I tip my cap to Jack Billingham. It’s not the typical “now I charge for autographs” form letter.
After the traditional claim of finding his autographs being sold on eBay and elsewhere, the tone changes.
“I am all in favor of free enterprise and, in fact, encourage it. With this in mind, I hope you’ll understand when I tell you my wife thinks this old ballplayer should get a little cut of the action.”
Then, the former pitcher goes on to request $5 for signing your card, or $10 for an autographed photo or baseball. He thanks the senders (who gets back their unsigned cards) for their interest in baseball history.
Well, if the Billinghams are marketing autographs, I’d challenge them to give a free sample. At least, autograph the “send again, and include money” request. After all, my grocery store gives me a cheese cube on a toothpick before asking me to buy a pound of cheddar.
Meanwhile, expect the “my mom threw out my baseball cards” jingle to be overshadowed by the “my wife’s the one making me charge for autographs” refrain.
I don’t see anything wrong with what he’s doing, and I hope that more people won’t complain about this. He was a gracious signer for free for many years, and by all accounts he’s a really nice guy. $5 for his sig is a good deal, and I don’t blame him for wanting a SMALL piece of the action. At least he’s not some no-name charging $25 for his autograph.