Tom Brady private signing prices - WOW!

[Jlighter]

Originally Posted by Leon

David A- you are living in the perfect dream world, my friend (too ). Many of us wish it was the way it used to be such as on Leave it to Beaver or Mayberry RFD.

Neilson ratings might help them it doesn't hurt me (financially).

You have a Neilson box?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Jlighter

You have a Neilson box?

A Nelson box....otherwise, I stand by my Neilson comment

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rate-Vintage...item4ab69e32fc



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[barrysloate]

I've been in the hobby for thirty years and a sport's fan for a lot longer than that, and I have to say I have never ever understood why anyone wants to stand in line to pay an athlete for his autograph. It just baffles me to no end. Added to that, many fans stand in long lines and pay very high prices to be insulted by some of the surly athletes who don't even give a crap about those fans. How many horror stories have we heard about Willie Mays's rudeness, or Frank Robinson's, or so many others who won't even give their fans the courtesy of some eye contact? I mean where is one's self respect? Are there really fans willing to be pay big bucks to be abused by these ungrateful athletes?

How much do I think a Tom Brady autograph should sell for? Around zero, give or take. I've gotten exactly one in person autograph my entire life. It was Joe DiMaggio's, he was signing at the Bowery Savings Bank in Brooklyn, there was no line, and he didn't charge anything for it. He even chatted briefly and cordially with me. And that I felt was a fair exchange.

I understand paying money for an autograph for something that is decades or centuries old, those are collectibles that have been saved and have stood the test of time. But walking up to somebody and paying him to sign something in a face to face meeting? Not as long as I live and breath.

[baseballart]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I've been in the hobby for thirty years and a sport's fan for a lot longer than that, and I have to say I have never ever understand why anyone wants to stand in line to pay an athlete for his autograph. It just baffles me to no end. Added to that, many fans stand in long lines and pay very high prices to be insulted by some of the surly athletes who don't even give a crap about those fans. How many horror stories have we heard about Willie Mays's rudeness, or Frank Robinson's, or so many others who won't even give their fans the courtesy of some eye contact? I mean where is one's self respect? Are there really fans willing to be pay big bucks to be abused by these ungrateful athletes?

How much do I think a Tom Brady autograph should sell for? Around zero, give or take. I've gotten exactly one in person autograph my entire life. It was Joe DiMaggio's, he was signing at the Bowery Savings Bank in Brooklyn, there was no line, and he didn't charge anything for it. He even chatted briefly and cordially with me. And that I felt was a fair exchange.

I understand paying money for an autograph for something that is decades or centuries old, those are collectibles that have been saved and have stood the test of time. But walking up to somebody and paying him to sign something in a face to face meeting? Not as long as I live and breath.

Barry

One of the great joys of Class A baseball here is the players' signing after the games--for free, naturally. The vast majority of the kids don't distinguish between a major league prospect and a fill-in player. Whether this leads to the players' charging at the MLB level, I don't know

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I understand paying money for an autograph for something that is decades or centuries old, those are collectibles that have been saved and have stood the test of time. But walking up to somebody and paying him to sign something in a face to face meeting? Not as long as I live and breath.

In principal, I agree with just about everything everybody's said in this thread. I've never paid for an autograph, and doubt I ever will. And yes, the price for Brady is just plain nuts. BUT, I also know you are fighting a long-lost cause. Want to understand why these many thousands of fans stand in line to pay for someone's autograph? Ask them, I'm sure they'll be happy to explain it to you. And while you're at it, ask them what they think about those of us who pay huge amounts of money for the old stuff, for players whom we never followed or even ever saw, who were long-gone before we were born. Most of them will say we're out of our minds. I don't know why people fork over hard-earned cash for all the crap movies they're making these days, either, but I don't think they're stupid or crazy for doing so. They like them, that's all, and that's the way it goes. Same could be said for all kinds of other ways people spend their money and time that's not my cup of tea. You'll never see me in line for Brady or anybody else's autograph, but what do I care about those who are? To each his own.

[novakjr]

I think part of what is lost in this, is that all of those times in our youth, waiting in line for a free autograph, we never realized that they were only free to us(not counting charity functions or randomly at games). The players were still getting paid an appearance fee by the promoters and whatnot to sign for us. Now, those appearance fees have gotten outrageous, to the point where there is no choice but to directly pass the cost down to us.. It's transformed these appearances from a promotional tool, to a profitable business in it's own right. Not only for the player, but whoever is arranging the appearance as well. Basically, too many hands in the cookie jar..

My main issue is that the profitability of these appearances, has led the players to avoid signing at games for fear of driving down their own prices at these appearances. They've basically alienated themselves from anyone who isn't directly paying them for contact..