Back when I was previously around here I was very actively collecting this set. I'm not sure I ever got a completion mailday done for this...since the set didn't technically complete...
Basically...the original checklist for this set was some 60 cards...but they randomly didn't make...maybe...10? of them...including a bunch that they later confirmed were not made...and 2 that they insisted were made, but have never been seen. These 2 that are technically still in limbo are Steve Kerr and Artis Gilmore. They also put out a redemption of Don "Slick" Watts...but I am still waiting for 2 of them to be redeemed...they've now been sitting on Upper Deck for 6 years! ...yet they actually had Don sign in the 08/09 set, which was unnumbered...Couldn't just get him to sign his 25 from 07/08? haha
Next, they started releasing cards into the set via redemption replacements of guys that were never in the original checklist! From memory, Bargnani, Okafor, Bibby to name a couple.
So...this set is pretty much as complete as it's ever going to get and so here it is!
Oh...and the other little doozy that Upper Deck decided to throw into the mix was that Kobe Bryant was number out of ONLY 5! At least 2 of which were personally also inscribed by Kobe, and so sold for ridiculous amounts early on to big time Kobe collectors. Not to mention, it was also the 1st card to be signed by Kobe with his new auto after a long lay off!
So, now I'm done waffling. Enjoy!
Continued in the next post...
Basically...the original checklist for this set was some 60 cards...but they randomly didn't make...maybe...10? of them...including a bunch that they later confirmed were not made...and 2 that they insisted were made, but have never been seen. These 2 that are technically still in limbo are Steve Kerr and Artis Gilmore. They also put out a redemption of Don "Slick" Watts...but I am still waiting for 2 of them to be redeemed...they've now been sitting on Upper Deck for 6 years! ...yet they actually had Don sign in the 08/09 set, which was unnumbered...Couldn't just get him to sign his 25 from 07/08? haha
Next, they started releasing cards into the set via redemption replacements of guys that were never in the original checklist! From memory, Bargnani, Okafor, Bibby to name a couple.
So...this set is pretty much as complete as it's ever going to get and so here it is!
Oh...and the other little doozy that Upper Deck decided to throw into the mix was that Kobe Bryant was number out of ONLY 5! At least 2 of which were personally also inscribed by Kobe, and so sold for ridiculous amounts early on to big time Kobe collectors. Not to mention, it was also the 1st card to be signed by Kobe with his new auto after a long lay off!
So, now I'm done waffling. Enjoy!
As I stated above, this card is the definer of the set due to it being #/5. This is hard enough...but this particular card I found and managed to win on eBay. The listing was paired with a Jordan auto/jersey card and there was a risk attached to it as the seller was a new seller with less than 5 feedback. However, I was gung ho about it and won the auction for a little over $1000 at the time. I was given an assurance the cards were sent, and I asked for a tracking number, Express International tracking. I was ignored, but didn't immediately panic. The shipping however was taking too long...typically 5-7 days at the time...so I contacted the seller who insisted they had sent and finally they supplied the tracking number, and it indeed showed it had been sent, but only recently. Anyway, the package finally arrived but something felt wrong. I was smart enough to video the opening of the package and it was a handful of old school base cards and inserts....I had been ripped off.
I claimed back, but was too late and was only returned $200 via the PayPal buyer protection policy due to the sellers low feedback.
The card however popped up on eBay, from a different account, a couple of months later but from someone proporting to be from the same location of the US as the original listing. They were selling MY CARD again! I got a friend to bid on, and win the card, and refuse to pay the seller. To stop anybody from being ripped off. EBay (surprisingly NOT) ignored my reporting of the listing.
The card popped up another time, but this time was actually won by someone else. I managed to email the guy once he won, and warned him what had happened to me, and the guy thanked me for my advice, and again refused to pay the guy, meaning the card still had not changed hands.
Amazingly the card popped up AGAIN a few months later, and this time I decided to go for it. I didn't bid since I knew they would know who I was. So I got our resident US correspondent and friend @Shawn Bradley Fan to bid and win for me. I sent him the cash, and amazingly, the card was actually delivered! And the rest is history!
I claimed back, but was too late and was only returned $200 via the PayPal buyer protection policy due to the sellers low feedback.
The card however popped up on eBay, from a different account, a couple of months later but from someone proporting to be from the same location of the US as the original listing. They were selling MY CARD again! I got a friend to bid on, and win the card, and refuse to pay the seller. To stop anybody from being ripped off. EBay (surprisingly NOT) ignored my reporting of the listing.
The card popped up another time, but this time was actually won by someone else. I managed to email the guy once he won, and warned him what had happened to me, and the guy thanked me for my advice, and again refused to pay the guy, meaning the card still had not changed hands.
Amazingly the card popped up AGAIN a few months later, and this time I decided to go for it. I didn't bid since I knew they would know who I was. So I got our resident US correspondent and friend @Shawn Bradley Fan to bid and win for me. I sent him the cash, and amazingly, the card was actually delivered! And the rest is history!
Continued in the next post...
