Anyone collect signed photos anymore?

[homerunhitter]

I noticed that on eBay signed 8x10s are selling so cheap right now (a buyers market) and I noticed at a card show I went to recently I didn’t see one signed photo in the entire show (and it was a HUGE show) so anyone still collect them?

[Kathy062495]

I agree. 8 x 10 signed photos of players who made the show circuit in 80s and 90s are very cheap on eBay. In some cases the cost is the same or less than you would have paid for the auto ticket and 8 x 10 at the show. For a collector of autographs on this medium it definitely seems like a buyer’s market.

On the other hand autographs on vintage baseball cards have gone through the roof!

[rand1com]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

I noticed that on eBay signed 8x10s are selling so cheap right now (a buyers market) and I noticed at a card show I went to recently I didn’t see one signed photo in the entire show (and it was a HUGE show) so anyone still collect them?

I have some notebooks full of autographed photos that I put out at the National and a Boston show I do once per year and rarely have anyone even look through them.

I guess the volume available just overwhelms the buyer market.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

All the same, tired poses used for 8X10s signed on the show circuit over the last 40 years gets to be a bit repetitive. Nobody likes that. It's fully understandable that people have soured on them. Walking up to a dealer's table to see a binder of 150 8X10s with heavy duplication of a few common HOF names and familiar poses is an exercise in boredom.

Conversely, find me an 8X10 of a HOF player who died over 60 years ago and it's an entirely different feeling altogether. It's pretty hard to tire of something rarely encountered. I'm not talking Ruth, who is common in this format vs. most players who have been deceased for so long. Those don't tend to excite me. Give me an 8X10 of Kid Nichols, Eddie Collins...anything that you don't see very often.

And here's a hint to dealers: Don't put 50 copies of the same signed pose into one binder. People aren't going to be tempted to buy something that appears as common as toilet paper unless you're having a $1 sale. Idea #2: Have you been lugging those 100 Lou Boudreau 8X10s to every show since 1989 with no takers? Do yourself a favor and start giving them away to each kid under 10 who walks by your table. Your small gesture might help bring the love back for this dying medium to the demographic that is most needed to carry it forward. The kid's Dad might be more prone to buying something from you, and if giving away 100 signed photos manages to start even one young person on a lifelong road to autograph collecting, it will have been worthwhile.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

All the same, tired poses used for 8X10s signed on the show circuit over the last 40 years gets to be a bit repetitive. Nobody likes that. It's fully understandable that people have soured on them. Walking up to a dealer's table to see a binder of 150 8X10s with heavy duplication of a few common HOF names and familiar poses is an exercise in boredom.

Conversely, find me an 8X10 of a HOF player who died over 60 years ago and it's an entirely different feeling altogether. It's pretty hard to tire of something rarely encountered. I'm not talking Ruth, who is common in this format vs. most players who have been deceased for so long. Those don't tend to excite me. Give me an 8X10 of Kid Nichols, Eddie Collins...anything that you don't see very often.

And here's a hint to dealers: Don't put 50 copies of the same signed pose into one binder. People aren't going to be tempted to buy something that appears as common as toilet paper unless you're having a $1 sale. Idea #2: Have you been lugging those 100 Lou Boudreau 8X10s to every show since 1989 with no takers? Do yourself a favor and start giving them away to each kid under 10 who walks by your table. Your small gesture might help bring the love back for this dying medium to the demographic that is most needed to carry it forward.

I agree that signed photos of more modern players(from the 80's on) seems to have cooled off. In part because autograph shows, autographs are events( store openings, car dealerships, etc) the autographs are so so common.
I agree that pre 1980 and from players passed away is still strong because of the rarity
Signed cards up until a few years ago was not as in demand as it is now and the prices are thru the roof

[gonefishin]

I collect a lot of autographs, and I enjoy collecting vintage photos. The new stuff (1980 - on) not so much. I recently acquired the attached George Brace photo of Red Ruffing - it's an example of what I really enjoy.

[Chris Counts]

I always have an eye out for signed snapshots from the 1930s through the 1950s. Here are a few of my favorites.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

And here's a hint to dealers: Don't put 50 copies of the same signed pose into one binder. People aren't going to be tempted to buy something that appears as common as toilet paper unless you're having a $1 sale. Idea #2: Have you been lugging those 100 Lou Boudreau 8X10s to every show since 1989 with no takers? Do yourself a favor and start giving them away to each kid under 10 who walks by your table. Your small gesture might help bring the love back for this dying medium to the demographic that is most needed to carry it forward. The kid's Dad might be more prone to buying something from you, and if giving away 100 signed photos manages to start even one young person on a lifelong road to autograph collecting, it will have been worthwhile.

Or how about just pricing them to move, whatever that might be? And if there's no price anybody will pay, by all means blow them out as above, or do a "Buy one, get one free" sign. Conversely, for collectors who are always starting "what's smart to buy now" threads, you could probably do worse than look for such bargains on selected players that don't have much demand now, but didn't live long enough to flood the market with so many thousands of the same photo that they will never be worth much. It doesn't make sense that 8x10s, which can make great wall displays, aren't sought after the way signed baseballs and cards are, it's just a matter of price and supply and demand. As for the modern players, with their two line scrawls and five-circle scribbles, they will be cranking those out for so long that when the apocalypse hits, their value will reside in stoking fires to keep people alive. I can see it now: "Honey, we need more kindling. Can I please have the Ohtanis and Sotos now?"