You see, as a Jason Heyward fan in Atlanta, there are basically three prices for Jason Heyward cards at the local shops. Base cards, you're looking at about 3-5 bucks a pop. Now that more and more Heyward cards are coming out, that number is dropping a bit but for most bases card or a low-end rookie you better pull out a foldy Lincoln. If you're looking for an insert or a mini, expect to pay about 10 bucks. I got an A&G mini for 8 and about fainted with joy. The third tier is Chrome rookies, autos and such. These cards don't have prices on them. If you have to ask you can't afford them. Just hand the shopkeep your credit card and close your eyes as you sign the receipt. It's easier and far less painful that way.
Then I looked on COMC and searched for some Heyward cards. After changing my underwear I tried to reconcile how all these beautiful Heyward cards were selling so damn cheap. These prices don't fit the Atlanta retail market model! Nothing made sense anymore! Then it hit me... the people selling these cards weren't from Atlanta. They know not of the wonderfulness and glory that is The J-Hey Kid. They look at his .220-something batting average and chortle disparagingly not knowing the blasphemies of their thoughts. They wrongly surmise that he is but another flopped prospect not knowing this belief shall only bring them tears and regret in the future. They may even read this blog and think that I should really give it a rest with all the bro-crushing on Jason and that I should really go back to mooning over Chipper already. Ok that last one I can understand. At any rate, there were cheap Heywards on teh interwebs! And I must has them. And so I do. Were those even a sentence?
Honestly, if you're a Jason Heyward collector now is a pretty good time to be snapping up cards on the cheap. Jason is flying well under the radar right now what with his bum shoulder and Mendozaish batting average. Thank goodness Uggla is completely sucking wind right now and drawing all the heat off Jason. I've seen this kid play and Brad Komminsk he ain't. Believe me or not, I've gone all in on Heyward and I'm not wavering. Even if the unthinkable happens and he does turn into Joe Charboneau, my pile of Heywards will still never be as big an albatross as the massive box of Michael Vick cards I've got stashed away. No, I choose to be optimistic. Heyward will always be a star to me. Here's my inaugural pickup from COMC. Eight cards, total with shipping was well under the price of a blaster.
2010 Topps Jason Heyward RC Gold parallel #602/2010
Rookie cards are always nice, but there's a certain special oomph to a parallel of a rookie card. Sure it's nice to have a 1993 Topps Jeter, but if you have a 1993 Topps Gold Jeter? Now you're looking classy. It doesn't hurt that the newfangled Gold cards are pretty attractive.
2010 Turkey Red Jason Heyward Insert
Thiis one of those sets that I'm sort of half-assedly collecting. If I see 'em in a cheapo box I'll snap 'em up, but I'm not going to put together a want list or anything. The Heyward is pretty spiffy though, Jason's not afraid to get his uniform dirty.
2010 Topps Peak Performance Jason Heyward
I don't care for this insert set at all, but it's a Heyward and the price was something like 39 cents. Can't beat that with a dead cat. Is it just me or does the dirt stain on his knee match the one in the Turkey Red card?
2010 Topps Chrome Jason Heyward RC Refractor
Not just the Chrome... the Refractor. This card would be in the pricey case down here in the ATL. Luckily, it's not all curly potato chipped, but it is noticably off center. I might pick up one or two more if they stay the price I paid.
2011 Bowman Jason Heyward Blue Parallel #169/500
I'm on the record as despising Bowman and all it stands for. I'm not above picking up the Braves from the set though, especially the parallels. The blue borders are usually nice but this year's bikini top design looks pretty awkward with the blue. And what the heck is up with that outfield wall? Marlins fans, does it actually look all folded up like that? That's just plain odd.
2011 Bowman's Best Jason Heyward Insert
I hate Bowman but when I saw this card on the sell sheet I... well, you know. In person the card is a little odd. It's on Chrome stock like the original Bowman's Best set, but there's none of the etching that gives the card dimension. Topps has been skimping on the etching in several Chrome sets lately and it's disturbing. Still a nice card, but it could have been perfect.
2011 Bowman Jason Heyward Finest Futures
Why the hell is a set called Finest Futures in Bowman? Shouldn't it be in Finest? Is there even going to be a Finest, or is Topps going to kill every decent set they ever made and replace it with more Bowman and Tribute garbage? It's a pretty decent looking card though. If it had Buster Posey on it, then it would be creap ugly crap, but it's got J-Hey on the front so it's perfect. Plus: I don't even have to think about ripping a pack of 2011 Bowman ever again. Hooray!
2011 Topps Jason Heyward 1952 Wrapper Redemption Shiny Thingy
THIS card is why I pulled out my wallet. I wanted one of these very badly, but I wasn't about to rip a box of Hobby Topps for a chance at getting one in a redemption pack. Local card shops don't have this one either, unless they're holding out on me. When I saw it on COMC for less than a retail rack of Topps there was no turning back. I picked out a few cards, paid and waited for shipping. Yes, I refreshed the Stamps.com page about 100 times. Don't act like you don't do it too. The cards came quickly and well packaged. It was really easy.
TOO DAMN EASY
14 comments:
I keep being tempted to sell. You have to pay to ship there and to store stuff, but depending on prices storage isn't always too bad. It's held me back but only because I haven't had a lot of stuff to sell.
Also...Yahoo? For real? I did a quick search and they were basically just Amazon, which isn't always the best. I recommend Sportlots or the big bad Beckett Marketplace!
I have been selling on COMC since Feb, I submitted about 175 cards, most were in the $5-25 price range with a few under and a few unpriced 1/1's that I don't care about (I'm CCWS on there). Yes, you have to pay a fee per card to have it processed (scanned and inventoried) and you pay a different amount depending on how quickly you want your cards put up on the site. I ran into a deal where it was 15 cents a card within 2 months. My cards cost me 26 bucks for them to process and about 7 to ship.
Since them I've sold 51 of the cards for a total of $378. I was hoping to sell about 100 a month which is about exactly what I've been doing. I've adjusted prices depending on how well a player has done (Andre Ethier's hit streak made me bump his price, then it ended, I dropped my Ichiro prices and they all sold very quickly, just for instance). I've had to pay the penny per card once now, and it was $1.25 total. I did a bit of math at the end of May and I sold my cards for just over 50% of beckett price including the cost of processing and shipping. That's significantly better than any show I've had a table at. Furthermore, most of the cards I submitted were pulls so I don't have exact margin numbers but I _feel_ like I'm making money.
The only hurdle left is going to be getting my money out, there is a percentage fee to have a check/paypal payout made and it's significant, 15-20% of your value. Part of me wants to buy an easily ebay'd card from COMC and flip it on ebay.
I need to submit another batch soon, mostly to get rid of the stuff I don't collect but that has value.
OH, also, for EVERYONE who reads this, make offers on cards! I love reviewing and thinking about accepting offers on my cards and if you're a buyer it feels like you're getting a deal.
my friend, stay away from Sportslots.com... it's far and away more dangerous than COMC.
my paypal statement proves my point far too frequently.
I started buying on COMC a couple months ago, but just finally had my stash (about 200 cards) shipped. I got the email with tracking today, so there's my posts for the next few weeks. I haven't listed on COMC and as far as buying it seems to be best for the type of cards you bought - mid-level inserts. As the Captain said, Sportlots is even easier, because it can end up cheaper and it's much faster turnaround with less shipping fees (especially if you find a dealer with several cards). I still turn to eBay for the limited stuff and hits.
And beware sellers with free shipping on sportsbuy.com. That will get you too. The min card there is .10 vs .18 on sportlots, and if you find a seller with free shipping after a $5 purchase, you can really rack up a nice purchase.. And when are you going to add my blog to your blogroll mister? Don't you know you were my inspriation to blog?
Haha yeah maybe I shouldn't have opened the Sportlots vault. That site is deaddddly. In the best worst way.
I've been tempted to send cards into COMC too. Just the fact you ship all of them at once and you barely have to do anything to sell them really turns me on to that site...maybe if I have any Heywards laying around I'll put them up. Probably nothing you don't have though.
I love selling on COMC. You send them some cash, ship them your cards and then they magically show up on the site. You get emails saying that people bought them and then you magically have money to buy more Piazzas and Pierces (or Heywards).
I did well selling the Yankee Stadium Legacy cards on there and some of the autographs from the Basketball Draft case that wouldn't sell for a dollar on eBay ended up selling for $6 - $8 on COMC.
It's only really worth selling on there if you plan on spending the money there or getting a Blowout Cards gift certificate. Otherwise, the fees just aren't worth it.
I found COMC within the last few months. My delivery times have dragged a bit but nothing long enough to be concerned with. If I had anything to sell, I'd do it there. Seems easier than on eBAY.
If you need a place to dump some Vicks, let me know.
I haven't had a ton of success on COMC, but I'm sure it's more a result of what I'm looking for and collect.
I have a few favorite sellers on SportLots that I use, and so far I've had all good experiences. Once the seller didn't have a few of my cards that I bought so he refunded my whole order and let me keep the cards he did have. The only trick is that they don't refund you, but give you credits...so it's kind of fun to play on there with some fake money.
I'm sure I'll venture back to COMC in the near future, as a lot of you guys use it quite frequently and I'm sure you wouldn't if it wasn't awesome.
I have not bought anything on COMC, but Sportlots is VERY addicting. The auctions can sometimes be crazy, but you can sometimes pick up vintage singles for the minimum bid of a quarter if you are patient (add shipping and you can get a 56 high number for 2.25 like I did recently).
I usually buy from dealers that have a lot of cards from my want list in order to save on shipping. It's a lot easier to find that 91 Stadium club Skeeter Barnes on Sportlots than it is to search for it at a store or card show.
I've been on COMC for two and half years now. The cashout charge of 20% is harsh for sellers but there is basically nothing better for buyers especially when you get in on their cheap bulk shipping specials.
I just had my first few lots shipped from COMC and I couldn't be happier! It makes filling in those holes in your collection from the mid 90's sets really easy.
Post a Comment