Bidding Under the Influence #25

Date: February 3, 2023

Time of Bid: 11:57:39 PM

Card: 1972 Topps #665 Chris Short

Price: $5.50 (+$4.95 Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

I understand the premium paid for 1972 Topps High Number cards.  Somehow I've always fallen ass-backwards into these, compiling a nice little collection without ever really intentionally buying one.  This one, however, I probably paid a bit too much for.  This purchase was made from a high-volume dealer, and I would have been wiser to pick up a bunch of these in order to make the shipping cost a much smaller part of the overall transaction.  But remember, this is a BUI, so decision making is taking a back seat.  It's a neat card of a man resembling a leprechaun wearing a shirt with a big, floppy collar.  It's good.

Bidding Under the Influence #24

Date: February 3, 2023

Time of Bid: 9:36:58 PM

Card: 1995 Fleer Ultra #331 Alex Rodriguez

Price: $0.54 (+$0.99 Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

1995 was the first year since I began collecting that I didn't buy a single baseball card.  I wasn't part of the late-1994 emergence of A-Rod cards on the market, so therefore these early cards of his are still exotic and exciting to me.  Whereas 1995 Fleer proper is an eyesore of a set, this Ultra design is unassuming, yet striking, evoking the '90s foil boom without scorching the retinas.  I like this card, I love the teal jersey, and the price was something I could live with.

Bidding Under the Influence #23

Date: December 28, 2022

Time of Bid: 4:45:32 AM

Card: 1964 Topps #293 Phillies Team

Price: $1.99 (+$0.84 Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Sometimes, you just want to stare into a big, yellow void.  

No idea what I was doing up at that hour, but it was that glorious week between Christmas and New Year's when I have fewer responsibilities than usual.  Buying team cards from the '60s is some wee hours shit.

I dunno, the mind starts plying tricks on itself, and a few days later you get an envelope in the mail.  Such is the global economy.

Bidding Under the Influence #22

Date: January 15, 2023

Time of Bid: 10:54:01 PM

Card: 1973 Topps #193 Carlton Fisk

Price: $2.30 (+$2.95 Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Come on, it's Fisk's first solo card.  Condition is nicely worn, but mine is improved by the presence of what looks like a big-ass blood stain on the side.  And that ornery look sets the standard for pissed-off-ness on a baseball card.

Bidding Under the Influence #21

Date: December 30, 2022

Time of Bid: 02:26:14 AM

Card: 1984 Topps #8 Don Mattingly  

Price: $9.01 (+$3.00 Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

A bid at almost 2:30 in the morning?  Go to bed, dude.

Eh, there are dozens of poorer decisions I could be making at that hour.  I'm on the last few days of Christmas break, and the worst thing I do is order a Mattingly rookie card (one I've never owned before), things are going pretty well.  Twelve bucks shipped is fair, these look to be going in the $10-15 range.  The centering is laughable, and there's a bit of paper chipping on the back, but who cares?  This thing will eventually go into a binder, which I'm sure will rile up the collecting police on Twitter.

So be it.

Bidding Under the Influence #20

Date: November 4, 2022

Time of Bid: 10:07:01 PM

Card: 2002-03 Hoops Hot Prospects #HM-CM Corey Maggette Hot Materials Jersey Relic  

Price: $0.99 (+$1.50 Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Bucks Legend?  Yeah, right.

Duke stud?  Eff that, I hate Duke.

He helped Milwaukee get rid of Dan Gadzuric?  Okay, let's go with that.

I don't have a lot of basketball jersey cards.  In fact, I can't think of one offhand that's in my collection.  A peek into the relic binder might change that, but I'm not counting on it.  Maybe there are a couple of Bucks cards floating around.

Maybe I can just relish the fact that he once made Mr. K (not Coach K anymore) very angry for leaving the team before graduating.  I can live with that.

Bidding Under the Influence #19

Date: October 14, 2022

Time of Bid: 7:52:09 PM

Card: 2013 Bowman #40 Aaron Rodgers

Price: $0.30 (+Free Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Let's face it, Aaron Rodgers has SUCKED this year.  Not being much of a football card collector, I have only a few of his cards.  Just about any Rodgers card is a novel one to me, and this one shows him during his more mobile days.  The back of this card talks more about Roger Staubach than Aaron, which is something absolutely no one wants.  The real reason I bought this card, the auction for which ended much earlier than most of my BUIs, was the interesting price structure offered by the seller.  This card was originally a one cent auction on eBay, meaning that you could potentially win the card for a penny.  While I wasn't able to do that, I did manage to submit a bid second before the close.  With a 30-cent sale price combined with free shipping, I managed to cause the seller to pay for the privilege of sending the card to me.  Since first class US postage is $0.60, the guy took a 30-cent loss on the card.  (And that's before any eBay fees.)  He actually would have been better off just throwing it in the garbage, and since he is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, I could imagine that this would have been an act of catharsis.

After I hit "Publish," I'll be leaving the seller some positive feedback.  He deserves it.

Bidding Under the Influence #18

Date: August 28, 2022

Time of Bid: 11:32:12 PM

Cards: 1983 Topps #83 Ryne Sandberg

Price: $8.61 (+$1.05 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Man, late August sure is the time of year when I am at my most vulnerable, isn't it?  I'm getting pulled over for BUIs left and right.  Thankfully, Wisconsin's bidding laws are among the most lax in the nation, so all of my privileges are still intact.

Without hyperbole, this is one of the iconic cards of the 1980s.  I am too young to have already been collecting once this set was released, so I've never owned a copy.  In fact, this is the first of the Big Three of '83 Topps to find its way into my collection.  The L/R centering isn't great, but everything else is as clean as a whistle.  Throw a Boggs or Gwynn that looks like this my way, and I'll fold a 10-dollar bill into an airplane and shoot it in your direction any day of the week.  Late-night bidding certainly has its rewards.

Bidding Under the Influence #17

Date: August 28, 2022

Time of Bid: 1:45:40 AM

Cards: 1954 Topps #166 Johnny Podres

Price: $6.50 (+$1.05 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Well, this is up there with my two or three favorite Topps designs of all time.  Big portrait, little action shot, single-color backgrounds, and a nice clean logo.  I'm still working towards finishing my '59 set, but since I already have the Aaron rookie, this one might be another nice one to go for.  The price on this Podres was just too good not to snap up.

 

Bidding Under the Influence #16

 

Date: August 3, 2022

Time of Bid: 1:27:07 AM

Cards: 1966 Topps #192 Vic Power

Price: $0.99 (+$1.05 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Vic has an all-time great baseball name.  Would he have been a more well-known player if he had spent his career with only one or two teams?  Very likely, though with 6 All-Star appearances for mediocre teams and a lifetime WAR of 15.3, well short of the Hall of Fame.  This is Power's final regular Topps card.

Bidding Under the Influence #15

Date: May 17, 2022

Time of Bid: 10:28:54 PM

Cards: 1974 Topps #350 Bob Gibson

Price: $3.25 (+$1.00 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Sometimes things just work out nicely.

1. Hey, that's a cool card.

2. Hey, that's on my want list.

3. Hey, that's a price I'm willing to pay.

The top edge is a bit rough, a common production flaw during these years, but everything else about this card is very nice.  Throw in the warm-up windbreaker under the jersey and a shaving cream cartoon on the back, you've got yourself a stew.  (Or at the very least, an excellent piece of history.)

Bidding Under the Influence #14

 Date: February 16, 2022

Time of Bid: 7:06:43 PM

Cards: 2021 Topps Gallery #146 Robin Yount Printer Proof Parallel

Price: $0.99 (+$0.93 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

It's usually the case when I make such a bid that I go after something that just happens to catch my fancy.  It's often not something I am actively chasing, just something I think would be fun to own for a reasonable price.

In this instance, however, the item of my choice fits into my main player collection.  In recent years, I have gotten much less aggressive in my Yount collecting.  Part of it has to do with not liking a lot of what comes out in a given year.  Yes, I'm talking about Panini and its logo-less cards.  They just look like junk, and I refuse to spend money on them.  It's also true that as we start to sneak up on 30 years of post-retirement cards of Robin Yount, you start to see the same images being used over and over.  

While this Gallery card isn't the most memorable, it popped up at the right place and time.  I don't have the regular base card, but buying one on eBay probably isn't a great idea, as those tend to be readily available at shows and shops within a year or so.  It's a nice, clean card, and on the back it includes some biographical information that isn't on a lot of cards, his Lombardi Award for his work done to promote cancer research.

Solid card.

Bidding Under the Influence #13

Date: January 9, 2022

Time of Bid: 12:17:23 AM

Cards: 2005 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH182 Ivan Rodriguez All-Star Gold (0337/2005)

Price: $0.01 (+$1.10 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Ever since I got back into the hobby, I've really liked the gold parallels Topps has put into their base sets.  They're relatively easy to pull, and if you are after a certain player, they are usually affordable to add to your collection.  I've had fleeting thoughts to try to put together a 2007 gold set.  The cards that year look really cool in gold, but I've never officially gotten started because the Jeter/Mantle/Bush is going to set me back quite a bit.  Maybe one day.

As for this card, a penny is always a sweet deal.  Rodriguez is probably the greatest catcher of my lifetime (competition only from Fisk, Bench, Carter, and Piazza).  A Frankenset isn't really my thing, but if I chicken out on the '07 gold set construction, this one would definitely make the cut.  Plus, it's cool to see a player in an All-Star Game played in his home park, even (or especially) if it was as the sole representative of a bad team.

Bidding Under the Influence #12

Date: January 8, 2022

Time of Bid: 12:15:46 AM

Cards:  1978 Topps #120 Bob Griese, #331 1977 NFL Passing Leaders Griese/Staubach, 1990 Score #601 Hall of Famer Bob Griese

Price: $0.99 (+$2.00 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Maybe I just wish there were more cards of guys wearing glasses?

In all seriousness, this is a nice group of cards for $3 shipped.  Men who played on a single team for their entire careers get a little extra rub in this hobby, and to have two all-timers on one card is outstanding.  I probably have the Score card in a pile somewhere, I know I certainly remember having it back when the set came out.  When these two quarterbacks went head-to-head in Super Bowl VI, Staubach came out on top, 24-3.  The next year, Griese helped the Dolphins to their famed undefeated season, beating Washington in SB VII.  They repeated against the Vikings the next season, and a few years later Staubach would win his second Super Bowl (XII) against the Denver Broncos.  Two cool cards from a cool set.

Bidding Under the Influence #11

Date: November 28, 2021

Time of Bid: 9:14:37 PM

Card: 1964 Topps #128 Mickey Lolich

Price: $4.26 (+ $0.79 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Last pitcher with three complete games in a World Series.  Should this belong among the list of Baseball Records Considered Unbreakable?  It isn't in practical terms, but based on current trends that show no signs of being reversed, it might be rock solid.  The last single complete WS game was Johnny Cueto's in 2015.  I think this one is rock solid now.

Pretty god price for Mickey's RC.  Condition isn't perfect, but good enough for me.

Bidding Under the Influence #9

Date: September 4, 2021

Time of Bid: 2:57:53 AM

Card: 1959 Topps #46 Camille Henry

Price: $1.25 (+$0.51 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Well, this might be the first card in this series that I overpaid for.  When it's nearly 3:00 in the morning, decision-making skills aren't what you'd call "sharp."  This thing looks like it spent 30 years in the driver's-side sun visor of a Quebecois taxi cab, or jammed down the front of Dino Bravo's trunks for luck during big matches.  One or the other.

You can read about Henry here, but you probably won't.  Let me share the best part: His playing style earned him the nickname Camile "The Eel."  Not bad.

There's quite a bit of ink missing from the back of this card, but the cartoon referee accompanying the trivia question makes up for it.  The stick of dynamite is a nice touch, even though there's no real basis for its inclusion anywhere on the card.

This is now the oldest hockey card in my possession.  Calling it a collection would be too generous, more just a bunch of things that I managed to acquire over the years. 

Bidding Under the Influence #8

Date: August 10, 2021

Time of Bid: 10:54:22 PM

Card: 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 3 #153 The fantastic droid Threepio!

Price: $0.01 (+ $0.69 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

While this is not my first '77 Star Wars card, it's the first series 3 yellow border one I've ever owned.  Yellow cards are a weakness of mine.  Chalk it up to biology.  Did you know that the human eye seeks out yellow first when looking at an array of colors?  Maybe that's why I always rush to the defense of 1991 Fleer.  And those 1984 Topps Nestle premium cards?  Turn those into a fluffy textile pattern, cloak me in its warmth, and spank my bottom.

The penny auction price was a nice bonus.  Even in a PWE, the seller is clearing almost nothing on a sale like this.  The volume has to be staggering in order to eke out a living at that rate.  Best of luck to phillysportsstore and their business model.  They're doing God's work.  As for C-3PO, he's grown on me over the past 40 years or so.  He's constantly thrown into battle in a conflict he couldn't give two shits about, and he's ill-equipped to handle any sort of combat.  The poor guy had to spend the second half of ESB in 15 pieces in a JanSport strapped to Chewbacca's back.  Then in the next movie, Salacious Crumb nibbled his eye out of his socket, an eye that he didn't lose completely due to the robotic equivalent of the optic nerve keeping it from rolling into Jabba's liquid taint stench puddle.  Cut the android some slack.

Bidding Under the Influence #7

Date: August 2, 2021

Time of Bid: 1:39:26 AM

Card: 1966 Topps #238 Los Angeles Dodgers Team

Price: $1.00 (+ $0.51 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Man, sometimes those team cards can sneak up on you.  You're building a vintage set, and you're pretty sure you've acquired all of the high-dollar star cards, and in the last dozen or so cards you need to finish it, there's a Yankees team card and a Dodgers team card.  These can sometimes go for prices that, while not ridiculous, aren't exactly the commons you've mentally budgeted for.  Those two teams, plus maybe the Cardinals and the Red Sox, always seem to command a premium.  Getting a Dodgers team card for a buck fifty is a nice deal, even though I have no plans at present to pursue the '66 set. 

Plus, that Koufax season: 26 W, 2.04 ERA, 382 SO.  Jeezum Crow!

Bidding Under the Influence #6

Date: July 27, 2021

Time of Bid: 11:30:28 PM

Card: 1960 Topps #50 Al Kaline

Price: $4.75 (+ free shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

An awesome card of a Hall of Famer at a reasonable price?  What's there to think about?

Actually, I think this is my first BUI where there were other bids.  Sometimes it pays to stay up late, catch everyone else sleeping.  Another nice benefit is that this spring, as I was losing weight, I had to buy a bunch of new clothes.  One of my favorites is this T-shirt with a tiger on it from Target.  Their Good Fellow brand is quality stuff.  It's not official Detroit gear, but who cares?  The graphic centering might be better on my shirt than on this Kaline, but both are OK in my book.

Bidding Under the Influence #5

This next BUI actually took place the same night as the Michael Jordan debacle I covered earlier.  Good thing I had a backup card in this instance.

 

Date: June 30, 2021

Time of Bid: 12:24:30 AM

Card: 1990 Fleer #227 Danny Darwin AUTO

Price: $0.99 (+ free shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Darwin has always been one of those guys who shows up in a pile of Brewers someone sends me, either in a trade or just to get rid of them.  I can't really say I remember his short stint with Milwaukee, being that he was here just before I would have achieved sports consciousness.  A Basset hound of a man, Darwin always looked like he would sound like Trusty from Lady and the Tramp.  It was hard to find anything with Darwin's voice on it, but I was able to track down a recent podcast episode where he was interviewed. (FF to about 24:30 for the start of his segment.)  Turns out I was pretty darn close with my estimation, that hard Texas drawl would be perfect for all future Don Bluth dog movies.

An autographed card for 99 cents is a great deal, better than you can even do for a TTM request, considering today's postage rates.  This will have a good home in my random auto binder.