When it comes to the Darwin Barney card, I can't stop buying 'em.
And I've done it again.
And again.
The Venezuelan versions are short-printed. That we know. Unknown is just how rare they are, since they are not numbered. I've been tracking the card since release, and only eleven have been sold on Ebay. By contrast, the much more hyped and expensive Barney no-position card from 2012 (which I've also been tracking) has been sold 34 times.
I've been preaching for the past couple years that the Venezuelan cards are more scarce, and the prices should be much higher. But they aren't.
A few days ago I showed some Ernie and Billy cards from a recent COMC purchase. At the same time I browsed through the Barney cards and found a Venezuelan.
It cost me $1.47. I added it to my cart.
While waiting for the order to arrive, guess what pops up on Ebay for the first time in nearly a year?
Yup, a Barney Venezuelan. The auction started at 99¢. It ended at 99¢.
For less that three bucks I added two more to my stash...
I know, I've got a problem!
My problem---I can't pass up a bargain.
The average price of the 11 Ebay Barneys and my COMC is $3.27.
The average price of the 34 Ebay 2012 No-position Barneys is $88.46.
I just can't pass up rare cards at bargain prices.
I have a similar fixation on the Members Only parallel from 2014 Stadium Club. They aren't serially-numbered, but the estimated print run on them seems to be 7 or 8 copies of each card. I haven't focused on a specific player (although it would be nice if an R.A. Dickey would pop up on the market), but I enjoy picking them up on the cheap whenever I can. The big names go for big bucks, but you can get a lot of the semi-stars and common folk for a couple of dollars.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. If and when Barney becomes a star, you'll be sitting on a gold mine. Have you added anymore to your collection since January?
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