Rocky Colavito bat.....get signed or not?

[egri]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

I don't care how great or how shaky his signature might be. It's Rocky Colavito. He's not in the HOF and never will be. His signature is worth a fraction of what he charges to do it. Whoever came up with his pricing is almost as crazy as anyone paying it. Do not waste your money. Nobody cares $170 worth. $30? Sure. $170? Laugh and walk away while putting your wallet back in your pocket. That signature will never add $170 of value on top of it.

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Or one of us can mail Matt a lighter and he could just torch his $170...

Are those comments really necessary? They don't add anything to the discussion.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by egri

Are those comments really necessary? They don't add anything to the discussion.

Besides the worry about strength of Colavito's current signature, my take is that the OP wants to know if it's worth it to have it signed at $170. It is not. He wanted opinions, and that is mine. If money wasn't part of the question, then the $170 figure wouldn't have even been mentioned. Adding a signature will never give $170 extra value to that piece. This is not Hank Aaron we're talking about. Your example with Aaron is an entirely different scenario if we're talking about adding more value to an item.
In the case of Aaron, of course you'd have ponied up the even larger asking price to have a game used bat signed. It's as much of a no-brainer as not having the Colavito bat signed at $170 happens to be. If it makes someone happy to pay $170 to get that bat signed then do it, but it's not economically logical.

[Scott Garner]

No pun intended...
If Todd is a huge Rocky Colavito fan (he did spend 4 years with the Tigers, after all), then maybe having the bat signed may complete his vision of what he wants his collection to look like.

Having an exit plan on value is good, because we can't take it with us.

That being said, I can totally relate with Todd.
I collect Johnny Vander Meer and he's not a HOF'er either.
Maybe not a great investment with possible ROI like collecting HOF'ers, but as they say, collect what you like.

[eastonfalcon19]

It's only money...get the signature on the bat. It's always nice to have items like a GU bat signed instead of baseballs or photos. How many signed Colavito gamers do you see around? Not many. How many signed baseballs/photos do you see? A lot. So DOOO ITTT

[Kzoo]

Billy.....I understand where you're coming from with investing that amount for his signature and a future turnaround in value.

I thought about it for a few days, then decided to send it out.

I'm a big Tiger fan with fond memories of the old stadium in the 80's, my Mother always mentioned 'Rocky Colavito' first when going to games in Detroit in the early 60's, and I didn't want to regret missing this chance someday down the road after his passing.

Thanks again for your thoughts and I was a bit torn, but I feel good about my decision. I'll post results hopefully within a week when it returns!

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

Billy.....I understand where you're coming from with investing that amount for his signature and a future turnaround in value.

I thought about it for a few days, then decided to send it out.

I'm a big Tiger fan with fond memories of the old stadium in the 80's, my Mother always mentioned 'Rocky Colavito' first when going to games in Detroit in the early 60's, and I didn't want to regret missing this chance someday down the road after his passing.

Thanks again for your thoughts and I was a bit torn, but I feel good about my decision. I'll post results hopefully within a week when it returns!

Looking forward to seeing it!

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

Billy.....I understand where you're coming from with investing that amount for his signature and a future turnaround in value.

I thought about it for a few days, then decided to send it out.

I'm a big Tiger fan with fond memories of the old stadium in the 80's, my Mother always mentioned 'Rocky Colavito' first when going to games in Detroit in the early 60's, and I didn't want to regret missing this chance someday down the road after his passing.

Thanks again for your thoughts and I was a bit torn, but I feel good about my decision. I'll post results hopefully within a week when it returns!

Good decision. When I'm bidding on things at auction, I try to fast forward a couple years and ask myself, will I regret not winning this, or will I regret putting hobby money here instead of keeping my powder dry for the next item I'll chase. Usually, I decide to try to win, because I seldom have buyers' remorse, but often have regrets when I miss out.

In your case, there will be a time, in the not too distant future unfortunately, when it will be too late to get Rocky to sign anything. I'd spend the $170 (plus postage) to avoid kicking yourself later.

One other thought. K55 is a pro stock model for Colavito if I'm not mistaken, meaning, if the bat doesn't have his use characteristics evident, it may not have been ordered by, or used, by him. By getting it signed though, it does personalize it to Rocky, since you now have proof he, at minimum, held it in his hands when he signed it.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by Mark17

One other thought. K55 is a pro stock model for Colavito if I'm not mistaken, meaning, if the bat doesn't have his use characteristics evident, it may not have been ordered by, or used, by him. By getting it signed though, it does personalize it to Rocky, since you now have proof he, at minimum, held it in his hands when he signed it.

Thanks for the further thoughts guys.

Mark, I had this same feeling in my opening post. I don't know for sure if he actually used it because I don't have access to the H&B shipping records for non HOF players. I know the stamping dates it to his rookie era where he might have been trying out different models, so maybe or not?

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

Billy.....I understand where you're coming from with investing that amount for his signature and a future turnaround in value.

I thought about it for a few days, then decided to send it out.

I'm a big Tiger fan with fond memories of the old stadium in the 80's, my Mother always mentioned 'Rocky Colavito' first when going to games in Detroit in the early 60's, and I didn't want to regret missing this chance someday down the road after his passing.

Thanks again for your thoughts and I was a bit torn, but I feel good about my decision. I'll post results hopefully within a week when it returns!

Good on ya! At the end of the day you will look at this signed bat and not think a whit about how much you paid to get it signed. You will look at it and enjoy it for what it is. I am sure that any collector friends who really appreciate the memorabilia side of collecting will feel the same way.

I also know exactly where you are coming from. Along with my Olympic photography collection I also collect items related to Olympic photographers, including tickets. Yes, they need tickets for the events. I just spent about $600 to get photographer tickets for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. I could have picked up press or broadcaster tickets for less, but they are not the same. I also spent about the same amount for about a dozen photo tickets for the Tokyo games including a full set for athletics (track and field). Will they ever be worth that in the open market? I do not care. They fit in my collection which will go to my college when I pass.

[pclpads]

If he croaks tomorrow, you'll never get it signed. When he takes his dirt nap, you'll kick yourself for not popping the $170. Sounds pretty cheap to me for somebody who was an icon in the '50's - '60's.