why are autographs going for so cheap!

[egri]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

Autographed gum cards are through the roof! Maybe give an example?

Ted, are you noticing that across the board, or just for HOFers/tough signers?

[MacDice]

Great topic. Here are my opinions as a lower level budget collector…I think that it is several factors why autograph prices are. The economy has been difficult for a lot of us these last few years and there is a lot of autograph stuff out there. Since the 80’s a ton of stuff has been signed. Sellers are often trying to generate money because they are trying to fund another project or liquidating which gives the buyer some negotiation leverage. The number of collectors is also getting smaller; the high end stuff buyers are usually “older” collectors who are starting to look more at retirement and fixed income planning. And collectors are looking at long-term ROI. I am working on a 1957 set and I often struggle do I really want to spend $200-$300 on a common player who died in the 1970’s versus buying several signed HOF items in that same price range. ¬ I know the 1957 card may be harder to find but so will be another buyer at some point. I also collect a lot of signed Seattle Mariners stuff that I know has very little value thus I refuse to pay much for it. Not going to pay a player $5 to sign an 1987 Mariners card when I can get Wade Boggs to sign a card for $5

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by egri

Ted, are you noticing that across the board, or just for HOFers/tough signers?

I havent been following too many common players aside from 52 topps. So mostly the tougher and hof'ers. Have you been seeing a decline in the 57s? It seems like lately I am outbid on everything.


The cards I was told I was "trying to retire on" all sold at asking or higher on ebay except for

Hoak died in 1969 priced now at $350, us_caine sold a fake for 70$, no others have come to market

Spooner now priced at $300, very weak one sold for $229, no others have come to market since the other one in worse shape I sold for $300

Say what you want about price history, but since cardtarget sold out, they have stopped pricing autographed cards. This was a huge resource for pricing data, and I think it helped "stabilize" prices at least for newcomers. There are so few of these tough signers, and hof'er to go around, it is pretty much buy it when you can. If there is a buy it now, be it overprices, most collectors will pull the trigger. With auctions, I guess you never know who is looking, or has the items on their email list.

[perezfan]

If the original Poster bought from dealers, and is now selling in true auction format, that probably explains the losses. That's just the way it is, and applies to all phases of memorabilia (not limited to autographs).

Of course there are a few exceptions, but overall you're going to take a bath on most items. If I were selling, I would switch to a Buy It Now format, with "Best Offer" option. It's pretty risky otherwise...

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by perezfan

If the original Poster bought from dealers, and is now selling in true auction format, that probably explains the losses. That's just the way it is, and applies to all phases of memorabilia (not limited to autographs).

Of course there are a few exceptions, but overall you're going to take a bath on most items. If I were selling, I would switch to a Buy It Now format, with "Best Offer" option. It's pretty risky otherwise...

+1

[brooklynbaseball]

Prices on the few categories I collect have indeed gone down considerably in the past couple of years. The hof plaque postcards have mostly bottomed out and as a result the harder to find cards show up less frequently. I think the ridiculous fees the newer inductees are charging also is having an effect on the amount of collectors willing to consider continuing on. The Perez Steele sets have mostly maintained their value, and I do see many more items coming to auction. Lastly, aside from the higher end baseballs, Mickey Mantle items seem to have taken a 25-35% hit. The plethora of counterfeits, a perceived "glut" of items, and a general disenchantment with the opinions of the TPA's might also be having an effect. I can now pick up many Mantle items at about 60-70% of what I have paid before.

[egri]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

I havent been following too many common players aside from 52 topps. So mostly the tougher and hof'ers. Have you been seeing a decline in the 57s? It seems like lately I am outbid on everything.


The cards I was told I was "trying to retire on" all sold at asking or higher on ebay except for

Hoak died in 1969 priced now at $350, us_caine sold a fake for 70$, no others have come to market

Spooner now priced at $300, very weak one sold for $229, no others have come to market since the other one in worse shape I sold for $300

Yes and no. The February before last, and again last summer at around this time, Jim Stinson put up a huge lot of signed 53s, and I was surprised at how low a lot of the tough signers and high numbers went. Then in December, he put up a trio of tough ones (Hoak, Drews, Hal Rice) and they all sold at or above what I was expecting.

Edit: It might have had something to do with the number of cards he had; the first two times, he had a few dozen cards listed; the third time it was just the three.

[bbcard1]

There is a considerable premium attached to getting a living player to sign your item in your presence at a show. It is the rough equal of new car smell.

[jimjim]

I think a lot of the problem is that most collectors under the age of 35-40 are more focused on current players. They have no problem spending $100 on a Carlos Correa autograph (price that was charged today at Tristar show) instead of buying vintage. It is pretty insane how much these new guys and new HOF inductees charge, but people seem ok with paying the high prices.