Frank Thomas card, serialized 00035/10000. It was my "white whale" as a kid, before I ever knew what a white whale was.
>>



Spectacular! Did it cost you anything extra for the serial number?

BunchOBull

<< <i>

<< <i>I waited more than 20 years to locate one specific copy of one specific card; the 1992 Donruss Elite Frank Thomas card, serialized 00035/10000. It was my "white whale" as a kid, before I ever knew what a white whale was.
>>



Spectacular! Did it cost you anything extra for the serial number? >>



$40 BIN, about the going rate at the time; the seller had just ripped a case in his grandfather's old storage stash from his card shop days. It was pure luck I signed on to eBay the moment it was listed. I've had 4-figure offers on the card since, but it's my whale. It was meant to be.

CW

Good luck! Hope you get it.

If the pricing is as you say it is (ie. approaching $1K), and I was looking for 8 years, and I could afford it, I'd place the snipe at $2599, just to be sure.

frankhardy

It's not the 2001 Topps Chrome Retrofractor Will Clark Highlights or the Fernando Tatis either. I picked up the Will Clark Highlights several months ago. I would pay quite a bit for the Tatis, but realistically, that card would go for less than $5. The one I am looking at now could go high. Obviously, I am hoping that it doesn't.

frankhardy

By the way, I never said that card was on Ebay.....I didn't say it wasn't either.

frankhardy

The only hint that I will give is that the card has a high book value of $350.

RailsideCards

Set a nuclear bid with an atomic kicker, add in the year you were born and multiply by two, thats your bid.

good luck!

cardcountry

Good luck with your purchase. 8 years is a long time to wait!!!

Jeff

magikbilly

The stuff I have waited for over 10 years - I set apocalyptic bids. Some stuff that took 20 years or so - not going to lose if I can help it. The last batch of radioactive Hiroshima material I bid on, I set the nuclear bid - and reconsidered. I did not want to spend $$$$ for a small bit of rubble. Each item in recent track had been nearly doubling. So I set out on a deliberate search with all engines, and found 8 times the normal amount of material for 1/4 of the cost of the usual single large fragment, direct sale at some tiny venue.

Good luck!

Eric

Edited to add "Hiroshima" for context

itzagoner

the things i've nuke bid for were things i wanted, but there should be some kinda regret involved, since certain items have devalued somewhat. right?

regrettably, there's no feeling of regret, only the passively comforting reverberation of 1988 Don Henley singing "How Bad Do You Want It?" in my head with the spirit of a serendipitous Latin lover.

Dboneesq

Shane ... if you just put 50 cents in a jar each day since you started looking for the card you would have $1,460.00. (Sorry ... didn't account for the extra days in Leap Years!)

Set your high bid for $1,460.00!!! After you win let us know what you paid and show us the card.

frankhardy

<< <i>Shane ... if you just put 50 cents in a jar each day since you started looking for the card you would have $1,460.00. (Sorry ... didn't account for the extra days in Leap Years!)

Set your high bid for $1,460.00!!! After you win let us know what you paid and show us the card. >>




That is definitely one perspective that I haven't thought of!

uncutsheetbuyer

KW

Allen

<< <i>Shane ... if you just put 50 cents in a jar each day since you started looking for the card you would have $1,460.00. (Sorry ... didn't account for the extra days in Leap Years!)

Set your high bid for $1,460.00!!! After you win let us know what you paid and show us the card. >>



I am going to use this logic to justify my next big purchase to my wife. Thank you.

itzagoner

yeah, you go ahead and try that logic. my wife knows there are pairs of shoes at the department store which cost way more than a vintage baseball card.

RyanAdmirer

Bid as high as you can expect to pay for it....and be prepared to pay it in case you're not the only one that's been waiting for it forever. Whatever you decide I hope you get it. We've all got those "bucket-list must-haves", and we all know how good it feels to check one off after waiting a long time for it to happen.

smallstocks

If you can afford it then bid a ridiculous price. The money won't really matter compared to the satisfaction of finally owning the card. Of course you will have to top my bid of $1 million!

Steelernation

Of course.." this thread is worthless without pics and a link" ha. Kidding.

Bid high and just get it. I guarantee you'll regret it if you don't regardless of price, within some reason.

Good luck.

TNP777

<< <i>

<< <i>Shane ... if you just put 50 cents in a jar each day since you started looking for the card you would have $1,460.00. (Sorry ... didn't account for the extra days in Leap Years!)

Set your high bid for $1,460.00!!! After you win let us know what you paid and show us the card. >>

I am going to use this logic to justify my next big purchase to my wife. Thank you. >>

interesting... very interesting

BuenoDawg

I know.

mtcards

Is it the Jay-Z auto'ed jeans patch? Almost has to be it

pclpads

If you've waited 8 years and now don't pull the trigger, it could be another 8 year wait.

cpamike

Shane, best of luck and I hope your nerves hold up a little longer.

vladguerrero

<< <i>Is it the Jay-Z auto'ed jeans patch? Almost has to be it >>



You might want to delete that out of respect for the OP. That is the card because of the cardinals cap Jay-Z is wearing. Also, it is the Refractor version.

frankhardy

I just need to figure out how far to go with it. I can always sell some stuff to recoup the money. I don't have the disposable income to go crazy with it. I'll just have to wait and see. I will keep you guys informed.

vladguerrero

I suggest multiple snipe programs, manual bid, and internet ready cell phone in case of a PC meltdown.

Hope you snag it for a deal.

CNote

I hope WHEN, not if, but WHEN you get the card a new thread is started titled "IT'S MINE!" and a nice phat 800dpi scan is posted in the body of the message. That'll do....that'll do

frankhardy

I will start a new thread because of your request. However, I think a 200 dpi scan will probably do!

yankeeno7

<< <i>I just need to figure out how far to go with it. I can always sell some stuff to recoup the money. I don't have the disposable income to go crazy with it. I'll just have to wait and see. I will keep you guys informed. >>



Well, I can buy it if you like and resell it to you until you get the funds together. Of course, my mark up is 1000%.

frankhardy

I just joined VCP for one day to do research on the card. When I said I have been looking for this card for about 8 years, I must not have been consistent in my searching. I say that because I missed out on 7 of these cards on eBay in the past. I can say for certain that I have had this card saved in my automatic searches for about 4+ years. That is when I started doing automatic eBay searches for the first time. Before that, I would search often, but not every day like I do now.

The research shows that there has not been one card listed on eBay since September of 2009. There were 7 sold from August of 2007 to September of 2009. None after and none before. There was also one sold at Mile High Auctions in December of 2013. I get every auction catalog out there except for Mile High, I think!

The bottom line is that it is a very rare card, but not as rare as I thought. I missed out on a few due to my inconsistent searching early on. So, a more accurate statement would be that I have searched off and on for about 8 years, and I have searched every single day for about 4 to 4.5 years.

magikbilly

Hello,

This is what I was afraid of and brought me back to qualify my statements, although I do not think you'd bid nuclear if it was not warranted. You research results here show this. Having said that, none of us are paying - you are. And it sounds like you just learned it is not as scarce as you thought. Seven inside two years, one last year...reassessment time IMHO. Not nuclear time. Maybe "strategic battlefield nuclear", but not more. Obviously, they are out there. Like most everything else.

Eric

frankhardy

I should have done this from the beginning. I just looked at the PSA pop report and there are 24 total graded including all grades. So, with that said, the card is not impossible, but still difficult.

magikbilly

<< <i>I should have done this from the beginning. I just looked at the PSA pop report and there are 24 total graded including all grades. So, with that said, the card is not impossible, but still difficult. >>




I thought you did
I felt really quite bad after reading all this "bid!!" stuff here - myself included. All last night I was thinking "what bid, what bomb...I don't even know what it is"....I am glad you collected more data! That is where the real winning bids (or not!) come from knowledge.

Eric

frankhardy

<< <i>

<< <i>I should have done this from the beginning. I just looked at the PSA pop report and there are 24 total graded including all grades. So, with that said, the card is not impossible, but still difficult. >>




I thought you did
I felt really quite bad after reading all this "bid!!" stuff here - myself included. All last night I was thinking "what bid, what bomb...I don't even know what it is"....I am glad you collected more data! That is where the real winning bids (or not!) come from knowledge.

Eric >>



Nope. The only research that I ever did was the "I can't find it" research!

magikbilly

Early reports indicate you won some already and the auction is still going.


Eric

frankhardy

<< <i>Early reports indicate you won some already and the auction is still going.


Eric >>



PM me to explain what you mean. I'm a little slow sometimes!