Bobby Thigpen is one of my player collections. I haven't updated my have list for him recently. Player collections are next after getting my want list completely updated.
When I run across something that I don't have for a retired player that's not in the Hall of Fame, I get excited. Typically, most of my player collections are of fringe players, or in the case of Thigpen, ones who were in the upper echelon for a few years and then came crashing back to Earth.
Looking back, I think it was the grace and poise and respect for the game that made me a huge fan of Bobby's. Years later, when Francisco Rodriguez would break Thigpen's single season save record of fifty-seven (eventually racking up sixty-two saves), Bobby sent him a congratulatory note, just as Dave Righetti did when Thigpen broke his mark. Just to show you how far relievers have come, Dave Righetti's high mark of forty-six saves in 1986, has him tied for forty-second place with nine other players. Meanwhile, Bobby's record of fifty-seven saves has him tied for second place.
I found this autographed card on eBay, up for auction. I was the only bidder and won it for 99 cents, plus $3.50 shipping. I wasn't to concerned about the shipping costs considering I had won the auction at such a low price. It was coming from a seller in the continental United States with a good rating.
I won the auction on April 28th. The shipping estimate was for May 8th. Long, but not unreasonable. It was marked shipped the next day. So the wait begins. I wait. I wait some more. The estimated arrival date came and went. I wait even longer.
On May 15th, I sent the seller a question, asking if I could have the tracking number, so I could try to deduce where the package had been delayed. No response.
On May 18th, a package arrived in my mailbox, with this card in it, and a postmark of May 15th. When I was a seller, I tried to achieve the gold standard on every order and leave the competition in the dust. None of my customers saw red, when they ordered from me. None of them experienced even a delay. Maybe it's just the way I was raised, but if I can't deliver something as promised, in a timely fashion, I communicate. I explain myself and let the other person know what's going on.
I'm happy that the card arrived as described in the listing. Of course it's not the end of the world that it arrived late or I inadvertently had to remind the seller to send it. In the grand scheme of things it's the size of a molecule in the expanse of the universe. It does not mean that it isn't annoying. It does not mean that lackadaisical service is to be tolerated.
In the end, I left positive feedback, when I felt I should have left neutral, because I did not want to get hit with negative feedback. So far, the seller has left no feedback. I'm not going to call out the seller, but I won't be ordering from them unless it is the only way I can get something. I will know in the future, to remind the seller of their obligations earlier than I did this time and have patience.
Mistakes happen and I have no idea what was going on in their life during that time. Unless it is deliberately malicious, you have to give the benefit of the doubt. I could be in a situation one day, where something I send out is delayed. It could be through no fault of my own or it could've gotten buried in a pile of other stuff and forgotten. Life happens. People shouldn't be penalized for that. I'm just happy that I have another Thigpen card to add to the collection. The only real debate is should it be part of the White Sox team collection or part of the Thigpen player collection?
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