eBay Victory Survivor Style

After about six tries to get this card, I finally won an eBay auction at the price point I wanted. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been trying to win the 2009 Allen and Ginter Bob Crowley relic card. For those not in the know, Bob was one the winner of Survivor Gabon. Using his science knowledge gained from years as a high school science teacher, as well as his great interpersonal game, Bob and his trademark bow tie ended up beating out the other Survivors. This relic is a piece of that famed bow tie.

Knowing that this was a short printed relic, I knew it would take a while, but I eventually won this at a total cost including shipping of $6. This is now my second short printed relic, as I picked up the Brian Cappaletto shirt relic (Scrabble champion) last year. I'd like to get the Bob Crowley auto as well, but that might take a while.

Anyways, relish the victory by admiring Bob:

Another Mailday and Chase Headley Discussion

Kevin Kouzmanoff was a real favorite of mine. His defense was underappreciated, his hitting was powerful but untimely. As much as I liked him, and I've heard he's great to the fans, his on-base skills were horrendous, and he had a real penchant for hitting into double plays or striking out with runners in scoring position at key points of the game. For these reasons, while I was sad to see him go, I was pleased that 3B was now open for Chase Headley to give it a try. Chase was the Padres #1 prospect a few years back, but I always thought that was more due to the putrid Padres farm system rather than Chase being that outstanding. When he got called, the sports talk stations were hyping it up to be a turning point. In reality, Chase has been a solid but unspectacular player. Here's hoping that a switch to 3B, his natural position, will help his production at the plate.

With Kouz gone, it seems like Chase is the defacto Padre for the card manufacturers to use for the token Padres relic or auto in their sets. Especially since Adrian has blown up and I assume gotten more expensive, it seems like Topps and Upper Deck are concentrating on using Chase, and maybe Heath Bell. At least I know they'll be on the team for a while.

I picked up this 2010 Upper Deck Signature Sensations for a total of $3 on eBay including shipping. It's a sticker auto, but it blends in better than a lot of other Upper Deck sticker autos. Sadly, after looking at some checklists for upcoming Topps sets, this might be the last auto for a while from a bonafide, everyday Padre. Topps has deemed Luis Durango and Cesar Ramos as the token Padres rookies to use in their insert sets. Last year it was Will Venable, Matt Antonelli and later on, Everth Cabrera. Couldn't they have at least picked one of the Padres with actual potential like Jaff Decker or Mat Latos? Ugh. Oh well, here is the new Headley auto!

Bunch of eBay Purchasing - Still FAILURE...

As a fan of the TV show Survivor, going back to the first season, when A&G offered a Bob Crowley relic and auto, I got excited. Unfortunately, since this is a short printed relic/auto, they are hard to come by and also relatively expensive. I'd thought I found the perfect one on eBay pricing wise. I put in my best offer and with 4 minutes left, assumed I'd win as there had been very little activity on it. Thinking I'd really outsmart the system, I then checked the seller's other auctions to take advantage of combined shipping. He had a ton of football relics including HOFer Steve Largent, as well as a mediocre T206 auto. I bid on them all, as they were all only .99. As you can guess, I got outbid at the last second for the Bob Crowley bow tie relic, but won all the other relics. Oh well. Hopefully I can find someone to trade them to!




















I've heard Scott Elbert should make the roster and maybe play a middle relief role. Who knows. He used to be a hot prospect, but that shine has faded I think. Hopefully the Padres shellac him. My first T206 mini auto, as I have the Heath Bell full size auto also for T206.




















Steve Largent is a hall of famer, a former Congressman and a losing Gubernatorial candidate. For $.99, I figured I couldn't go wrong.





















This was a larger size swatch for Torry Holt. Former fantasy team member. Not much else to say about him, I think we can probably stick a fork in his career at this point.




















First I'd seen the Bowman Sterling product, as I'm not a big Football collector outside of the Chargers. The foilboard is OK but kind of weird looking. Anyways, numbered to 50.




















Steve Smith is the all time leading receiver in USC history, so I've always rooted for him. Can anyone guess who's record he broke? A former Panther... I'm glad he broke out this year. This one is numbered to 25.

So, all of these cards are for trade. Even though I didn't get my Bob Crowley, I got all of these for about 9 bucks including shipping. Hopefully I can trade some of them, and if anyone has the Bob, please let me know!!!!

eBay Mail Day - Ryno Time!

I received a card I've been salivating over for a while. I've bid probably 4 or 5 times on this card, which I'd assume was in low demand. I was wrong. There must be a lot of Ryan Klesko collectors out there! Klesko was a player I loved to hate when he was on the Padres, even though he was one of the "stars". He always seemed to hit into double plays in critical times. But, he was a great guy. A fan favorite. His towering home runs to right were spectacles to see, as were his admiring of the moon shots. One of my favorite parts of his game was the year he stole over 20 bases. It was great seeing hulking Ryno swiping a base. Anyways, this 2004 Sweet Spot auto will go up in Padres wall display, joining my Giles, A-Gon, and Chris Young Sweet Spot a
autos.















Look how great that soul patch was! Now I just need the rest of my recent eBay binge to finally get here! To be discussed later...