No, really, I don’t have any more of these. Honest.

§ April 5th, 2019 § Filed under the eBay § 6 Comments


So here’s a heck of a thing…I’ve been selling a number of sports related magazines on consignment on the eBays, but the person ifor whom I am selling said items brought in something fairly unusual. Pictured above is a program for a Green Bay Packers game, dated November 5th, 1922. As the owner of the item noted in his description, it’s just three years short of being an antique.

I should say “former owner,” because that sucker is sold and way out of my hands, and there ain’t no more coming of similar vintage, so hold those phone calls and emails, friends. Now, when this item was originally purchased by the person I was selling this for, he paid about a thousand dollars for it back in the 1980s. When we listed it on eBay, we started it off with a 99-cent opening bid, with a $2,000 Buy-It-Now price. Within a day of listing it, I started getting phone calls. Calls from people offering anywhere from three to five thousand for the item. I, and the owner of the item, found this to be an unexpected development. However, given our own disinclination to end an eBay auction early like that, plus wondering what it would eventually go for given that we were getting offers like that in the first day, we just let the auction ride.

Well, it turns out someone should have jumped on that two grand Buy-It-Now right away because it ended up going for just over $5,200. Yes, that’s a little bit mindblowing. I only keep a small-ish portion of that, but still, that was something else. I have an eBay app on my phone that gives off a little noise when I get a bid, or an item is sold, or what have you, and in the last, oh, two minutes of the auction’s duration, my phone just wouldn’t shut up what with all the under-the-wire bids that program was receiving.

Anyway, it was paid for right quick (with a personal check, to avoid the PayPal fees but also required me holding the item while I waited for the payment to clear), and it was shipped off to its new happy home, leaving behind a couple of happy sellers.

…I believe I’ve noted, either here or on the Twitters, that in regards to mail order, it generally requires the same amount of time investment in preparing a $1 item or a $100 item for shipment, in terms of what I decide to list or not list. As you may not be surprised to hear, a $5000+ item takes significantly longer to prepare, simply out of sheer paranoia. This program isn’t significantly different from other items I’ve sent into the tender mercies of the postal office…I’ve shipped out lots of promotional materials, flyers and posters and other goodies of similar dimensions, and just sandwiching those between two sturdy pieces of cardboard, taping ’em down, wrapping them in the proper envelope, and that’s that. This item got wrapped inside multiple bags, sandwiched between multiple pieces of thick cardboard, wrapped in bubble wrap, and shipped in a box. With insurance. And tracking. And signature confirmation.

It arrived fine, by the way. I was reasonably certain it would show up in one piece, but one can’t help but worry with something that’s 1) irreplaceable, and 2) a tad pricy. I don’t think I exhaled loudly and patted my sweat-beaded forehead with a kerchief like an old timey sitcom character when I found out it arrived safely, but I certainly thought about it.

No real good reason to bring that all up here, aside from maybe showing you some odd item you probably haven’t seen before, even if it’s not comic book related, or giving you an idea of the kind of stuff I do as a Big Time Funnybook Shop Owner. And yes, maybe to brag just a little. On one hand, I’d love if every eBay sale was like this, but on the other hand, the stress would probably kill me, so perhaps it’s for the best.

(Here’s the auction listing, for as long as eBay will keep it up.)

6 Responses to “No, really, I don’t have any more of these. Honest.”

  • philfromgermany says:

    Gotta love “Jug” Earps. Now I gotta find myself a cool nickname.

  • Thelonious_Nick says:

    I’m not surprised. I know other comic-collecting folks because I’m in the hobby, but I don’t think I’ve run into other comic collectors in real life, or at least not since I was in middle school. But I’ve run into several sports memorabilia collecting folks in real life–I think there’s just a much bigger pool of people interested in sports than in comics. I know a lawyer who spends tens of thousands every year for his Boston Red Sox (bleagh) memorabilia hobby, and I have another friend who has bought some very expensive historic items related to the old Philadelphia A’s.

    Combine that huge pool of sports collectors with a truly rare and eye-catching item for a team that has a rabid fanbase, and I can definitely see this going for $5K+.

  • Lane H Hermanson says:

    When I first saw you post this on Twitter, I thought this will go for thousands. Living in Minnesota (Home of the Vikings) and having such a big rivalry with the Packers, I knew there would be some intense bidding. Can you say if the item was sent to the midwest? The Packers are one of the few (maybe only team) that is owned by the fans.They sell stock for ownership of the team. Dp you have anymore to the story of how it ended up in California?

  • Mikester says:

    Daniel T – Selling that on consignment for another customer. Yeah, I know, it’s weird.

  • MRPRSN says:

    I am all for more “Mike’s Shipping Stories”. I’ve been doing some minor eBay selling myself lately so it’s top of mind for me.