When building a relationship helps! Ebay-style

When buying online I try to approach it the same way as buying in person. I have places where I always go first and I try and talk to them on a personal level and often it leads to rewards. It turns out that this is equally true when it comes to online shopping. I have one dealer in Quebec who clearly does this job on the side but is still big enough to offer a big variety of cards. 

I noticed a while back he had a strange assortment of Devils autos and all of them looked very legit and actually I do trust him enough now to not really question authenticity anyway, but the scientist in my still wants proof occasionally so I will still verify most of them anyway on my own. However, the prices even though they were decent, didn't entice me enough because of the shipping costs. Most of the players are interesting to me because they are Devils, but not at the cost it would have been to buy them all. As time when by, the were reposted and again didn't sell. So I decided to contact him about the 4 autos in question and see if he would just do a flat price including shipping. He considered my proposal, and came back 50 cents higher which wasn't a deal-breaker for me so I said sure! The final sale price for 4 autos....$5.50!

Little did I know, I was in for a little surprise, here they are: 

87-88 Topps Alain Chevrier

 Ah Chevy.... Didn't last very long in NJ or anywhere for that matter. A good goalie, just found himself on terrible teams. I have the 87-88 OPC set, so it is nice getting his auto and getting his auto on a Topps card. The auto is very nice and clean with blue sharpie.

87-88 Topps Bob Sauve

 The other goalie I got was of Vezina winner Bob Sauve. Bob was a great goalie who stole many games throughout his career. Unfortunately for Bob he joined one of the worst teams in the NHL to finish his career out so I never got a chance to see what he could really do. His .831 save percentage in his final season was probably the reason he went into retirement, but the amazing 2.36 gaa in 79-80 was totally the reason why he can say he has a Vezina!

88-89 Topps Pat Verbeek

Totally the gem of the lot of 4 and the reason why I contacted him! The signature is unique to say the least, and I love the 16 inside the P. Do I love the auto as a whole, not too sure about that but I am happy to have a Verbeek Devils auto that is for sure! I liked him during his NJ days and was very sad to see him leave! Pat is the only NHLer to have 500 goals and 2500 PIMs and despite all his skill, he never got his name on Stanley's mug he did win one cup towards the end of his career in 1999 with the Dallas Stars.

88-89 Topps Joe Cirella

Joe is a player that I remember briefly as a Devil, but more during his time in Quebec and other stops. However, he was a huge player for the Devils during their early years and served as a great example for some young impressionable D like Ken Daneyko and Bruce Driver. Cool auto in blue sharpie and the number 2 caps it off at the bottom. 

Well that was the end of what I was expecting, but lo and behold a nice bonus appeared in my parcel!

88-89 Topps Mark Johnson

Wow! First off, when I became a Devils fan, I had two players I really liked and they were John MacLean and Mark Johnson. Mark didn't continue his NHL career after 1990 so I became a MacLean and Guerin fan before MacLean left. Johnson may be best remembered for the Miracle on Ice, but I will always remember him for the amazing post-season he had in 88 when the Devils were within one game of the Stanley Cup final and he scored 10 goals during that run.

So what I got for my 5.50 was 5 autos instead of 4, all Devils and they were all in great shape too. I wrote the seller letting him know I really appreciated the gesture and I will continue to check them out for awesome deals in the future too.