Possibly My Last eBay Purchase

I scored a bargain on eBay by snagging a lot of 4 CC Sabathia cards.  I really bought the lot for the sole Yankee card from 2010 Topps.  However, the 3 Indians cards were all from brands that I don't have much of.  All of this cost me a grand total of 16 cents with free shipping.  So, why would this be my last eBay purchase?  Aside from being all around morons who ruined the site over the past decade, the powers that be at eBay decided to restrict my account from all selling because my performance level was below standard.  It's really my fault since my feedback rating was only at 100%.  Oh wait, that's the highest possible percentage from a mathematical standpoint.  So, I've decided to take the liberty of restricting my buying on the site and take my business elsewhere.  Anybody have any suggestions for a decent auction style site to buy/sell cards?

TTM Mailbag: C.C. Sabathia

My most recent TTM success took 341 days to receive, but it was well worth the wait. I sent a 2006 Topps card to C.C. Sabathia during 2010 Spring Training. I finally received it back last week with a beautiful blue signature on it. I did apply baby powder to the surface of the card prior to mailing. I didn’t think I would ever get this back. That’s why I only sent one card. I only wish that I had sent a card of C.C. in a Yankees uniform. Oh well. The card looks perfect. This is probably my biggest TTM success ever.

East Coast National: Part One

I spent the better part of last Sunday attending the East Coast National Card Show in White Plains, NY. Because I had a pretty busy week, I am spending this Sunday going through my loot, scanning cards, and posting about the show. Admission was $8.00 and Parking was $4.00. The free autograph signer was Roy White. I didn’t have anything to get signed so I skipped the autograph line. It’s a good thing that I did because I was still going through the 10 cent boxes as the show ended. I didn’t even have time to eat lunch. A few dealers had 10 cent boxes with some decent cards inside them. I will usually spend at least an hour going through these boxes looking for bargains. I am not a set builder. I just look for cards that I like and buy them. It’s that simple. I also bought a couple of game used jersey and rookie cards. However, I mostly bought certified autographs. I didn’t plan on that – it just happened. I overheard more than one dealer complain that they were not making too many sales. Of course, some dealers can blame that on their ridiculous asking prices. But I suppose the down economy has something to do with that. With this in mind, I was able to haggle with most dealers. Overall, I pretty satisfied with the experience. I just wish the show lasted a little longer. Over the next few days I will show off all of the cool stuff I picked up at the card show. For now, here’s a small purchase from a dealer I met on the stage. I picked up three 1999 Topps Traded rookies of C.C. Sabathia, Carl Crawford, and Alfonso Soriano. Soriano was a Yankee, Sabathia is a Yankee, and Crawford may become a Yankee at some point. These were the only base rookie cards that I bought. I paid a dollar each which seems pretty reasonable. I love the 1999 Topps Traded Set. I actually own two of the Chrome Sets. I never bought a base set though. Those are where the autographed cards are contained. For some reason, the Chrome Set does not have any autographs. I also own various singles, most of which are graded for some reason. Anyway, here is a photo of the cards.