It has become exceedingly rare that a card is released and I go fucking nuts trying to get it. Last week, Ultimate Football was released, and I was scrambling to find one of the Peterson Patch autos right off the bat. Because they were only numbered to 10, popular from the past few years, and I had money to spend at that point, I started watching eBay like a hawk.

Each day, I would refresh and refresh, looking for more of the cards to pop up. Although some of the Peterson non-autoed patches were being listed, no one had listed an auto patch. When the first Peterson one made it up on eBay, I freaked out and tried to figure out ways to avoid the 5 day listing that he had put on the auction. It looked like it had a buy it now on it before, but some idiot had bid the minimum and taken that out of the equation. I resolved to offer him some money to end early because I would save him fees and give him more than double the cost of the pack. I carefully worded the email to the seller and sent it off. I waited, and waited, and waited for a response. I never got anything back.

Meanwhile I bought a Harvin rookie auto /399 for a minimal price and was happy to get one for my redemption experiment. The guy responded fast to every email that I sent regarding emailing the code versus shipping the worthless card, which would come in very handy later on. I kept scowering the site for more of the Peterson patches, but eventually settled that I would have to wait for the auction to end in three plus days. The price was creeping up, but still hadnt reached my offer price, so I figured there was still a chance he would contact me.

Then I saw something that shocked me. I saw the guy I just bought the Harvin from had listed another one of the Peterson cards with better patches, a better picture, and a better auto. To avoid the risk of losing another, I offered him more than I did the other seller. Being the quick responding guy that he was, he accepted my offer right away, and I had my card. I was fucking excited to say the least.

On a side note, while waiting for my new favorite card to arrive, I saw the other auction had ended. It ended very much below what I paid for mine, but more importantly, it ended below my offer price as well. Instead of getting my money with no strings attached, he now had to pay seller fees and all sorts of stuff. I may have paid more for mine, but I also had two nice patches, while his had none. In the words of Canadian Nelson, “hoo-hoo!”

Yesterday I got home to my mailbox and got my card via insured mail, which I loved. The card is better in person, I am happier than a pig in shit. I am debating whether or not to go for the set because I think the cards look that good, but the cost far outweighs the benefits of collecting these extremely rare cards.

Regardless of how I feel about my new card, I think my experience speaks to how buying singles can be just as fufilling as buying wax. Rather than spending 300 bucks on boxes with 50 dollars worth of cards, I got one card for much less that I love. Im not saying you should all avoid wax forever, maybe just be a little more conscious of how you spend your money.