Try a little patience (on COMC)

A situation played out recently that, for a long time, would've been unheard of for my former collecting self.

I came home from work one night a couple weeks ago to find that my recent COMC order had arrived(!). At almost any other point in my card-collecting life, I would've immediately ripped it open and reveled in the contents because....CARDS! But having a couple other things to take care of that evening, and just not generally being in a card-ish state of mind, I somehow willed myself to let the package sit there, knowing I probably wouldn't be able to offer it the same level of excitement and enjoyment such an event deserves.

I actually didn't open it until the following night, a shade over 24 hours since I'd first seen it on my doorstep.

This probably doesn't seem like much to a lot of people out there, and I'll admit this shouldn't be that great of an accomplishment.

Still, I've long been an impatient collector - I need all those cards NOW!, and I need to sort them all NOW! - so letting a box I knew was filled with cardboard treasure sit unopened for an entire day is foreign to me. I suppose it's another small step in the journey to becoming what I hope is A More Patient Collector. 

But the lesson doesn't stop there. I used to think all Japanese Ichiro cards were unattainable and/or way out of my price range, but over the years I've found that, with a little patience, I'm able to find some on the cheap - which explains how I added not one, not two, but three new BBM Ichiros to my binders in this order!

(The one on the left in this scan was all of $1.50, which seemed like a robbery that should've landed me in jail for the night.)

Japanese cards in general have been a testament to my patience lately - people routinely jack up the prices on these, but once in a while you'll find affordable ones pop up.

Although Ichiro is forever the #1 Japanese Dude in my collection, it's always fun tracking down cards of other notable names from across the Pacific.

All the touchstones of my standard COMC browsing history were present in this order - including a fun mess of Throwback Thursdays.

Other online-exclusive stuff I'm content to scavenge off the scrap heap - I always wonder how big of a loss people are taking when I buy a Topps Now card for a dollar.

Sometimes I don't even know about a set until I see the cards on COMC, which was the case with this online-only Topps "Rookie of the Year" offering that apparently came out last year.

With names like Frank Howard and Dick Allen in the mix, this is a set after my own heart.

You can probably count the number of photo variations I've pulled from packs on one hand, but you'd never know it from the amount of 'em I've amassed on the cheap over the years.

I still wish Topps would just give us shots like Kris Bryant signing autographs or Randy Johnson at the plate in base sets without all the SP hullabaloo, but if they're a buck or two on COMC I guess I can't complain much.

More legend short-prints - spent a little more than usual on the Teddy Ballgame (all of $4.50!) but a small price to pay for the old-timey automobile.

One of the unintentional themes of this order was a healthy run of Minor League Cards of Obscure Guys I Collect.

I stumbled upon one dealer in the midst of a fire sale of his minor-league inventory, and you know I'll fork over some loose change for oddballs of Dime Box Favorites like Bud Smith and Boof Bonser.

More minor league obscurity, this time of the position player variety (cool Hershey's ad lurking on that LeCroy).

The many varieties of minor league wheels.

Between Clementes, "42" variations, and generally shiny stuff, I'm glad I waited to fully experience the joy of this COMC order.

(Need more Fan Favorites refractors!)

TCMAs and stadium issues are two of my bigger recent obsessions - that's my first card of Mickey Vernon with the Pirates, and man does Steve Yeager look weird in a Mariners jersey.

A mass of minis and generally odd-shapes pieces of cardboard here.

Unnamed Cardinal is Paul "Daffy" Dean, and that Mickey Cochrane is the first card from the lesser-known '77 Shakey's Pizza set I've had the pleasure of welcoming into my binders.

Hard to beat a good horizontal card, wouldn't you say?

That Fujimoto continues the string of firsts in this order since it's my first look at Topps's 2022 NPB set - moreover, it's just a wonderful baseball card.

A few other random joys that didn't fit anywhere else in this post - including neat a Ray Schalk from the scarce '95 Conlon set, and a Billy Martin tribute card I'd never seen before.

COMC remains a prime treasure trove of unclassifiable fun stuff like a rare card of Frank Robinson on the Indians and sweet Satchel Paige inserts I need.

I seem to have a harder and harder time finding cheap vintage on COMC with each passing order, but I always try to sneak a few older goodies in here and there.

I don't have a good excuse for not owning that '58 Zimmer already - it's not a high-number or anything - but better late than never, and can't resist a good Nu-Scoop!

I didn't plan to double dip on The Duke with this order, but by some coincidence I nabbed these within minutes of one another on a magical evening.

That '63 high-number has been on my "Keep Dreaming" list for a while now - his first card with the Mets! - and I finally managed to find a copy at a reasonable price thanks to a little nibble on the top-left corner. Coupled with a worn (but nifty!) '57 Duke, these ran a bit less than the cost of a blaster together.

For a long time, I thought the pinnacle of this order would be these dueling Dukes...

...but that was before I stumbled upon a cheap '63 Ernie Banks!

Somehow, this completes my '60s run of Mr. Cub's Topps cards, and I'm actually down to needing only three more Ernies to have the whole Topps set (admittedly, those three are the dreaded '54 rookie, '55 Topps & '57 Topps, no easy tasks). I paid $13 for this one, which is nothing considering I routinely see worn copies in the $50-60 range at shows around here. Once again, even the tiniest bit of patience pays off.

Easier said than done sometimes, but sometimes a little restraint goes a long way in this hobby - only took about 25 years of collecting to figure that out.