Three Bryce Harper Pins For The Price Of One – Nobody Pays Attention!

In March I ordered a Bryce Harper Philadelphia Phillies jersey pin for my collection.  It came from the official Phillies shop, and looked just like this on the item page.

When the pin arrived, something was missing.  No facsimile signature.  I thought to myself, no big deal.  Perhaps between the time I ordered it and the time it shipped they decided not to include the facsimile signature.  The image on the item page was a mock-up anyway, and not an actual image of a pin.

But then I saw this pin popup on eBay.  Its one with a facsimile signature.

I contacted the Fanatics Phillies shop.  Within the chat window I questioned as to what happened to the advertised pin with the facsimile signature.  Why would you advertise a pin with the facsimile signature, and then send one without it?  Clearly they have pins containing the signature.  Without any response I was quickly cut-off from chatting with the customer service representative.

A few moments later, I received an e-mail from them saying they plan to fix my order.  After a couple of days, look what showed up.  A fixed order in my book would mean receiving a pin with the facsimile signature.  Instead, they sent the same exact pin.  No signature.

My next move was to contact the pin’s manufacturer – WinCraft.  On the WinCraft website they show the pin with the facsimile signature just like the Fanatics Phillies shop.  In fact, it’s item #94232019.

In talking with their customer service representative I was told they were going to send me a new pin.  I had a good feeling about this one.  But then the package arrived and it turned out to be the same pin again.

On the bright side I ended up with three pins for the price of one.  That wasn’t really my goal.  Why did they make two versions of this pin?  How and where do you get the pin with the facsimile signature?  Even though the pin with the facsimile signature is advertised, it certainly isn’t the one you get.  The Fanatics Phillies shop no longer has them listed for sale.  Nobody seems to be paying any attention!!!

My best guess is that the pin containing the facsimile signature was made only available in-person somewhere like Citizens Bank Park.  They just chose to use the same image for online sales.  A little misleading if you ask me.

Card of the Day: 2014 Upper Deck SP Authentic Sign of the Times Three Jack Nicklaus/Arnold Palmer/Gary Player

TeenyMates Back Story + 3 Pack Break

Many years ago, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio was in dire need of assistance.  They sent out a worldwide notice seeking thirty-two interns that could potentially come work for them at their giant football mecca.  Given the down turn in the country’s economy, they received thousands of resumes from freshly graduated students just looking for any type of experience.  After a strenuous interview process, the Hall of Fame finally narrowed it down to thirty-two.

On the first day of orientation, the eager interns all entered the conference room.  Some of them were shy and kept to themselves while others acted as if they just won a million bucks thinking they were on the top of the world.  It was clearly a diverse group of individuals.  Moments later they were met by their new boss, Jack Jurevicius.  After going through the initial orientation stuff, the thirty-two interns received a tour of the building.  Passing the Jim Thorpe statue downstairs they made their way up the winding ramp to the room above.  The building was filled with thousands of football artifacts once used by some of the greatest athletes to ever live.  Once the tour was over, they all were directed to the office area.  Before splitting up into their individual work teams, Mr. Jurevicius wanted to make one thing clear.  He pointed to a door that had the letters “RTDNER” on it.  “Nobody is to ever enter that room.” he said.  Everyone agreed to leave it go.

Flash forward a few months.  One stormy night, all the interns were working late.  The Hall of Fame had acquired a large amount of items that needed to be categorized and put on display.  Feeling overly confident they all agreed upon entering the “RTDNER” room.  Their curiosity got the best of them.  The room was basically empty, except for one thing.  Located in the center, was a football.  Not just any football, but the very first football ever made.  It was in terrible condition.  The outside was beat, and the stitches were coming loose.  They immediately picked it up and began to pass it around.  All of a sudden there was a flash of light that blinded them all.  When their vision returned, they had changed.

Everything around them was so big.  The football they had been inspecting was the size of a boulder and magically found its way back to the center of them room.  They had shrunk.  Looking up they saw a ghostly figure hovering over.  The figure described itself as the original owner of the football.  Before passing away, he cursed the ball and anyone that touches it.  “From now on, you thirty-two will be known as TeenyMates.  In time you will realize that you have been given extraordinary football skills, but you will never be recognized for your actions.” he said.  Looking around at one another, they said “What actions?”  “Each one of you will be designated to a specific team.  Your job is to help regular players make those incredible plays that don’t seem possible.  Don’t let your size discourage you.” the figure stated.

Famous games/plays TeenyMates took part in:

• The Immaculate Reception – 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff Game
• The Greatest Game Ever Played – 1958 NFL Championship Game
• The Ice Bowl – 1967 NFL Championship Game
• David Tyree’s helmet catch in Super Bowl XLII
• The Catch – 1982 NFC Championship

Remember, just because you didn’t see them, doesn’t mean they weren’t there.

P.S.

RTDNER stands for – Relics That Do Not Exist Room

I hope you all enjoyed the back story Sports Card Info gave to TeenyMates.  They sent over (3) packs to open.  Here is what I pulled:

As you can see, they are very tiny.  They all have a hole on the bottom, which I could easily see kids squeezing them onto the tops of their pens/pencils.  Be sure to look for the three rare figures – Houston Oilers, Glow-In-The-Dark, and Gold.

Sports Card Info will be holding (3) separate contests starting this weekend.  Each winner will receive (3) sealed packs of TeenyMates.