autograph card overflooding

austinchau

are all these certified autograph set from all these big companies overflooding the market? it was cool they they have like one or set in a year featuring past greats, but now there are just so many, other than the cut autos, the normal certified has really lost their appeal in my opinion, do you guys agree?

5thScaleRacer

I agree!

bjork73

First the game-used craze went so far that it's practically dead now, and the autographs are quickly following since the manufacturers needed to find something to push when it saw the whole GU thing hit the fan, and push it they did, all the way to the edge of the Grand Canyon

Futureman

Yes, I think the card companies are overproducing autographs. It's almost like collectors have come to expect an autograph which has led to more autograph cards being put out, and we all know about the laws of supply and demand. Stickers are a scourge on the industry. The stickers don't do anything for collectors. The cards lose eye appeal, and they exist to (allegedly) make things easier on players (which I can understand), and make more money for card companies (which is a joke). The expectations of getting an autograph has led to more companies using stickers and using them more often. There seems to be a premium for autographs done the old way, you know, the ones that are actually on the card. If collectors don't take a stand then there won't be any reason for card companies not to go from using stickers on most products to making them the standard and using them on all products.

Here is a previous thread: How long before autograph market is saturated?

Pinkcatfish

I can't stand those little silver pieces of crap stuck on cards. They should do it right or don't do it at all.

Brian48

<< <i>I can't stand those little silver pieces of crap stuck on cards. They should do it right or don't do it at all. >>



Well, actually I don't mind the "inserted" autos. Whether it's a piece of foil or cut paper, as long as it's embedded properly, I think it's fine. For deceased players, this is the only way to do it anyway. What I really don't like is when they take regular issue cards and simply laminate them with an pre-autographed "tape". I question how long it'll be before the tape start to peel off the card or the adhesive starts to brown.

If you think about it, there really isn't a practical way to get athletes to autograph these cards in quantity with any type of consistent quality control. If you send xx amount of cards to any given player to sign, what are the chances that the cards will come back from the player in "less than mint" condition? They'll just scribble their names on it and toss them in a returned envelope.

Also, you run the risk of some players marking up the card in ways that you don't want. An example being Jose Canseco, who once signed a Fleer card that featured both him and Wally Joyner. In addition to his signature, he drew a moustache on Joyner (the kid was real happy about that). I can just imagine a pitcher's dream card with both Clemens and Johnson coming back with "lanky geek" and "fat slob" inscribed next to each other's respective names.

Anyway, I love most of the autographed cards out there. Admittededly, some of them do suck and I would not bother with them, but some are really well done and would certainly hold up more in value in the years to come than some of the mass produced rookies out there.

tnfan67

Will there ever come a day when inserts will be gone? Would people still buy packs if this were so? If the companies did eliminate inserts, I guess it would kill the $30-100 per pack products. This might not be a bad thing for most collectors.

vikesfan40

Love the autographs of hof players. Boycott those stickers!

Fabfrank

I love the certified autograph cards. I like the autograph on the card and not those "band-aid" strips with the autograph. Let the companies flood the market with them, because it is the only way to consistently get autograph cards cheaply. Look on ebay and you can buy many HOF autographs from $5-$15. You can't beat the value.

ctsoxfan

Autographs are today's game-used cards - but I would rather have an auto from a HOF player than a GU card from him. I do wonder what would happen if there were no "chase" cards in today's products? We are so used to them now, it's going to be hard to stop.

MajorDanby

<< <i>Look on ebay and you can buy many HOF autographs from $5-$15 >>



Got a carlton auto for $10. Same night, got a killebrew for $11. The hobby constant reinvents itself, but with such a glut of products and companies it's hard to envision what is next in the hobby after the GU and auto phase follows the same path as the refractors, holograms, and parallel cards.

One thing that will never end is the rookie card.

Pinkcatfish

How enlightening would it be if the VPs of Marketing of the major card companies read these boards occasionally?? Maybe any executive. Granted probably more vintage collectors on CU boards but still anyone
here on any board is active to some degree and CARES about the hobby. Once the shop owners finish
packing up, where will any feedback come from ? Something to think about.

NickM

I got Duke Snider last month for $9 (including shipping). Less popular HOFers (Niekro, Aparicio, Kell, Doby and Wilhelm before they died, etc.) often go for $6 or less. My cheapest buys at shows or shops have been Fingers and Weaver at $3 each.
How could any collector not want certified autographs at those prices?

Nick

austinchau

Yeah it seems the only good autograph are the dead HOFer ceritifed stuff, I guess you can't sign autograph after you died and that's the only the way to stop it