hank Aaron mail auto

[JoeyF1981]

Has anyone had success receiving a auto direct from hank Aaron when sending him a letter? I recently sent him one last week and wanted to know if he's good at responding or if it was a waste of time

[danc]

You will get a preprint or nothing. Always been a terrible signer, and just did a rare public signing where prices started at 299.

[JoeyF1981]

Damn well its worth a shot

[djson1]

I doubt he signs through the mail, especially in the past 20 years. I sent him something in the mid 1980s....it took about a year to get it back and I think it was a secretarial.

[toyman55]

Originally Posted by danc

You will get a preprint or nothing. Always been a terrible signer, and just did a rare public signing where prices started at 299.

$299.00 for his autograph? WOW! I remember in the early 1980's when you could take your kid to a card show and for 5 bucks get a signed picture and have a conversation with the athlete. My son and I got to meet Duke Snider, Bob Feller, Maury Wills, Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Steve Sax, Muhammad Ali, among others and took pictures of it. Great times gone. I hear Mays charges for extra for anything other than his name and it is hard to read at that. Wish I had gone to more shows back when.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by toyman55

$299.00 for his autograph? WOW! I remember in the early 1980's when you could take your kid to a card show and for 5 bucks get a signed picture and have a conversation with the athlete. My son and I got to meet Duke Snider, Bob Feller, Maury Wills, Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Steve Sax, Muhammad Ali, among others and took pictures of it. Great times gone. I hear Mays charges for extra for anything other than his name and it is hard to read at that. Wish I had gone to more shows back when.

With a lot of these living athletes, there is such a disparity between what the autograph is "worth" in the market, and what is being asked for an in-person autograph at shows. That Aaron standard auto is probably only worth about $55-$75.

At the 2011 National, I was a little tempted to get an auto from Wade Boggs, who I loved watching when I was younger. I believe the price for an auto was $50 or $60. Funny enough, at the table right by the entrance to where you go to get autos, there was a dealer who had a really nice 1980s Boggs card signed and slabbed by PSA/DNA...for $10. I bought that one and moved on... (And later I learned that Boggs signs TTM for under $20 anyhow!!!)

Sorry for the thread drift...

Cheers,
Blair

[Exhibitman]

I am an Aaron fan/collector and I wouldn't pay $299 and up for a signature. I got mine quite a while ago at a show for under 10% of that:

[packs]

I was able to pick up a Steiner Aaron for under $100 off eBay. I also snagged this card for about $100. His material has really been going up in price lately though.

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by toyman55

$299.00 for his autograph? WOW! I remember in the early 1980's when you could take your kid to a card show and for 5 bucks get a signed picture and have a conversation with the athlete. My son and I got to meet Duke Snider, Bob Feller, Maury Wills, Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Steve Sax, Muhammad Ali, among others and took pictures of it. Great times gone. I hear Mays charges for extra for anything other than his name and it is hard to read at that. Wish I had gone to more shows back when.

Correct me if I am wrong... I think the business model for show promotors has changed over the past 25 years. From what I have been told (and this info may be incorrect), now a days the promotors jack up the prices for the in-person collector and try to recoup a large portion of there costs this way. They then can heavily discount on the wholesale/back room side to the other promotors out there and all of that money is straight up profit. So just like everything else in life, the average guy gets hosed and the promotors walks away like a bandit. Moral of the story: don't pay show prices as you can always find it cheaper somewhere else!

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by jimjim

Moral of the story: don't pay show prices as you can always find it cheaper somewhere else!

Show prices typically only make sense if you need someone added to a specific item or want the photo op. I don't see why anyone pays show prices for single signed balls or other generic items.

[djson1]

Originally Posted by Bosox Blair

... (And later I learned that Boggs signs TTM for under $20 anyhow!!!)

Side note: I once sent Boggs some cards in the mail to sign (this was probably in 1984-85) and he signed 2 of the 3 I sent, but he decided to keep the rookie card I sent him. It could be that whomever was helping him took the card, but either way, I remember feeling robbed by my favorite player at the time. Maybe it was a stupid thing to send a rookie card to get signed, but I thought I'd take the risk. So, my point may be: be careful what you send him (?).

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by djson1

Side note: I once sent Boggs some cards in the mail to sign (this was probably in 1984-85) and he signed 2 of the 3 I sent, but he decided to keep the rookie card I sent him. It could be that whomever was helping him took the card, but either way, I remember feeling robbed by my favorite player at the time. Maybe it was a stupid thing to send a rookie card to get signed, but I thought I'd take the risk. So, my point may be: be careful what you send him (?).

I know an actor who always keeps some of the photos that people send him to sign. He considers it a tax.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by packs

I was able to pick up a Steiner Aaron for under $100 off eBay. I also snagged this card for about $100. His material has really been going up in price lately though.

Interesting...I have seen A TON of slabbed Aaron autos that look identical to the "known secretarial" example in Ron K's book, including (IMO) the one shown on this '59 Fence Busters card.

One of the key giveaways seems to be open tops on the "A" letters in his last name. It seems to be that real Aarons pretty much always have closed "A" letters like the one Adam obtained in person and showed us in post #7 of this thread.

Am I wrong in this understanding?

Cheers,
Blair