Your Best Deal Ever (Going Back All The Way!)

[milkit1]

In 2015 I was preparing to go to Spacefest in Arizona and had the bright idea to make a panorama of Gene Cernan during his Gemini 9 spacewalk. One had never been made before and there was only one good picture of his fateful spacewalk that nearly killed him. Anyways I got the panorama made (2 copies) on board and paid Cernan $500 each to sign. As I was handing over $1000 cash I started feeling a little regret. However Cernan was the coolest person I have ever met. Super nice and after hearing his story about the spacewalk I was in awe. Well he died 6 months later. Flash forward to 2019. I consigned one of the two to an auction and it sold for $32,000. When I saw the final bid i refreshed my screen about 8 times because I thought it had glitched.
cernan eva him signing.jpg

cernan eva close up.jpg

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by milkit1

In 2015 I was preparing to go to Spacefest in Arizona and had the bright idea to make a panorama of Gene Cernan during his Gemini 9 spacewalk. One had never been made before and there was only one good picture of his fateful spacewalk that nearly killed him. Anyways I got the panorama made (2 copies) on board and paid Cernan $500 each to sign. As I was handing over $1000 cash I started feeling a little regret. However Cernan was the coolest person I have ever met. Super nice and after hearing his story about the spacewalk I was in awe. Well he died 6 months later. Flash forward to 2019. I consigned one of the two to an auction and it sold for $32,000. When I saw the final bid i refreshed my screen about 8 times because I thought it had glitched.
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WOW! That's awesome!

Happy you got a good price, but those pieces are just cool as hell regardless of what one of them sold for.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

WOW! That's awesome!

Happy you got a good price, but those pieces are just cool as hell regardless of what one of them sold for.

+1!

THAT'S what I'm talking about!

[Vintagedeputy]

I don't like discussing good deals on cards that I still own, but I'll tell you one that I got and that got away.

When I was 16, I found an absolutely gem mint 1957 Topps Mantle / Berra #407 Yankee Power Hitters card along with an Al Cicotte card from the same year. Bought them at a garage sale for $5.00.

Fast forward a year and I'm a big time (I thought) card dealer at a show in NJ and the Power Hitters card is booking for about $40 or so....and I sold it. Had it on the table and a guy bought it. Stupid, stupid kid.

[bnorth]

My best deal was a trade back in the real early 90s. I was young and broke at a gun show. I seen a older lady sell a dealer a older German made Walther PPK in the factory box with the target used for test firing in the box. It is the gun James Bond used in most of his movies.

Back then a somewhat local dealer was there that sold guns, fishing equipment, and vintage baseball cards. I traded a 1966 Topps Sandy Koufax in NrMint condition for a new Smith & Wesson 38. I then traded the S&W even up for the Walther PPK I wanted from the other gun dealer.

The dealer with the Walther didn't look close to see it was a German made gun and not the American version. In card terms I traded a common T206 even up for a T206 Red Cobb in the same condition.

[sreader3]

Paid $30 for this beauty at the 1985 National in Anaheim when I was in my teens. Obviously ungraded at the time. From a "dealer." Imagine that!

(Also wow great Hindu group Pat!)

[steve B]

Most of the cards I have from hockey, football, and basketball from about 1968-72 came from one buy.
A flea market card dealer who did only baseball and generally over priced it had a shopping bag full of loose cards basically laying on the ground next to his table but not too close. When I asked how much he gruffly said "you don't want that stuff, it's not baseball" I had to press a bit for a price, which turned out to be $20 for the whole bag. About 3/4 of each football and hockey set, and a decent number of basketball, and no stars pulled out.

Another deal was a day I went early and as a guy set up he put out a plastic bag full of pennants, old sewn felt. Right on top was a "newer" 50's baseball pennant. picked up the whole stack and asked, $20 for everything. That one baseball one was the only one, but nearly all of them were sewn felt from roughly the late teens. And in great condition.

Since I was buying in the late 70's early 80's, most of my "good" cards were great bargains, even if they weren't at the time.

[abothebear]

In '89, I traded a 50 cent bag of popcorn to my friend for the doubles of his 86-87 and 87-88 fleer basketball cards - which included some stars and a Jordan sticker (not-great condition). I sold the Jordan last year for $400. Considering the 30+ years that passed, it isn't that exciting, but I like to bring it up to my friend whenever I can.