500 Homerun Balls and Ken Griffey Jr.

[Big Six]

I am perfectly happy with my 500 Hoke Run Ball from that first super show so many years ago. No desire to add anyone from the recent spate of new members to the club. In my opinion, my ball would decrease in value adding anyone. And there is no way that Mantle at $25 equates to Griffey at $400+. Not even close.


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[keithsky]

I look at it Griffey will be around for another 40 years or so given a healthy normal life. Plenty of time to get his autograph some other way or maybe he'll do more shows in the future at a lower price. It was like that almost when Ripken started doing shows his prices were sky high because of breaking Gehrigs record but now have come down some.

[bigfanNY]

In 2015 I made the decision to add to my original 11 500 HR ball that I owned since new. I had a chance to add Arod and did . I am a fan having watched him hit many Home runs mostly at Yankee Stadium. I also wanted to add other players that I watched. Mostly players I saw hit homers live so it would mean something to have them on my ball.
So now I am up to 16 having added Arod, Murray, Thomas, Sheffield and Thome. And I already mailed my ball in for Griffey Jr.
I don't think I have room for all 24 Signatures So I will be choosy. I passed on Pujols because I think I have a shot on getting him later. But Griffey signings are few so I paid up. More for this one than the other 5 combined. And if Bonds was signing I would send it in a heartbeat. But I understand others have their reasons for getting and not getting players just sharing mine.
Jonathan

[felada]

I think the price is high but I did a send in anyway through mill creek. For years people have been complaining about jeter prices and how much he has signed through Steiner. Wait until he makes the HoF and see what those prices look like. Griffey prices aren’t coming down anytime soon, he isnt hitting the show circuit and I learned my lesson from Halliday. Passed on a signing to get him later and that never happened.

[Lordstan]

I think there are 2 perspectives to look at this type of subject.

The first is the value of getting him, or any player really, on an item that you personally want. This argument throws money out the window as if the item is important to you, you might pay ridiculous amounts because of that personal attachment. Paying $450 for Griffey, or $600 for Jeter, etc becomes an emotional choice. As Jonathan said, he wants to add players he enjoyed watching. Personally I have "overpaid" for autos for this reason and see nothing wrong with it.

The second is the question of intrinsic and/or resale value. What I mean is how will adding a sig to an item change the sale price of that item should you go to sell it in the future. Using Griffey as an example, IMO, there are some situations where adding his sig to a 500 hr ball would be worth it and some that are not. From a financial value standpoint, a 500 HR ball with 12 sigs would certainly sell for more than one with 11, but there is no way in my mind that it would be $450 more regardless of who the extra HOFer is except for perhaps Mantle and Williams. IMO, I just don't think adding Griffey to a ball with 11 signatures will add $450 to the selling price. On the other hand, adding him to a ball with 23, to complete it, may very well push the price significantly higher than the $450 paid for Griffey.
Steiner is a great example to use. Most of their items can be purchased on ebay for significantly less than their original selling price. Many can be had for half. Going back to my first point, sending something that has personal meaning to you is judged on an entirely different scale. Paying $600 for Jeter to signed the foul ball you caught may be worth every penny. Paying $600 for a generic signed ball that you hope to resell at some point is not.

Here are some times I "overpaid."

I paid $375 to add Aaron as the final sig to this magazine


I paid $800 to add Ali to this magazine. (Yes. That tiny sig above his photo)


Would I do both again? Yep.

[bigfanNY]

Mark
both those magazines are great. one thing that sticks out is the Johnny Unitas the only auto missing from your magazine. He and his untimely death are a key reason I am much more likely to pay up for a signature I have been chasing. I met him once and got a single item signed but being a colts Fan I had a stack of items I planned on getting signed. He was a nice guy who despite some physical limitations seemed to really enjoy talking football and hanging with colts fans. So I was sure that I would have the opportunity but it never came.
On your second point. I thought long and hard on sending a louisville slugger poster in for Griffey to sign. But ended up buying a different poster signed by Arod and Griffey for less than half the current fee. So obviously I agree with both your points because I share the same experiences.
J

[Lordstan]

Jonathan,
Thanks for the kind words.

Believe me, If I could go back and get Unitas I would. He died during a time when I was not actively collecting so I did not get a chance to send in for him, but I would have. When I started to collect seriously again, the mag had Mantle, Mays, and Koufax on it. I paid $60 for Brown, $100 for Russell, and $35 for Hull, before sending in for Ali. Had I not been able to add the first 3, I don't think I would have paid that much for Ali. Having him being the last one available made it worth it to me.

The other mag was similar, but only needed Berra, Musial, and Aaron. Berra and Musial were around $55-60 each. If they had already passed, I am not sure if I would have spent that much on Aaron.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

I think there are 2 perspectives to look at this type of subject.

The first is the value of getting him, or any player really, on an item that you personally want. This argument throws money out the window as if the item is important to you, you might pay ridiculous amounts because of that personal attachment. Paying $450 for Griffey, or $600 for Jeter, etc becomes an emotional choice. As Jonathan said, he wants to add players he enjoyed watching. Personally I have "overpaid" for autos for this reason and see nothing wrong with it.

The second is the question of intrinsic and/or resale value. What I mean is how will adding a sig to an item change the sale price of that item should you go to sell it in the future. Using Griffey as an example, IMO, there are some situations where adding his sig to a 500 hr ball would be worth it and some that are not. From a financial value standpoint, a 500 HR ball with 12 sigs would certainly sell for more than one with 11, but there is no way in my mind that it would be $450 more regardless of who the extra HOFer is except for perhaps Mantle and Williams. IMO, I just don't think adding Griffey to a ball with 11 signatures will add $450 to the selling price. On the other hand, adding him to a ball with 23, to complete it, may very well push the price significantly higher than the $450 paid for Griffey.
Steiner is a great example to use. Most of their items can be purchased on ebay for significantly less than their original selling price. Many can be had for half. Going back to my first point, sending something that has personal meaning to you is judged on an entirely different scale. Paying $600 for Jeter to signed the foul ball you caught may be worth every penny. Paying $600 for a generic signed ball that you hope to resell at some point is not.

Here are some times I "overpaid."

I paid $375 to add Aaron as the final sig to this magazine


I paid $800 to add Ali to this magazine. (Yes. That tiny sig above his photo)


Would I do both again? Yep.

Mark, very nice!!!

[jimjim]

I agree with everything Mark posted. Well said.

With all due respect, if Tristar was almost sold out then why are you posting on this board and multiple Facebook boards about this signing every day. Also, I think it is fair game to let other board members know the disclaimer that Tri-Star has put on the signing. It says that they cannot guarantee autograph placement, quality of the autograph, pen selection, etc. So if you’re going to send in your cherished 500 homerun club ball, please keep that in mind. I have never seen that disclaimer on any other signing. Just want to make sure people are going into this signing with eyes wide open.

[Republicaninmass]

My favorite part is the speculation of future value. Has a living multi signed item ever even sold for more than the cost of all the signatures? Look at all the 300 win or 500 hr lithos. It's always seemed like an exercise in futility. Granted you can cite one example, but look at all the other data. For a personal collection, you cant put a price on that. I paid to get Erskine and branca on my 1952 topps, just to meet them. I probably paid 4x what I could have had them on Ebay for

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

I think there are 2 perspectives to look at this type of subject.

The first is the value of getting him, or any player really, on an item that you personally want. This argument throws money out the window as if the item is important to you, you might pay ridiculous amounts because of that personal attachment. Paying $450 for Griffey, or $600 for Jeter, etc becomes an emotional choice. As Jonathan said, he wants to add players he enjoyed watching. Personally I have "overpaid" for autos for this reason and see nothing wrong with it.

The second is the question of intrinsic and/or resale value. What I mean is how will adding a sig to an item change the sale price of that item should you go to sell it in the future. Using Griffey as an example, IMO, there are some situations where adding his sig to a 500 hr ball would be worth it and some that are not. From a financial value standpoint, a 500 HR ball with 12 sigs would certainly sell for more than one with 11, but there is no way in my mind that it would be $450 more regardless of who the extra HOFer is except for perhaps Mantle and Williams. IMO, I just don't think adding Griffey to a ball with 11 signatures will add $450 to the selling price. On the other hand, adding him to a ball with 23, to complete it, may very well push the price significantly higher than the $450 paid for Griffey.
Steiner is a great example to use. Most of their items can be purchased on ebay for significantly less than their original selling price. Many can be had for half. Going back to my first point, sending something that has personal meaning to you is judged on an entirely different scale. Paying $600 for Jeter to signed the foul ball you caught may be worth every penny. Paying $600 for a generic signed ball that you hope to resell at some point is not.

Here are some times I "overpaid."

I paid $375 to add Aaron as the final sig to this magazine


I paid $800 to add Ali to this magazine. (Yes. That tiny sig above his photo)


Would I do both again? Yep.

Well said, Mark.
Several other posters had good points as well.

[mr2686]

I agree with Mark, especially if you need just one or two to complete a project, but for me I have a HOF book that I try to get any living hall of famer in. Since signings in Calif are few and far between, that leaves me with shows like the Baseball HOF show in July. If I go every 5 or 6 years, that leaves me with sometimes 12 - 15 hof'ers to catch up on...and with the new guys like Jeter and Griffey jr. charging so much, it's just getting too much (also add in the fact that I collect single signed balls...agghhhhh!). Anyway, it comes down to where I'd rather put my money.