How long do you wait for the price to become "right"? What's the switch that flicks to make you all of the sudden go all in on a piece?
Last summer, I was dealt with just those questions...and it led to one of the more striking items to land in my collection, and with it a very cool story of a rarely discussed chapter in Linden's career.
In addition to eBay (the standard go-to for my Linden searches), I also check out some online forums, bulk card sites, Kijiji and more recently, Facebook Marketplace.
Technically, I'm on Facebook...but I don't post. I don't follow. I buy.
And there have been some cool Linden items to pop up on the site over the past couple of years. And this is without a doubt the most exciting one that I've actually obtained.
Summer 2023 and a pretty stunning Linden poster shows up on the site ready to be sold. It looks amazing and is given a beefy price tag to match. Here's what was cast out into the lake...
How many of you can name all three of the players in this image without going to Google? I knew them right away...because I had seen this item a handful of times, but never locally. It was pretty much off the radar for me as I felt it was just too expensive to justify.
Got your guesses yet? In addition to Linden in the upper right, we have Wendel Clark on the left and Alexandre Daigle (The Chosen One) front and centre. All three wearing their World Junior getup.
Look at how young Trev looks...he was just a 17-year-old when he played in the 1988 junior tournament (the youngest player on that squad).
And yes...that's an autograph - not a facsimile. All three of these players signed this gem of a poster.
Let's talk about the poster first before I get into how I obtained it and provide a bit of a glimpse into the 1988 tourney.
Steven Houston created this gorgeous item called 'Canadian Tradition' back in 1993. Surprisingly, I have found zero information on the item and the artist (thanks interwebs).
It looks to be watercolor and it's stamped and signed by the artist (along with the signatures of the aforementioned players).
It's also numbered to 1500 copies and is double matted and framed very nicely for show.
It's a stunner of a piece and one that I knew I had to have if I could just be patient.
It was posted with a $150 price tag.
Zero interest at that price - even with the signatures...even with the framing.
It didn't take long before the price was reduced to $100. Now my radar is full on. If the guy was willing to drop the price that much, that quick...he had to be a motivated seller.
I told myself "Fifty bucks". When it hits $50, I'll reach out to him.
Well, I'd have to wait a few weeks for the $75 tier. It was a pretty niche item so I didn't think anyone would be chasing it.
$60...no takers. I almost buckled, but held firm. And then....
$40!!
I was shocked to wake up one morning to find that the price had been reduced to just a pair of twenty dollar bills. I near panicked as I scrambled to touch base with the seller expressing my interest.
"Across the city you say?"....I guess I'm going on a trip.
I could not get there fast enough and whipped the forty bucks out of my pocket with not a single thought of bartering. It was more than a fair price. He simply said that he didn't want it taking up space in his house anymore.
Thank you and good night.
I had a massive grin on my face the whole way home as this piece is mint. It looked like it'd been sitting in a dust-proof box never seeing the light of day. I was floating on air.
So why Linden? Why was he chosen to be on this junior hockey print? I have no idea. He wasn't hardly a factor at all in the '88 tournament (scoring just a single goal). The team he played for was stacked with future NHLers...Sakic, Recchi, Graves, Desjardins, Fleury just to name a few. It was the year after the infamous "Punch-Up in Piestany" (again...homework time for you youngsters) and Team Canada was on a mission for gold...one they achieved.
Do I know why he was chosen to be on the print?...nope. And I could care less. I just love that he is.
A neat side note...
In 2007, a Team Canada World Junior dvd box set was released featuring full broadcast games from seven different Team Canada offerings....including, you guessed it, the 1988 gold medal winning match.
So I have the game that Trev played in that's featured on this poster. I think that's a pretty cool tie-in on all of it.
Now...recap. Patience is good, but when the time comes to strike - move real quick (and have cash ready to rock).
What's the longest you've waited for an item to get to your comfy place dollar-wise? Have you ever missed the boat by waiting too long? (I know I have)
