Hobby Regrets

[skyking26]

This thread may have been done before. Anyway, thought I'd start a thread where we list something we wish we would have sold/not sold, bought/not bought. We all have regrets. I speak with fellow collectors several times a week and I hear them lament about similar themes. I know I have had a few:

*About a year ago+ I was offered a Thome Phils jersey for $995 with all the good documentation. I passed, I regret.

*About 10 years ago I was offered a Kingman 81 home for $595. Overpriced at the time, ok now. I passed, I regret.

*About 10 years ago, I sold a Kingman Bicentennial. Regret after, but was able to buy a better one. Rare occurance here.

*In the 90's, bought a 74 Giants Kingman home jersey. Price seemed to be too good to be true. As with all jerseys, I sent ir off for authentication. Came back bogus. This journey took about 8 mths to unravel as the guy in the 70's was a equipment guy for SF, was fired, but apparently had a great ability to fake stuff, going as far as soaking the home white in urine, then laundering to remove the smell. Many collectors were duped, the state attorney was involved, and this guy was put down. I got my money back minus the phone calls, postage and much unneeded aggrevation.

Just a few stories. The fortunate thing is my good experiences outweigh the bad!

[cohibasmoker]

Here are my top two hobby regrets:

1)About ten years ago, I sold a 1969 Eagles game worn jersey with NFL 50th Anniversary patch on it.

2) I lent a Eagles' Rick Arrington game worn jersey to a co-worker who never returned it.


Good Experiences:

1) It's a good.
2) eBay - almost everything is replaceable. It may take some time but if you want something, sooner or later it will show-up on eBay.

Jim

[toddhead]

I am somewhat of an obsessive compulsive collector in that I switch what I am collecting all the time. A couple of months ago I decided I wasn't going to go after Clinton Portis GU stuff anymore because it was too expensive and I sold:

Clinton Portis Signed GU Cleats
Clinton Portis Signed GU Gloves

Just got a steal on a Portis GU jersey and I would kill to have those back now to go with my jersey.

[Vintagedeputy]

Regrets?

Selling my mint condition 1957 Topps Yankees Power Hitters card (Mantle & Berra) for $75 when I was 16.

Buying a 1985 Yankees jersey of Dan Pasqua, who was my favorite Yankee in 1986 since he was a friend of a friend. The regret comes in the form of knowing that when I bought the Pasqua, The seller had a Mattingly home jersey in his duffel bag alnog with Pagliarulo and a few others. I could have just as easily had the Matty.

Selling most of my memoribilia collection in 2000 to help pay for my wedding. I had some great baseball autos as well as some rare NASA autos like Gus Grissom.

Not taking better care of the memoribilia I collected as a kid and selling it off to a local card shop when I was 18 because I was too cool for baseball cards and autographs. Luckily, I did keep one binder full of autos which I still have.

[eGameUsed]

My biggest regret:

Passing on a Biggio Catcher's Glove from 1988-90. Price: $100. In 1990 I convinced myself to just collect bats. What was I thinking? I wish I knew who had that glove

Thanks,

[cjmedina1]

I bought a 99 sign MAC bat on ebay for 2100.00 about 3 or 4 years.I did a online PSA/DNAquick opinion and the autograph came back as a fake.I gpt the email right after the auction was over.I forward it to the seller and they honoerd it and refund my money.My only problem is they sold the bat to the next highest bidder.Later on after talking with a few autograph experts I was told that the MAC 70 autograph bat was real and the PSA/DNA online can't be trusted a 100%.So in a way I guess it was some what good that I got my money back and some what bad cause I lost out on a bat.I'm Still looking for that bat


Ok in the office one day bored so I got onto Ebay and was looking to see whats up for auction.I came across 2 bats of Mcgwire.Both was advertise as a 1990 sign game used bat.In comparing the 2 one was clearly a retail bat that was docotored up and the other was hard to tell.Had bad pitchers that wasnt reall clear.They both had a buy it now price.The fake bat with a real MAC auto was at 1500 and the other bat with a MAC auto was 800.00.I took a chance and bought the 800.00 bat.So a few weeks later I got my bat,I started to look at the bat and what do you know.It wasnt a 1990 signed gamer it happen to be a 1986 signed gamer:D .And yes after I confirmed it was a 86 signed gamer I looked like this:eek:

Carlie Medina III
carliemedinaiii@sbcglobal.net

[mr.miracle]

Having some funds available to purchase something and not really being able to find that special item you are looking for. Then because you feel like pulling the trigger on something you settle for an okay piece of game used but not something that you just had to have in your collection. A month later you find something incredible that you would love to add to your collection but you now have a serious problem. 1. You just blew some of your available funds on a piece that you really did not need.
2. You no longer have the necessary funds avaliable for what you know this new item is going to bring at ebay or auction. 3. Your dilemma now is, can you turn something in your collection quickly enough on a sale to still be able to purchase the item you really want without getting hosed on the item you are selling. 4. If it is a really rare, hard to find piece, just how high might the price go and are you willing to go to whatever that price is to add it to your collection.

I have had the above happen on three or four occassions and it really sucks. You settle for something that you are satisfied to have in your collection but it is not really a unique or wow item. You think that nothing is on the horizon that will really be that hard to find item. Just when you spend some of your available funds along comes that unique impossible to find item that you know will disappear and possibly not reappear again if you don't snag it at that moment.

I have had to really take one or two sizeable losses trying to move a couple of items over the years on really short notice in order to be in position to pick up that really rare hard to find item. What really sucks and this has happened once is that I was able to move an item at a loss to position myself to pick up the really hard to find item but then that item went for such an astronomical price at auction that I was no longer in a position to pick it up as I would have kicked myself had I spent that kind of money on the item after I had time to reflect on the purchase price. I am usually able to pretty well estimate what kind of prices items I am going after will bring but once in a while the same unique piece you are after is the same that someone else has to have and that is when things get really tricky and potentially ugly price wise.

[GibsonWells]

I'm a first time poster but Ive been reading on here for a while. Im 18 but have been collecting for some time. I'm more of an autograph/vintage items collector but I have a bit of everything. I do have one regret in the game used area. A few years ago I bought some "Shaq Game Used Warm-up pants" off the great ebay for a little over $100. Once I got them they were size 34 in the waist. I'd imagine the only way he could fit in these pants is if he wore them on his head and so far I can't find any pictures of that.
I guess you just learn from your mistakes.

[TNTtoys]

Many of you know I have been building a nice little collection of 87 Mets items for some time now... two items that come to mind that I regret passing up were 1987 blue BPs of Roger McDowell (#42) and Gregg Jefferies (#9). I also sold an 87 BP at one time, prior to the start of this collection.

[beavisrules]

3 items quickly come to mind:

-1993 sugar bowl game worn Notre Dame jersey - green alternate numbers - great piece, couldn't get the wife to let me bid high enough to have a shot

-1992 DuBose Notre Dame jersey with 150th Anniversary patch - was on ebay, but seller cancelled the auction to likely sell to another bidder who made an offer

-1984 aloha bowl game worn Notre Dame jersey - this was on ebay right around the time I just discovered game used memorabilia (back in 1999 or so) - couldn't believe how much it went for - in retrospect, it was a steal for the winner

[island_style]

There are many regrets. But, one of my regrets is selling a Sid Fernandez Mets Desert Shield (with the stickers of the US and Canadian flags) game used helmet (originally obtained from Howard several years ago). I've since been able to add some El Sid helmets to my collection, but the Desert Shield helmet is one that I'd like to reaquire. Does anyone here have it???

Kind Regards,

Ron.

Rsamiano@aol.com

[metsbats]

-Trading my Barry Bonds game used 1993 game used bat away.
-Buying a Raphael Palmiero game used home run 477 bat.
-Not buying a Gary Carter GU 86 home jersey back in the early ninties for $1200

David

[skyking26]

A belated regret, having a tiff with a guy and letting it cloud my judgement and spill over to other innocent friends and hobbyists. Have made my apologies, but still feel bad that temper created a regrettable situation...

Bob