In Person Autos can have value....

[30ranfordfan]

Saw this sale being discussed in a FB group I'm in, and thought I'd share it here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/276313107668?hash=item40558b6cd4:g:fQUAAOSwYSBluwg u&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8N4OaUIhy9bNzVeTOEIY4XbO0cb %2FBsY6%2FdIh26VcCcbc2r7PKbsll9v6jhDyRvkdxSMPtZ599 Xn0HcU™™™cXKBcOUZw2VLviOtMrlXOFN5T7oA%2Ff071ItP5qI 5K2wiPF0g9aoq4Cd2hi9rbvTvZjHXEiCu7srNsfqmM2lMoFZRo NMFQ29S9PcvFhZAeoTBourLrKfqQUOZbTWHTiSz5bkQrLjonz5 y8Dav8CuVXDtu%2FGi3793dMSQ96RPfVIGAOEU6pWCoMrmbSEP qcqThKG6ZX2Pc98JCgiIgBxmB4a%2FwMNE7URSTi0IV4%2BaFO 5pzIt5w%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6Tc4IOwYw


(To be clear, no - this wasn't my auction. No, I was not bidding on it). I will also mentioned that I think very few, if any, of the in person / TTM autos I've been acquiring for my collection will ever be worth much on their own (I'd like to think a near complete all-time Oilers collection would be worth something... but even then, but probably never what I've got into it)

I've seen a lot of talk over the years about how worthless IP & TTM autographs are (and some very untrue statements about these kinds of autographs).

I will fist say that yes, getting Steve Staios or Ty Conklin to autograph your hockey card for you - it's never going to be worth any more than the nice memory you have of meeting the player (maybe you were actually a fan).

Having Sidney Crosby autograph you 2015 Upper Deck base card - even if you spend the money to have PSA certify the autograph, it's never going to be worth as much as whatever he lowest-end autograph card from Upper Deck was that year.

However, getting key (and sometimes valuable) cards of a player signed (particularly rookie cards) can add tremendous value to a card. Using Crosby as an example: A certified (slabbed, from PSA) autographed copy of his young guns will likely fetch more than a PSA 9 would.

The real gems can be guys like Greg Parks though.

This was almost certainly sold to someone trying to complete an autographed set of 1990-91 OPC Premier. (Before anyone asks: No, I don't believe it was shilled. A couple of group members confirmed they bid on it, very high, but didn't win). Why is it worth so much? Greg Parks (who I never heard of, until today) played only 23 games - spread out between 1990 and 1993. After that, he had a 20 year career in Europe. He did have one other NHL card (92-93 Parkhurst).

Most of the time he played in North America, after having his first NHL card (1990-1993) was spent in the minors, where professional autograph hounds are not as prominent. This leads to there not being a ton of signed copies of a particular card out there. (I've also seen some talk that folks wouldn't break up their 90-91 OPC Premier set for autographs back in the day too.... not sure how true that is, but it sort of makes sense. Why break up your high end set? Get your Pro Set or Score cards signed, leave the Premier at home... Parks was one of very players to be in OPC Premier that year, and not the other releases).

He retired in 2003, but I gather was a ghost for autograph collectors after that (not sure if he stayed in Europe, making it hard to write to him for North American collectors.... or came back to Canada, but had no profile). He died in 2015.

Here we are, almost 25 years later, and the set is still incredibly popular. You can be sure that the top few bidders on that card need only a few more to complete their signed set, and went crazy when this one showed up.


Yes, this is the extreme crazy end of IP auto pricing, but I thought it was awesome enough I had to share it here.

[Devlin]

I think Parks played some for Springfield in the AHL . He was not very big.

[pwskelly]

That's insane ... though as a friend of someone who has a massive TTM and IP auto collection with many huge names, he never gets excited about the HOFers, its always the obscure guys he tracks down. This was probably the easiest way of acquiring the auto lol.

[RGM81]

I love my IP/TTM collection. In most cases, it's all about the memory of that interaction with the player. Was he cool, was he nice, did we chat, that sort of thing.

I find also that in recent years there's a growing sub-sector of the hobby that loves autographed YG's. I've got a few of these in my PC now, none bigger than my Cole Caufield. He did a private signing a couple months back, and it seemed like a great opportunity. Apparently if/when he does the next signing, the price for getting the YG done will be double this past one. It's a thing. So that's neat. I know that a Carey Price signed YG is worth pretty much equal to an unsigned BGS 9.5. That's pretty solid value added.

But yeah, mostly about the cool factor of meeting the player and having that interaction and chance to talk.

[doniceage]

@30randfordfan
Can you verify the link works for you. I clicked on it three times did not lead me to the ending price. Lmk what it ended for.

Rookie cards in baseball with authenticated auto's have been selling like wildfire. Seen some of the dead hall of fame rookie cards sell for a ridiculous price. Of course that is what makes the hobby great imo.


DON

[creasecollector]

Awesome, thanks for sharing this. This hobby continues to impress me every day. Never thought I'd see a IP auto of a player like that going for that amount of money. Good stuff.

While I don't have a lot of IP/TTM autos in my PC, they do mean a lot to me. When looking at my Enroth PC for example. the 6 cards I got him to sign when meeting him was very cool. Especially the Young Guns. Always nice to have a signed rookie card.

[30ranfordfan]

I think Parks played some for Springfield in the AHL . He was not very big.

Looking him up, you're right. Certainly never would have been a big deal, no.

That's insane ... though as a friend of someone who has a massive TTM and IP auto collection with many huge names, he never gets excited about the HOFers, its always the obscure guys he tracks down. This was probably the easiest way of acquiring the auto lol.

I was shocked to see it, but I like seeing stuff like this. I've got the same opinion as your friend when adding to my collection. I always go for "pack-pulled" autographs first. Looking at the counts on my spreadsheet - there's 626 players to have played for the Oilers in the NHL. I've got 618 of them.... of those 423 are pack-pulled (the player signed for UD, ITG, Leaf, someone). Of the others, there's tons that had lots of NHL cards, and it's easy to find a signed copy, or write to them (in some cases). The ones I get really excited about are the guys who had no cards, played only a few games. It's almost impossible to buy autographs like that (nobody saved their Bob Dupuis autograph from the early 80s) so it's exciting when you're actually able to land one.

I love my IP/TTM collection. In most cases, it's all about the memory of that interaction with the player. Was he cool, was he nice, did we chat, that sort of thing.

I find also that in recent years there's a growing sub-sector of the hobby that loves autographed YG's. I've got a few of these in my PC now, none bigger than my Cole Caufield. He did a private signing a couple months back, and it seemed like a great opportunity. Apparently if/when he does the next signing, the price for getting the YG done will be double this past one. It's a thing. So that's neat. I know that a Carey Price signed YG is worth pretty much equal to an unsigned BGS 9.5. That's pretty solid value added.

But yeah, mostly about the cool factor of meeting the player and having that interaction and chance to talk.

Yup! I've got a stack of signed cards (50-75?) that I got back in the 90s. Includes big names like Gordie Howe, and also junior players that never made the NHL. Most don't really fit my collection, but I keep them because it was fun getting them signed, in some cases having a conversation with the player.

YGs, in particular, it's taken off like crazy. That's what I'm seeing too. A signed & slabbed YG is worth about the same as a BGS 9.5. A 10 from BGS or PSA is still worth more.

@30randfordfan
Can you verify the link works for you. I clicked on it three times did not lead me to the ending price. Lmk what it ended for.

Rookie cards in baseball with authenticated auto's have been selling like wildfire. Seen some of the dead hall of fame rookie cards sell for a ridiculous price. Of course that is what makes the hobby great imo.


DON

@doniceage I think the old cards (from before auto'd rookies were a thing) are taking off in all sports. I see more and more vintage RCs going for decent $$$ in hockey too. The link stopped working for me, so I looked it up and put a screen shot in the OP.... but the answer: $575

Awesome, thanks for sharing this. This hobby continues to impress me every day. Never thought I'd see a IP auto of a player like that going for that amount of money. Good stuff.

While I don't have a lot of IP/TTM autos in my PC, they do mean a lot to me. When looking at my Enroth PC for example. the 6 cards I got him to sign when meeting him was very cool. Especially the Young Guns. Always nice to have a signed rookie card.

It is odd, yeah. I'm surprised by it - but when you start looking at the reasons, it does make sense to me.

The YG is awesome!

[doniceage]

Thanks for the picture that is a crazy price. It a iconic set imo for the hobby at the time. It was supposed to be a super high end and it turned out to being another mass produced set LOL. A nice challenge to put that set together.

DON