The Agony of Waiting!

I picked up this card almost a month ago on eBay, but I wasn't sure I would ever get it in my collection.  Toward the end of June I was the winning bidder of this card and the seller promptly mailed off the card through USPS with tracking provided. The first few days went off without a hitch and then it arrived at a facility in New Jersey. From there the tracking just died. The only update that was posted said that the package was delayed and it stayed that way for almost two weeks. So, I decided to open a case with USPS to see if they could locate the package or at least provide me with some information as to what was going on. Eventually, the package started moving again from New Jersey to Louisiana. From Louisiana to Texas and on to Indiana, finally making its way to Ohio. Yesterday, I received a notification that it was delivered. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened the mailbox. I just had a sinking suspicion that I would find a mangled envelope within a USPS envelope stating that the card was lost (stolen) in transit. Luckily, everything worked out ok and I received this 2019 Topps Ichiro SSP. 

Still Finding Gems in a Junk Wax Era

For those of us who collected cards in the 80s we're all very aware of the fact that those cards hold no monetary value whatsoever. That's fine by me considering the fact that I didn't purchase these cards to make a dime off of them. Rather, I enjoyed ripping a pack of cards to see what players I got and who I still needed to complete the set I was slowly building. When Upper Deck came on the scene in 1989 I didn't have the funds to purchase a pack for a dollar a piece. I decided to chase Topps for half the price and since I had been opening Topps packs since 1986 it was a no-brainer decision. Years later, after I returned to the hobby, I was able to add the 1989 Upper Deck set to my collection at an affordable price since that set too was overproduced as well. Recently, while browsing Trading Card Database, I stumbled upon the fact that Upper Deck had released promotion cards in 1989 that they sent to dealers giving them a preview of their upcoming product. There were only two subjects for these promo cards (Wally Joyner and DeWayne Buice) but three different back hologram variations for each (a top hologram, a bottom small hologram, and a bottom large hologram). I'm not sure if I'll chase all three variations, but I have been able to acquire the bottom small hologram promo cards. 

I think they complement my 1989 Upper Deck set nicely.