Not To Be Outdone

Last week I posted the 2005 Donruss Elite Steve Largent/Darrell Jackson cards where the serial numbers were put on in different directions. Apparently, Topps had a “Hold my beer” moment in 2013 with the Topps UFC Bloodlines release.

I am now adding my Ryan Bader collection to the Trading Card Database and you guessed it, Topps outdid Donruss. Each of the 2013 UFC Bloodlines base cards have four serial numbered parallels and three of the four are serial numbered on the front of the card beneath the UFC logo in the top corner while the fourth (Flag parallel) has the serial number on the back of the card.

C’mon Topps, don’t do this to a brother.

Anyone else come across a similar situation where a card company likes messing with collectors?

Choose A Direction And Stick With It

I was going through my recent Steve Largent additions and adding the missing cards to my TCDB collection and I noticed after I scanned in three parallels from the 2005 Donruss Elite Back to the Future insert that the serial numbers are not printed the same way. The green parallel that is #/1000 has the top of the serial numbers nearest to the right border while the Blue #/500 and Red #/250 have the bottom of the serial numbers facing the right border.

I took a look at other player’s cards in the insert set and they are all serial numbered like mine, with the green parallels having their serial numbers in a different direction than the blue and red parallels.

I think the only reason I noticed this is because of my OCD and need for order. Damn you Donruss for messing with me and flipping the card sheets when printing the serial numbers.

A Card Numbers Game

  Just one of those random questions today:

 

I am very anal about things, I was diagnosed as OCD when I was a teenager, a very difficult time for me. As I have gotten older I have learned to deal with some things that I can not control. One thing that still has stuck with me is numbers, there are numbers I like and there are numbers that bother me. I love the number “5” while on the other side I do not like the numbers “3, 6 or 9” with the number “13” being the worst offender, not because it is considered bad luck but because to me it does not seem natural.

 

I will actually skip buying a card that has a #13 serial number, I will skip buying a card that sells for $13 and when I was still building complete sets card #13 was flipped backwards. There is no sense in arguing with someone who has OCD, it is like yelling at a brick wall.

 

I find myself in a quandary right now, someone is offering a card that I have been hunting for over a year. He has two versions, one serial #25 and one serial #26. I had actually missed bidding the #25 card, which ended with no bids, but they have since put it back up for auction. Because of the numbering I would like the #25, after the first auction ended I even asked if they would be willing to put it back up for a BIN but they decided to post it as a regular auction.

 

Normally I would pass on the #26 card and wait to bid on the other card but I have only seen 3 for sale over the past year and these are two of them. Do I bid on the card with the #26, a number that bugs me, just to get it in to my collection or do I hope the auction for the #25 card ends up in a price I am willing to pay?

 

 

Which leads me to the question of the day:

 

Have you ever passed on a serial numbered card because you did not like the number it had?

 

Or

 

Have you paid extra for a serial numbered card because it had a specific number?