Tom Brady private signing prices - WOW!
 

I know there have been some recent discussions about high prices for autograph signings, but have there been any higher prices than those for this upcoming Tom Brady private signing?

$600 - $750 for an autograph depending on the item - that's just insane!!

https://tristarproductions.3dcartsto...ng_c_1136.html

What an a-hole.

that would be an additional $169 for inscriptions less than 20 letters

A few months ago Jordan had a private signing and it started at $1,200.00 for small items and up $1,800.00 for a jersey or ball.....INSANE

So, according to Tri Star, 10 tom Brady signed pictures are equal in "value" to a decent Babe Ruth single signed baseball.
SICK.
Talk about price gouging.
I guess Brady's wife is tired of prancing down the runway.

Let us see who here can come up with the funniest inscription on a Tom Brady autograph item.
Remember IT HAS TO BE 12 LETTERS OR LESS, we don't want Mr Brady to get writers cramp from writing 13 or 14 letters.

Doesnt she make about 10x what he does? SICK

My insciption would be:

Pee Wee Herman

Exactly 12 letters.

not to be a contrarian, but i see in-person squiggly autographs (from golf appearances) of gretzky rookie card selling for 1k+ and jordan signed rookie with price tags at 4k+...so somebody is making money off their autographs. i'm fine with athletes charging whatever amount they want, it's up to me whether i'm gonna pay for it.

I see your point but don't you think sports fans have given athletes enough? Michael Jordan and Tom Brady might be living anonymous lives making minimum wage somewhere rather than the immortal sports legends fans have allowed them to become. Shouldn't you, I don't know, give back and make yourself more accessible? If you want to have a private signing so you don't have to be surrounded by a crowd I completely understand. If you're Michael Jordan with infinite endorsements, why do you need another $1,200 to write your name? All we're asking athletes to do is be reasonable.

I feel like athletes have this mentality that they're the talented ones so of course they're entitled to the money and fame and fans are entitled to nothing but entertainment. But the worlds most talented ping pong player isn't making anything. The reason is because he doesn't have any fans. Maybe we are important after all.

P Manning is #1

i'm not speaking for brady...but jordan signs for free every year at his golf charity event, and all his friends like gretzky, barkley, lemieux, etc. they do give back, and these "fans" would hound them at every hole and put out 50 cards/jersey/8x10s/balls for them to sign...then turn around and submit the stuff to psa/dna and then up on ebay. some athletes are going as far as not signing their rookie cards anymore, and i don't blame them.

as far as i'm concerned they don't owe the fans anything. they're the very best at what they do, they make their bosses alot of money and got paid for that service. and nobody turns down money, if there's a demand for your signature at $1000, why should you settle for $100 and leave money on the table? we're not communist russia.

I often use this type of comparative perspective myself. Do I get a common as dirt Derek Jeter signature through a Steiner signing or use the same amount of cash to buy two Harry Trumans, a Ronald Reagan or an Ed White?

No brainer.

I don't understand how you can say athletes don't owe fans anything. Their careers are predicated on fans being at the games to allow them to play. Plus their whole attitude is ignorant. The more you sign, the less your signature is worth. Remember when ball players used to thank fans writing them letters for remembering them? Do you think they felt like they didn't owe the fans anything?

Supply and demand, simple as that. Last time I looked, that's how things worked in this country. Nobody's holding a gun to the head of those who line up to pay. I'm a Democrat, but it bothered me that Romney go so much grief just for figuring out how to make a lot of money legally. I was much more interested in what he had done with it, and how much taxes he had paid on it. I hope Brady and other rich people do wonderful things with their fortunes to help people that are suffering, but they're under no obligation to. And if I'm Brady or Jordan, and I learn that dealers are taking my $200 autographs and selling them for $500, then I'm immediately raising it to $500. How stupid would I be not to?

You have millions of dollars. Why are you concerned with someone making $300 one time?

+1

This is why forgers make money. No one out there can afford to pay that kind of price.:mad:

For that price, Gisele better give me a handy...And he should acknowledge this activity in the inscription..

I know that's extremely low brow. But that price seems insane...

They owe the fans everything. Where do you suppose, in the final analysis , that money they earn for themselves and their bosses comes from?

I agree completely...Realistically speaking, the players essentially work for the fans, via the owners..

Tom Brady
 

My buddy just got a couple of these photos signed up...I wonder if Tom would sign them.

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...pictureid=8334

You could have Brady sign it "I'm not mad bro".

Yeah

"No, no, not really. Have you met my wife?"

The dumb hipsters that marched on Wall Street should do a march on Foxborough.

Occupy Gilette

sports nowaday is a business, you can distill it down to players/fans relationship but it's not that simple. you don't pay for that seat, someone else will....or they move to another city if enough fans don't show up. does bill gates owe me anything because i've supported his crappy OS the last 20 years? will bill clinton drop his 6fig appearance fee to talk at my school because we californians supported him?

does brady owe the "fans" who heckle his wife after a bad game? and he does sign plenty for fans who show up when he make appearances (he does choose to usually sign the cheapest items). it does come down to supply and demand. yes the $600+ is extremely ridiculous. i would never pay that, but there are people out there willing to apparently. no big thing. if collectors/investors out there are willing to shell out 10k for a stephen strasburg or mike trout refractor, good for them!

Every cent--every single one--a pro athlete makes comes directly or indirectly from the fans. Period.

Nuff Ced.

you can say that about anything: la lakers, ne patriots, samsung, sony, down to my mom's restaurant...doesn't mean she gotta babysit for her favorite customer.

and we're losing sight of the main argument, tom brady and his people can charge whatever amount they want. and we can decide if we want to pay that amount. the market will correct itself.

That's true.

Doesn't mean he ain't one hell of a pig, though.

I'd prefer a

"Nah Son"
T-- B------

That's pretty much what I'd be paying for anyway.

"yep we cheated"

Tom Brady

I am 9-4 vs Gomer

"ripped u off"
"thanks 4 the $"
"I do a model"

Excellent post, David! :p

Same reason you don't work for 2/5 of what you can make.

JimStinson
 

Thats funny ! Reminds me of the old card show days and I am standing at a card dealers table looking in his display case and he's got a Jose Canseco card priced at $75.00 and right next to it is a beautiful Tobacco card of Chief Bender for the same price , I asked him why would they be priced the same even though the Bender card is almost 100 years old and he just shrugged ...I dunno

So now fast forward 2012.....................I can get a Tom Brady autograph for $750.00 or a Jackie Robinson for the same price....mmmmm, the more things change the more they stay the same :)
______________________________
Buying and Selling Vintage autographs for over three decades
19th Century and dead ball era autographs my specialty
jim@stinsonsports.com

Are you trying to attempt to find rational thinking in this offering of Tom Brady's/Tristar? :D

"U Like My Uggs"

I don't know what you're getting at. You're talking about millionaires looking at memorabilia sales as taking money out of their pocket, I think? Fans put the money in their pocket in the first place. The old argument rings true either way. The more you sign, the less your signature is worth. Then no one will be making anything and balance is restored, like it once was.

And if you add personalization at $229 you devalue the piece to the point where you almost cannot sell it. And you are screwed if your name is a long one because then his salutation will consist of "Hi Harold Steingrubber."
Is TriStar actually gonna pay someone to count the letters in this BS thing?

JimStinson
 

There is NOTHING rational in it all all, its a multi millionaire who's finally said yes to signing autographs for awhile and then ...opps the price is too high.
Let me suggest asking for autographs from people that have made a REAL contribution to the world like NOBEL PRIZE winners etc. Most of them never get autograph requests and are glad to sign for free. If you absolutely , positively HAVE to have the autograph of this guy..Pony up and PAY it , otherwise change the CHANNEL

This is a BUSINESS for these guys. What business prices its product at less than it thinks the market will bear? What's so hard to understand about that? The "balance" you're looking for is already there. Those who want to pay his price will do so, those who don't won't.

An autograph for a fan should not be "a product." It should be a little "thank you for making my life so wonderful."

As it once was.

As far as I'm concerned, any player who sells his autograph for anything other than charity can go f#*k himself.

JimStinson
 

The players "Obligation" is to deliver touchdown passes....He has no obligation to kiss anyones arse or to produce free autographs on demand. As a "fan" if you would like something for "free" send a letter to "COORS" or Budweiser or whomever sponsers the game and tell them since you like their product you DESERVE a free sample .....and if you don;t like their answer CHANGE TEAMS or stop watching...simple stuff.
If you don;t watch the Patriots they would not be able to pay him and then he would be standing by the side of the road with a sign that reads "WILL THROW TOUCHDOWN PASSES FOR FOOD".....come on man :)

You "come on man," Jim. An autograph should not be--and for most of the time that people have collected autographs wasn't--a "product." It was given away gratis for various reasons--a thank you, or perhaps it just made the giver happy to make a fan--most often a child--happy.

Perhaps you have lost sight of where most of the autographs you sell originally came from.

(If all those old-time ballplayers and boxers only sold their autographs, there wouldn't be enough "stock" in existence today for you to make a living. Be glad they never considered autographs "product.")

JimStinson
 

My FRIEND...when I did private signings I ALWAYS paid the person to sign.. Always. I did not tell them they owed it to their fans :)
In fact I offered Actor MARLON BRANDO ........ONE MILLION , YES ONE MILLION dollars to do a private signing and he refused. Not an idle offer was done through an attorney and all that and he said NO......
_____________________
Buying and selling vintage autographs for over three decades
19th century and dead ball era my specialty
jim@stinsonsports.com

Jim,

Don't give into the David's rants. Just ignore him like you would the homeless man at the urinal beside you.

If you make eye contact, he'll think it's okay to engage you.

That's fine, Jim. (My friend, too.) But I would argue that a good portion of your income comes from the sale of the autographs of athletes, actors, and historical persons who NEVER sold an autograph, never held a private signing, and were probably dead before you were born.

Instead of focusing on autographs, why don't we ask players to play for a lot less (say a max of $100,000 a year) so the ticket prices could be a lot lower? That would strike most people as absurd, wouldn't it? It's the same for autographs, endorsements, and all the other ways players make money. Why should they take less than the market will give them? It doesn't make any sense. And when autographs were free, how many fans had a chance to get one? Now all you have to do is fork over the price, and you can meet your guy and then frame that baby and put it on your office wall for you and everyone else to enjoy. I'm just not getting the resistance here. Every show I do, I see fans lining up excitedly to get their favorites' autograph. Most of them seem absolutely thrilled to be able to do so, and they've paid it so clearly they're OK with the cost to be able to do that. I sure wish my plumber would go back to the good old days and take care of my problems for $10 an hour. Or how about a free unclogging once in a while? He's done really well by me and his other customers. Why won't he just give something back to us for all that? The fact is he doesn't owe me anything, and neither does Tom Brady.

Why don't you mind your own business? For your information, I've been a long-time customer of Jim's, and would consider him a friend. (As I hope he does, me.)
Friends can argue--happens all the time.
(Although it would be a lot more fun if we were face-to-face over a pizza and a few beers.)

Quite a few, I'd wager based on the evidence--the surviving numbers. What percentage of the autographs given to kids--for free, so that they never were assigned a monetary value--have survived? I don't know, of course, but based on the numbers of baseball cards that have survived, it ain't all that great.
And, in those days, if you weren't able to meet a player before or after a game, you could always write to his home. Almost all were happy to oblige.

JimStinson
 

David yes you ARE a friend and along time customer ....and I appreciate your opinion BUT in order for things to be as we wish they were so ...we would need a "TIME MACHINE" which to my knowlege neither one of us owns
Cheers
JIM STINSON SPORTS

True enough, Jim. But I do my best to live in that past--at least as far as my collecting is concerned. I don't collect contemporary autographs. In my mind, I'm still that kid hanging outside the player's entrance at Yankee Stadium after a game, and writing to players--and deceased players' wives--after coming home from the game. :)

JimStinson
 

me 2 ....but it ain;t so anymore

Out of curiousity, what were the sources for addresses "back in the day"?

Mike

I know Jack Smalling has been producing address lists for a VERY VERY long time.

A friend of mine back then in the Bronx--and the guy who piqued my interest in collecting vintage material--was Harvey Meiselman. I got all my addresses from him.
He's producing--and selling--address lists to this day.

http://www.sportsaddresslists.com/

I used Meiselman's list as well, FWIW

David A- you are living in the perfect dream world, my friend (too :)). Many of us wish it was the way it used to be such as on Leave it to Beaver or Mayberry RFD.

The monetizing of the world is the way it is today. I don't like some things, like professional sports today, so I rarely engage in watching or anything else. When I do it's on TV and even though Neilson ratings might help them it doesn't hurt me (financially). I vote with my pocketbook. As long as there are long lines to pay enormous prices for autographs they will continue. If no one is in line for Brady's signature then he wouldn't be able to do it. It doesn't bother me what other people spend their money on as long as it's not hurting me personally, and it isn't. More power to the buyers and sellers. It's America :). I think we all wish a lot of things were different.

To paraphrase you from another thread,

"Guess what, David? It ain't your father's America no more.

Get used to it."


Sorry, couldn't resist. :D

You have a Neilson box?

A Nelson box....otherwise, I stand by my Neilson comment :)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rate-Vintage...item4ab69e32fc



.

You got me there, Steve. Touche.

I've been in the hobby for thirty years and a sport's fan for a lot longer than that, and I have to say I have never ever understood why anyone wants to stand in line to pay an athlete for his autograph. It just baffles me to no end. Added to that, many fans stand in long lines and pay very high prices to be insulted by some of the surly athletes who don't even give a crap about those fans. How many horror stories have we heard about Willie Mays's rudeness, or Frank Robinson's, or so many others who won't even give their fans the courtesy of some eye contact? I mean where is one's self respect? Are there really fans willing to be pay big bucks to be abused by these ungrateful athletes?

How much do I think a Tom Brady autograph should sell for? Around zero, give or take. I've gotten exactly one in person autograph my entire life. It was Joe DiMaggio's, he was signing at the Bowery Savings Bank in Brooklyn, there was no line, and he didn't charge anything for it. He even chatted briefly and cordially with me. And that I felt was a fair exchange.

I understand paying money for an autograph for something that is decades or centuries old, those are collectibles that have been saved and have stood the test of time. But walking up to somebody and paying him to sign something in a face to face meeting? Not as long as I live and breath.

Barry

One of the great joys of Class A baseball here is the players' signing after the games--for free, naturally. The vast majority of the kids don't distinguish between a major league prospect and a fill-in player. Whether this leads to the players' charging at the MLB level, I don't know

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...07368131_n.jpg

absolutely agree!!!!

Agreed Max. That's the fun part of it, and something that I kid will remember for a long time.

eh, why pay that price for Tom Brady when gridironlegends has a never ending supply of Brady's and other stars like Bradshaw, Montana, Rice, Marino, just about any big name star you could want at a fraction of the price.

In principal, I agree with just about everything everybody's said in this thread. I've never paid for an autograph, and doubt I ever will. And yes, the price for Brady is just plain nuts. BUT, I also know you are fighting a long-lost cause. Want to understand why these many thousands of fans stand in line to pay for someone's autograph? Ask them, I'm sure they'll be happy to explain it to you. And while you're at it, ask them what they think about those of us who pay huge amounts of money for the old stuff, for players whom we never followed or even ever saw, who were long-gone before we were born. Most of them will say we're out of our minds. I don't know why people fork over hard-earned cash for all the crap movies they're making these days, either, but I don't think they're stupid or crazy for doing so. They like them, that's all, and that's the way it goes. Same could be said for all kinds of other ways people spend their money and time that's not my cup of tea. You'll never see me in line for Brady or anybody else's autograph, but what do I care about those who are? To each his own.

I think part of what is lost in this, is that all of those times in our youth, waiting in line for a free autograph, we never realized that they were only free to us(not counting charity functions or randomly at games). The players were still getting paid an appearance fee by the promoters and whatnot to sign for us. Now, those appearance fees have gotten outrageous, to the point where there is no choice but to directly pass the cost down to us.. It's transformed these appearances from a promotional tool, to a profitable business in it's own right. Not only for the player, but whoever is arranging the appearance as well. Basically, too many hands in the cookie jar..

My main issue is that the profitability of these appearances, has led the players to avoid signing at games for fear of driving down their own prices at these appearances. They've basically alienated themselves from anyone who isn't directly paying them for contact..

You would like me to mind my own business? Take it to a PM.

Perhaps what you should have done in the first place.

JimStinson
 

what is a "PM" ? this entire thread is summed up here in 3 seconds ..lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JFfN5pKzFU

JimStinson
 

Sorry but can't resist as I am a lifelong Dolphins fan........SEPERATED AT BIRTH

I dont think the promoter sets the price as much as the athlete and their appearance fee. I used to go to SF for the big shows and was able to get Dimaggio for $175. At the time that price was unbelievable but I wouldnt have run into him any other way. Bradys fee is probably near 100 grand for a few hours. Why would Jeter and ARod sit at a show and sign? They are set for life because of their ball skills. Players like Feller would plan his vacations around autograph shows and pay for his trips by signing along his vacation route. $5 for a legend was pretty good. Appearance fees for the old guys who never made the big bucks during their careers are not that high so the promoters can keep the prices down on them. Some of the old guys are now starting to charge TTM because as soon as they sign, it hits ebay and the players want a part or the action.

Mike Trout is charging $179.....

I have no problem paying a reasonable fee for the convenience of getting a celebrity to sign something for me.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...size/Aaron.jpg

I'm a businessman too, I understand the concept of fee for service. I don't work for free [on purpose; sometimes the client doesn't pay] but when prices soar to the point where the item becomes cost-prohibitive I am out of there. I 100% agree about the surly and mean signers. If the experience sucks that bad for them, they should just stay home. No one is forcing a Frank Robinson or Willie Mays to sign so why be a dick about it.

I can't get too excited over the money that athletes charge for autographs.
To me, all they owe fans is their best performance on the field.

Having said that, if they are going to sign, I would expect them to be friendly and cordial as I would anyone else I might happen to meet.

JimStinson
 

Well said however "FRIENDLY & CORDIAL" is $50.00 extra ..:)
__________________________________
Buying and Selling Vintage autographs for over three decades
19th century and dead ball era baseball my specialty
jim@stinsonsports.com

As long as there are sheep, the shearing will continue.