A weird problem to have - Griffey 1994 Topps Superstar Sampler

Okay, so I have long wanted the super-rare 1994 Topps Superstar Sampler set, which consists of a "Preview" card of his 1994 Bowman, Stadium Club, and Finest cards. I finally tracked one down and purchased the set from a member here. I was super excited to receive them.

Then things got interesting.

While filing away the 1994 Finest Sampler (with my 94 Refractor and 94 Base) I noticed that what I thought was the base/regular 1994 Finest had the same "Superstar Sampler" logo on the back of it. So at this point, I had (2) of these super rare cards I'd been hunting for a long time.

Not done yet.

I realized I now needed a regular 1994 Finest Griffey to fill the hole in my Griffey collection. So I took to comc to pick one up on the cheap, which I did. The only "problem" is when it arrived, it also had the Superstar Sampler logo on the back. I contacted comc, just because I didnt want a seller to be screwed over, and they apologized for the inconvenience and said if I wanted to send it back, I could, but they couldnt contact the original seller because they have multiple 1994 Finest Griffeys and arent 100% sure where the card originated.

So I'm "stuck" with 3 1994 Finest Superstar Sampler Griffeys. Anyone want to trade for one? I collect Griffeys.

Wow! What are the odds...I have 2 of the 3 for Bonds. Still trying to track down a TSC.

Cool problem to have! But...COMC can't find out who the seller was? How? If that's the case, how does the guy get paid once you buy his card? Seems very weird they wouldn't be able to contact the guy.

Comc knows who they paid, but I guess commons are all put together, so there is no guarantee the card I received was the exact card that the exact seller submitted. If that makes sense.

I thought they kept them separate, but I found a few months back when I bought a Finest Peel and Reveal Stadium Stars that they don't keep track of them THAT closely.

What do these look like?

I kinda had the same problem with my stadium club for my Bagwell. Turned out I had a sampler in my doubles box.
[MENTION=2602]SINFULONE[/MENTION] if you click my sig link, I have pics in my 94 section. Front and back. You can tell them by the superstar sampler "stamp" on the backs.

SINFULONE said:

What do these look like?

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The only difference is the Superstar Sampler logo on the back. Otherwise they look exactly the same as the regular Finest, Bowman, or TSC card.


- Rodrick

And not all logos are the same size between the three...

goobmcnasty said:

Comc knows who they paid, but I guess commons are all put together, so there is no guarantee the card I received was the exact card that the exact seller submitted. If that makes sense.

I thought they kept them separate, but I found a few months back when I bought a Finest Peel and Reveal Stadium Stars that they don't keep track of them THAT closely.

Click to expand...

Ok. Just seems like they'd seperate all cards submitted by seller. Otherwise if there was an issue with the card, the seller doesn't get pinged for it since it may not have even been his card to begin with. Like if I purchased a Griffey card and it was badly damaged, homeboy might have actually sent in a good card but I got somebody else's card. It's not his fault I got a screwed up card.

Single cards of the Superstar Samplers are a waste. Been there, done that. Thought to myself, "Hey, I'll get the singles for $20 each, save me some money!" Dumb...
I can't imagine a price point (above free) where it would make sense to get a single if you are trying to get all three. The sealed sets are out there, with patience. I felt so guilty selling my single the one time, even though I repeatedly stated it was only ONE CARD...

olerud363 said:

The only difference is the Superstar Sampler logo on the back. Otherwise they look exactly the same as the regular Finest, Bowman, or TSC card.

- Rodrick

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Not the Stadium Clubs; they have flat gold stamping on the front, different from the red on the base.

I got my sealed set. Opened it up right away! Mua ha ha!

Gwynn545 said:

Single cards of the Superstar Samplers are a waste. Been there, done that. Thought to myself, "Hey, I'll get the singles for $20 each, save me some money!" Dumb...
I can't imagine a price point (above free) where it would make sense to get a single if you are trying to get all three. The sealed sets are out there, with patience. I felt so guilty selling my single the one time, even though I repeatedly stated it was only ONE CARD...

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I got all three of mine one at a time. It was definitely a pain in the buttocks.

Im guessing these superstar samplers were only for a limited checklist and not the whole set?

So who else was in this set?I never saw it.

Here's the checklist. They were distributed in 3 card packs. Each pack contained 3 cards of the same player. 94 Finest, Bowman, Stadium Club.

Roberto Alomar
Carlos Baerga
Jeff Bagwell
Albert Belle
Barry Bonds
Bobby Bonilla
Jose Canseco
Joe Carter
Will Clark
Roger Clemens
Darren Daulton
Lenny Dykstra
Cecil Fielder
Cliff Floyd
Andres Galarraga
Tom Glavine
Juan Gonzalez
Mark Grace
Ken Griffey Jr.
Marquis Grissom
Tony Gwynn
Jenna Jameson
Greg Jefferies
Randy Johnson
David justice
Barry Larkin
Greg Maddux
Don Mattingly
Jack McDowell
Fred McGriff
Paul Molitor
Raul Mondesi
John Olerud
Rafael Palmeiro
Mike Piazza
Kirby Puckett
Manny Ramirez
Cal Ripken
Tim Salmon
Ryne Sandberg
Gary Sheffield
Frank Thomas
Andy Van Slyke
Mo Vaughn
Larry Walker
Matt Williams

goobmcnasty said:

Here's the checklist. They were distributed in 3 card packs. Each pack contained 3 cards of the same player. 94 Finest, Bowman, Stadium Club.

Jenna Jameson

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Really???

That is what I thought, no Andre Dawson, never seen those for Dawson. Thanks for the checklist, thought I was going to have to go back through my extra boxes

thelesquad said:

Really???

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Thought the same thing when I saw that.Must be a typo.

Gwynn545 said:

Single cards of the Superstar Samplers are a waste. Been there, done that. Thought to myself, "Hey, I'll get the singles for $20 each, save me some money!" Dumb...
I can't imagine a price point (above free) where it would make sense to get a single if you are trying to get all three. The sealed sets are out there, with patience. I felt so guilty selling my single the one time, even though I repeatedly stated it was only ONE CARD...

Click to expand...

Damn, singles are $20?