TTM does the cost work out?

[indyreds]

I have heard a few members tell me via PM that they do not mail as often or at all anymore do to mailing costs! It shocks me to hear it! The costs of cards go up and many still buy them! It is nothing to drop $100 on a box of cards! You are lucky to get three hits in a box! Let's take a real look at what $100 can get you via TTM!

1 stamp = 49 cents/ 2 stamps round trip = 98 cents
peel and seal envelope = 7 cents/ 2 envelopes = 14 cents
common card = 10 cents/ three cards = 30 cents

That means one envelope is $1.42! That is less than any pack of cards where you can get even a one in a 100 shot of hitting an autograph! Let's assume that you mail 70 envelopes that would equal $100 in supplies. It is even less if you are just using cards that you would otherwise have no use for. I realize that some players will not sign all three or not at all. Let's take a look at what a 67% success rate would get you with half of the cards that were returned signed!

70 envelopes = 210 cards sent
210 cards 67% returned success rate 140 cards! (That is very low as many members are over 80% and some much higher!)
140 cards 50% signed = 70 cards signed

$100 cost divided by 70 cards back and you are back to $1.42 a card for total cost signed!

Now look seriously at the list of 70 that you can build with a much better than that shot of success! Tell me what box you could buys and pull these guys out of at that price. I will list 70 players or stars with over a 90 percent success rate and tell me how this is too costly a niche of the collecting market? This is just a quick list and many other players are this good as well. With the 67% formula I used you would pick 47 out of the 70 names!
1. Bobby Richardson (former WS MVP and longtime Yankee) 100%
2. Bob Uecker (Player, Announcer and Major League Movie Star) 90% c/o brewers
3. Billy Beane (former #1 overall pick = made famous from role in moneyball as an executive) 94% c/o A's
4. Bobby Shantz (52 AL MVP and 8 Gold Gloves) 100%
5. Juan Samuel (30/30 player and former all star) 100% c/o Phils
6. Jimmy Nelson (Talented Rookie) 100% c/o Brewers
7. Bobby Doerr (The Silent Captain is in the HOF!) 99%
8. Don Baylor (former ML slugger) 100% c/o Angels
9. Luis Gonzalez ( yeah, former 50 HR guy!) c/o Arizona 98%
10. Jim Bunning (HOF!) 100%
11. Will Clark (The Natural!) 100% c/o Giants
12. Brett Butler (Dodger/Giants star) 100% c/o Marlins
13. Ron Cey (The Penguin) 99%
14. Jose Berrios (Huge Twins Prospect!) 100% c/o milb team
15. Jimmy Key (Former All Star) 100%
16. Jeff George (former #1 pick and NFL starting QB) 100%
17. Bill Parcells (HOF Coach) 100%
18. Ben Coates (former PB TE) 100% at new addy!
19. Charlie Joiner (HOF) 97%
20. Desmond Howard (Heismann) 100%
21. Archie Manning (HOF) 96%
22. Harry Carson (HOF) 100%
23. Mercury Morris (72 Dolphins!) 100%
24. Jim McMahon (Super Bowl Shuffle Bears Team QB!) 98%
25. Ray Guy (HOF) 100%
26. Bill Cowher (HOF COACH) 100%
27. Dan Fouts (HOF QB) 95%
28. Aldon Smith (PB LB) 100%
29. Joe Theismann (QB n Broadcaster) 100%
30. Blake Bortles ( 2014 #1 pick!) 100%
31. Lenny Wilkens (HOF) 94%
32. Christian Laettner (Dream Team n DUKE FAME!) 100%
33. Jason Kidd (future HOF) 100 c/o team as coach
34. Pat Summitt (HOF) 100% c/o college
35. Paul Westphal (HOF) 100%
36. Harrison Barnes 100%
37. Larry Nance (all star) 89-100% depending on addy
38. Robert Parish (HOF 50 greatest ever!) 97%
39. Dan Issel (HOF 100% c/o CO addy
40. Clyde Lovellette (HOF) IN addy 100%
41. Dirk Nowitzki (all Star) Mavs 100%
42. John Stockton (HOF) 98%
43. Dikembe Mutombo (all star) 100%
44. Sam Perkins (NC Legend!) 100% - had to make for having a DUKE guy!
45. Harry Gallatin (HOF) 100%
46. Jim Paxson (Bulls Champion) 100%
47. Paul George (All STAR) 86% Sorry lowest name on list, but I am a fan! Get well soon buddy!
48. Jerry Sloan (HOF) 100% c/o UT addy
49. Tom Chambers (All Star) 100%
50. Bradley Beal (All Star) c/o team 100%
51. Richard Petty 100%
52. Cale Yarborough 96%
53. A J Foyt 100%
54. Mario Andretti 100%
55. Al Unser Sr. 100%
56. Greg Biffle 92%
57. Dale Jarrett 100% c/o fanclub
58. Larry McReynolds 100%
59. Kevin Harvick 100%
60. Michael Waltrip 100%
61. Jack Nicklaus 93%
62. Gary Player 100% SC addy
63. Tom Watson 100%
64. Landon Donovan 100%
65. Chris Chelios 100%
66. Mike Eruzione (1980 USA Hockey Captain!) 100%
67. Henri Richard (HOF-one for the Canadian Members!) 98%
68. Randy Couture 100%
69. John McEnroe 100%
70. Lindsey Jacobellis (had to place one for you Winter X fans-Olympian as well!) 100%

I know that I mixed sport, but could have done a single list for any of the big sports with similar success rates! It would be easy to do that mailing above and get these results:
70 envelopes 90% success rate = 63 envelopes back!
63 envelopes x 3 cards= 189 cards back
189 cards back 53% signed = 100 cards
$100 in supplies for 100 autographed cards = $1 an autographed card!
Look at the list and tell me that they are not easily a dollar an autographed card!

Please, tell me what I am missing! What are your thoughts? Do you still TTM? Have you ever did the math?

[39special]

The reason I started sending TTMs was because of the cost.Once a week I buy a book or two of 20 stamps,a box of envelopes(80),and I have boxes of cards.
Its an affordable way for me to enjoy the hobby when my card budget is low.
Balls and 8x10's can get costly.

[indyreds]

The reason I started sending TTMs was because of the cost.Once a week I buy a book or two of 20 stamps,a box of envelopes(80),and I have boxes of cards.
Its an affordable way for me to enjoy the hobby when my card budget is low.
Balls and 8x10's can get costly.

That is my point as well. It also is why I was confused by the comments that TTM has gotten too expensive. I rarely do 8x10's or balls and I can see how that would get expensive. The sad part is that I am filling out an 8x10 request in just a few as I did not find a card of an actress that I had to add to my collection.

[ajcorleone]

I think it is a great and cost effective way to collect. I have been downsizing my collecting and want to mainly focus on TTM. I have tons of base and inserts for players to sign so it is cheap and exciting to get to the mailbox.I buy a roll of stamps at a time I usually try about every 2 weeks to dedicate an hour or so and get out 10 or so requests.Now you probably not getting a Mike Trout or Derek Jeter but you can get a ton of stars and personal favorites.I have done it for over 20 years and this site made my collection explode.

[steeltowninwv]

to me its about getting what u want..instead of busting wax and not getting one single card u pc......
cost for me..is a little more..i do 8x10's...but still I get what I want....

[r0yals2012]

Ttms are so much more fun than buying a certified card

[dareyl]

I with you indyreds. I have recently gotten into getting baseballs signed because I like the thrill of completing my collection and they are collections I make on my own, not a collection based on what the card companies say is a set. So I was thinking of giving away my cards to make room for my memorabilia. I figured if I pass these 20,000+ cards down to grandkids, a common card would at the most be worth $1. Nothing to help financially if needed. So then I thought, if these common cards are autographed then when my grandkids get them (BTW I only have 5 year old girls so I'm thinking way down the line),they have to be at least $5 each for a common card. So 20,000 cards could be worth $20,000 with no real buyer or $100,000 with many potential buyers because of the autograph. Or my head is still in the clouds because I'm trying to justify to my wife all these stamps I'm buying. hahaha

[alf7624]

I started doing TTM baseballs in July. I get the romlbs at 13.00 bucks each, and supplies and postage is a little less then 7.00 bucks each ball. I sent to a bunch of the names listed above. I looked for 90%+ guys to start with.

As a collector who searched for deals on ebay and other websites to purchase signed baseballs, 20 bucks a signed ball for the players/ celebrities I got back so far is so much cheaper.

Collecting autographs is never a cheap hobby. But TTM so far has been much cheaper then buying signed items.

[CliffAnderson92]

I think it has to do with money, but not because it's too expensive. A lot of collectors like to spend $100+ on a box of cards so they can be like the other "cool" people that collect and flip cards to add to their PC's and have a chance to pull a superstar and make money from it like a gambler. TTM autographs seem to be harder to sell, at least for the person trying to sell them because a lot of buyers want them for dirt cheap compared to what they would cost if they were pulled from a pack.

I have never been able to afford $100+ boxes of cards, so when I first started collecting in 2012 I bought a few $14 boxes of cards from the early 1990's hoping that the Jordan's and Gretzky's I pulled would be worth the box of cards. I soon learned that cards from that time period are essentially worthless which got me down for a while until I discovered TTM autographs. I made the rookie mistake of sending too many of the cards to people that I have maybe a 1% chance of getting signed.......got lucky once with a Klay Thompson autograph, but luckily I had also sent a lot of cards to people that signed close to 100% and I became addicted to the hobby.

At this point I'm trying to downsize my collection and focus on my PC's (Petty, Yankees, Desert Storm) and start building up both the sentimental and monetary value of my collection. I've been trying to sell many of my TTM autos for $1-$5 each and haven't been able to sell any of them yet, I've only sold 1 auto so far and it was from a pull of BenchWarmers.

The good thing though, is that if less people are requesting ttm's, then that means more for the rest of us!

[indyreds]

A year old post from a member who had too much time on his hands (me) has resurfaced! LOL! I still think the math works out that it is a great way to add to your collection, but that math falls apart should you want to get them certified. I tried looking at the grading site to see what it might cost to get a few passed away stars from collection signed and after looking at their site I was more confused than before I looked at what it might cost and the process for getting it done, but it did look very pricey, Should anyone have a clue what it would cost to certify cards, please clue us in!