Yesterday, the NFL lost one of its greatest players in Junior Seau, and the circumstances of his death may be just as sad as the passing itself. Seau was easily one of the top all time players at his position, and he died much too early for a man of his accomplishments.
Collectors have just been re-introduced to Seau’s autographs thanks to cards in 2010 Five Star and a few 2010/11 Panini products, and as you can imagine, those cards are currently selling for huge money. The stickers continue to compete with the on card stuff, which confuses me to no end, especially when stickers can be used post mortem.
Here are some recent examples:
2011 National Treasures Junior Seau Auto /10 – No idea why this one is selling for more than the one below, which is about 100x better looking.
2011 Five Star Junior Seau Auto Patch – I cant say how awesome this card is, one of the best in years.
2011 Five Star Junior Seau Auto Booklet Patch
2010 Limited Junior Seau Auto Patch
Death in sports brings out different feelings in many different people, and I know that its not going to be a cookie cutter with every player. When an athlete dies, his/her autographs automatically become a limited resource. Therefore, there will always be people who want to buy, and people who want to sell.
The people who want to buy may not have been buyers before, if not only because there was an indefinite timeframe on autograph availability. This leads to a significant bump in price, and a lot of people who want to get in, but no longer can afford to.
There are also people who want to sell, which is completely dependent on the people above, and for some reason, it is frowned upon. Autographs are a commodity, and like other celebrities, death is just the beginning of marketing opportunities. Look at Elvis, Michael Jackson, and most recently Whitney Houston. People get over the initial shock of making money on someone’s passing, but there are people that leave an indelible mark on lives that transcend these boundaries.
When Dale Earnhardt tragically died at Daytona, his legacy within the world of Nascar provided months of grieving for the sport. Obviously, the fan base wanted a piece of Earnhardt’s legacy to remind them, and for a while, items connected to him were selling for a ton. Its not wrong, its just an inevitable circumstance. As long as the sellers are flowing with the market, and selling authentic items, I couldnt care less what they do. In a capitalist society, supply and demand drive business. The demand is there, SOMEONE is going to have to meet it.
Basically, just remember that the memory of the player lasts forever, and there is no reason to buy right this second. Wait until things cool down, and then it can be much more easy to get your fill.
UPDATE: Ebay has stopped allowing 1 and 3 day auctions on items bearing Junior Seau’s signatures. Wow.
Here is the wording on some of the emails from eBay:
Why was my autographed item removed?
– Due to the tragic death of Junior Seau, eBay has temporarily suspended the 1 & 3-day listing formats for items that bear his signature. Please understand that this action is out of respect for Mr. Seau as well as the for safety and integrity of our members who wish to purchase items that include his authentic autograph.
May I relist my item?
– You may relist your item in the 5, 7, and 10 day listing formats. Please be aware that these listings will be monitored and the signatures may be reviewed for authenticity.
I couldn’t agree more.
[continues waiting for Dwayne Jarrett to die]
Just got an email, the one other Dwayne Jarrett fan seconds your remark.
I bought in early. I know. I. Know.
Interesting update. Who knew eBay paid any attention the sports card segment? What, with all the forged autographs, fake patches, fake memorabilia and every other scams that rip off uniformed sports collectors and they decide to come down on this? How exactly does it help the “safety and integrity of our members.”? How is it even out of respect for Junior Seau? It’s not like his mom (or his ghost) is surfing eBay and distraught by all the opportunists.
Sound like this is simply a nice PR move for eBay. I’m certain they didn’t mind the big bump in extremely high dollar BIN’s that took place following Seau’s death, not to mention the spikes in sales they have benefited from following the death of every other athlete and star.
That being said, the death of Junior Seau is so very sad and watching his mother’s emotional press-conference really puts life and the importance of family relationships into focus. Also, as a fan of the NFL, I hope playing the game of football did not play a part in this tragedy.
As a card store owner, I have become numb to the “day after passing” effect of my customers wanting cards of recently deceased athletes. I can understand ebay wanting to protect the interests of buyers on the site, but I disagree with casual implementation of this rule. It should either be a permanent rule or not at all.
If this is a test of a new policy I still can not understand it. Part of collecting and selling on ebay is having something someone else wants. So after whomever wins the next Super Bowl will they once again limit sales of the MVP to protect bidders from those who might post fraudulent autos?
For them to not allow certified autographed cards to sell as normal is beyond me.
Mike
I have a May 1998 “All Hands” magazine featuring Jr Seau on the cover. All Hands is a monthly magazine published for the Navy. I was stationed on board the USS Kitty hawk at this time and I was fortunate enough to listen to Jr address the crew. Afterwards, Jr did autographs. I had my All Hands magazine with me and was able to get his autograph on it. This must be close to one of a kind. The magazine is in perfect condition. I really need to get this autograph authenticated. Any suggestions?