vintage Ruth wire photos

[drc]

The photos posted at the start of this thread were original and/or vintage. If the others are like those, the poster doesn't need to get LOAs. However, if he wishes to consign them to some them for auction, I can understand that. If you have 30 original Ruth photos, a lot of good auction houses would be interested.

Over the years a lot of collectors have asked me about press photos on eBay. They're very interested in a particular one on eBay, but aren't photo collectors and don't know how you can tell if a photo is new or old, original or reprint. So I can understand how a PSA LOA can add $$ to final auction price.

Though I agree with Scott's points about if you're knowledgeable you don't have to pay extra for a LOA and can find hidden deals. And a lot of the knowledge required to identify press photos isn't rocket science, just having done your homework.

There are many areas of collecting I'm not knowledgeable about (I know, hard to believe), so I'm not suggesting I would never buy an item because it came with a third party opinion. If I was buying a Ming vase, I most definitely would like a third party opinion from an expert in that field.

I always use Ming vases as the example as they're expensive, rare and I nothing about them. For a long while I assumed Ming was the sound you they made when you taped them with your fingernail . . . But I'm going to get some books and by next year I'll be mocking all your ignorance about Ming vases.

[Shoeless Moe]

Ben, not to be a d-ck, but I'm confused on this thread you state "Go with Hank Yee", but in the other HYEE thread for pickups, you compliment people on getting them at great prices.

That kinda conflicts don't you think.

If peep are getting them at great prices not sure u'd want to go with HYEE, yes I know he gets lots of exposure, thus increasing the chance for a higher take, but if u are giving some dollars to Ebay, some to Paypal, some to PSA to grade/Encaps, and some to HYEE to list, seems like u be better off going with an auction house, so u don't have to go through PSA or sell them yourself on EBAY with BIN.

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Ben, not to be a d-ck, but I'm confused on this thread you state "Go with Hank Yee", but in the other HYEE thread for pickups, you compliment people on getting them at great prices.

That kinda conflicts don't you think.

If peep are getting them at great prices not sure u'd want to go with HYEE, yes I know he gets lots of exposure, thus increasing the chance for a higher take, but if u are giving some dollars to Ebay, some to Paypal, some to PSA to grade/Encaps, and some to HYEE to list, seems like u be better off going with an auction house, so u don't have to go through PSA or sell them yourself on EBAY with BIN.

I hope that I'm not stepping on Ben's toes with this response, but I think if you look at any major auction, be it auction house or individual, on eBay or otherwise, you can pick and choose and find high and low water marks for different items. Henry Yee's auctions are no different: there will always be some "good deals" had among the 1000+ lots offered. (I know of at least 2 instances where the very photo that I sold previously turned up in one of his auctions and wound up selling for less than I had gotten for it). The difference I think is that, if you averaged out all of those prices over the entire auction, in the category of sports photographs in particular you will see a much higher average than typically realized through any of the auction houses.

The difference between Yee and a major auction house in the category of photos is the attention to detail he gives with his descriptions, his knowledge of the subject matter, and his willingness to offer them as individuals or small groups with the same attention that most auction houses would reserve for their "key" photo offerings. Typically when you see photos offered through an auction house, you will see a few scattered individual photos that may or may not have very detailed descriptions, and then a handful of "lots" of photos with generalized semi-boilerplate descriptions that don't give a full (or often accurate) depiction of the photos included. In a group of 30 "vintage photos" you may see front scans of 5-10 of them, MAYBE a back scan of 1 or 2 (if you're lucky), and a generalized description giving a range of decades represented, the Hall of Famers appearing in them, and throwing around terms like "wire photo," "original," "Type 1," "vintage", etc with varying degrees of accuracy. How they can expect to get top dollar for a lot of photos and not show most of them is beyond me.

Don't get me wrong, I actually like it when auction houses fumble with their handling of large lots of photos like this as long as I'm on the buying end. That's where I like to pick them up to re-sell individually, because that's what I do. If I were consigning though and wanted to get the most bang for my commission buck, I would be much more likely to go with Henry. I don't know how many times I've said to myself (as I'm entering a bid with an auction house), "Man, I would be ticked if it were my collection being presented this way." I've never found myself saying that with Henry's offerings. More often with him it's, "Man, I would love to have that, but I can't afford to keep it and I would just lose money trying to flip it."

[drc]

Reminds me of when an eBay auction winner posted feedback for me that said "Excellent seller and low prices!" I thought "Thanks, but low prices wasn't my intent."

[glchen]

Scott, David, and Ben, especially, have helped me tremendously in regards to my recent foray into photos, so I really hope that Scott and Ben can get along. I will also put in a good word for Henry Yee. I've chatted with him, and he's really one of the nicest guys I've ever met in the hobby. And he's helped me also in learning more about photos.

You would have to ask Henry, but just because you consign w/ him, I don't think that means that you have to have your photos authenticated by PSA/DNA. If you have some lower value photos such as Ruth that are not in uniform, then he may be able to just put original photo in the ebay listing, but potential buyers could interpret as likely to be Type I. Only those higher value photos of Ruth in uniform would be worth full authentication by PSA/DNA. Obviously, I do not want to put words into Henry's mouth, so you would have to discuss w/ Henry the best way to sell your photos.

Since Henry's auctions are on ebay and start at 99cents with no reserve, there is always the chance that some photos will do exceptionally well, and some will between the cracks and not do so well. However, for photo auctions, if anyone will give your photos the best chance to have maximum value, it would be Henry's auctions, IMHO.

[drc]

...

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by glchen

You would have to ask Henry, but just because you consign w/ him, I don't think that means that you have to have your photos authenticated by PSA/DNA. If you have some lower value photos such as Ruth that are not in uniform, then he may be able to just put original photo in the ebay listing, but potential buyers could interpret as likely to be Type I. Only those higher value photos of Ruth in uniform would be worth full authentication by PSA/DNA. Obviously, I do not want to put words into Henry's mouth, so you would have to discuss w/ Henry the best way to sell your photos.

For those who don't know, Henry (along with Marshall Fogel) defined the Type classification system as it is currently used by PSA. He was stating photos to be Type 1, Type 2, etc. in his auction listings long before PSA started slabbing photos. He and Fogel are also the principals doing PSA's photo identification for them (though they may have other help at this point, others may chime in with more specific knowledge of the current set-up). Glancing through his most recent completed auction listings, you will see many in which he gives all the same details that would appear on a PSA flip or LOA, but without evidence of any paid authentication, so I certainly do not think he requires the photos to be slabbed or stickered by PSA in order to sell them.

[billyb]

Wow,
I had two day travel on my vacation and viewing my responses for first time and I am sorry if I had started anything. After reviewing these responses and really trying to understand each others views, I have learned one thing for sure. Even though there are different opinions, I know that I have got responses from some of the best collectors in the business. Nobody twisted your arms to give your views, you all gave me information without asking for anything in return. I believe, no I know, I am getting the very best advice from a group of professional collectors. Professionals who are passionate about the business of collecting sports artifacts. Sure money in the tools that keeps you all going in your chosen profession/hobby. But if money was not the key, I bet you all would still be trading and selling for the enjoyment.
So I hope this thread did not start any bad blood between anyone, You all are too experienced, and professional to at least not respect each other a little. You all have earned that respect, I know you have that respect from me.

Billyb