For a long time, the COMC marketplace wasn't really on my card-buying radar. I knew it existed, and I browsed and bought from it on occasion, but it always seemed like I had to sort through a ton of overpriced garbage to get to anything of interest to me.
But then I bought an awesome autographed booklet card featuring two famous drag racing sisters, and I started looking around for some more drag racing cards to add to my collection. I found myself on COMC, browsing the Goodwin Champions listings.
There were relics and autos of all kinds on there, and many of them could be had for a dollar or two apiece. I could save them in my inventory for as long as I wanted to take advantage of combined shipping at a later date. Later on, I went into the MMA listings and sorted the autographed cards from lowest price to highest, and I found a ton of stuff that fit into my fighter collections, and with combined shipping it was all priced well below eBay. Maybe it wasn't a life-changing moment, but it was a collection-altering experience.
My main objective was to see if drag racer Erica Enders had any cardboard out there. I figured that if she did, it would be in Allen & Ginter or Goodwin Champions. I found that she had autographs and relics in 2016 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions. I picked up a base version of each type for my collection.
While I was at it, I couldn't help noticing some of the other cards on offer. I watched David Boudia and the rest of the divers in the 2016 Olympics, so that was enough for me to grab this nice on-card signature. He won a Silver and a Bronze in 2016, and took home a Gold and a Bronze in 2012.
I don't know a lot about Formula D drift racing, but Monster Energy and race cars are something I can always support. Also, I think I got this one for less than a dollar.
I have a decent-sized collection of Japanese bowling cards, and I thought I would add an American bowler to that collection. She's probably got the most legible signature of this bunch, and it's pretty cool how she rolls the 'f' in Stefanie down into the 'J' in Johnson.
The last cards I picked up in this batch from Goodwin were a relic and autograph of hammer thrower Amanda Bingson. That's a niche sport if there ever was one, and the price was right for me to pick these up.
Bingson just missed qualifying for the 2016 Olympic team after making the 2012 Olympics and not getting through the early rounds there. She should be in contention for a spot in the 2020 games.
That was a pretty fun romp through COMC's inventory, and it sparked several shopping trips over the course of a few months. It seems like you can get a lot of bang for your buck if you do a little searching. Most of the time I'd rather throw ten or twenty dollars in store credit onto my COMC account than go to retail and buy a hanger box or blaster. You can have a pretty fun shopping spree without a lot of cash, I don't know if COMC changed, or if I just wasn't searching properly before, but I like this new purchasing option.
