One of my usual New Year's Resolution goals for that past several years has been to get my collection fully organized. Besides the obvious reasons for such a goal (such as less clutter, fewer piles of cards sitting out, etc.) there is a more practical reason - better organization of what I have! More specifically, better documentation of what I have.
What's the big deal? Well, I bought that 1996 Leaf Bronze Press Proof card once already a few months ago. Somehow never correctly updated my files, and then bought another copy of the same card a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, it wasn't super expensive but still, what a waste of money (and time)! I definitely felt pretty stupid about that, and even more motivated I guess to try and get my collection under control!
And why would that matter? Well, here's proof thanks to a pair of Barry Larkin cards that I recently bought off of eBay:
On the bright side, I did still need the other Leaf card from the purchase - a 1997 Leaf 22 Karat Gold Stars insert card that is serially numbered out of 2500 on the back of the card.
With that eBay envelope now finally scanned and written about, I can get it off of my desk. My first goal for my collection reorganization has to be to get my desk cleared off so you can probably expect a few more trade / purchase type posts over the upcoming days as I still have a number of other packages to show off (and trust me when I say that some of them are awesome)!
I have the same problem of disorganization on a slightly bigger scale. And Yes I have bought duplicates unknowingly several times, sometimes the same card more than once or twice.
ReplyDeleteI had an eBay oopsie recently as well. Just opened a package from an eBay purchase back in December. It was a complete 1982 Topps baseball sticker album. Sadly there were at least 3 stickers missing. Had I opened the package back in December, I would have messaged the seller to see if he had the stickers laying around. But at this point, I'm just gonna suck it up and buy them.
ReplyDeleteI have many 82t sticke extras if you want some help
DeleteBuying a duplicate over a card I needed at a card show back in 1998 is what led me to getting my entire collection on paper. I haven't had that problem since... although I have had a few problems where I listed the card as the wrong number. Just discovered one of those mistakes yesterday in fact.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not the only one who has unnecessarily bought duplicate cards on eBay. Although I feel stupid at first, I know those duplicates will make pretty decent trade bait and I simply add them to my TCDb For Sale/Trade list.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fairly safe to say that pretty much every collector has been in that boat. Heck, I just did it with my most recent SportLots order. Despite having my spreadsheet open and staring right at it I bought items already had... Just added them all to my trade lot.
ReplyDeleteOn comc yesterday, I was given a refund for a card that was described incorrectly (said it was the green variation). I received the blue variation, which I needed anyway so all good. I didn't expect a refund.
ReplyDeleteI turned that refund around and bought the green variation. Oops. No I didn't. I bought another copy of the blue card.