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Author
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Topic: What's up with eBay?
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-29-2001 09:47 AM
   
So as I do every day (well, several times a day) I signed onto eBay to check out what was new in the Collectibles:Space Exploration and Autographs:Space categories. Usually, this results in at least a hundred new listings.Today, I find six (6) lots listed as new under Space Exploration and zero (0) under Autographs:Space. What happened? Did everybody stop selling for a day or has eBay shut down these categories? Anyone know anything? |
Ben
Member Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000
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posted 07-29-2001 11:16 AM
Seems to be an error..I searched and found an item listed in the past day, a flown flag. But it doesent appear on page 1 of the listings with those 6 items. -Ben |
apollo11lem5@aol.com
unregistered
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posted 07-29-2001 11:21 AM
Hi Robert...I was thinking of making a similar post as I too check eBay regularly. The space related e-groups also seem to be frozen to a large degree.The eBay situation is really odd and when the dam breaks there will be an ensuing flood !!..Donald |
Matt T
Member Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001
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posted 07-29-2001 02:00 PM
I think the dam just broke...
Gentlemen , place your bids! |
lunarrv15
Member Posts: 1355
From: Cincinnati, Ohio, Hamilton
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 07-29-2001 04:06 PM
I been browsing EBay Space Exploration catergory since 12pm today and everthing seems find. There is a listing of 40 pages. Nothing this week interest me. Boxboy selling reprints of rare caption portraits. I wish they were the original ones. |
Steve Zarelli
Member Posts: 731
From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 07-31-2001 11:07 AM
Many collectors have noticed that ebay has "dried-up" as far as interesting or uncommon autographs go.I think this is due mainly to the fact that there was a glut over the past 2 years when people first started buying and selling on ebay. Now, the attics are cleaned out and the extras have gone into collections where they will stay for a while. There is not an endless supply of this stuff... Now, we are left with the countless Dick Gordons, Alan Beans, Edgar Mitchells and Cunninghams that every "part-time" dealer is trying to unload to "further support his collecting." Or you can get a picture of Charlie Duke's hammer sitting on a rock with an inscription for the bargain buy it now price of $82. Thanks, but I'll pass. Frankly, I don't see how ANY dealer can make money selling SPs of the aforementioned astros, let alone for $80. These guys have signed so much that their must be mountains of unsold SPs in dealer inventories. Unfortunately, this also means that the SPs in our collections are pretty much worthless as well (not worthless from an emotional standpoint, just worthless in terms of resale value if that is something that matters to you.) |
Bob M
Member Posts: 1744
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 07-31-2001 01:46 PM
While I basically agree with Steve Zarelli about more significant material rarely offered on eBay
anymore & most of the attics now empty of
interesting space material, there are still some exceptions & it would be a mistake to stop looking for treasures on eBay. At this time, at least two very special items now available on eBay, although one
really shows its age & probably wouldn't be
a good idea to bid too much on. 1172499479 is a nice B&W image of Joe
Walker posing with the X-15, with a nice inscription. Even though there are several days to go, it's up around $275 already. And 1172694808 is an aged paper image of
the GT-3 launch & superbly autographed by
both Grissom & Young. Don't give up on eBay, but it does take a
lot more searching nowadays to find more
unusual & important material. And it does get
tiring seeing all the Beans, Mitchells,
Gordons, Cunninghams, Dukes, etc. Bob Mc.
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CPIA
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
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posted 07-31-2001 02:00 PM
Steve,
Sadly, you are right. The Aldrin, Bean, Duke, Gordon, Mitchell and Cunningham SP's are not worth as much anymore due to their continued signing, but other items signed by them are still getting some value like books.
I know a place that has boxes of Duke signed photos.
But, the question is, why do we still pay so much for these signatures like Aldrin's who keeps boosting his signing prices? I have heard it is $250.00 per photo now. |
tegwilym
Member Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 07-31-2001 03:27 PM
That's good for me though, I still need a Cunningham signature. I have something like 3 Aldrin's already, so I'm pretty much saturated with that one. |
Steve Zarelli
Member Posts: 731
From: Upstate New York, USA
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 08-02-2001 02:04 PM
quote:
Originally posted by CPIA:
why do we still pay so much for these signatures like Aldrin's who keeps boosting his signing prices? I have heard it is $250.00 per photo now.
Yup, Buzz has gone up to $250 for single signed items and $500 for group items. A-11 and Armstrong items are even more. (See the resource section for confirmation and details.) The question is: "Just because Buzz decides that his price is $250 (or whatever), does that mean it's WORTH $250?" "Worth" in terms of market value. The answer has got to be "no." There is too much supply to justify and support the extremely high prices. I hate to apply the rules of ordinary commodities to autographed items, but sadly, with the way the hobby has turned, it must be done. I have a group item I wanted to send to Buzz at NovaSpace, but I REFUSE to spend over $400 for a Buzz Aldrin autograph. I CAN afford it... but I simply won't pay that much for a common autograph in good supply. It's just not worth it. (Cripes, I can get a Don Eisele SP for that much!! Granted, Eisele doesn't have the historical significance of Buzz, but he is far rarer and will continue to be worth far more than Buzz over time.) ...and I'm sure I'm not the only person to feel this way. I'm very curious to see how many items are sent in for Buzz at NovaSpace. My sense is that pricing like this will affect the market and Buzz will see a sharp drop off in demand. $250 or more is over the break point for most collectors. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-02-2001 02:23 PM
quote:
My sense is that pricing like this will affect the market and Buzz will see a sharp drop off in demand. $250 or more is over the break point for most collectors.
Bullseye! Give the guy a cigar! Though I haven't spoken to him about it, I suspect Aldrin raised his prices in an effort to slow the autograph requests without outright ceasing and angering even more collectors. Let's face it: after 30 some-odd years of signing, one get's tired and probably wants to some time off. Given that he knows his autograph has and continues to sell for more than $250 (have you ever seen the catalog for Wallstreet Rarities?) he is under no pressure to charge any less. As my grandmother is fond of telling me, an item is only worth as much as another person is willing to pay for it. As long as there remains individuals (maybe not collectors) willing to pay for a $250 autograph, there will be $250 fees. |
Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 08-02-2001 02:24 PM
I have done some soul searching on this issue. In fact some of it in the public eye on a public forum, where I flip-flopped after thinking about it.I agree with market demand etc. The old axiom of charge what the market will pay. My girlfriend, a non-collector, pointed out the obvious answer. Let me quote her. "It sounds like he wants to be left alone." Perhaps Buzz doesn't care about the money? This makes sense. He has bared his soul in books etc. for over 32 years and he probably wants some peace and quiet. But, instead of just completely saying STOP! He is still making himself available to the public. As a collector with a budget, I am very sad. As a human being with empathy for a fellow human being, I have to respect that it is his decision. (Though it would be cool if he waived his fee for books he has written!)
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Douglas Henry Warm Regards from Southern California Home of the Atlas Booster, Saturn V 2nd & 3rd stage, the Apollo CSM, Skylab, Space Shuttle, ISS etc. |
Dr. William R. Hanson
Member Posts: 150
From: Glens Falls, NY 12801
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted 08-03-2001 01:50 AM
Yes, Buzz is one of the few authors in any field who charges for his signature on a book or article he has written. This includes former Presidents and heads of state, major sports figures, history-making astronauts and pilots, prominent novelists and historians, inventors, music legends and the list could go on endlessly. Signed books and articles has traditionally been the one area where it was possible to obtain autographs of prominent people who were otherwise inaccessible at modest prices (usually just the price of the book and postage). If you look at just the astronaut field, in the last year or so, for just the price of the book one could obtain the signatures of Glenn, Cooper, Schirra, Lovell, Aldrin, Duke, MItchell and Cernan. With the exception of Glenn who signs one item per individual for free, and Mitchell whose fee is reasonible, all the others get pretty hefty fees, either thru some promoter, or direct. So, the signed book is a bargain. For the life of me, I can't understand why Buzz will sign his current book free at bookstores all over the country, but won't sign his earlier one for free or a small fee to cover staff time....after all, he DID get his piece of the selling price when those books came out also. Of course, the same could be said of Borman, some of the Mercury Astros with "We Seven", Collins and Armstrong, and I'm sure you can think of others, so let's not pile on Buzz alone.Doc |
Mike
Member Posts: 178
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Registered: May 2001
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posted 08-03-2001 09:24 AM
Doc,
A normal book signing tour is arranged by the publisher, not by the author and is totally paid for by the publisher. The author is contracted, as part of his advance, for a tour and therefore is paid mightily (if he's a known author). Therefore he gets no fee per auto. The publisher's motive is to recoup any advance given the author and start making a profit. Allowing the author to charge a fee would defeat the purpose of the tour. Therefore Buzz signs books for free while on tour.Mike [This message has been edited by Mike (edited August 03, 2001).] | |
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