[orly57]

Hey guys. I am the owner of the Joe Jackson card. I wasnt aware of this thread until a buddy just texted me. I spend most of my time here on the B/S/T section (mostly B). I love the card. And as I wrote in the item description, I bought it because i knew that i could never own this card in anything resembling good shape without forking-over 5-figures. Some guys are bothered by the tear, but i think that we often forget that we deal in pieces of paper that were played with by children. Our hobby is about gathering classic old cards. Who says they have to be perfect? The only reason i put it on ebay is that my priority card right now is a 52 mantle. I figured this card gets me a quarter of the way there (looking for a nicely centered 2-3). I pulled the card from ebay twice because i just couldnt sell it. It is too iconic a card.
Someone mentioned that they dont see how someone can pay big bucks for a card that was once torn, but scoff at an o/c. Two notes on that. 1. I am one of those people. I cannot live with bad centering. The line across the card is no worse than a crease to my eyes and creases dont bother me nearly as much as centering. 2. O/C cards bring in about 20-30% of the card's sale price in that grade without the qualifier. Is it really crazy to think that this card, which presents so beautifully, would get 15k at auction without the tear? So it isnt as far off as you are making it sound. Not to mention that it LOOKS NICER than an o/c card. We all have our preferences, compulsions, and idiosyncrasies as collectors. At the end of the day, unless we are rolling in dough, we must "pick our poison" and decide what flaws we can or cannot live with. So I own a beautiful, authentic, Joe Jackson Cracker Jack card without breaking the bank. Nothing wrong with that.