As a child, I used to collect NBA basketball trading cards. I started in 1992 (during the rookie season of Shaq O'Neal) and ever since I would set aside a good portion of my baon in order to buy a pack or two at the end of the week. Collecting these pieces of cardboard was such a passion that I would oftentimes dream of filling up an album with rare $100+ cards of Shaq, MJ, Penny and all the other b-ball demigods.
After the NBA lockout, though, in 1998, the international hobby took a complete nosedive. The Philippines got hit real hard by the sudden lost of interest. Hobby shops closed down, trading became scrace, and individual packs became too expensive for a 15-year old high school kid. for practical reasons, I had to let go of my hobby, and with it, my simple childhood dream.
Then came eBay.ph.
I learned about the site in 2005, just after landing a tutoring job and a slot into the UP College of Law. The stresses of work and law school took such a toll on me that I needed an escape. Having no vice unlike most other law students, I sought refuge in my old hobby of card collecting. Since I no longer had knowledge of hobby shop locations or trading sessions (all the old spots had ceased to exist), I had to use the most practical tool available: the internet.
eBay.ph offered tons of "hard-to-find" cards at dirt-cheap prices. Due to this wonderful site, my childhood dream was gradually turning into reality as I started buying all the stuff my budget would allow. Through the site, I also found a small online community with members who shared the same passion for the hobby as I did.
Today, my collection's grown to over a thousand cards valued at roughly P400,000.00 (book value). I have autographs, memorabilia, rookie cards, sets and more. Thanks to the internet and eBay.ph, a childhood dream has been fulfilled.
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