Prices discussion

[gonefishin]

I don't think we will see prices like 5-10 years ago, but demand from the market will have a significant impact on fees. Remember, when your purchasing the autograph on a vintage card from the 50s, a significant amount of the value is for the card, and the autograph is just added value. PSA caught on a few years back, and when you send them, for example, a 51 Whitey Ford. Unless you pay for having the card authenticated and graded, they will only put Trading Card on the label and certify the autograph. This leaves a lot of potential buyers wondering if the card is an authentic 51, or a reprint that was signed. I am awaiting the arrival of the attached example PSA just finished grading. It is an authentic 51 Bowman autographed rookie of Ford. I payed the extra fees and had the card authenticated and graded in addition to the autograph authentication. With that, it will leave no doubt in the prospective buyer's mind that the card is an authentic 51 Bowman.

If the card is a vintage autographed card, the player is a Hall of Fame caliber player, and the player is deceased - it will demand a premium and is very likely not to go down in price. There are still some very good bargains out there if you're looking long term. An example, in my opinion, is Tony Gwynn. Still relatively affordable - there will never be any increase in quantities signed - he meets all the criteria (except for maybe the vintage).

I don't really know if the current price demand for signers equates to current market value of the signed item. Take Pete Rose who basically made his living from signings for the last few decades. You can easily buy a signed item of his much cheaper than paying his autograph fees - this makes no sense but it's true. All you have to do is shop around.

In today's market where Mike Schmidt is charging 500-800 dollars to sign his rookie card is crazy. He does it because people are willing to pay it.

I have several hundred hard signed cards that have just come to me through the years. At the time I acquired them, they didn't have much value above the value of a raw card. In some case's I believe it may have diminished the value of the card!

If I was a young collector (30-40 years old), I would invest in some of the Hall of Fame signed cards and just hold them for another 20-30 years and sell them at what I believe would be a significant increase. At my current age, that's not possible.

A few years ago I sold an autographed rookie card of Koufax, PSA certified, for $600. I was happy to get it at the time. Those years are unfortunately gone.

Also remember that a lot of those autographs on vintage cards (such as the Koufax I sold), were autographed for free! Most of the players were happy to autograph just about anything and was appreciative of just being asked. You mentioned Snider - he was a class gentleman and would willingly autograph items for anyone that would nicely ask.

As with any autograph you're considering, be skeptical. If buying raw, unseen, through the internet - I would recommend purchasing either graded versions or at such a price you could live with it turns out being fake.