Best Way to Sell Single Signed Ruth?

[btcarfagno]

Love your dad's ball Doug. Never thought I would say that phrase either.

Babe Ruth signed baseballs are the ultimate example of supply and demand. The supply of authentic examples seems never ending. The man signed thousands of balls per year for the last 20+ years of his life. Demand is equally as great, and average or better examples (your ball included) have been going up in price recently along with most other vintage Ruth collectibles.

I did a search at the Heritage.com website. They have auctioned off almost 100 Babe Ruth single signed balls over the past 18 months. If I had to venture a guess, your ball would go for somewhere in the $7,000 ballpark give or take. I have already taken out the buyers premium from that number...it is important to realize that most auction houses show the number that the bidder actually takes out of his/her pocket to pay for the item, which includes a buyers premium of 15-20% usually. So, if the auction site says that a similar ball sold for $8,000, the actual hammer price would have been around $6,667. Then if there is a sellers premium of, say, 10%, that $6,667 becomes more like $6,000. So the auction house receives $8,000 and the seller gets $6,000. If you are able to work the percentages down at all it is to your benefit to do so, but the auction house will still take a healthy cut of whatever the winning bidder actually pays for the item.

You may want to offer the piece on the BST here on net54. The likely buyer pay price for the ball at an auction house would be $8,000-8,500. Your take home would be (depending on your negotiating skills) $6,000-6,700. Thus, if you offer the ball here on net54 and take anywhere north of $7,000 you are likely making a better decision than the auction route.

Of course, if two bidders really want this particular ball, it could go to $10,000 or a bit more at auction. Then again, if only one person is willing to go to $6,000, then you get screwed. Understand, however, that Ruth signed baseballs are prevalent, and thus the market for them is somewhat stable and predictable. It isn't like two bidders will feel as though their next opportunity to get one at auction will be several years from now. There will likely be a similar one available within the next few weeks at one auction or another.

Tom C