Very few of my Nick Swisher baseball cards have been picked up at card shows — it’s like finding a needle in a haystack if you’re looking for looking for rarer cards like this 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Stamp card.
Only 10 copies exist, and when I spotted one by complete accident in a dealer’s case recently at a show in Arlington, Texas, it had a $30 pricetag on it. That’s quite high for my Swisher Buying Standards™ — but I was with someone who knew the dealer and asked him whether he’d cut me a deal.
Peer pressure got me a bit of a discount, but not much. I thought I overpaid but I knew that none of the other nine copies had shown up on eBay in a couple weeks of collecors ripping GQ. I figured I’d never see one again.
As it turns out, I didn’t overpay at all as the first copy to arrive on eBay went for $66 — well beyond what I paid.
After all, I wouldn’t pay too much because even though it’s a rare card it’s just a parallel card and a loosely defined “Relic.” (Each player in the set has a card featuring a stamp from his home state or country.)
Gotta love those deep-pocketed Yankees fans.
Do you have a Swisher item I might want? Contact me on Twitter, @chrisolds2009.
SWISHFAN.com 