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OK, onward:
I received this card from Those Back Pages a week or so ago. It was a Nebulous 9 need, which means I am super-happy to check it off the list. Donruss Triple Play should never, ever, ever be needed.
Juan Samuel's awesome action was shipped to me as basically a one-card agreement. "I've got a card from your list for you," is what TBP said. So I expected to pull a single card out of the envelope.
But this card came out, too:
Excellent. A night card. And a stadium shot. It was a finalist in the Awesome Night Card tournament a year or so ago. I have a few copies of this card. It'd be cool if I could get nine of them and then put them in a page to kick off my night card binder. But then people might think I'm a Cubs fan, and I'd never want that to happen.
But the point is, I wonder if there's a stigma over sending out a single card? Do we think a single card is not enough and have to add something else?
Another example:
I received this card from slangon at Condition: Poor the other day:
I'm happy to now have both the autograph and relic Kemp cards from 2008 A&G. Again, I was told I'd receive this card and this card only -- which I was more than happy to accept.
But I also got this card:
It's a great late '70s TCMA card of the Dodgers' coaching staff in 1955. Jake Pitler, Walter Alston, Joe Becker and Billy Herman. The back reads "Dodger Braintrust," which I like, too.
But that's not one card. It's two cards.
I do the same thing. I just wrapped up my return pack to Condition: Poor, which was also supposed to contain one card as well. But -- I hate to ruin the surprise -- there's more than one card in the package.
I have agreed to untold one-card deals with other collectors and I'm fairly certain that 90 percent or more contained more than one card, both incoming and outgoing.
I'm thinking that this speaks more to collectors' generous nature than the feeling of "oh, one card isn't enough." When I am sending out one card, I try to add more, just because I like to try to find something else the collector might want. Perhaps I do think, "that's not enough," but if I do, it's subconsciously.
I mean, there's nothing wrong with sending out just one card. There's something to be said for that. It's freeing. You can usually slip the item into a plain, white envelope and you're done. It takes little time or effort.
And getting one card in return is also a nice little thrill. It's charming, tidy and happy all at the same time. A minute of joy and you're on to the next thing.
So, while I more than appreciate the "extras" and will never stop looking for extra cards to add on to what I'm sending, kudos go out to Tom of The Angels, In Order for his single-card-mindedness.
He recently sent me a set of 1999 Keebler's Dodgers. A few weeks later, he discovered a card from the set that he had misplaced and hadn't sent along. I didn't even know there was a card missing. I hadn't had the time to account for them all.
So, I received a PWE from Tom a few days ago. Out fell:
E.Y.
And ...
That was it. No other card. Why should there be? My Keebler's set was complete.
Yup, There's something great about the one-card package.
But two-card packages are nice, too.
And three- and four- and 25- and 100-card packages, too.
Hell, they're all great.
Can you tell I didn't get a card package in the mail today?
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