The New York Times puts their two cents into the Jeter memorabilia story

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

The irony, of course, is that every single signed pre-war card in your collection exists because some fan--most likely a kid--either asked in person or mailed his card off to be signed. And no money changed hands. What a bunch of dolts those old-timers where.

Most of my collection is from the Jeff Morey collection. He got the cards signed in person or by mail as an adult in the late 1950s through the 1960s and 1970s. He got them for free along with thousands of index cards. Then, lo and behold, a market developed -- according to you because of athlete behavior -- and he sold his entire collection for tens of thousands of dollars.

This highlights my point. The market changed. Behavior changed. To fault the athletes, or Steiner, collectors, or anyone for suddenly developing "greed" shows a total lack of understanding of some pretty basic economic fundamentals.

The only irony is that you collect items that will retain a value, while you disdain the collectors of Stadium dirt, which will likely have no value at all. While some idiot fans may actually think there is going to be money in those things, most are giving them as gifts, or buying them as pure mementos of today's game. They are the true collectors -- building their collections with no regard for future sale or value. They collect just to have, share and/or remember. That it costs them something to buld their collections is entirely besides the point.