Funny mistakes you made as a kid (card related)

A couple of mine.

I once traded a Drysdale RC for a stack of Donruss Greg Jefferies rookies.

I had a '61 Felipe Alou and was shocked it booked so much. When I saw a '64 for next to nothing, I bought it thinking that I just got a steal on this "superstar" player. Shortly thereafter I learned what being a "high number" meant.

Back in '86, the only baseball cards you could find at retail was topps and sportflics.

One day I walked into a Woolworths and got excited because I saw a box of '86/'87 Fleer basketball and thought "wow, if they have FLEER basketball now, I bet they have fleer baseball during season."

Needless to say I didn't buy any.

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One of my biggest mistakes is one a friend of mine will never let me forget. I traded a super clean copy of a 1973 topps mike Schmidt rookie for 5 87 fleer will clarks. At the time, I really felt I'd made out like a bandit. My friend held on to that card and in 2009, he got it back from PSA as a 9.

I lost that trade.

Back in 1992-93, Fleer basketball had rack packs with Team Leaders and Larry Johnson inserts. One per pack, either a TL or LJ. I found out if you fanned the cards in the pack, you could tell by the border color which subset card you could get. I'm 12 in 1992 and Larry Johnson/Grandmama was the dude. The TLs became the money cards, especially Jordan.

Taping my Jordan RC to a homemade "All-Star" Poster I had on my wall. Still got $100 for it later though...

And trading a bunch of Glenn Davis RCs for a bunch of Canseco RCs. Turns out we both lost that one.

I spent $110 on a 1992-93 Hoops Magic's All-Rookie Team Alonzo Mourning.

They sell for 50 cents now

JoshHamilton said:

I spent $110 on a 1992-93 Hoops Magic's All-Rookie Team Alonzo Mourning.

They sell for 50 cents now

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Wow, I remember them going for HUGE Numbers! And the early "Beam Team" inserts from Stadium Club basketball...

gt2590 said:

Taping my Jordan RC to a homemade "All-Star" Poster I had on my wall. Still got $100 for it later though...

And trading a bunch of Glenn Davis RCs for a bunch of Canseco RCs. Turns out we both lost that one.

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I had 3 taped to my wall. Actually, I had the whole set hanging from my wall.

gt2590 said:

Wow, I remember them going for HUGE Numbers! And the early "Beam Team" inserts from Stadium Club basketball...

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The Shaq Magic's ART was a $325 card at one point. I forgot how much the Beam Team went for, but it still sells pretty well. I'd like to pick up a copy eventually

When I was 8, I read on the back of a Don Larsen card that he pitched a PERFECT game in the World Series. Somehow in my mind that equated to him being the greatest pitcher of all time, so I had to have that card. I way overpaid for a beat up 1961 Topps card of him as a Kansas City Athletic.

Pretty sure it was the look on the announcer's face on the back cartoon that did it to me!

I guess the biggest “mistake” I made as a kid was carrying my favorite cards around in my pocket. Practically ALL of the Cowboys and Yankees cards from my childhood are really beat up. The good news is that I still have every one of them, and they’re my favorite cards in my collection.

As for bad trades, when I was in high school I traded an ’82 Oneonta Elway (and other cards) to my cousin for the last ’77 Yankee card I needed…Reggie Jackson. That’s the card with the badly-airbrushed helmet. He taunted me for years with that card because I never managed to pull one from a pack and he did. A few years ago I asked him if he still had the Elway. He didn’t. I still have the Reggie, and it’s beat to hell (by today’s standards) because it never crossed my mind to “take care of it”.

I once traded a 1972 Topps Hank Aaron for 1987 Donruss Highlights set.

When I was around 10, I used scotch tape to "preserve" the many vintage cards given to me by my dad. This included many stars and rc cards. It would make you sick if I listed all the cards i ruined.

This is just one of the many mistakes made...

I once paid $2.50 for a 1988 topps Sam Horn. It was after he hit 4 home runs in one game. Not a huge mistake from a monetary standpoint but it did etch into my 11 year old mind that it's not a good idea to buy into the hype. For some reason that one hurts more than selling several Michael Jordan Rc's for around $150 each when they first started getting hot.

Back in 1981 or so raded a big box full of 1975-1981 or so cards for a big box full of Star Wars action figures. I know the cards I gave up had a Topps Gretzky rookie in it. Couldn't have been in too great shape, but whatever. I enjoyed the toys, I'm sure, but would rather have the cards. No longer have the figs, either.

wallpapered one of the walls of my bedroom with the 1982 Topps set that I built from rack packs purchased at 7-11. The mistake is that I didn't realize -- being in my 2nd year of collecting and to that point all acquisitions done exclusively via 7-11 purchases instead of card shops -- condition is everything to the value of cards so obviously my ignorance at the time destroyed the value of those cards in my collection. I have since purchased a hand-collated 1982 topps set for the PC that is in great condition.

I sold a bunch of basketball cards in the mid 80s to a friend for $20 (there were (3) Magic/Bird rookies in that box).

I had my dad take me to a card show in Cincinnati in 1986 and a dealer had several 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookies for $1 each and I passed on them because I only collected baseball.

It was not a huge mistake but I instantly thought of a time in 1981 when I drew glasses and a moustache on my 1981 Topps George Brett card. I did this on the penny sleeve not the card but when I discovered that the pen pressed down and it made an indentation of glasses and a moustache on my GB card I was devistated. I had to live with that mistake until I was able to pull another one. No eBay back then so I had to pull another one. I still think of this when I see that Brett card.

I traded away a 1982 Topps Traded Ozzie Smith for a 1988 Donruss Bruce Hurst.

I had a NM 1971 Topps Johnny Bench that I had autographed...by myself.

I paid $8 for a 1993 Select R/T Kirk Reuter RC, back when that was a super hot card.

Oh, and the Mike Witt thing. I don't like to think about that one.

DeliciousBacon said:

I traded away a 1982 Topps Traded Ozzie Smith for a 1988 Donruss Bruce Hurst.

I had a NM 1971 Topps Johnny Bench that I had autographed...by myself.

I paid $8 for a 1993 Select R/T Kirk Reuter RC, back when that was a super hot card.

Oh, and the Mike Witt thing. I don't like to think about that one.

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Oh no, you got me intrigued, what's up with the Witt (assume it's the 90 UD)

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BBCgalaxee said:

Oh no, you got me intrigued, what's up with the Witt (assume it's the 90 UD)

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Yup, I had one, and it's long gone.

During the brief period of time when my stepfather and I bonded over cards, we used to hit one of the local mall shows all the time. He ended up making friends with a dealer from New York, who was from the same area on Long Island my stepfather was from. His tables were always full of piles of inserts, awesome 90's stuff, that I was getting for next to nothing. I got some amazing deals, but none (in retrospect) was as good as picking up a decent condition Mike Witt blackback. Probably got it for less than 50¢, given the lesser condition and the fact that it was "just" a $10 card (this was at some point in late '96 or '97 when I got it).

Fast forward to the summer of 2001, I was getting ready to sell off my non-PC players, which was about 80,000 cards in 5K boxes (mostly sets, near-complete sets, lots of junk-era stuff). I met a semi-local dealer at a show, and ended up making a deal to sell the whole damn lot to him. Brought them all to his shop in New Bedford, MA, and I walked out with a handful of cards and $100 cash (sold off my vintage and inserts to him in a separate deal for a few hundred more). The Witt was in there somewhere, and still might be. I don't recall the name of the shop, and I have no idea when it closed and what happened to their inventory. At that time, I think a Witt had sold for stupid money, but I didn't see it, as I was almost done with collecting and not using ebay at the time. Since I started collecting again, and found out what the hell I had and what I did, that exact Witt does not seem to have resurfaced, unless I missed an ebay auction for a off-condition graded copy (mine would have been maybe a 5 or 6 on a good day).