When I was a kid during the Baseball card bubble, I had tons of friends to trade with and talk cards with. Trading was a regular thing, and also frequent trips to the local card shop. One thing that sticks out in my mind are the bad trades or bad buys I made that made me so mad as a kid but now I laugh about it. Some of my cards got stolen too when I was a kid, including entire binders full of them. I am going to open this thread to share stories of being ripped off as a child or as an adult, if you want to share. Also anyone that wants to share about themselves ripping someone else off as a child. I for one victimized my younger brother by trading him beat up commons for his Ken Griffey Jr cards. I would also tell him that certain cards he had were actually mine (even though they were not) and that he stole them, and I would beat him up if he didn't give them back. I was a bad brother but now we have a great relationship.
When I was 11 years old I traded my buddy a 1991 Sergei Federov Hockey card for his 1980 Topps Willie Mccovey card. I thought the signature was real and he told me it was, boy did I feel stupid when I found out it was a feature of some 1980 Topps cards. But we both ended up loosing in the long run both cards are worth $1 or less today.
When I was 10, I really wanted a Hank Aaron rookie card. I saved up $35 and peddled by bike to the local card shop hoping I had enough money. When I got there the young card shop owner said I did not have nearly enough, but they talked me into buying a 1962 Topps Warren Sphann. I did not know who Warren Sphann was at the time but I like that it was from 1962. I didn't really want to buy it but the grown men that worked there told me I would like it. Needless to say I had buyers remorse. My mom was furious about my purchase, but she was not mad at me, she drove down to that card shop and told those men to give me my money back for pressuring a 10 year old to buy something he didn't really want. The men laughed at her and said no.
When I was 16 I had some friends over and suddenly an entire binder of my best cards were gone. The collection turned up a few weeks later laying in someone's front yard. One of my friends who was at my place the day the cards were stolen was the one who miraculously discovered the collection
. Of course there were cards missing like a 1979 Topps Walter Payton or that 1962 Topps Sphann. I also had another binder stolen by the same friend but did not discover that until a few years later, because the cards were nothing special.
Let's hear some of your childhood ripoff or adulthood rip off stories. I know we must have tons from our childhood.