The Frank Thomas Candy Bar (Retail)
Produced by Morley Candy Makers of Michigan

Okay, I don't know if you already read the "The Hunt" where I retell the story of how I finally got ahold of the charity version of the Frank Thomas Candy Bar. If you did, you'll remember that it was a rather hellish experience. <lol> ;-)

Honestly, it was an experience that I would never want to re-live. But, hey, I finally got the wrapper.

Or so I thought.

Keep in mind that I had stopped looking for an example because in my mind I already had one. Makes sense right? Why continue searching when I was, what we say in Hawaii, 'pau' or finished. Then, without even trying, I randomly happened upon an auction of Thomas collectibles. Among them was the Big Hurt Candy Bar wrapper seen above.

Holy Sh*t! --- that's what I said. No exaggeration.

From the picture I couldn't really see what I might be getting, but you could see 'something'. It wasn't clear, but it was there, hiding among a handful of Frank stuff. And based just on that scan I made a serious bid. If it turned out that I made a mistake, well, I would've looked like a complete ass. Because, no exaggeration, if I did place a bid, I'd be laying out a ton of cash for what amounts to a bunch of semi-collectible Frank stuff worth maybe ten bucks.

Now add this into the decision making process: The seller, similar to the guy I purchased the '02 Studio Private Signings Auto from, had a very questionable rating. In this case he had a 0. You read right - his rating was the big donut. A zero. He had never made a sale before and this Thomas lot was his very first auction. Throw on top of that: The seller wanted $50 plus another $25 in shipping costs. <shaking head> Typical of first-time sellers entering the big wide world of eBay to ask for a ton of money for a bunch of crap. Only this wasn't - at least to a fanatic fan.

Well, you can pretty much add it up for yourself - it was an iffy deal from every conceivable angle. But that picture, dangit. I kept going back that picture. <vbg> :-}

Actual scan from the auction

So I took a deep breath, rolled the dice, and placed a bid. I decided that, no matter what happened, I would be satisfied. Because I had, at the very least, given my best effort. No surprise - not only was I the winning bidder, I was the ONLY bidder. But I paid him prompty and waited.

3 weeks went by. (why is it always that way with the one thing you really want?)

I wrote to the seller several times - with no responses. Here I was, about to chuck the whole friggin' thing into the "I've-got-to-learn-my-lesson-one-of-these-days" pile, when suddenly I got a reply. He said he had taken the lot to UPS and was told the amount I paid wasn't enough to cover the postage/shipping --- so he wanted more money.

LIKE $25 WASN'T ENOUGH???

!@#$@!#$!!!!!

Okay, now, at this point I'm sure everyone reading this would've yelled out the famous cheer from the "College Of Fornicate U" and given him that very special hand gesture showing him that he was "No.1" on your list of favorite people. And I must've wrote and deleted about a half dozen replies along those lines, but .... every time ...I would go back to that picture.

Dangit.

So I sent him more money.

Hey, stop looking at me like that! It was only $8 more - I was already in the hole for seventy-five freaking clams!

Four more excruciating days went by. Then guess what? Are you looking at the scans? <g>

Was it worth it? To tell you the truth - no. I think I would've discovered another example eventually*. But I have to admit at being damn pleased at seeing this bad boy permanently crossed off my checklist. ;-)

*UPDATE: (9/23/05) I eventually did locate another example of this rare candy bar. In fact, this one was unopened and still contained the candy! Paid $30 to end the auction early. Dang thing was melted by the time it reached my doorstep, but I'm still awfully pleased! ;-)

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