Yeah - she is very nice and welcoming. Yup, I purchased that ball for $25 plus tax. It was a steal of a price and I wish I could keep it in my collection, but since I purchased a $500 Jonny Gomes jersey at the same time (which most of us would agree isn't a steal by any means) I needed to offset that cost. It will probably sell around $100-125 and offset my cost by a mere $75.

Yes - I am worried about how to get items into my collection, just as you are, and just as the next guy is - I just happen to be pretty active and creative in how I'm building mine. I can't just go to work, earn my money, pay my bills, and then spend a ton of extra money on my collection every month without trying to make it work financially now can I?

Since you are a Reds collector and they evidentally won't listen to your ideas then you just need to adapt to accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Its what I am doing. Now is what you set out to accomplish actually building a collection or just causing trouble?