THIS Is What A Free $100 Gets You (Really Me)

The contest is still open, for anyone who has yet to enter or would like to pimp the contest. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through all of your answers to Bonus Question # 2. Everyone has such diverse collecting goals and interests, which makes this community of ours all the more unique and amazing.

Play at the Plate asked in my Not So Super Box Review what I would do with a hundred bucks. So, without further adieu, here is what I would do with a free $100.

Oh wait, it's what I did.

As some of you may know, I also write daily (usually) over at Memories of Kevin Malone. The site has basically fallen into my hands, and mine alone, in recent months. I put up Game Threads, and though I haven't been as frequent with them in 2011, I also recap games. Occasionally I give my thoughts and opinions on other matters; regardless of what I'm writing, it's a lot of fun.

A month or so ago, my boss, the venerable Chad Moriyama, asked me to include a link in a post from a company looking to promote their product. They were paying for the advertising, and Chad was generous enough to forward their payment along to me. I ended up writing up some James Loney analysis, and in that post was included the link to the company's website.

A few weeks passed, and I got my payment.

With that cash influx, I did what you'd expect me to do.

I bought some cards.

So, as discussed in Contest Bonus Question # 2, this is what I'd do - and did - with a free hundred bucks. (prices in bold and italicized under card. price is total delivered.)

$29

My first playing-era Jackie! And it's a '56 to boot! This. Card. Is. AMAZING. Some thanks must be given to the one and only Fuji, who posted about acquiring this card and got my head spinning about owning one of my own.

And now I do.

It's well-loved. And I shall love it forever more.

That was only mildly creepy.

Praise to the card gods.

$17.02

'55 Campy. So beautiful. A true work of art. I've wanted this card for a while. There's a tiny bit of paper loss on the front (near the upper border to Roy's right) and back (m and n of Campy's name), but overall the card looks great. It's the first card I'm seriously considering getting graded at some point in the future.

$11

Oooh, Sandy! '63 Fleer Sandy, to be precise. It's off-center and has a number of spots containing tape residue, but it's a '60s Koufax, and a non-Topps one to boot. So it's utterly awesome.

08/10, $14

Clayton KKKKKKKKKershaw! Another Kershaw Auto for the collection, and Clayton's signature works well in the small spaces that are these manu-letter "hits".

$15.71

My second Wright autograph, and both have been very affordable, considering Wright plays for the Mets and is a great, great player when healthy.

76/99, $11

A couple more of these went for way, way, wayyyyyy less than I paid for this. I'm not disappointed that I paid what I paid, I'm just a bit upset that I didn't land the cheaper ones. Oh well. Free money is free money.

$8.96, 095/577

2006 Bowman Originals Buyback Auto

Another card where I missed out on a really cheap copy. I somehow missed an auction I had Watch Listed (that's a UCLA education for ya), which ended at like a buck thirty plus shipping. Thankfully, I was able to purchase this nice, new addition to my Martin PC using $5.74 in eBay bucks and the reminder of the dough in my PayPal account, including an extra 95 cents from when YardBarker used to pay me through PayPal.

So there you have it. I got a free c-note, and showed little restraint in saving any of it. I probably overpaid a tad on a couple of items, but that's how the eBaying goes.