1994 National Autograph Price List

[RichardSimon]

$80 for an autograph of a currently living athlete should still be unheard of.

[Duluth Eskimo]

It is. What 90% of people don't understand is that the promoter sets all prices. If the promoter believes 150 people will pay the inflated rate, why should they set a fee that 600 would pay. If the athlete agrees to 800 autographs, the promoter makes his money on the 150 that pay the exorbitant amount and then they get to pocket 650 autographs for free. Or sell them to other dealers at a much lower rate. The good old days were when the promoter was hoping to break even on a guy like Mantle and divided the signing fee by 800 and that was your price. The last time I paid for Mantle at a show it was $20 and the promoter thought they were going to lose money the whole time. Only at the last minute were they able to go table to table and encourage dealers to buy more autographs. $20 and a six pack of beer went a long way back then. Jason

[DHogan]

When Bill Russell was signing autographs at a show in Boston around 1992 or so. They were charging $350.00.

[Duluth Eskimo]

I have to admit to being one of the people that paid $200 for DiMaggio to sign a ball when he wasn't signing balls and the going rate for flats was $50 for him. I think it was 91 or 92. Mantle was still signing bats and jerseys at that time. This was kind of the beginning of the end. I wanted to get it signed in person and back then you could still get a photo with the guy. I still have the ball and the photo as well as the memories. I think he then proceeded to bark at the person in line behind me. Fun times.

[packs]

I can't remember what year it was but I was at a Gloria Rothstein show in White Plains that had Ted Williams, Mantle, and DiMaggio. They were all charging $100 each. I remember thinking that was crazy but I would kill to go back in time now.

[JustCollectVP]

Originally Posted by DHogan

When Bill Russell was signing autographs at a show in Boston around 1992 or so. They were charging $350.00.

June 1994 and it was $295 per and everything was cataloged and in January of 1995 he returned and signed with Chamberlain... That was the old Boston College High Show run by the Rose brothers.

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by JustCollectVP

June 1994 and it was $295 per and everything was cataloged and in January of 1995 he returned and signed with Chamberlain... That was the old Boston College High Show run by the Rose brothers.

Wow! I think that is the first time I have seen a Hall of Famer's price go down. You can now get signed authenticated photos from Bill Russell for under $100.

[chaddurbin]

agreed with mark and steve, lots of these guys are net losers today at those prices. i'd sleep pretty well at night paying $10 for feller etc hof signed pc on ebay knowing they are authentic. almost no one was getting rookie cards signed back then.

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by Duluth Eskimo

It is. What 90% of people don't understand is that the promoter sets all prices. If the promoter believes 150 people will pay the inflated rate, why should they set a fee that 600 would pay. If the athlete agrees to 800 autographs, the promoter makes his money on the 150 that pay the exorbitant amount and then they get to pocket 650 autographs for free. Or sell them to other dealers at a much lower rate. The good old days were when the promoter was hoping to break even on a guy like Mantle and divided the signing fee by 800 and that was your price. The last time I paid for Mantle at a show it was $20 and the promoter thought they were going to lose money the whole time. Only at the last minute were they able to go table to table and encourage dealers to buy more autographs. $20 and a six pack of beer went a long way back then. Jason

I have been saying this for years!! The promoters screw over the retail customer and then hook up other dealers and promoters with the 'backroom' wholesale price. It used to be that everyone paid the same price. But the promoter realized that they make more money this way, and the average customer is will pay it. They used to say that you are paying for the experience of meeting the athlete. Unfortunately, these days only a handful of athletes are even worth meeting. Most are talking on the phone, listening to music, or want extra money for an 'interaction'. Just not worth it in my opinion. I say that getting an item signed at a show is like buying a new car. The minute you walk away from that table, the value of the autograph just depreciated by 25%. Just take the retail price for a signing and divide by 2. That is what the wholesale/backroom price usually will be.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by jimjim

I have been saying this for years!! The promoters screw over the retail customer and then hook up other dealers and promoters with the 'backroom' wholesale price. It used to be that everyone paid the same price. But the promoter realized that they make more money this way, and the average customer is will pay it. They used to say that you are paying for the experience of meeting the athlete. Unfortunately, these days only a handful of athletes are even worth meeting. Most are talking on the phone, listening to music, or want extra money for an 'interaction'. Just not worth it in my opinion. I say that getting an item signed at a show is like buying a new car. The minute you walk away from that table, the value of the autograph just depreciated by 25%. Just take the retail price for a signing and divide by 2. That is what the wholesale/backroom price usually will be.

The promoter is not a non profit entity. The promoter should make some profit or there would be no reason to promote card shows. The money in autographs is made behind the curtain in the mail order/wholesale area. These days, unless the signing is restricted to X amount of sales, few athletes sell out. The National aside, most athletes likely do less 100-150 in person autographs at any given show. The rumor was Joe D did not get out of bed for less than $100K. In 1994, DiMaggio appeared at the National Pastime 11th Long Island Classic at Hofstra University. Flats were $150 and balls $175. There was a laundry list of things he would not sign. To break even on DiMaggio the promoter would have to sell 666 flats or 571 balls. There were quite a few people lined up to get Joe's signature but I am sure the bulk of the autographs were mail order or wholesale.

The tiered pricing and charging for inscriptions creases me a bit, but collectors were the cause for both. It used to be that the athlete would sign any item for a given fee. Well, then folks started flipping bats and jerseys for more than the fee and tiered pricing was born. While waiting in line for Brooks Robinson the collector in front of me asked Brooks to add, all 16 GG, MVP and HOF years, his lifetime HRs and batting average. I was in shock but Brooks added everything. I knew then it was only a matter of time before inscriptions would be limited or a fee would be added.

Mind you some athletes are better than others, but I am not looking for (1) making a friend (2) having an experience. I just want my item signed. I do care how the athlete interacts with children. I am polite I say "Hello" and thank the athlete for coming out. If the athlete is engaging that is just gravy. The only athletes who seemed bothered having to sign autographs were Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose and Ken Griffey Sr.. As they get older Jackson and Rose are getting better, especially Rose. Living athletes who are exceptional, John Montefusco, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Lou Brock and Dwight Gooden to name a few. As I said the list of pure tools is small.

The collector has the option of paying the going rate or taking a miss. I am have not added Randy Johnson to a HOF piece because I feel the price for an over sized flat is ridiculous. I can live without having RJ on the piece. I doubt I add Piazza either. As a collector I don't care if wholesalers are getting signatures at 1/2 price, they likely are getting generic items signed and are buying in lots of 50-100. I am building a collection, the wholesaler is running a business.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

$80 for an autograph of a currently living athlete should still be unheard of.

I could list two dozen active athletes I couldn't hand over $80 quick enough for and that's just for sets I'm working. I've got three consignments over $150 out on ACTIVE players at the moment and that's for IP signatures, not sit down signings. Living? That's a whole different story. I'd pay $500-$700 for a Sadaharu Oh signing at this point.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I could list two dozen active athletes I couldn't hand over $80 quick enough for and that's just for sets I'm working. I've got three consignments over $150 out on ACTIVE players at the moment and that's for IP signatures, not sit down signings. Living? That's a whole different story. I'd pay $500-$700 for a Sadaharu Oh signing at this point.

I would love to see Oh at a show. I don't know if I would go as high as $700 but it would be tempting! Who knows, perhaps a promoter out there is thinking about an Ichiro and Oh road show!

[Huck]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I could list two dozen active athletes I couldn't hand over $80 quick enough for and that's just for sets I'm working. I've got three consignments over $150 out on ACTIVE players at the moment and that's for IP signatures, not sit down signings. Living? That's a whole different story. I'd pay $500-$700 for a Sadaharu Oh signing at this point.

What would you be willing to drop on Koufax?

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by biohazard

What would you be willing to drop on Koufax?

At $200-$250 I'd send a pair of cards in. With Koufax, however, you can usually find what need with a little patience. People complain about $250-$300 signing fees for greats, but have no problem turning a $500 RC into a $1200 card.

[Lordstan]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

At $200-$250 I'd send a pair of cards in. With Koufax, however, you can usually find what need with a little patience. People complain about $250-$300 signing fees for greats, but have no problem turning a $500 RC into a $1200 card.

Steve,
I would agree with you there. Unfortunately, his last signing in 2015 was $395 for cards as well as balls. Plus $250 for each inscription.

http://www.internetexclusives.com/sa...e-signing.html

Mark

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

Steve,
I would agree with you there. Unfortunately, his last signing in 2015 was $395 for cards as well as balls. Plus $250 for each inscription.

http://www.internetexclusives.com/sa...e-signing.html

Mark

I recently read somebody post on another board that they participated in that singing as a wholesaler and they paid $50 per inscription. Maybe I misread their post?!

[Huck]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

At $200-$250 I'd send a pair of cards in. With Koufax, however, you can usually find what need with a little patience. People complain about $250-$300 signing fees for greats, but have no problem turning a $500 RC into a $1200 card.

I don't think we will see Koufax under $250 anytime soon. I wish he would do a few public signings and call it a day. I am just glad that he appeared at Tuff-Stuff back in the 90's and I was able to add his signature to my collection.