I was lucky enough to receive a nice eBay gift certificate over Christmas. Over the past few weeks I have been slowly purchasing cards that have been sitting on my want list for a while. They have all arrived and ready to be shown off.
I window shop on eBay a lot. I see a card I like, add it to my watch list, and never buy it. They are usually cards that I like, but hesitate to pull the trigger and buy them. My eBay gift certificate gave me the push to purchase some cards I have been “watching” for a long time.
First up is a graded 1983 Topps #586 Frank Viloa rookie. Viola is my all-time favorite pitcher and I have been waiting for his PSA 9 rookie to show up on eBay. It showed up a week after the new year… almost as if it knew I had money to spend.
1983 Topps #586 Frank Viola
Next up is a 2002 Bowman #379 Uncirculated Joe Mauer rookie that I had been watching. This arrived too late for my recent Oh My Mauers blog post showcasing my Joe Mauer rookies.
2002 Bowman #379 Uncirculated Joe Mauer
I have a huge collection of Jordan Leopold cards and the following were on my watch list for months.
2001-02 Minnesota Golden Gophers Jordan Leopold 
2003-04 Upper Deck Black Diamond Ruby #118 Jordan Leopold /50 
2003-04 In The Game Action SportsFest #48 Jordan Leopold /10 
2003-04 In The Game Action All-Star Game #48 Jordan Leopold 
2002-03 In the Game Parkhurst Retro Spring Expo #209 Jordan Leopold /10 
2002-03 In the Game Parkhurst Retro Spring Expo #209 Jordan Leopold /10 
2003-04 Topps Gold #208 Jordan Leopold /50 
2002-03 In the Game Parkhurst Game-Used Jerseys #GJ-55 Jordan Leopold 
2002-03 Upper Deck Rookie Update Rookie Inspirations #155b Jordan Leopold/Brian Leetch /1200
Another growing collection I have is Paul Martin, who played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the early 2000’s and was part of their National Championship team.
It just so happened his Young Gun Exclusive popped up on eBay when I had the gift certificate, so I was able to bid a little more aggressively than usual.
The relic cards are all “buy back” Vault 1 of 1 releases. In The Game Final Vault was an odd release where In The Game re-purchased cards, stamped them, then re-sold them. Their secondary market value seems to be lower than the original card. If I like it, I’ll buy it.
2003-04 Upper Deck Canada Exclusives #229 Paul Martin /50 
2003-04 In the Game Parkhurst Rookie Game-Used Rookie Emblem Vault 1 of 1 #RE-13 Paul Martin 
2003-04 In the Game Parkhurst Rookie Rookie Jersey Gold Vault 1 of 1 #RJ-13 Paul Martin 
2003-04 In the Game Parkhurst Rookie Rookie Jersey Vault 1 of 1 #RJ-13 Paul Martin
Finally, two cards that came up cheap on eBay. The Zach Parise relic arrived damaged (small creases around the relic). It was actually packaged well, but USPS must have crushed it.
I added another card to my Alexandre Daigle collection. This former #1 overall draft pick was a bust, but holds a lot of nostalgia. He will get a future blog post sooner or later.
2008-09 Upper Deck Black Diamond Jersey #BDJ-ZP Zach Parise 
2002-03 Upper Deck Canada Exclusives #389 Alexandre Daigle /75
Thanks for reading.
2 replies on “Christmas eBay Haul”
That Viola rookie card is awesome! A few months ago, I picked up a buyback autograph of that card for my left-handed Cy Young Award winners collection.
Thanks. I managed to purchase his Archives Signatures Buyback autograph too. His PSA 9 rookie doesn’t show up too often for some reason. I am guessing not a lot of people are trying to flip a $15 graded card after paying $15 to get it graded…
Thanks for reading!