Is it worth it?

[bnorth]

I am having the same thoughts. I have a 1981 minor league SGA Pawtucket bat I would love to get Wade Boggs to sign. Same problem as has been said already. I can buy a store model bat already signed for half of what it would cost to have him sign my bat at the National.

[Lordstan]

IMO, The values in signings today fall into one of 2 categories.
1) It's worth paying it if you have a specific item that is important to you.
As an example, I paid $325 for Aaron to sign this program a few years ago to complete it. Personally, I think $325 is crazy for Aaron, but it was the last one I needed on it.



2)The second scenario I see is for people who need some something signed to complete a set(like cards). Sure, you might find one much cheaper on ebay, but the less common the set the less likely you'll find it. Same applies for say a ball with a specific inscription that is off the beaten path.

If it's not something you are likely to find elsewhere, It might be worth spending the money so you can enjoy it. I would never pay the prices for something generic.

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

IMO, The values in signings today fall into one of 2 categories.
1) It's worth paying it if you have a specific item that is important to you.
As an example, I paid $325 for Aaron to sign this program a few years ago to complete it. Personally, I think $325 is crazy for Aaron, but it was the last one I needed on it.



2)The second scenario I see is for people who need some something signed to complete a set(like cards). Sure, you might find one much cheaper on ebay, but the less common the set the less likely you'll find it. Same applies for say a ball with a specific inscription that is off the beaten path.

If it's not something you are likely to find elsewhere, It might be worth spending the money so you can enjoy it.

+1

[Michael B]

There is only one person at The National this year that I would consider paying to sign and that would be Oscar Robertson. If you want a signature of him other than 'Big O' you have to pay. I have two items that I would pay to have him sign as his signature is very nice - a 1960 Olympic gold medal ticket and a special postal cover issued by the Italian Olympic Committee. They issued covers for all of the gold medalists at the games. The Cassius Clay one shows up on ebay every so often. I have some of them signed so it would be nice to have him sign it. West and Lucas would be challenging, but the other living members of the team - Haldorson, Arnette, Imhoff and Smith are all pretty good TTM. If I just wanted a full name signature on anything I would buy a copy of his book on biblio or abe. I just picked up an early 1960's clip for $14.00

[JustinD]

Well, I was thinking I would maybe be in the minority. I am wondering who all those people in line are?

I agree with the special items thoughts. Whereas I am at a point I just don't stand in line and pay up anymore, I do have one card I have been watching to get signed. If I was going to the National (I had to back out for health obligations) I would likely drag myself to the line for Dale Murphy. The reason being is that I still do not have a completed signed Lance Parrish rookie and I have always wanted to add one to my player collection. I do have one with the really hard Bo Diaz already out of the way and just need Murphy and Whitt. I guess I would knock one off that list if the line was decent, so I agree with those folks.

[shelly]

I agree that there are times that you have a certain item to be signed. It is expensive but necessary'
Like I said in my above post. Don't spend money on baseballs or bats or items you can buy on the secondary market.

[icollectDCsports]

To me, the issue isn't necessarily the cost of getting the signature, but the regret I may have at never meeting a particular player. For instance, I wish I'd taken advantage of the opportunities to get Mantle and Musial to sign at shows years ago. There aren't that many players in that category for me and I almost never go to signings anymore.

[ChiSoxTony]

I I want a specific player to sign a specific or unique item or add very specific inscriptions, I might bite the bullet and pay to stand in line with full knowledge that I'm almost certainly not making an investment. If this is not the case and I just want a ball signed with a HOF inscription or something like that, I'm probably buying that off of eBay or similar, with certification, for a cheaper price.

[mr2686]

Mostly in agreement with everything already said. I collect HOF single balls (as well as other things) but I'm not going to pay an over the top amount for a player to sign a ball, when I can go on the secondary market and pay far less. This, however, does not help me when I need my HOF book signed or a lithograph or multi-signed bat...things I would never send in the mail and would only want to get in-person. If I knew then what I know now, my collecting focus would have started out differently.