Beware of eBay vultures!

With the sudden and very shocking death of music legend, Michel Jackson, it’s no surprise to see “fans” unloading anything and everything they can get a hold of on eBay. Currently, there are 20 different auctions with an asking price of $10,000 dollars or more.

Perhaps the most ridiculous comes from eBay member “pelazg” who is attempting to sell the domain name, ‘michaeljosephjackson1958-2009.com’. Not only is that long, ridiculous domain name completely worthless, he somehow thinks he can get half a million dollars for it.

Another Jackson fan is trying to unload an old, beat-up gold record of Jackson’s which is not even signed. The asking price? Oh, only $150,000 dollars. One eBay member with a zero feedback rating wants $100,000 for a signed and framed photo which has “been in his collection” for ten years. Great time to unload.

Realistically, if you’d like a Michael Jackson autograph you are likely going to have to shell out between $2,000-$5,000 thousand dollars, depending on the item. A ‘Bad’ album signed by the late ‘King of Pop’ sold for just under $2,000 dollars recently. There are quite a few signed guitars going for much more.

Michael Jackson has no relics or autographs in any trading card set.

Rest in peace, Michael

The “King of Pop” near death?

(This article was originally published in December 2008)

Looks like it might be time to stock up on Michael Jackson’s 1984 Topps rookie cards. Of course, I am talking about the self-titled trading card set put out by Topps Company in 1984 which Cardboard Icons recently busted on his blog (link). There is currently an unopened wax box on eBay selling for just under $50 dollars. As crazy as that price might sound, these cards might become very valuable soon.

The Washington Post (and several news outlets) are reporting that Michael Jackson is gravely ill, according to author Ian Halperin, who recently wrote a Jackson biography.

Source: WashingtonPost.com

“He’s had it for years, but it’s gotten worse,” Halperin told In Touch. “He needs a lung transplant but may be too weak to go through with it. He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, which his doctors have had a lot of trouble stopping. It’s the bleeding that is the most problematic part. It could kill him,”

This past July, Michael was photographed being pushed around in a wheelchair (link) and just last week he was spotted stepping out of a van and needing assistance walking. Jackson is just fifty years old and despite his recent financial problems, he still holds the record for having 9 platinum singles (1 million in sales), longest stay by a non-soundtrack album at #1 (Thriller, 37 weeks), and has sold an astonishing 750+ million albums worldwide.

Love him or hate him for what he’s done outside of a recording studio, Michael Jackson is a legend. I can’t listen to songs like ‘Smooth Criminal’ or ‘Speed Demon‘ without putting on some dress shoes, doing the “Moonwalk”, and busting out the old falsetto for the chorus.

* UPDATE *

MICHAEL JACKSON HAS DIED.

Donruss is doing some good work!

With game-used relic cards being overproduced and around for over a decade, it’s no surprise many collectors have grown bored. One way card companies can revive the memorabilia card is by pairing it with a great design, rather than having the relic be the entire focus of the card.

This morning I found this Vincent Jackson autograph/game-used relic patch from 2009 Donruss Classics. Clearly, Donruss spent some time coming up with a quality design and it shows. Surprisingly, even though the card uses a sticker autograph, it manages to be incredibly subtle and well placed.

It should be noted that although Donruss flubbed their on-card autograph inserts, 2009 Donruss Classics is gearing up to be one of the better football releases of the year and that’s coming from a non-football collector and a blogger who is hated by Panini America AKA Donruss.

Farrah Fawcett reportedly near death

Farrah Fawcett, the iconic actress and sex symbol who has been battling Cancer for three years, is reportedly near death.

Fawcett, 62, was hospitalized last week but was expected to be released before “things changed”, according to the New York Daily News. Family and close friends were at her bedside on Wednesday night.

Farrah rose to fame thanks to the hit TV show, Charlie’s Angels. In 1977, Topps released an Angel’s set with lots of different cards of the beautiful blond vixen with many currently available through the secondary market.

There is currently an unopened wax box for over $200 on eBay.

* UPDATE *

Farrah Fawcett has passed away.

Has my dream card been tarnished?

By early 2007 it had been over a decade since my last pack of baseball cards. Not only had I gone cold turkey with collecting but after my childhood idol admitted to being a cheater (alongside his buddies), baseball died for me around 2002.

One fateful day at a Barnes & Noble I stumbled upon a Beckett Baseball magazine and found an advertisement for Co-Signers and was mesmerized. I knew autographs existed in the Hobby, although they were nearly impossible to pull in the early 90’s, but this card was something different.

To me, this card was perfect. Sure, the Topps sticker is loud and bright but so is the design. Along with home run hero, Alex Rodriguez, you have an autograph of legendary astronaut, Buzz Aldrin. What more could anyone possibly ask for? My love for collecting was restarted and within hours I was bustin’ a $120-dollar box of Co-Signers.

It’s now been two years and the card is on eBay for $50 dollars more than in 2008. The problem is that Topps has updated their stickers to a more subtle, clear version and Alex Rodriguez is now on Jose’s list of cheaters. I feel torn between what I once thought was amazing to a card I am not sure I even want anymore.

What do you guys think of this card?