LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - 2010/11 Ultimate Memorabilia Fight Strap

Well, it's the conclusion to one of the most interesting acquisitions of a card I've ever had.

Today I received a package in the mail consisting of a card that on any other occasion I'd be thrilled to post.

Sadly though, that's not the case.

2010/11 In The Game
Ultimate Memorabilia 10th Edition
Ultimate Fight Strap /3

For those who aren't up on the story, I saw the card at the start of the month on a trading board, inquired about purchasing it, received a price from the seller and agreed to a deal. Only to have the seller back out after he said he had 'double sold' the card. He had made previous arrangements to sell the card to someone else. That person agreed to the deal first, but I was the first to pay.

Honest mistake you say - I agree.

The seller refunded us both and decided to hold on to the card amidst the confusion. Again, no problem. I asked if I could be contacted once he was ready to move the card.

Things changed when I noticed he put the card up for sale on ebay for a highly inflated price compared to what I had paid. This bothered me and I asked what the situation was all about. He said he wasn't looking to sell the card at the moment. To me that says he's trying to get an idea on the value of the card. He said he received an offer above what I had paid but wasn't going to sell the card unless someone was crazy enough to pay the full overinflated price.

This disappointed me as I felt we had an agreement in place. So I contacted the moderators over at the trading forum and long story short, I received an e-mail from the seller asking if I would be willing to pay the current offered price (which was considerably more than the price we had originally agreed to).

I was pretty frustrated and felt like I was being gouged. I refused to pay that high a price but realized that the price we originally agreed to would not happen. I made an offer that was a slight compromise. I said take it or leave it.

He took it. And I got the card today.

I still feel like the seller backed out of the deal because he realized he could get a lot more for the card, rather than follow through with the agreed deal.

Funny thing is, if he had asked for the higher price in the first place, he would have gotten it from me. I'm just curious as to what the other original seller has to say about all this. He was never in the conversation and part of me is skeptical there even was another person. Just a gut feeling.

Now, I look at the card I received today and should be thrilled (it's one of the top cards in my collection), but instead I am just reminded of this whole ordeal.

Back to the card. It's the first 'fight strap' card of Trevor's ever to be released. I know one of the other copies has already landed in a Linden collection. So now, there's one left out there for the rest of you to fight over.

Hopefully your battle won't be as trying as mine.