Trigger Shy Stories

[joelsabi]

Would love to hear stories of items that you were afraid to pull the trigger on and later regretted not buying it. Not sure if there is a term for it but i thought it would be a interesting topics. not talking about buyer's remorse but instances where you decided not to pursue an item and later decided you should have gone for it. What was the reason you decided to pass on the item? When did you realize you should not have let the item go? Where is the item now and do you still have interest in it.

[kingjammy24]

the first one that comes to mind is a 1990 todd stottlemyre shirt kim stigall had a few years ago.

"What was the reason you decided to pass on the item?"

i was being cheap.

"When did you realize you should not have let the item go?"

the minute i offered a price to kim and he told me he already sold it.

"Where is the item now and do you still have interest in it."

no clue! and yes.

a few others come to mind.. a 1990 kelly gruber jersey that sold on ebay for a little over $600. at the time, i thought the price was crazy. i'd pay it now though. i never saw the jersey again. maybe about 4 yrs ago, scott gaynor sold a whole load of 1989-1991 blue jays shirts on ebay with some real nice names like jimmy key. not only did i not bid on a single one, i didn't even save any photos! i have no clue what i was thinking. a 1993 olerud bat from bigjeff of laguna beach..perfect, textbook '93 olerud gamer..again, i was being cheap. long story short, i regret them all, i have no idea where any of them went, and i still have interest in all of them.
the trap is that you think you'll see the item (or a similar one) again ..and then you never do. eg: i thought the $600+ gruber jersey was too much..until a few years passed and in hindsight realized that another gruber jays jerseys never popped up again. but it's usually in hindsight that the regret occurs ..if 5 more gruber jays shirts had popped up after the gruber and had gone for $400, then i wouldn't have regretted the one i missed at all. you have to gauge the likelihood of an item like that popping up again. obviously, a few times i gauged wrong.

rudy.

[Sheffield11]

A few years back, I had a chance to get a nice Ryan Howard game used signed fielding glove for about $600 with LRM Loa and I passed.

[metsbats]

Mid ninties BPH had an 86 Gary Carter game used home jersey for only $1100. I wish I brought it back then but it was out of my affordability range.

Yes I would love to have an 86 Gary Carter gamer but now one would cost at least 3-4 times that price!

[BergerKing22784]

I am mad i didnt buy the Andruw Jones F*ck You Ball BP bat that was floating around for awhile.....

[jwasserman]

he barely uses his glove anyway


A few years back, I had a chance to get a nice Ryan Howard game used signed fielding glove for about $600 with LRM Loa and I passed.

[mariner_gamers]

1. Jeter rookie bat used and signed available at a local shop right after his first trip to the Kingdome. Spending $400 on a rookie bat just didn't seem like a good idea.....

2. Alex Rodriguez minor league game used and signed bats. $150 a piece at a local dealer after his season in Tacoma seemed too risky.

3. Ken Griffey Jr. "The Kid" game used and signed bat. The guy wanted a whopping $600 for it back in 1996. I won't pay it!!! I sure would now!

4. Jackie Robinson PSA certified personal check for $250 back in the late 90's early 2000's before checks were in demand.

5. Access to about 12 Junior signed gamers at a shop after the 97 or 98 season. Pick of the litter for $550 ea. I was in college and did not have the extra scratch.

6. Junior BP used blond Mizuno bat $175 at the Kingdome. "Hey who would ever want a BP bat?!" Well for that price I wouldn't mind it now...

7. Arod and Griffey signed HR bats with corresponding HR balls. I had a shot at a few of these combos starting at around $1,500. Again college got in my way...

8. 1989/90 Junior used battling gloves for $250. These had Junior in silver on the tabs. They didn't look good to me at the time. A few years later I found a picture of Junior in late 89 or early 90 wearing the actual gloves. The silver Junior on the gloves was a custom add on Griff did himself.......DAMN IT !!!!!

I will stop now that I have slipped into a deep depression......

[suave1477]

Where do I begin lol:D

Well one that comes to mind which was recent.

A Game Used bat bat of a recent player sold on ebay.

I passed on the item because I was being cheap and I felt it went for just a couple of dollars more then I would of liked to spend. not that it was much. Also I have met the player previous to the auction and really didn't care for his personality. Even though I could of used his bat in my collection.

I realized I should have not let it go after the fact it was sold. For some crazy reason after it was sold I tried to see if I could photomatch it to anything.

Wouldn't you know I did!! I photomatched it to his first hit which was a game winning walk off single!!!
Now I am kicking myself!!

I know where the bat is with another collector. I actually even tried contacting the collector for the bat and he replied and said he would sell it to me.
Then he notes he met the player and had him sign it with a bunch of inscriptions.
In my eyes that ruined it. Not that he had it signed but the inscriptions were just frivilous in my eyes to what I would have wanted on the bat. I was mad!!:mad:

[skyking26]

There probably are few people out there as seasoned collectors that have not either let one get away by not buying when offered; or selling something and then wishing they had not...

One from each on my end. I sold a '75 Kingman home to a buddy last spring as I was taking major heat from my wife about the largest buy of a lifetime I was involved in...One year later, I regret it. Only way I'll get out of this is if a 76 comes my way. Sure...

Same huge deal from last year, for a day or 2 I had the chance to give the nod on a 77 Kingman Padres jersey. I thought the price was a little high so for about one or 2 days I debated. It was gone in a flash, surfacing weeks later in a trade with a friend...So, it is gone, but gone to a guy who has as much interest as I would have, no it's all good. :)

[yanks12025]

The items is wish i pulled the trigger on was when Steiner auctions had 5 main field pitching rubbers from 2008. I think the highest price was around $550.

[brianborsch]

Suave,

Which player's bat was it?

Brian B

[yanks12025]

brianborsch,
My guess is he is talking about Brett Gardner, but we'll see who it is?

[AWA85]

One that got away was an Edinson Volquez hammered bat on ebay to add to my Reds All Star collection. At first I was offered the bat for a price that I thought was a little high to end the auction so I declined and thought I would see how the bidding went. Well it got down to the final seconds and the bat was way under my bidding range still and as I went to bid the whole page froze up and it was gone for considerably less. I tracked the buyer down and have offered double the price he paid and other items and no luck so far.

[elliottmse]

Suave:

Who was the player and what inscription was added? If it was Brett, I'd be interested to know the inscription that was added.

[cordovacollector]

This one is more of a "near miss:" Years ago I missed a Cordova bat at a card show that had a special knob marking that you could see on the 1996 pocket skeds. I walked up to the seller's table about a minute after it sold. About 5 years later I bought a generic gamer on eBay for $15 that didn't show the knob marks in the description. Nearly fell over when I got it in the mail and saw the knob as I opened the box.

WORST was years ago when I passed up buying a single-signed Cesar Tovar ball at a show for $25. Instead for the same $25 I bought a box of 8 or 10 other signed baseballs from the same guy ... now I can't even tell you who they were or what happened to them. And about for about 25-30 years I have been looking for another and have never even seen one.

[jshortt]

I have one near miss, and one regret. The near miss was a Josh Hamilton Reds home gamer. Apparently it was on mlb auction at one point and eventually made its way to Ebay. I passed on it at the last minute, mostly because, even though it was mlb holo'ed, it was missing the "Property of Cincinnati Reds 2007" tag. I immediately regretted it. As luck would have it, it popped up again about 4 months later. I sent the seller an email asking if he might be interested in doing a Buy It Now. Much to my surprise, the guy lived about 20 miles for me and we worked out a deal to do an in-person swap. I ended up getting the jersey for about $75 more than the original Ebay auction ended for, so I was pretty happy.

The regret involves my very first dealing with Bob Malandro and Steiner. Michael Tucker is one of my oddball favorite players from his days with the Reds. Tracking down his things kind of started me on this fun, but very expensive journey. I emailed Steiner about some of Tucker's things and to my surprise, they were in the process of receiving the Mets' 1986 20th ann'y throwbacks. He gave me a price on the Tucker, and instead of just saying 'o.k., I'll take it,' I asked him a few questions about the jersey. Instead of answering my questions, in a RARE show of ineptitude from Bob, he sold the jersey to somebody else. Needless to say, I was (and still am) heartbroken over it. I managed to get 2 more Tucker Mets jerseys via Steiner, but have never seen the 86 throwback surface anywhere.

-Josh

[godwulf]

the first one that comes to mind is a 1990 todd stottlemyre shirt kim stigall had a few years ago.

Was that a gray jersey from Toronto?

[Jake51]

Hi,

I have one that still burns me to this day...about 15 years ago I saw a Floyd Little game jersey in a Denver antique store for $500. I agonized over getting it or not [didn't have any gamers at the time so wasn't yet bitten by the bug] and having just gotten married and next to nothing in the bank I passed.

Well, I saw it again a few months ago....still did not get it as I was the second place bidder.

http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=45059&aucsearch=floyd%20little&AucListType=all&TitleDesc=0&period=

Thanks

Tom

[mbenga28]

I was about to BIN but realized I didn't have enough PayPal funds. Someone else already grabbed it and it is an excellent steal of a price for a Gasol game worn jersey considering what Lakers game used items must be going for now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/GAME-WORN-NBA-HARDWOOD-CLASSIC-PAU-GASOL-LAKERS-JERSEY_W0QQitemZ390061485771QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad179eecb&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A13%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7 C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

[momen55]

the woman i bought my clemente gamer from had a picture postcard that roberto clemente wrote to some friends in chicago. it was dated aug 28, 1955, his rookie season! :eek:
and not only was it signed "your friend, roberto clemente", but he also signed the front too!

[suave1477]

brianborsch,
My guess is he is talking about Brett Gardner, but we'll see who it is?


Sorry guys I didn't respond sooner as I missed seeeing this thread pop up so I missed the questions asked.

But yes you are correct!!! Brett Gardner!

Good call, how did you know?

I didn't mean to be evasive with putting the name in my orginal post I just typed quick and forgot to put it in.

[suave1477]

Suave:

Who was the player and what inscription was added? If it was Brett, I'd be interested to know the inscription that was added.


I just found the email from the seller - this is what he said he had added to it.

"Last run at Yankee Stadium 9-21-09"

[Trublubrucru]

Here's one I still can't shake. In the early 80's a former national league umpire strolled into a local cardshow and brought three nice game bats in for sale (probably gifts or rack bats). At the time I wasn't collecting them, nor was the interest of game used in the hobby as big as now. He had a Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and a Roberto Clemente. His price was an amazing $250 apiece. That was a fair amount back then, and there were no takers. He let me handle and swing the Clemente, and at the time I never realized what I had in front of me. Wish I coulda borrowed some cash, but I was only twelve.

A month or two later at the same locale, I watched a former batboy of the Braves sell Eddie Matthews 1957 or 58 road uniform (jersey, pants and stirrups) at auction. I remember someone at the time say it could of been a Hall of Fame piece. I really wanted it , but a Chicago dealer ran out to his car for a wad of cash and outbid everyone. I saw him at a show in 07 and reminded him of that, he shook his head and smiled and said its been sold a few times since then.

[bigtruck260]

Jim Bottomley signed GPC from the 40's. I was willing to bid $450 and it went for $510...he is one of the hardest Cards sigs to find a legit sig of...and I let it go because I was afraid I was being shilled against.

A 12 ct box of Albert Pujols signed baseballs from a signing he did his rookie season. His sig was so bad back then that the thought of spending $100 per baseball was ridiculous.

2007 David Wright model Marucci that was used by Albert (MLB HOLO). It was for sale in the Cards team store for $700 and by the time I decided to go back and buy it it was sold. This has happened with other items...but I really regret this one specifically.

[dcgreg25]

Mine is pretty recent as there was a Victor Martinez GU batting helmet on ebay that I lost out on by a few bucks. Wish I had set my max bid a bit higher.

My other, much bigger one was on a Dennis Eckersley GU Indians red jersey in a recent auction. Again, I came up just a little short...wish I had bid a bit more and won the jersey.

[yanks12025]

But yes you are correct!!! Brett Gardner!

Good call, how did you know?

I didn't mean to be evasive with putting the name in my orginal post I just typed quick and forgot to put it in.

I remember seeing it on ebay.

[yankees506]

I found this thread and have a good one, earlier this year i was at a yankee game and entered the steiner store for some window shopping and saw a game used batting weight sleeve for sale, the price was $100, i thought it was a fair price but i was in a hurry to get to my over priced seats, for some reason i decided to take a picture of it (there was a hand written NYY on the side with a chunk of tar on the bottom). As im about to leave i decide to go ahead and just pick it up, and by the time i got to the store...gone! And it got worse when i got home when i found a photo online of jeter with the sleeve on his bat with the same "NYY and tar mark"..... Unreal :mad:

[CampWest]

A couple months ago somebody listed a Thome game used White Sox years LVS for $150 shipped. I was checking the images and couldnt tell much so downloaded the pictures so I could enlarge them a bit. Got distracted by a work phone call. 2 minutes later concluded the bat was characteristic and had good use... Went to buy it and it was gone. Shoulda been faster.

[earlywynnfan]

A couple years ago, Legendary sold 2 lots of single-signed Negro Lg signed baseballs. Each had about 175 balls, and not just recent guys. I bought one lot, kept about 40, and sold the rest for double my money. Since I have about 650 different NL BB, being able to grab a chunk of 40 or so that I don't have is amazing, esp. at the price they went for. Still kicking myself in the rear for not pulling the trigger on the other lot.

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

[CampWest]

Dang... 650... Sounds like you might give Geddy Lee a run for his money in comparing collections.

Geddy is the lead singer of Rush. He donated a couple hundred single signed balls to the Negro League Baseball Museum in KC back in 2008 or so. Its a pretty impressive collection.


A couple years ago, Legendary sold 2 lots of single-signed Negro Lg signed baseballs. Each had about 175 balls, and not just recent guys. I bought one lot, kept about 40, and sold the rest for double my money. Since I have about 650 different NL BB, being able to grab a chunk of 40 or so that I don't have is amazing, esp. at the price they went for. Still kicking myself in the rear for not pulling the trigger on the other lot.

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

[earlywynnfan]

That was the other lot!! Doug Allen actually contacted me to see if I wanted to donate my half, but I had already sold off the extras.

Ken