Still strange and wonderful

I keep saying that I expect my relationship with Listia to end eventually. Slowly but surely, it's getting more difficult to acquire cards on the site. The credits that are required to land a card or cards appear to be going up.

But I haven't hit my breaking point yet. I'm still finding a way to add free cards to my collection, even through periodic issues along the way.

Unlike ebay, where a whole bunch of people are on the site to run a reputable business (most of the time, anyway), Listia seems to be filled with a lot of regular joes and jills. And some are more "regular" than others, if you know what I mean. Selling cards from a dilapidated lean-to on the side of the road? Yeah, I can see that. One address that I mailed to yesterday couldn't possibly have been real. It sounded like an address you'd see in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

I also was disappointed to never receive a card that I had looked forward to for my 1972 Topps completion quest. It wasn't the Nolan Ryan card or anything, but still, I was happy not to have to shell out $3 or $4 for the card. I never got it, even though the "seller" said they sent it. Fortunately, my credits were refunded instantly.

But I don't want to gripe too much because they're all God's creatures and I'm STILL GETTING FREE CARDS!!!!!

The latest one was the Sandy Koufax 2012 Tribute card you see there at the top, as shiny and thick as your average Tribute item. I was confused for awhile because I thought I had this card already, but that was the Triple Threads card. I get my high-end Topps issues confused. It's not like you see those things in these here parts.

The rest of the recent Listia cards are more my speed, and all Dodgers (just can't seem to find cards of my other interests lately -- they go for too much).

I have a whole bunch of these Fleer late '80s boxed sets cards set up in my COMC cart and ready to roll. I want to finally be finished with needing any of these items. I still think they're great, but there's just so many. It's like trying to kill ants.

Let's alternate the regular cards and the shiny ones, shall we? Here's a 2012 BoChro of "I'll Play Anywhere" rookie Elian Herrera. And it's a refractor, as you can see. This card automatically makes me impressive ... to someone somewhere.

Some late '90s blah. Some of the late 1990s sets are so boring to me. I wasn't collecting then so I don't have any personal connection to them. I didn't even want to bid on this card. But my brain, in full-on "YOU DON'T HAVE THAT CARD!!!!!!!!! GET IT!!! GET IT!!!!!!!!!" mode, forced me to.

Back to the shiny. This is a numbered, chromed-up card -- and insert, too, I think -- from the 2006 Topps '52s set. Pretty cool. Piazza looks like you just told him he got only 57.8 percent of the vote in the Hall of Fame ballots last week. I'm not one of those people who thinks everyone deserving of the Hall should get in on their first chance, but don't you think obscuring someone from something based on no facts at all is grounds for some sort of lawsuit? Why haven't I seen a lawsuit over this yet? Not that I'm encouraging anything.

OK, last card. And I have to show how it arrived.

Some folks, I think are still trapped in the 1990s, when every last card was an investment, that all will one day be worth millions, and that everything in rectangular form should be protected at all times.

I won a 1997 Pacific Collection Latinos of the Major Leagues insert card of Raul Mondesi. Nice-looking insert. Nothing too special.

Here's what it came in:

One of those quarter-inch-thick, screwdown holders. I haven't seen one of those things outside of some dealers tables in quite awhile.

The amusing thing is, this card could have been taken out of its screwdown holder, slipped in a plain, white, envelope with enough protection (much as I do with a lot of my Listia cards) and shipped for the price of a stamp.

Instead it cost the shipper more than five bucks to send this.

And, of course, I busted it out because the holder was a little nasty. And cards should be allowed to run free.

Much better. (I know it looks flashier inside the screwdown case, but that's just the scan. The card's plenty flashy in person).

So that's the tale of my Listia adventures this time around. It's a little weird, a little wacky. But at the same time, there's still free cards there.

I can ignore a lot for free cards.