Before And After.......Matt Garza

Monumental events in baseball tend to smile on fortunate (or in most cases, opportunistic) eBay sellers who happen to have cards of the player involved listed.  Immediate price spikes have occurred this season following Jason Heyward introducing himself to the big leagues w/ an Opening Day moon shot, the seemingly endless stream of no-hitters, and the now infamous perfect game that wasn't featuring Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers.  The high end cards (autos, rookies, game used, graded) tend to bring the most immediate dividends. 

The latest temporary beneficiary of the "monumental events" phenomenon on eBay are those who hold Matt Garza cards.  Ten days ago, when Garza was merely a pretty good pitcher on a very good Rays staff, a 2005 Bowman Chrome Refractor Auto Rookie w/ a PSA Grade 10 could be had for $38.87 plus shipping.  Last night, about an hour after he became the first Rays pitcher to pitch a no-hitter, it wasn't quite as cheap.  About a 157% increase to be exact. 

eBay proves time and again that despite of the drastic changes in many of our lifestyles as a result of a prolonged economic downturn, impulse buyers are still out there when history occurs.  They're also willing to pay a premium to satisfy those impulses.  With that in mind, collectors like us shouldn't hesitate to strike while the iron's hot!!