I am not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that I patrol Ebay often. Quite often in fact…
The hours I keep are odd. My wife and kids leave for work and school an hour or so before I have to. And at night, I am up multiple times to either sooth a crying baby or hang out with a funny 3-year old that wants some attention and affection.
For some odd reason, the baby only wants me at night. To my wife’s delight, she gets to sleep while I get to play ‘dada’. And instead of turning on the television while I hold him, I turn to the computer. And it is during those times that I surf the web, work on the blog, and shop around.
And in the last few weeks, ‘Dawson-Mania’ has swept over Ebay. Currently, I have 30-40 different saved searches in ‘My Ebay’, and probably half are related to Andre Dawson. I have seen the number of auctions for these specific searches more than quadruple in the last 2 weeks. Overall, there was a steady flow of 200-250 active auctions featuring Dawson prior to his Hall of Fame election. But since then, the number has never dropped below 500!!
And the prices are incredible!!! Items that were listed again and again with no bids are now sold. Items that were selling for $3 are now coming close to $10. Autographed items that were getting 1-2 bids are hitting double-digits. And the new stuff is going at prices that are through the roof.
Check out this 2009 Topps Tribute card.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230426320021&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Now I understand that it is a 1/1 and it is also a beautiful card. I also understand that it is a brand new release that may never be seen again due to its rarity, but two months ago this card may have sold for $75 – Maybe!
I am very thankful that I was able to stock up on Dawson stuff like I did prior to January 6. I added some great stuff, some of which I have yet to show off. Lucky for me that I have enough to hold me for a few weeks until this huge spike in popularity and prices dies down a little.
If the prices and action for Andre Dawson related items stays this hot for more than a month or two, I may have to put the collection on the back burner – my wallet can’t take this!!!
But I do have to admit that I love the attention Andre is getting. It’s long overdue!!!
Nice to see some new Dawson cards. That tribute one is pretty cool.
moe.
Definitely true the recognition he’s getting is long over due.
As for ebay, I’m still suffering CC’s post-AS popularity. What some folks are paying for his cards is outrageous!
I’ve always felt Dawson was a guy who tended to get the short end of the stick. It’s nice to see him getting some of the recognition he deserves.
I know what you mean, I’m not used to getting out bidded for Andre’s cards on eBay.
I feel exactly the same way Brian. I haven’t bought anything above low-end inserts since the HOF announcement. There were cards on my watchlist for almost 2 years with way high prices, and all those BINs were hit within 24 hours.
There is also some guy with 1 feedback throwing ridiculous money around. He won that Tribute red, which I never thought would get above $110-115.
Once all the HOF and team collectors grab a card or two, prices should come back down to a reasonable level.
Once that happens, Charley, you can go back to being outbid by me again.