2020 eBay purchases: plates a-plenty and more!

I need to post some cards so I can put them away, so here's what I purchased for myself on eBay over the first third of the year!

Card #1 is a 2007 Fleer magenta plate of blog favorite pitcher Rich Hill. I snagged this way back in January as my only non-show pickup for the month. I'm always up for a new 1/1 for my favorite PC, and a bit under $8 shipped was enough to get my first of this plate set, though it's my seventh 1/1 from that year. I still have some investigating to do regarding my 2008 Triple Threads 1/1s of Rich before I can get an accurate total, but for now he still rules the roost with 137 hits, 24 of the ultimate rarity.

I grabbed three more plates in February--two for myself--and one more the following month, giving me a fun run of five straight 1/1 purchases on eBay. The first was this J.J. Putz yellow version from Topps' flagship set, also out of 2007. Setting me back a little less than the Hill, this is my second oldest Putz plate, with one from 2006 Upper Deck taking the crown. That one is the only non-Topps card, oddly enough. While Hill has a commanding first place lead in 1/1s, Putz enjoys a smaller gap as his 11 in my collection have Clayton Richard's nine close behind.

The other card I grabbed for myself in February was a surprising win for me: I plunked down just $7.26 for my first plate of former Wolverine defensive beast Rashan Gary. This black plate was used to make his 2019 Donruss RC, but Panini's not the type to make things easy and actually inserted it as a hit in their Plates & Patches product last year. Both Panini and Upper Deck are known for doing this in some of their high-end products, which gives them a nice boost, though at the cost of the original sets that lose those potential pulls. Anyway, I was excited to get such a nice piece to add to the two autographs I own in his small collection, and I look forward to seeing what he could do in his sophomore NFL campaign (if there is one).

The last plate today stars former UM pitcher Matt Miller, one of many former baseball players of that name. This one was in the Brewers system for a while, plus he only appears on cards from 2010 Donruss Elite Extra and 2011 Topps Heritage Minors and Pro Debut, so he's easy enough for my to identify. I'm not even sure the last time I posted cards of him here (or on TMV) since I completed his 17-card run quite a while ago. Happily I now have my first plate to go with those, and the 1/1 Donruss EEE autograph I bought a while back, so I can lay claim to 20% of his 1/1s! By the way, at a bit over $5 delivered this one kept up my trend of declining final prices of cards I'd been buying on eBay, which was temporarily interrupted by a trade bait 1/1 I grabbed earlier this month.

Fortunately this non-1/1 got me back on track. My most recent purchase, made about two weeks ago, is a new Ryan LaMarre auto from 2012's unlicensed Onyx Platinum Prospects product. An Autographs Inscribed version hand-numbered on the back /5, this cost me a paltry $2.73 as I won it from my favorite eBayer, markaguirre22, from whom I've bought a bunch of very cool Michigan-related items. It also doesn't hurt that he offers free shipping! The design is about on par for the type of product, but I do love the gold ink, and the "Go Reds!" inscription is great. I'm glad to make it my 12th LaMarre hit, 10 of which include his signature.

In total I've spent under $50 on eBay over the first four months of this year and have scored six plates, one other trade bait item, and the LaMarre you just saw, meaning I'm still getting some good value despite my buying being way down.

Speaking of throwing money at cards, I think my next couple posts should cover some very cool Facebook Marketplace purchases, and I should be following those up with a huge TCDB trade. Should any trade packages show up in the interim, though, I'll happily give them priority. I hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy while they continue collecting as much as possible during these crazy times!