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I'm so happy I'm about to cry & I mean that literally.
I just made an incredible purchase. Very personal. I left the hobby in roughly 1993. Life happened. Before when I was involved my collection was absolutely massive, so large my dad & I used to sell at shows in Chicago. /1
I just made an incredible purchase. Very personal. I left the hobby in roughly 1993. Life happened. Before when I was involved my collection was absolutely massive, so large my dad & I used to sell at shows in Chicago. /1
When my family moved from Chicago to Denver in 1990 we had to have my collection appraised. It appraised for $825k in 1990. That's a lot of cards & memorabilia. That was my nest egg at the age of 20 years old in 1990. My retirement. /2
Flash forward to 2006.
I became incredibly ill from a very rare lung disease called Alpha 1. I had no health insurance because my providers dropped me from hitting the coverage ceiling. I almost died. I had to sell off my entire collection to pay for my bills. /3
I became incredibly ill from a very rare lung disease called Alpha 1. I had no health insurance because my providers dropped me from hitting the coverage ceiling. I almost died. I had to sell off my entire collection to pay for my bills. /3
And today while I'm very ill & wheelchair pound due to 2 ABX resistant infections (superbugs suck!) I needed something to get things off my mind. Something positive. So in October I made the decision to return to the hobby. It was very difficult. /4
Difficult because every time I would see cards or memorabilia, it was like a punch to the gut. It was upsetting & depressing beyond belief. But I decided to say "let's go!" & do it despite being sick & poor as hell. I figured out a strategy to buy cheap cards to have fun. /5
One of the most difficult things I had to sell was my 1984 factory Donruss set. It was very sentimental to me. My dad & I spent weeks looking for that set. Sold out at all shops & card shows? Not a chance. Finally we snagged one at a card shop when we made a trip to Milwaukee./6
So I'm cruising Ebay, looking around, and I come across a buyer who had a Ohtani card that caught my eye. I browsed his other items & there it was. The 1984 Donruss factory set being sold with a factory '89 Fleer & '86 Topps set. $79.00 +$12 shipping. Cheap. BUT...wait for it../7
What happened next had me in tears.
These weren't any old sets. THESE WERE MY OLD SETS! I couldn't believe what I was looking at. The writing on the boxes is from yours truly! I about shit my pants! Stunned, I sat there just staring at the screen for 10 minutes. /8
These weren't any old sets. THESE WERE MY OLD SETS! I couldn't believe what I was looking at. The writing on the boxes is from yours truly! I about shit my pants! Stunned, I sat there just staring at the screen for 10 minutes. /8
So many memories came flooding back. So many thoughts. So many happy moments. And so many sad moments. And there they were all the way across the country in Virginia.
I bought them. And today I eagerly await for them to come back home where they belong.
I bought them. And today I eagerly await for them to come back home where they belong.
I'm completely over the moon as you can imagine!
