Cardsaver Failed Me
 

Ugh. So, I was out of town over the weekend, and stopped in a card shop while I was there. I found a few nice cards and negotiated a deal. Each card was in a card saver, and they put them in a little brown paper bag. I placed it in the chest pocket of my coat (a thick ski jacket because it's cold in the midwest ;p). And I went about the rest of my day, leaving the bag in there instead of putting it in the glove compartment or suitcase or literally anywhere else which would have kept them safer.

At some point, I must have pressed my chest up against something because one of the cards has a long wrinkle going through it now. All I can think of was when I was driving, I turned and reached to grab something from the back seat, and either the belt or the side of the seat would have been digging into my chest momentarily. That's all I can think of.

Anyway, I feel like an idiot, and the whole episode makes me sad. I've got that sinking feeling in my stomach about it. I mean, in the condition I bought it, it was only about VG/EX, but it's not the money exactly. After negotiating the lot of cards, I'd estimate I paid 120/25 or so for the Kaline, so not a huge deal financially or anything. It's more the fact that this card was in great shape having survived since 1955, and after one day in my possession, now it's wrinkled.

So I feel just awful about it. Have any of you ever done anything like this? Misery loves company.


Here's the card. At least it doesn't show as much from the front. It's difficult to see the wrinkle in the pictures, but it literally goes through nearly the entire length of the card. :(

https://i.postimg.cc/d0MrnDkJ/20211207-110029.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/j5cfsX8j/20211207-110016.jpg

It looks to be in a lot better shape than the Mantle card Costas is said to carry in his wallet :)

Cardsavers and toploaders both generally do the job, but you still have to be somewhat careful with them. Sorry to hear...

Of course
 

Most of us have been there! I left a 1955 Pirates type 1 team photo in the envelope it was mailed in for too long (think months) and realized when I opened it that some humidity must have gotten in and caused the photo to stick to the mailing envelope - part of the photo came off on the envelope! Forgive yourself - you're human - make a mental note to do it differently the next time and move on. Not like it was a one of a kind or anything.

I keep a lot of my cards in my office, which has terrible lighting. I got a rare, although not to valuable, Mantle test issue. When it arrived in the mail, I opened it up on the main floor of my house where the lighting is better and removed it from the top loader to inspect it. It was just as described so I turned around to head down to the office and, in doing so, rammed the card directly into the door jam. Smushed one of the corners. No idea why I didn’t put it right back in the top loader before moving it to my office but that is the first and last time I’ll make that mistake… still annoyed at myself.

Like a sizeable portion of the general population, I also suffer from unconscious self-destructive impulses. My disfunction usually takes the form of physical abuse of various parts of my anatomy - minor injuries up to occasional bone breakage - but once in a while the inner animus gets directed at objects, like careless handling of wine glasses, dropping a slice of bread buttered side down. Fortunately, I don't handle most of my card collection very often, so it has escaped unharmed - so far. How come there is no emoji for empathy?;)

It sucks, but it happens. I think my worst incident was two or three years ago when I was cracking out my graded '53 cards to put the set in an album. I was watching tv while doing it and got sloppy. The screwdriver slipped and my formerly PSA 3 Jackie Robinson got hit. I was almost done too. I got a little gun shy after that so the two remaining cards (Mantle and Paige) remain graded.

Attachment 491399

Oof. Brutal.

Podres
 

I remember trying to crack a '57 Topps Johnny Podres out of a PSA 7 or so slab to insert into my raw set and when I clipped the corner of the slab and cracked it some how the motion created a noticeable corner crease on the card and yes I was p***ed at myself for a while. Wasn't a huge financial loss but I wanted the card

I've not (yet, anyway) had a memorable incident with a Cardsaver, but I did turn an SGC 5.5 '56 Clemente into about a 2 when cracking it out a few years back. Plastic shard got between the case and the card and just dug right in causing noticeable surface paper loss.

Yet another reason I buy 'em raw 'n' flawed!

Yep. I replaced that one eventually with a PSA 4.5 that will not be getting busted out of the slab.

Ya know... if you have a stack of cards in card savers and they were in your shirt pocket, I think it would take a significant shot to cause damage like that... and only one card was damaged and not the others? I'd bet that the crease was there when you bought it and you didn't notice it until later. You check the card for creases and the front shows nothing, very likely the lighting was inadequate and you glanced at the back quick, saw that there was no wax stain, and assumed all was well.

@Gr8Beldini

You know, that has crossed my mind. The store was dimly lit, and the crease is difficult to see on the front. No big shots that I can remember, but I did turn and reach for something in the back seat while at a red light or something. And I really stretched for it. That would have dug the seat belt into it. And I assumed it was the outside card, so it took the force of it. But I guess now that I think of it, it is possible that the card was already creased, and I didn't look close enough in the store. They were really busy, and I studied the front, but the lighting was poor. I can't say that I studied the back beyond glancing at it. Perhaps I just overpaid for a creased card. Hahaha

What are you gonna do? I think my seatbelt issue was the likely culprit, but maybe not. I really appreciate everyone's comments. And I feel bad for some of the accidents you guys have had over the years as well. They really are fragile collectibles. What a hobby.

Don't be too hard on yourself. We've all done it.

I believe that is a natural stock wrinkle and was probably there when you bought the card and just did not see it. It would have had to have really been bent in your pocket to create that.

Oh I’m sorry to hear about your mishap. Such a shame. An Al Kaline too.

Don't feel bad. I bought a nice T206 Cy Young and somehow managed to throw it away with the packaging it came in. Existed for a hundred years before me, but put it in my hands for no more than a minute........

Did the same with a '54 B Mays card that I paid a few hundred bucks for. About a week after removing it from the mailer, I wanted to look at it again and could not find it in the box where it should have been. Horrified, I tried to mentally reconstruct everything I had done after opening the package and could only come to the conclusion that I must have absent-mindedly misplaced the card in with the wrapping that I had tossed out. I spent a week searching all through everything I could imagine touching in my den before giving up. Several times during the search I passed over an old folder on my desk because I thought I hadn't touched it in years. Wouldn't you know, just happened to open it one day months later, and there was Willie, grinning goofily at me, as if he had really put one over.:)

Oof.

Batting Champ

World Series Champ

Hide-and-Seek master.

Pained reading this

I bought a trimmed Babe Ruth 1934 butterfinger. My only Ruth. I kept it in a magazine soft plastic holder with tape and a backing board - like a comic. With the price surge I decided to sell it. Buyer wanted better pics outside of the plastic. I removed it fine no problem. But instead of using a brand new magazine cover with plastic over the adhesive I tried to reuse the old one. The adhesive grabbed the face of the premium. They are so fragile that I knew trying to remove it would destroy the front. Luckily I had collectors insurance and was able to recoup my money... but damn. Babe had survived beautifully until he showed up in my house.

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