News article on personal appearance by Hank Aaron.

[djson1]

Originally Posted by CamaroCPA

Obviously, there is often some monetary/investment component to paying this much for an autograph of someone very famous, but isn't a lot of the price for the "privilege" of meeting the person too?...

Although, you may be right about the chance to see your favorite players in person, I would have to say that, at least for me, the premium is not always worth that opportunity. Most of the times, the players don't even look up to see who they're signing for and they don't even say a word. Some don't even allow taking pictures. And it depends on who's operating the show/promotion, but many times they're just ushering you through the line so they could hurry and finish.

I've paid for some players at shows where they don't even respond to your comments or questions and just blankly look at you as if you're speaking another language. Some players are very gracious and engaging (ie- Bob Feller was a great show signer and conversationalist), but if I remember Aaron correctly, he was a nice guy but he didn't really seem to want to engage in conversations (which I understand since there were so many fans who must have tired him out).

Based on my experiences, I don't think the premium heavy price tag is worth it most of the time.