Insanity at the Nationals

Pre72

Jason Giambi is charging $75 per autograph for a signed flat or baseball? Tony Dorsett $99, Hines Ward $129 and my favorite Joe Torre $149, bahaha. Who is paying these prices when you can get them on ebay for 10x less. It's not a meet and greet it's typically a quick signature and a get the hell out of here, I almost forget photo opportunities are usually the same price as the autograph. Crazy. Is anyone actually paying up?

Nascar360

People lineup all day long at the show for them and more power to them. I know they are taking time away from their family and friends.

I agree with you the prices are a little out of control. It's one of the reasons I converted over to NASCAR and driver autos.

jeffcbay

Ripken stops and takes a photo with every person he signs for, and it's included in the price. When I did it back in 2010 I was going for the photo... the signature was almost a formality. Some people aren't in this hobby for the quick cash.

Statman

I agree, most of those prices are crazy, especially when you can get a psa/dna version on ebay for less (I would guess). But if you have a unique item that you want to get signed or something that already has signatures that you want to add to, you've got to pay the price.

biggmacc

The players aren't charging these fees... The greedy promoters are...

jeffcbay

Honestly, I equate autograph hounds to those fat guys sitting on the floor at WalMart tampering with unopened packs. It's one thing to ask a guy for his autograph at a game or pay for one at a signing, but it's another thing to go to sporting events with a backpack full of crap trying to gain as many signatures as possible while pushing your way through a group of little kids.

I realize nobody in here is talking about that level of auto-hunting, but when someone compares the cost at a signing to an autograph on ebay it reminds me of that.

Pre72

<< <i>Ripken stops and takes a photo with every person he signs for, and it's included in the price. When I did it back in 2010 I was going for the photo... the signature was almost a formality. Some people aren't in this hobby for the quick cash. >>



I did see the Ripken comes with a free photo, he's the only one I saw to do so. Good for him, he's always been a class act.

Baez578

That's nuts! Wouldn't pay even half that unless I can take a picture as well.

Tabe

<< <i>Honestly, I equate autograph hounds to those fat guys sitting on the floor at WalMart tampering with unopened packs. It's one thing to ask a guy for his autograph at a game or pay for one at a signing, but it's another thing to go to sporting events with a backpack full of crap trying to gain as many signatures as possible while pushing your way through a group of little kids. >>


When I went to a recent Mariners/Tigers game in Seattle, my friend & I made our way down to the Tigers' dugout before the game and hung out there. I was hoping to maybe get a picture with a player since I'm from the Detroit area and was wearing a Tigers jersey (an '84 Trammell, to be exact). Anyway, that wasn't happening, which is fine. In front of us was a young father with two young children with him. He was very obviously the autograph hound you're describing. He struck me as something of a douche with his attitude and behavior, even though he really didn't do anything wrong. What bugged me most, though, was that he planned to stay for only "an inning or two" of the game because his kids run out of patience at that point. You think they might possibly enjoy the game more and and have more patience if they didn't have to spend an hour beforehand standing around doing nothing while Daddy gets an autograph to sell on Ebay?