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

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by packs

Can someone who is of the opinion that the fans are driving market prices explain their point of view a little more? I just don't see it. If athletes didn't charge, the market would be tiny. You would find the occasional fan purchasing an out of town athlete's signature every once in a while, sure. But i am of the opinion that prices are driven higher the more an athlete charges for their signature.

Think of it this way. If there was only 1 fan that wanted to pay for 1 autograph from a group of 100 athletes, the price would be zero after the first sale. The athletes would be competing to sell the cheapest signature. However, if there was only 1 athlete signing 1 autograph for 100 fans, there would be a bidding war among the fans for it. The athlete would sell his autograph for the highest price.

It is really about supply and demand. The flip side is if the athlete saturated the market with his signature, he would dilute the market and the price would drop. It takes two to tango.

But the fans do have the ability to drive the market. If no one bought Jeter's dirt, the price would be zero.