Livvy Dunne should have driven harder bargain with Paul Skenes card at Fanatics Fest

From the moment he was draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 1 overall, Paul Skenes became one of the most marketable players in baseball. Most of that has been due to the combination of his dominance in college, his draft position, and his rapid ascension to being one of the absolute best pitchers in MLB. However, it hasn't hurt that his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, may be one of the most marketable figures in sports period, and she has not shied away from capitalizing on their relationship - including at Fanatics Fest last weekend.

For those not in the "know", Skenes is an incredibly hot commodity in the sports card collecting world. He has the type of talent that could end up with him in the Hall of Fame, and with his rookie cards coming out last year, most collectors are actively pursuing them while the getting is good.

Well, Topps and Fanatics decided to try and take advantage of the craze by filming Dunne going to a vendor at Fanatics Fest to negotiate buying a pretty big Skenes rookie card.

Honestly? She could've gone harder.

Livvy Dunne needs to work on her negotiating skills (and acting) if she is going to collect Paul Skenes' Pirates cards

First, this is a very solid choice in terms of cards to go after. These graded Bowman Anime cards are highly sought after, and red refractors (which are almost always numbered to 5 in Topps products) are super tough to come by. A+ for the choice. This was also very, very obviously staged, with both Dunne and this vendor needing some acting classes if this is going to be a regular thing. At least they got the price of the previously sold one right (well, $2,188 on eBay, but close enough).

That said, Dunne needs to up her negotiating game here. You just can't let a vendor bully you with "is he going to be a Hall of Famer" into paying almost 30% over comps. In fairness to Dunne, she could be playing the long game here, as buying Skenes' rookies up at inflated prices could drive the prices up across the board and lead to a nice windfall. It also probably didn't hurt at home that she was so willing to consider Skenes a future Hall of Famer.

Was this whole thing pretty contrived and a little cringe? Absolutely. However, there is no denying the craze that Skenes has caused in the collecting world and, with Dunne's help, it might get even crazier as more casual fans get involved.

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