High Pennant Price -- Why??

[Simmons Nation]

Hello all,
I dabble a bit in pennants, but it is admittedly not my focus area. I primarily collect Philadelphia related memoribilia, so this pennant caught my eye on ebay this week because I haven't seen this variation before. That said, I threw in a bid and expected this to sell somewhere between $75-100... $200 tops. When I woke up this morning and looked at the price I was floored.

Does anyone have an explanation for why this particular variation is so valuable... or is this sale price just crazy?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1940s-50s-Philadelphia-Athletics-Pennant-28-3-4-x-12-3-4-Beautiful-Condition-/262265229537?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=nHymMWixUOaXSsWJOanEc1GZPpU%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[gnaz01]

2 bidders wanted it or perhaps, dare I say, shilled :)

[Leon]

2 bidders wanted it or perhaps, dare I say, shilled :)

I think it's more probable that 2 guys put in top all bid snipes (or what the under bidder thought was one).....and it cost the winner.

[1880nonsports]

by the bidding - not shilling.

[gnaz01]

Henry, I didn't look, was just trying to be funny....hope all is well.

Greg

[Duluth Eskimo]

That is a rare style pennant. I saw it and noticed it immediately as such, but would have expected that $200 range myself. The nice thing about this one and some of the others this person was auctioning is that the condition was pretty nice although most of the others are fairly common. $760 seems a little crazy to me too. Someone must be happy though. Good for them.

[ooo-ribay]

Some of you may have also seen the $150ish SF Giants pennant that just went for $590. If I had been the seller, I probably would have gotten 20 bucks for it!

[Darner]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was surprised by the price. I threw up a hundred dollar bid on it which I hoped but didn't really expect would win. It's a nice pennant but if this is where prices are going, I'm going to have to sit out for a while.

[mjkm90]

Exceptionally rare piece + Athletics collectors who tend to be advanced and willing to spend = high prices

I run into the same as a Cubs collector

[ooo-ribay]

Again, I think pieces like this are a lot more "worth the money" then a 1952 Mantle that could go for 100x the pennant price.

[mjkm90]

Again, I think pieces like this are a lot more "worth the money" then a 1952 Mantle that could go for 100x the pennant price.

+1

[Tigerden]

I understand advanced pennant collectors will pay a premium for a rarely found piece but I would think a ceiling bid of $400-500, at most for this style. It's really just a 40's era undated pennant with a generic player graphic albeit for a sought after team. I'd personally have a problem winning this pennant at the $760 price or at least would have to know I would never get that out of it if I were to resell it in the future. Maybe Mike Egnar's two pennant guides are a real driver in helping pennants realize high prices for pennants not be found in the books. Still a cool pennant.

[perezfan]

Agree- normally $450 or so would easily get this one. I was lucky to get same pennant (but with colored graphics) for $175 about 10 years ago. I also have the St. Louis Browns version with same graphic, but had to pay close to $300 for that one. I'd be happy to see a resurgence in pennant interest and subsequently pricing. As stated above, 100 times rarer than a Mickey Mantle Topps Card, and a real bargain by comparison :p

[Huysmans]

...and the shipping for this item to Canada was only a mere $208.60 Cdn. ($149.00 US)
What a deal!
Gotta love eBay's global shipping program!
To my American Friends that sell on eBay, please opt out of that program when listing.

Brent