I was poking through some stuff and I rediscovered this flyer from the 2016 primary campaign. I knew that Gloria Steinem was a Hillary supporter so at some point after the campaign I wrote to ask if she would sign this (at that time she was still signing TTM but you had to ask first). They said yes so I sent it.
Gloria Steinem not only signed the campaign flyer but she also included a signed 8x10.
Here is a super rare variation of a fairly common autograph.
Billionaire J. Paul Getty is now most common in signed checks and I have several. When I saw this one on ebay a few years ago I was prepared to go higher than my winning bid, which was about what a normal check was selling for at the time.
On this special trust account, his full name was listed as trustee, so that's how he signed it. I have looked everywhere but I can't find another full signature like this one. I believe that he virtually never signed anything as Jean Paul Getty. I have no idea on value, but it is excessively rare so I am happy to have it.
@JBK said:
I was poking through some stuff and I rediscovered this flyer from the 2016 primary campaign. I knew that Gloria Steinem was a Hillary supporter so at some point after the campaign I wrote to ask if she would sign this (at that time she was still signing TTM but you had to ask first). They said yes so I sent it.
Gloria Steinem not only signed the campaign flyer but she also included a signed 8x10.
That’s awesome. If you ever want to sell or trade that please keep me in mind.
I've seen those for other historical people like Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln, and other presidents. Usually (but not always ) it's a damaged or unsigned document that they cut up. I have to wonder what it was from Neil Armstrong that they hacked apart.
Wow! I remember like 15 years ago when I could get a Neil Armstrong signed index card for not much more than $299. Crazy just a single word is this much today!
A handwritten note from Neil Armstrong hacked apart.
My guess is that the owner wasn't happy that the "Neil" was printed and not signed.
Its too bad, as it had value as a note, and was a great example of his printed writing. As I recall someone here had a printed NA inscription where exemplars like this would help authenticate the writing.
Both of these Steven Spielberg signed index cards are very overpriced. Even certified by Third Party Authentication they should be not more than $250 each.
Interestingly these are the only Spielberg signatures available on eBay. Everything else are signed photos - most of them (including authenticated ones) cheaper than these signatures.
I have seen very few Spielberg signatures over the years show up on eBay but the occasional one that has where it was bids usually brings under $100.
This has happened a few times to me. I see a deal but I already own the autograph and buying the “deal” doesn’t make sense because I probably couldn’t resell it for enough money to make it worthwhile for my trouble. Usually the deal is like $50 less than what it ordinarily costs so not like a super deal but just better than what I payed. Also sometimes I don’t know if I want to buy the “deal” - yes, I already own the autograph so what am I going to do with two of these? It can be tempting but you know in reality you probably can’t resell it to make the flip worthwhile and you definitely don’t need two.
For example, you pay $70 for a Jack Haley signed check and find the same one for $20 a few months later. Almost sounds like a no brainer until you realize it will really cost you $25-$27 after shipping/tax then if you resold it all those fees. Also would you even be able to get $70? Maybe you overpaid. Got to think about it.
You pay $70 for a Jack Haley signed check and find the same one for $20 a few months later.
It's funny you mention Jack Haley.
Several years ago there were a couple sellers on ebay selling them it lots of 10. I kept getting outbid at $100 - $120. Then one weekend I was waiting for a table at a breakfast place and I was surfing ebay and I saw one seller seemed to be having a closeout sale, as he had multiple auctions for groups in 10 or 20, all ending in the same hour.
I threw in some bids and ended up winning two lots of 10 at an average of about $85 each. I made over half my money back on ebay pretty quickly and someday I'll get around to selling off the rest of the extras. The ones that I'll be keeping will essentially be free.
You pay $70 for a Jack Haley signed check and find the same one for $20 a few months later.
It's funny you mention Jack Haley.
Several years ago there were a couple sellers on ebay selling them it lots of 10. I kept getting outbid at $100 - $120. Then one weekend I was waiting for a table at a breakfast place and I was surfing ebay and I saw one seller seemed to be having a closeout sale, as he had multiple auctions for groups in 10 or 20, all ending in the same hour.
I threw in some bids and ended up winning two lots of 10 at an average of about $85 each. I made over half my money back on ebay pretty quickly and someday I'll get around to selling off the rest of the extras. The ones that I'll be keeping will essentially be free.
I remember seeing those lots but never got any. Would seem very silly if I did buy one at $70 (thankfully I did not but I think I paid $30 for one years ago). Looks like the bring just under $20 now for individual ones.
A few senecios which have all happened to me, some multiple times and others only once or twice. Here are four different scenarios and in parentheses my own experience examples.
When you think you got a very good deal on an autograph then much later you realize you overpaid after seeing the same “rare” autograph you bought for a much lower price and it isn’t even selling at that low price.
(This happened to me with several entertainment autographs I purchased off reputable dealer sites like Autograph World and RRAuction around 15-20 years ago that I thought I got steals on at the time because I saw overpriced ones on eBay listed for hundreds more than what I paid. When I went to resell the ones I purchased I learned I overpaid by at least 4x what they were actually worth. There were a lot of big names in entertainment I bought including Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Old Hollywood names including Frank Capra, Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Clark Gable…so many, all super overpaid! I spent around $10,000 total for all these over the five years I was buying them then got around $2500 when I sold it all. Learned the very hard way they were really only worth about 25% of what I paid and not a good investment as I saw many of the Old Hollywood stars like Bogart’s signature depreciate in value from $2000 down to $700 today)
When you almost bought an autograph for a much inflated price (not being aware it was overpriced at the time) and for whatever reason did not buy it, then much later find that autograph for sale for much less and find it not selling so now you are relieved you did not buy it originally.
(This happened to me more recently when almost purchasing a Sonia Sotomayor signed letter for $150 then much later seeing a Sotomayor signed Supreme Court photo (and countless signed books) failing to sell for even $20)
There are the times when you find a deal but for whatever reason don’t buy it (including reasons such as you were scared it might had been fake, it didn’t fit your collection theme at the time, or didn’t realize it was a steal) then realize much later it was definitely authentic and a steal and you could have actually bought it.
(This happened to me shortly after my “Big Sell Off” when I was done with collecting autographs at the time and I was offered on two separate occasions a Martin Luther King, Jr. signed program that was fully authenticated by PSA for $2000 the first time and $1800 the second time. I didn’t realize it was worth a lot more than $2000 and neither did the coin dealer who got it from an estate. I mostly didn’t buy it because I wasn’t collecting autographs then.)
You had an autograph and decided to sell/trade/give it away then later find out it increased significantly in value since you last owned it.
(I can think of two examples here, Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Chambers Card I got ttm that I basically gave away for $10 along with five other Justices. The only one I truly regret selling as I would want it in my current collection. The other example is my Walt Disney signed check. I made a profit when I sold it so I don’t regret selling it when I did but it would had been really nice if I still had it knowing I could get $10,000 for it instead of $1600 when I sold it.)
What are your experiences with these scenarios happening to you?
I bought a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signature (inscribed) for $550 over two years ago. At the time I purchased this all other RBG signed items (personalized and not) were all overpriced Buy It Nows from $1200 to $3500 on eBay. Over the last two years this has continued to be the case. Twice I noticed someone sold off old ttm collections that unknowingly sold a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Supreme Court photo for $10 Buy It Now and $100 Buy It Now respectively (I suspect both times the buyers messaged the seller making offer and seller agreed to do Buy It Now since all their other items for sale were $9.99 opening bid auctions). They sold so quickly I didn’t see these steals until later when I browsed ended items. I couldn’t believe it.
A few days ago I noticed an opportunity to buy a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Supreme Court photo for a little over $400 (after fees and shipping). Problem is I know this is a great price but if I bought it I would want to sell the personalized one I have that I paid $550. If I could somehow make a profit I would breach the $600 selling limit on internet sales selling the one item alone. That would likely bite into my potential profit enough to create a loss since I would be lucky to even get $600 for it. Chances are I would likely have trouble selling it as it is (currently experiencing this with other autographs I am trying to unload). So I feel like it’s much better to just keep the one I have and not worry about upgrading to a better item. Kind of a weird dilemma to be in. If it was $100 then I would probably buy it immediately and just own two RBG autographs but an extra $400 is too much to spend for an “extra” autograph.
This is the RBG signed photo I can potentially buy for a little over $400. Just want to clarify that another member pointed this out to me - I did NOT find it myself.
Don't forget that your "costs" (purchase price, fees, etc.) are deductible so that 1099K would be reportable but likeky no tax due (or very little). Although, it is a bit of an accounting nightmare on the tax form.
Another way to potentially look at it is that if you bought the new one for $400 and sold the old one for $400 or a little more to cover fees, you'd now have an uninscribed photo that essentially cost you the same $550.
You'd be trading inscribed for uninscribed.
Of course, if you sold the old for what you paid then you'd have a new one for $400.
@JBK said:
Another way to potentially look at it is that if you bought the new one for $400 and sold the old one for $400 or a little more to cover fees, you'd now have an uninscribed photo that essentially cost you the same $550.
You'd be trading inscribed for uninscribed.
Of course, if you sold the old for what you paid then you'd have a new one for $400.
It was an auction and it appeared that it would close without a bid. The opening bid was just $350 plus 18% buyers premium and shipping so around $400 give or take total. It turns out the auction did get bids and ended at $610 after premium (but before tax and shipping) so not such of a great deal after all. Now I don’t feel as bad not bidding.
The RBG I have is actually more of a signature rather than a signed photo (but there is a black and white picture on the reverse), so the one that just sold (if I had bought it) would had been more of an upgrade more so for the type of item, rather than just personalized verses non-personalized. Ideally I want a signed Chambers Card so I wasn’t as invested in getting this Supreme Court photo as I would had been if it had been a Chambers Card.
Thinking about all this today, I am thinking I may just keep this and not upgrade it due to the tax nightmare that would result if I sold it for over $600.
I had to laugh at the irony of this. Both of these just happened to be recently listed by two different sellers…this stroke of timing just revealed to me without even clicking on either that this is a preprint (same date, placement etc). Had the two not been posted at the same time one might get fooled (until further investigation).
A First U.S. Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets signed by J.K. Rowling brought nearly $900. Keep in mind this was sold on eBay without any third party authentication helping it and the book had some condition issues (few stains and a little damage to book).
Makes me wonder what a pristine one would had brought authenticated by Beckett (or PSA, or JSA) because a lot of eBay buyers seem to love authentication. Actually I won’t be surprised if in a month or so I see this back on eBay stickered by Beckett, PSA or JSA and at like $5,000 Buy It Now.
That's wild. Not a potter fan, I probably would pick it up at goodwill, see it signed, and put it back down and walk away, that's how much I care about potter.
@bronzemat said:
That's wild. Not a potter fan, I probably would pick it up at goodwill, see it signed, and put it back down and walk away, that's how much I care about potter.
Could buy it and resell it for a nice profit if you were aware of the value. I don’t care much about sports autographs but I know which ones to look out for in case a bargain comes my way.
@bronzemat said:
That's wild. Not a potter fan, I probably would pick it up at goodwill, see it signed, and put it back down and walk away, that's how much I care about potter.
Could buy it and resell it for a nice profit if you were aware of the value. I don’t care much about sports autographs but I know which ones to look out for in case a bargain comes my way.
Oh of course, but than I would have to put in the work of asking everyone if it's real or spend $ on sending it to one of the ABC graders. Eh...let someone else earn the 5G Buy It Now.
Comments
I was poking through some stuff and I rediscovered this flyer from the 2016 primary campaign. I knew that Gloria Steinem was a Hillary supporter so at some point after the campaign I wrote to ask if she would sign this (at that time she was still signing TTM but you had to ask first). They said yes so I sent it.
Gloria Steinem not only signed the campaign flyer but she also included a signed 8x10.
Here is a super rare variation of a fairly common autograph.
Billionaire J. Paul Getty is now most common in signed checks and I have several. When I saw this one on ebay a few years ago I was prepared to go higher than my winning bid, which was about what a normal check was selling for at the time.
On this special trust account, his full name was listed as trustee, so that's how he signed it. I have looked everywhere but I can't find another full signature like this one. I believe that he virtually never signed anything as Jean Paul Getty. I have no idea on value, but it is excessively rare so I am happy to have it.
That’s awesome. If you ever want to sell or trade that please keep me in mind.
(I meant to post these in the other thread, so I moved them there. But, they were a pretty good deal so I'll leave them here, as well).
Currently being offered on Ebay for $200 + $21.42 S&H.
All I can do is laugh at that.
I've seen those for other historical people like Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln, and other presidents. Usually (but not always
) it's a damaged or unsigned document that they cut up. I have to wonder what it was from Neil Armstrong that they hacked apart.
Here is the COA which includes an image of the letter that the word was cut from. I see the price has been bumped up to $299.
Wow! I remember like 15 years ago when I could get a Neil Armstrong signed index card for not much more than $299. Crazy just a single word is this much today!
Looking at that COA it sounds/looks like it was written on the back of a photograph.
A handwritten note from Neil Armstrong hacked apart.
My guess is that the owner wasn't happy that the "Neil" was printed and not signed.
Its too bad, as it had value as a note, and was a great example of his printed writing. As I recall someone here had a printed NA inscription where exemplars like this would help authenticate the writing.
Like this one I got ttm years ago?
Both of these Steven Spielberg signed index cards are very overpriced. Even certified by Third Party Authentication they should be not more than $250 each.
Interestingly these are the only Spielberg signatures available on eBay. Everything else are signed photos - most of them (including authenticated ones) cheaper than these signatures.
I have seen very few Spielberg signatures over the years show up on eBay but the occasional one that has where it was bids usually brings under $100.
.
This has happened a few times to me. I see a deal but I already own the autograph and buying the “deal” doesn’t make sense because I probably couldn’t resell it for enough money to make it worthwhile for my trouble. Usually the deal is like $50 less than what it ordinarily costs so not like a super deal but just better than what I payed. Also sometimes I don’t know if I want to buy the “deal” - yes, I already own the autograph so what am I going to do with two of these? It can be tempting but you know in reality you probably can’t resell it to make the flip worthwhile and you definitely don’t need two.
For example, you pay $70 for a Jack Haley signed check and find the same one for $20 a few months later. Almost sounds like a no brainer until you realize it will really cost you $25-$27 after shipping/tax then if you resold it all those fees. Also would you even be able to get $70? Maybe you overpaid. Got to think about it.
It's funny you mention Jack Haley.
Several years ago there were a couple sellers on ebay selling them it lots of 10. I kept getting outbid at $100 - $120. Then one weekend I was waiting for a table at a breakfast place and I was surfing ebay and I saw one seller seemed to be having a closeout sale, as he had multiple auctions for groups in 10 or 20, all ending in the same hour.
I threw in some bids and ended up winning two lots of 10 at an average of about $85 each. I made over half my money back on ebay pretty quickly and someday I'll get around to selling off the rest of the extras. The ones that I'll be keeping will essentially be free.
I remember seeing those lots but never got any. Would seem very silly if I did buy one at $70 (thankfully I did not but I think I paid $30 for one years ago). Looks like the bring just under $20 now for individual ones.
A few senecios which have all happened to me, some multiple times and others only once or twice. Here are four different scenarios and in parentheses my own experience examples.
When you think you got a very good deal on an autograph then much later you realize you overpaid after seeing the same “rare” autograph you bought for a much lower price and it isn’t even selling at that low price.
(This happened to me with several entertainment autographs I purchased off reputable dealer sites like Autograph World and RRAuction around 15-20 years ago that I thought I got steals on at the time because I saw overpriced ones on eBay listed for hundreds more than what I paid. When I went to resell the ones I purchased I learned I overpaid by at least 4x what they were actually worth. There were a lot of big names in entertainment I bought including Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Old Hollywood names including Frank Capra, Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Clark Gable…so many, all super overpaid! I spent around $10,000 total for all these over the five years I was buying them then got around $2500 when I sold it all. Learned the very hard way they were really only worth about 25% of what I paid and not a good investment as I saw many of the Old Hollywood stars like Bogart’s signature depreciate in value from $2000 down to $700 today)
When you almost bought an autograph for a much inflated price (not being aware it was overpriced at the time) and for whatever reason did not buy it, then much later find that autograph for sale for much less and find it not selling so now you are relieved you did not buy it originally.
(This happened to me more recently when almost purchasing a Sonia Sotomayor signed letter for $150 then much later seeing a Sotomayor signed Supreme Court photo (and countless signed books) failing to sell for even $20)
There are the times when you find a deal but for whatever reason don’t buy it (including reasons such as you were scared it might had been fake, it didn’t fit your collection theme at the time, or didn’t realize it was a steal) then realize much later it was definitely authentic and a steal and you could have actually bought it.
(This happened to me shortly after my “Big Sell Off” when I was done with collecting autographs at the time and I was offered on two separate occasions a Martin Luther King, Jr. signed program that was fully authenticated by PSA for $2000 the first time and $1800 the second time. I didn’t realize it was worth a lot more than $2000 and neither did the coin dealer who got it from an estate. I mostly didn’t buy it because I wasn’t collecting autographs then.)
You had an autograph and decided to sell/trade/give it away then later find out it increased significantly in value since you last owned it.
(I can think of two examples here, Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Chambers Card I got ttm that I basically gave away for $10 along with five other Justices. The only one I truly regret selling as I would want it in my current collection. The other example is my Walt Disney signed check. I made a profit when I sold it so I don’t regret selling it when I did but it would had been really nice if I still had it knowing I could get $10,000 for it instead of $1600 when I sold it.)
What are your experiences with these scenarios happening to you?
I bought a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signature (inscribed) for $550 over two years ago. At the time I purchased this all other RBG signed items (personalized and not) were all overpriced Buy It Nows from $1200 to $3500 on eBay. Over the last two years this has continued to be the case. Twice I noticed someone sold off old ttm collections that unknowingly sold a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Supreme Court photo for $10 Buy It Now and $100 Buy It Now respectively (I suspect both times the buyers messaged the seller making offer and seller agreed to do Buy It Now since all their other items for sale were $9.99 opening bid auctions). They sold so quickly I didn’t see these steals until later when I browsed ended items. I couldn’t believe it.
A few days ago I noticed an opportunity to buy a Ruth Bader Ginsburg signed Supreme Court photo for a little over $400 (after fees and shipping). Problem is I know this is a great price but if I bought it I would want to sell the personalized one I have that I paid $550. If I could somehow make a profit I would breach the $600 selling limit on internet sales selling the one item alone. That would likely bite into my potential profit enough to create a loss since I would be lucky to even get $600 for it. Chances are I would likely have trouble selling it as it is (currently experiencing this with other autographs I am trying to unload). So I feel like it’s much better to just keep the one I have and not worry about upgrading to a better item. Kind of a weird dilemma to be in. If it was $100 then I would probably buy it immediately and just own two RBG autographs but an extra $400 is too much to spend for an “extra” autograph.
This is the RBG signed photo I can potentially buy for a little over $400. Just want to clarify that another member pointed this out to me - I did NOT find it myself.
Should I buy this at $400+ or let it be?
Don't forget that your "costs" (purchase price, fees, etc.) are deductible so that 1099K would be reportable but likeky no tax due (or very little). Although, it is a bit of an accounting nightmare on the tax form.
Another way to potentially look at it is that if you bought the new one for $400 and sold the old one for $400 or a little more to cover fees, you'd now have an uninscribed photo that essentially cost you the same $550.
You'd be trading inscribed for uninscribed.
Of course, if you sold the old for what you paid then you'd have a new one for $400.
It was an auction and it appeared that it would close without a bid. The opening bid was just $350 plus 18% buyers premium and shipping so around $400 give or take total. It turns out the auction did get bids and ended at $610 after premium (but before tax and shipping) so not such of a great deal after all. Now I don’t feel as bad not bidding.
The RBG I have is actually more of a signature rather than a signed photo (but there is a black and white picture on the reverse), so the one that just sold (if I had bought it) would had been more of an upgrade more so for the type of item, rather than just personalized verses non-personalized. Ideally I want a signed Chambers Card so I wasn’t as invested in getting this Supreme Court photo as I would had been if it had been a Chambers Card.
Thinking about all this today, I am thinking I may just keep this and not upgrade it due to the tax nightmare that would result if I sold it for over $600.
I had to laugh at the irony of this. Both of these just happened to be recently listed by two different sellers…this stroke of timing just revealed to me without even clicking on either that this is a preprint (same date, placement etc). Had the two not been posted at the same time one might get fooled (until further investigation).
A First U.S. Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets signed by J.K. Rowling brought nearly $900. Keep in mind this was sold on eBay without any third party authentication helping it and the book had some condition issues (few stains and a little damage to book).
Makes me wonder what a pristine one would had brought authenticated by Beckett (or PSA, or JSA) because a lot of eBay buyers seem to love authentication. Actually I won’t be surprised if in a month or so I see this back on eBay stickered by Beckett, PSA or JSA and at like $5,000 Buy It Now.
That's wild. Not a potter fan, I probably would pick it up at goodwill, see it signed, and put it back down and walk away, that's how much I care about potter.
Could buy it and resell it for a nice profit if you were aware of the value. I don’t care much about sports autographs but I know which ones to look out for in case a bargain comes my way.
Oh of course, but than I would have to put in the work of asking everyone if it's real or spend $ on sending it to one of the ABC graders. Eh...let someone else earn the 5G Buy It Now.
It would be my luck that it's fake.
True. It’s always a gamble. But if I think I know someone’s autograph well enough I might take that chance.
Yeah my three is Carole Landis, Diana Barrymore & Dana Plato. Not exactly 4 figure winners there.