IYKYK, acquiring a super rare card for under $5

I see people post hash tags with IYKYK and I'm often looking at that saying IDK.  This new social media talk has got me worried about the future where all vowels will be obsolete and many common phrases will just be abbreviated. 

Anyway IYKYK means If You Know You Know.  It's often associated with something in the hobby that is known to hobby collectors, but the common collectors may not be aware.

I recently purchased a card off eBay for under $5 that tends to sell for over $100.  It shouldn't be valued that much, but the urban myths surrounding this card make it very very rare despite being serial numbered on back to 2013.

Unlike many cryptids like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, this card does exist and has been documented with proof of it's existence.  That doesn't make it any less rare.

There were some posts on blowoutcards back in 2013 and 2014 about this rare card which you can visit here.

I contemplated messaging the seller about his very low Buy-It-Now price, but since I am a Super Collector and not going to flip it, I thought it would be ok to just take advantage of this good fortune.  In addition I have a goal to display all my gold parallels of Cutch in a large frame once he retires so I couldn't pass it up.

The seller also included a very nice note thanking me for the purchase and asking for feedback upon receipt of this card.

I still can't believe I got one of these for under $5. 

Have you ever told someone that a card you wanted to buy was way underpriced?

Silver and Gold

I am trying to get into the Christmas spirit so in tribute to the Burl Ives song Silver and Gold from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer here are a pair of parallels from 2007 Just Minors Triple Autos.

The cards were not pack inserted, but have been slabbed by Beckett Grading Services. 

They feature sticker autos of Andrew McCutchen, Daniel Moskos, and Steve Pearce. 

The gold is limited to 10 copies and the silver is limited to 25 copies (mine is jersey numbered 22/25).

I may show off some more silver and gold parallels in the future.

What is your favorite claymation movie?

I could have a quarter million dollars in inventory

It likely wasn't a 1990 Fleer Juan Uribe that started it all, but it is one of the most iconic cards that drew attention for selling at an insane hype level price.

Some sellers are still stuck in the mindset that "rare" baseball cards are worth tens of thousands of dollars.  

This is true for certain cards, but I am always reminded that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

A rare buyback Andrew McCutchen card hit eBay the other day.

I of course was interested in it.

And I say rare in the sense that it was only available as a redemption and came encased in a BGS holder and marked with a 1/1 on the case.

The card has no markings on it and it is strictly just a buyback/over stock inventory that has been placed in a BGS holder.

In case you are unfamiliar with how to obtain one of these Topps 70 buyback cards they were available as redemptions in packs of Series 1 and Series 2.  

Below is an example of one of the redemptions

Topps is celebrating their 70th anniversary this year and is providing 1 of these cards to depict each year of the company's existence.  

2017 Topps is represented by the Aaron Judge rookie card and it sold for just over $100.

Yadier Molina, one of the best defensive catchers of all time, has his rookie card in 2004 as that set's chosen buyback.  It sold for $500.

Eddie Fricking Murray, one of the most underrated hitters of all time with over 3,000 hits and 500HR had his rookie represent the 1978 set.  It sold for $250.

So explain to me why this seller thinks that the Andrew McCutchen 2009 buyback is worth $10K?

I get that it's a "1/1" but c'mon....

I messaged the seller an offer of $150 along with the screenshots of the sold cards stating I was a super collector of McCutchen.

He countered with $10,000 saying it's the only one in existence and to offer something closer to the asking price.

Well Mr. eBay seller, thank you for saving me $150.  I don't know why I was even thinking of adding another to my collection for a price that is 20x the going rate.

I know mine aren't slabbed in a BGS holder with the Topps 70 logo, but I have the following quantities in raw form just hanging out in my binders.

31x base

3x Wal Mart black

2x Gold Border /2009

I also have a PSA10 and BGS 9.5 in storage.

Do you have any large quantities (10 or more) of a player's rookie card?

Just Another Mini Monday

Last week I showed off a 1/1 Gypsy Queen mini and asked the question if I should show off some more mini cards from the collection.  

While there wasn't a lot of responses, I have always enjoyed the miniature sized cards found as inserts.  

Topps is often known for their 1952 set to the casual hobbyist, but it was their 1951 release that resembled a card game that helped to get them on the map.

Released in 1951 was a set of cards with players that you would shuffle into your deck.  Based on the card you drew that would indicate the action taken for your team.  

Topps has used this idea and even design many times since 1951 including the 2020 release by Blake Jamieson, one of the head artists for Project 2020 and Topps Project 70.  

In 2015, Topps released a set of cards containing 104 players.  It had a MSRP of $79.99 upon release.  In addition to a complete set for the (roughly) $80 purchase, the box also contained 21 color back parallels and 1 autograph.

The 21 parallels were seeded into the set by the following breakdown:

Red Back (10 per set)

Blue Back (5 per set)

Green Back (3 per set)

Black Back (2 per set)

Gold Back (1 per set)

As you can see from the below picture I have all the color parallels from this miniature release.

Do you have any 1951 Topps Game cards, either modern cards that use the old design OR any originals?

Collecting Mistakes

I recently watched a video on YouTube where an adult toy collector discusses some mistakes he has made over his 20 years of collecting action figures.  He prefaced the video by saying it was about his experiences with toy collecting, but can (and should) relate to any form of collection (sports cards, stamps, comic books, physical media, etc).

It was a fun video and he went on to discuss how buying Star Wars cereal didn't make much sense looking back, but at the time he was trying to be a completionist and collect everything relating to Star Wars Episode 2.  If you want to watch the video by Nerdzoic you can click here.

I related to the video, not because I bought Star Wars cereal and party cups, but I had made some of the same collector mistakes.

This collection of the above 3 cards describes many of the mistakes made.

It is a 2018 Panini Chronicles Classics partial rainbow.  As you can see this parallel has very subtle color differences.  The Classics logo is a different color and there is a foil stamp with a serial number.  The gold is limited to 99 copies.

The purple is limited to 10 copies.

The base isn't numbered.

This card, in it's base form, brings me joy as it is a nice design and shows Cutch in his San Francisco uniform.

The back is nice as well.

The problem is with the color parallels.

The gold does nothing to quickly identify itself as a parallel despite being limited to only 99 copies.  

It is almost like those old Highlights magazines with the "Spot the difference" feature.

The purple parallel is just as bad as the gold, but with the added pressure of being limited to only 10 copies and costing significant more than the base.  For the very subtle difference of a purple Classics logo instead of the standard, fans can expect to pay 10x or more the base price.  A Ronald Acuna /10 PSA9  is currently listed for nearly $700, but the base PSA10 recently sold for $70-$110.

I'll admit that I was lucky in that I didnt have to pay for the gold as I got it in a group break, but I did seek out the purple and paid just over $10 for the card.  

And it doesn't bring me anymore joy to the collection than the base.  

I have really cut back on adding new cards to the collection over the past month and it feels awesome to go through my binders and enjoy what I have instead of constantly focusing on what I don't have.  

Have you made any collecting mistakes that you really regret?

Do you watch any YouTube videos or listen to any podcasts about collecting?  If so, please recommend some channels to me. 

#TBT: Topps Unique

It has been a few months since I showed off Cutch wearing some Throwback Uniforms from his Pirates days.  

I am going to show off a pretty unique (pun intended) and short lived release by Topps.

Today I am looking at the gold parallel from 2009 Topps Unique

Cutch is wearing a uniform reminiscent of the Honus Wagner days celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the World Series winners

As you can see the back of the card discusses when the unique throwback uniform was worn and what the occassions was for the throwback uniform.  

Cutch made his MLB debut just a week and half earlier and was starting to make people aware that he may be a Rookie of the Year despite such a late start to the year.  The Pirates hosted the Detroit Tigers on June 14, 2009 to honor the 100 Year World Series that saw the Honus Wagner Pirates defeat the The Cobb lead Detroit Tigers.  

I wish the back of the card also mentioned Cutch's stats for the game.  He went 2 for 3 with two walks, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored in the 6-3 Pirates victory.

Scripture Sunday: John 11:25

✝Happy Easter Everyone✝

With it being Easter Sunday, I thought it was appropriate to show off some cards of Cutch that show him wearing his cross armband over the years while playing for 4 teams.

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. 

What are your Easter Sunday plans?

🔥I Am On Fire🔥

I have been on fire adding new Cutch cards from his Pirates playing days (2005 to 2017) over the past month having acquired nearly a dozen cards in 1 month.  This makes up for a slower February that I had.

Above is the 2017 Topps Fire Gold Minted parallel.  These are available only in blaster boxes.

I snagged this blaster box exclusive card for under $5 delivered after taxes and shipping

Have you picked up any cards on your want list for under $5 shipped recently? What did you get?

A golden opportunity

After nearly a decade of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I have decided to take a step back at my job.  Working over 50 hours with an hour commute both ways on top and getting at best only one day off a week has broken me down mentally.  I took an opportunity to take a slight pay cut but relieve myself of all the stress that has been building up inside and at the same time get a piece of mind.  

I am also planning on moving in the next few month's so it seems like a perfect time to take a step back so that I can move forward in life.  

Call it a golden opportunity.

On a personal level it's more golden than this 2018 Topps Update gold parallel of the 1983 insert set.  

This change in life style is certainly more limited than the 50 copies of this card produced too.

But at the same token, it presents a far more greater possibility of what may come in the future.

Hey! Can you give me a hand?

Every now and then I pick up an item for my Cutch collection that goes beyond cardboard and I get really excited about it.  I've shown off some pretty cool items in the past which I may go into a recap post in the future, but below is an item that is a first for me.

Above is my first pair of game used batting gloves.  They were both autographed by Andrew McCutchen and both have a game used inscription by Cutch.

They come certified by Hunt's Auctions.

Best of all though you can see Cutch wearing this style batting glove on a variety of his Phillies cards from 2019 to 2021.

2021 Topps 70 Years of Topps 1955 design insert

2020 Topps Fire green parallel

2019 Topps Heritage Throwback Uniform 5x7

2020 Topps Big League blue parallel

2020 Topps Series 2 Independance Day parallel

2020 Topps 1985 Patch relic red border

2020 Topps Museum

2019 Topps Tek purple

2020 Topps Triple Threads "Getting Started" gold triple relic parallel

How would you display an item like this? Shadowbox? Frame?

Both showing the signed side or one side,showing the game use? Should I put some 5x7s inside it? 

Give me your thoughts...

Gettin' Rich

Everyone wants to get rich with this hobby, right?  Well I literally did get Rich.

Rich Molinelli, that is. 

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that my profile pic/avatar is a sketch card of Andrew McCutchen.  That card was drawn by Rich Molinelli almost a decade ago.  

I wanted an updated version and requested Rich draw him in a Yankees uniform because quite frankly I just don't have enough Cutch Yankees cards.

This is the result of what Rich came up with.

It rocks!!!!  I love the #26 pinstripe jersey, the clean shaved Cutch, and the unique design he threw into the background.

Best of all, it was done on a 2021 sketch card, making this my first of the new season.

If you want to follow Rich here are some of his links

Twitter @RichMolinelli

Website www.richmolinelli.com

Now for some "get rich" puns

I am always looking to add gold border 2005 Update cards to the collection

I currently have 7.  I've gotten them as cheap as $5 and have paid as much as $20 over my collecting career.

I am shocked at how much these are going for in this crazy hobby world we live in today

$46-$56 is an insane price for these if you ask me, but I guess with a Trout base rookie selling for $600+ regularly now it only makes sense.