[travrosty]

exactly, he could have priced it at a point where it is affordable to the serious collector, and he wouldnt look like a jerk, he could make a bunch of money to do with what he wants, and a fullfillment company could ship out the orders for him. he takes as much time saying no than just signing. he gets satisfaction from saying no and exerting that type of power, like mike marshall.

he could have flooded the market by now easily and the demand would subside, all he had to do is pick a price point that collectors would buy, but the people looking for a freebie couldnt get one without ponying up. then nobody can complain that they are out of reach financially. say 250 per photograph, he could have signed 500,000 by now easily and dont sign through the mail, just refuse the stuff sent to him and point to his website.

Then he wouldnt look like a jerk, and collectors could get his autograph and everybody would be happy. by rigidly not signing, demand has only increased, and people bugging him for his autograph has only increased. he made it worse.

he has been offered 1 million dollars to sign stuff, even 2 million. but once he signs even a few, then he blows his so called "principled stance" that he adopted many years ago and he is afraid people will see him as a sell out. in reality people dont care. bill russell did the same thing, then ended up signing everything that isnt nailed down and took the money, and people don't care. they just want his signature.

muhammad ali is as well known world wide and he didnt have a problem signing for kings or vagrants and sign for money. he accomodated the collector, the fan and i dont see how Ali got bugged any less for his signature than Armstrong. If you want to stop the opportunists, sign a lot.