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| Appreciate the facsimile sig. This cup-of-coffee pitcher now demands more than $2 per letter for his last name! |
When in doubt, ASK!
One of the great parts of this hobby is knowing that veteran collectors will share their experiences with you. I called upon hobby veteran Rich Hanson for his impressions of former players charging for their autographs. I’m grateful for his words of wisdom:
“What do I look for in deciding whether to pay for a signature? How tough the signer is otherwise, and how reasonable the fee is.
One can find some good bargains in Harvey Meiselman’s list of signers. HOFer Don Sutton @$5 a card, Reggie Cleveland and Kevin Elster @ $1 a card, Larry Gura $2 per.I’ve never had a problem sending cash by mail, but I don’t send large amounts. Anything bigger merits a money order or check if they’ll accept it.I weigh the price on the player and how bad I want him in my collection. Quite a few years ago I paid $5 each for two Dom Zanni autographs. Now he’s charging $30. Now I’d pass.Even worse is Bob Giallombardo’s $25 (double his amount of major league games, and Bob Allen’s $100 fee to sign a card (postal money order only). This is either a joke gone awry or an extremely unrealistic request.I can buy three Nolan Ryan signatures for what he’s charging.”
Tomorrow: The amazing mission of pitcher Larry Gura!
I interviewed Giallombardo in 2009, you can read it here, “From the Big Apple to the Big Leagues.”
He told me on the phone to send him a card and he’d sign it. He even gave me his address. I sent him the card and the article. Six months later I had no response. He never mentioned anything about a fee. I sent a follow-up with another copy of the article and a small photo and again he kept it. I know these players don’t owe us anything, but he could just return the items unsigned.
I have been looking for a Giollombardo autograph for some time now and have not seen a single one listed on ebay. If he actually signs for $25, I would probably pay that. I bet if his 589 Topps card showed up signed on ebay, it may easily exceed that as I know I am not the only fanatic Dodger auto collector out there.
I agree with you though. Giollombardo’s career doesn’t warrant a $25 fee, but the scarcity he has created does apparently.