My Patrik Laine Auto, Not Signed by Laine

kinkinsley Bean's Banter, Uncategorized ,

I’ve always been one of the people that loves Upper Deck.  All of the card companies have deficiencies but personally I’ve always felt that Upper Deck does the best job, until now.

I even gave them the benefit of a doubt a few months ago.  I had purchased some packs of cards and as I was opening them, the site crashed.  Once it was back up, all my packs were gone.  After about a week, I finally received a reply from Upper Deck customer service that even though I didn’t open the packs, the cards were there.  I highly considered being done with ePack.  I didn’t like their nonchalant reply.  I ended up spending more money with them.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have.

Last night I decided to buy three packs of O-Pee-Chee Platinum on the Upper Deck ePack site.  This card was in one of my packs.

chychrun

Once I went into my collection to look for it, this is actually what I saw…

chychrunlaine

WOW!  My card is actually marked as a Patrik Laine autograph!  WOOHOO!  For those not in the know, Laine is the best rookie one can pull from this class, outside Auston Matthews.

I was excited, but not sure what to do, so I asked in the chat room. I was directed to the “news” page of ePack’s site and found their “explanation” of the situation.

chychrunnews

To me, they are hosing people.  I don’t really care what their excuse is, they are wrong.  I work corporate retail and if we screwed over customers and didn’t fess up to our errors, we’d be out of business.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, here’s my other complaint.  See the date in the screen shot above?  That was six days before my card came out of a pack.  Why was this not corrected?  If you knew about it and didn’t fix it, that is a problem.  This comes across shady to me.

I tweeted last night about it.  A few followers chimed in that they hoped Upper Deck would make it right or that they thought Upper Deck would.  I wasn’t optimistic, as I had already seen their “explanation.”   Not long ago, this was the generic reply that I expected to receive.

chychrunresponse

I’ve been critical of other companies (particularly Panini) and because I love(d) Upper Deck, I might have gone a little easier on them that I should have.  I can’t see myself doing that anymore.  I’m also not sure that I will spend any more money on their products.  I haven’t spent as much as some others on there, but I’ve spent enough that I could have a really nice vintage card if I had all that money back.

Not happy.  Not sure what the future holds.

You can follow me on Twitter at @beansbcardblog.  I tweet out hundred of other bloggers’ post.   You can also read and follow my personal blog, I Feel Like a Collector Again.  I write much more there than here.

Have a wonderful day (hopefully much better than mine) and God bless!

Pitiful Panini

kinkinsley Bean's Banter ,

As I write this, we are about a week removed from the Dak Prescott autopen situation coming to light.  If you’re reading this, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The story has made the Washington Post, ESPN and other outlets.  I even saw a local opinion piece from someone that has no idea what he’s talking about in regard to this situation.

Panini hasn’t said a word.   It’s been reported that a Panini employee hung up on a USA Today reporter.  None of Dak Prescott’s representatives have talked.  Nor has the NFL or NFLPA.  I guess they don’t realize that the longer they let this go, the worse it looks.  Besides, something tells me that Panini knew about this before word got out.  To me, the silence is deafening.

Less than a month ago, Panini acknowledged that some cards signed by first round pick Takkarist McKinley were not signed by him.

This morning I saw a tweet regarding signatures from a Panini Country Music product that may have also been autopenned.

Oh, and we are just months removed from Panini being called out for using Mitchell & Ness jerseys and calling them “game worn” on 2016 National Treasures product.

LINK:  MISTAKENLY LABELED EVENT-WORN TAGS INCLUDED IN 2016 NATIONAL TREASURES FOOTBALL

Is the a doomsday scenario for Panini?  I don’t think so.

All of the major card companies have serious deficiencies.  Not once has the collecting community said “enough is enough” and stopped purchasing any company’s product.  It’s sad, but I don’t believe that even all of these situations will keep people from buying Panini.

There are too many in the hobby just waiting to pull that next “sick hit” or “wicked patch” and they will be giving more money to Panini in no time.  If only the consumer had an option of something else to buy…

They don’t though, thanks to exclusives.  We can add this to the list of reasons that exclusives are bad for this hobby.  If Topps was still producing football cards, I believe that shops would have a hard time keeping them on the shelves after this high-profile boner.

You have nowhere else to go.  You won’t stop buying.  Why should Panini care or change anything?

Within the last year I sent my resume to Panini.  They never bothered to contact me.  The sports card industry is very much a “good ol’ boys” network and unless you have a connection, it’s next to impossible to get it.  Thank God for unanswered prayers.

Good luck to Panini at the National.  You’re going to need it.

 

 

Let’s Help One of Our Own

kinkinsley Bean's Banter

Many in the hobby refer to it as a community or family.  I subscribe to this, as I have met some wonderful people because I collect sports cards.  I hope that you feel the same and that’s why I am writing this post.

Many of you know Rich Klein.  He’s been a part of the hobby for decades.  He’s worked for Beckett, works for COMC now, writes at SABR Baseball Cards and I believe has written for Sports Collectors Daily.  I’m sure that there’s more that I know of, but they are slipping my mind at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night.

I’m not going to share anything too personal, as I am posting this without him asking or even knowing.  He would never ask anyone to post something on his behalf.  His wife Dena recently spent a week in the hospital due to complications with a disease.  The have a Go Fund Me page to help with various medical expenses and I’m asking people in the hobby to step up and help out one of our own.

I’m not asking you to send $100.  Imagine what $5 per person that reads this could do.  That’s basically a pack or two of cards, depending on your tastes and budget.  Maybe instead of that blaster you think about buying on your next Walmart or Target run, what about helping out someone out and throw that $20 to help with someone’s medical expenses?  Reverse the roles.  How thankful would you be?

From Dena’s Go Fund Me page:

“My name is Dena Medwed Klein and I have been struggling with a disease called focal segmented glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) for many years, which has caused chronic kidney failure. I have recently been placed on the kidney transplant list, and am currently trying to find a living kidney donor. Until I get a donor, I will be on dialysis .
My special-education aide salary doesn’t allow for much savings, and neither does my husband’s job. The money will help cover my time off work, the life-long medications that I will be taking, and the expenses that insurance won’t cover (both for dialysis and when I can eventually have the transplant). I have worked in special education for over 15 years and want to continue helping my students succeed.
In addition, if you are interested in being tested to be a match for a kidney donation, either check my Facebook page or go to http://livingdonordallas.org . I do not know exactly when dialysis will begin, but the doctors and I are hopeful that a living donor will be available soon. I am grateful for everyone in my life, and appreciate each and every one of you.
Every day is a blessing and I will continue to live each day to its fullest. Thank you for being a part of my life and for all of your support.”

What do you say, card family?  Can we help out just a little?  I think we can and hope we do.   If you’re willing and able to help, you can click here or below to take you to the link.  I know that Rich and Dena will appreciate any amount that anyone can donate.

Dena’s Kidney Fund

Happy collecting!

-kin

Buying Cards on the Cheap

jasondeanmartin Jason Dean Martin, Uncategorized , ,

Recently I sort of stumbled upon a new way to buy cards cheaply on eBay. How cheap? For less than the price of a postage stamp in most cases and I didn’t  even have to leave the house!

If you’re in a similar situation (my closest card shop is about an hour away), you’ve probably explored new ways to purchase cards in a cost-effective manor. In my explorations, I began purchasing cards of Bryce Harper for my personal collection for $.99 with free shipping using the Buy It Now option. Then one day I thought I’d take a shot at some auctions that a seller had started at a penny but these also had the perk of free shipping. So, I bid $1 thinking that in a worst-case scenario I wouldn’t be paying anymore than normal but there would a chance of me saving a few cents if I won the card  for less than my $1 bid. 

As luck would have it, I won one of the auctions for less than $1. I don’t remember the exact price but this buying method struck a nerve. 

For whatever reason I stopped using this method for a little while. However, I’ve recently started using this again and I’ve expanded my searches to include other players I collect such as Frank Thomas, Brooks Robinson, and Manny Machado. 

It’s working, too! I’ve been able to get a few steals and I’m loving it!

Here are some of my recent purchases:

Bryce Harper: 35 cents

Manny Machado: 38 cents

Brooks Robinson: 17 cents

Frank Thomas: 30 cents

I was able to get all four of these cards delivered to my house for $1.20! That’s a bargain for any card collector with the way the card shops have dried up. 

Give this method a whirl. I’m sure you’ll get a few bargains here and there. 

An Uncharacteristic Addition: Non-Sport Autograph Purchase

kinkinsley Show and Tell , , , ,

***This post was written by Richard Hardy.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BossHardy202***

Anyone who knows me, knows I mainly collect Pittsburgh sports items, Daryl Richardson cards, and vintage. Lots of vintage. A few weeks back, however, I surprised myself by stepping out of my comfort zone and making an instinctive purchase (after a little bit of research). As I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, I happened upon a sales post for an item I would never have guessed I’d want. When I read what it was, though, I was instantly interested. An autograph from Langston Hughes; a famous poet and social activist, among many other things. Hughes was a very influential individual for American culture, during an extremely racially-charged time in history. The signed piece was framed with a typed letter by Hughes and came with a PSA/DNA certificate of authenticity. I immediately started negotiating with the seller, still blown away from finding it. After coming to a price the seller and I could both live with, the agonizing wait was on. The wait was worth it to own such a great item.

Continue reading →

A Bear of a Mail Day from Topps

kinkinsley Mailday!, Show and Tell , ,

If you don’t follow Blowout Buzz on Twitter, you should.  Their giveaways are real and this post is courtesy of them.  I won a Kris Bryant redemption months ago from them.  They are completely on the up-and-up.

Monday I tweeted asking how long it should actually take for Topps to send out live cards.  I had looked to see if my item had shipped and it hadn’t, per the site.  It hadn’t been all THAT long since I entered the code (I waited until the card was live) but it should be a quick process in my opinion.

I checked again Thursday, only to find that it had been delivered to my office on Wednesday.  It was shipped before Monday.  So, take note when looking at redemptions that it does take some time to update.

I went into the office yesterday to get the package, and here it is! Continue reading →

The Forgotten TTM Sport

jasondeanmartin Jason Dean Martin, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , ,

January 24, 2017

Written By: Jason Dean Martin

Through the mail (TTM) autographs have been around for years, decades even as children and adults have pursued any means necessary for obtaining their favorite athlete’s signature. But, what I have often noticed is many collectors focus on the four major sports (baseball, basketball, football, and hockey) with auto racing being a possible fifth addition to that list.  Usually, professional wrestlers are left out when considering TTM options because they tend to travel more than any other athlete.  However, I’m here to tell you that these athletes cannot be overlooked as they can tend to actually be more accessible than athletes from the more popular sports and because a handful of wrestlers are former pros in the “big four” sports.

Continue reading →