PastPros.com <--- Former MLB player site founded by Ellis Valentine

[mort]

Stumbled across this site this morning:

http://pastpros.com/tough-get-autographs/

From what I can tell it was founded by Ellis Valentine. It's an interesting site that offers opportunities to pick up autographs and other merchandise from former MLBers (check out the cool JR Richard t-shirts).

....and what's up with the "fancy" Benny Ayala autographs??? http://bennyayala.pastpros.com/shop-2/

 

[Beachbum]

I'm bookmarking this, thanks for sharing!

 

[CW13]

i see Ellis usually once a year at Rangers Fan Fest..he's definitely into re-marketing himself. He's a very cool dude.

 

[teamcolin]

Hi all, my name is Colin, I started this PastPros thing with Ellis Valentine.

We've just started and are still figuring things out. If you guys have any suggestions to how we can improve our offering, we're all ears. Also, if there are any really tough-to-get autographers you are looking for, let me know and we'll see if we can get them on board (that's the fun part for me).

Our goal is to make things easier for both collectors and the former players. All of the money made goes directly to the former players (nothing to me or Ellis). In general, we're aiming for the B-list, C-list players (and lower), as they were never the ones who made the millions, and can use something like this to help them, or for players raising money for charities.

Let us know what you think!

 

[mrmopar]

Cool deal that is long overdue. I think as long as you can get guys who have some collector interest and keep it at a decent price, then it should be popular. There are people out there who don't shop around, have no patience and will buy on a whim and will pay more, but I am confident that the core group of autograph collectors are sharp with their choices and look for the best deal to stretch their hobby dollars further. Most started by getting free signatures TTM or IP, so starting to pay for tougher guys to complete projects is a reality, but often harder to swallow for many. My top TTM/fee spend was $40 for Pete Rose to get his 64T card signed 4-5 years ago and had I waited, I'm sure I could have gotten a much better deal. After that, I paid $35 for Dick Allen on his 65T card around the same time frame. From there, my willingness to pay higher fees drops dramatically unless the situation is quite special. Just recently I paid $25 each for Ralph Branca and got 3 vintage cards signed, but the reality is, Branca is up there in age and didn't want to miss the chance. Otherwise I probably would have passed. Of course the players ultimately drive the prices depending on how much they have and will sign, but if you can find autographs on ebay and other places for much cheaper, then those have to dry up before people will really need to buy direct.

Lots of collectors, like myself, are more than willing to pay a moderate fee to add specific items to the collection. $10-12 is starting to get near the top end for a lot of lower tier players in my opinion though, when many can be had for $2-3 on ebay. I think $5 is an awesome price point for collectors and players alike and then as a player had a better career or maybe was a bit more obscure, maybe the prices start to rise. I think the lower prices will bring in more quantity, such as a collector willing to get 3-4 or more cards signed for what normally would be the price for 1-2. I realize a persons time is worth money, but a 3-4 second signature for $5 seems like a win-win to me! If someone isn't willing to sell a signature for $5, see me. I'll sell mine all day for that! Oh yeah, nobody wants it.

The difference is that you dictate what is signed and not just waiting for that item to show up. Before anyone gives me the 95% on online autographs are fake speech though, we are not talking about guys who played 1.5 seasons and bring $3 for a signature. We are talking Mantle, Williams, Jeter, Ruth, etc.

i always love seeing opportunities for former Dodger players and the more obscure, the better. I like Ron Cey and Bill Russell for example, but I don't need anymore of their signatures. They are dime a dozen guys. Show me Terry Wells or Dave Walsh or Cecil Espy, etc.

 

[houbb]

Good luck with Cecil Espy.

On a side note, I would love to see if someone can get something done with Jim Ray, former Astros/Tigers pitcher.

 

[mrmopar]

Besides Dodgers, my autograph collecting interest includes getting early Mariners and 70s vintage Tiger cards signed. I'm sure all teams have their toughies, but I don't know them like I know the three teams I listed. All seem to have more than their share though. A few of the Tigers I have trouble finding are deceased though. Reggie Sanders and Ray Bare come to mind. Then there is Jim Crawford, John Knox and maybe a couple others I have had a harder time finding.

Kim Allen, Reggie Walton, Jamie Allen, Greg Biercevicz, Bobby Brown, Salomon Barojas, Charlie Beamon to name a few that I need a few more cards of (Mariners), but they also have a couple deceased toughies too…Rnady Stein, Rod Craig, Rick Anderson.

The Dodgers are loaded with 70s-80s players who made very brief appearances, some on cards, some not. I've tracked down most, but it would be cool to be able to get some other items signed easier (minor league cards, Target Dodgers, team issue, etc). Terry McDermott, Bob O'Brien, Greg Shanahan, Jack Fimple, Larry See, Dave Sax, Larry White, Myron White, Mark Bradley, Mike Ramsey, Steve Shirley, Gary Weiss, Orlando Alvarez, German Rivera, ETC,

 

[mrmopar]

Ed Goodson and Kevin Pasley would be huge scores for me too

 

[teamcolin]

Thanks for the feedback mrmopar!

I will definitely talk to the guys about pricing because I think you're right. Not all agree though - I can simply advise. In the long run, however, if someone is priced too high, they will realize it by the low sales.

When I collected I always went after the '25th man on the roster' type, so I have a soft spot for those guys too. We'll be adding about a site per week going forward (including basketball, football and hockey). If you're interested in keeping up to date on who we've added, best to follow us via Twitter or Facebook. We might do a newsletter or something like that eventually.

But funny you should mention Cecil Espy...

 

[mrmopar]

Espy actually came up because of another member who had been doing some private signings. Unfortunately it was one I had the most interest in, but has not yet come to fruition. He was a dual theme for me, his 1989 Topps trophy card (which I have already) and the fact that he played briefly for the Dodgers (something I don't have signed).

I look forward to seeing what comes of the project. I think it is a great idea and hope to see more players taking advantage of it. Besides ebay or using a paid promoter to get the word out, most of the players probably don't know how to get to the fan base directly and efficiently. If they could all come together at one location that would hopefully grow stronger and more popular over time, it could change how autograph collecting is done. Sadly, it could also trigger the end to any free signatures TTM, although there will hopefully always be tool gentlemen like Bobby Doerr, Bob Feller, Geroge Kell, etc who are/were willing to sign for the obvious love of it.

 

[mrmopar]

If you have access to the webpage, I spotted an error on Billy Sample's page. It is on a page that rotates in and out if you keep on the page long enough. It says to "send Dave Hostetler your baseball cards…".

 

[teamcolin]

Thanks! Fixed.

 

[TideFanDan]

Colin,

I am working on the 1979 Topps set, and there are 8 players you rep that I am missing from the set. My ideal price is maxed out at about $5 per. I have paid $5 for Gossage, $5 for Garvey, $5 for Kaline, and $10 for Dawson. Also paid $2 or less for Larry Gura and a few others.

I will definitely be going out of my price range for JR Richard as I grew up in Texas and he is a special legend for me. Another player I might stretch for is George Foster.

That said, I have sent to both Rudy May and Jerry White at their houses. Neither has returned my cards or contacted me with a price list. In the past, Dave Parker and Vida Blue returned my cards (unsigned) with a price list. Then I could decide if I wanted to pay the fees. You might mention this courtesy to them. I have already sent a stamped envelope with my address in my letter.

Good luck with your business.

 

[teamcolin]

Thanks for the context TideFanDan. I will advise our guys accordingly.

If anyone else has a list of players they are need, feel free to post them here. We'll try to track some of them down for you.

 

[mort]

Hi all, my name is Colin, I started this PastPros thing with Ellis Valentine.

Colin - Glad you jumped on and joined this forum. I'm hoping your web site is a success! I'm excited to hear about additional former players you add in the future. Perhaps you could post them here as more are added?

Best,
Scott

 

[t.rooster]

Colin,

I am working on the 1979 Topps set, and there are 8 players you rep that I am missing from the set. My ideal price is maxed out at about $5 per. I have paid $5 for Gossage, $5 for Garvey, $5 for Kaline, and $10 for Dawson. Also paid $2 or less for Larry Gura and a few others.

I will definitely be going out of my price range for JR Richard as I grew up in Texas and he is a special legend for me. Another player I might stretch for is George Foster.

That said, I have sent to both Rudy May and Jerry White at their houses. Neither has returned my cards or contacted me with a price list. In the past, Dave Parker and Vida Blue returned my cards (unsigned) with a price list. Then I could decide if I wanted to pay the fees. You might mention this courtesy to them. I have already sent a stamped envelope with my address in my letter.

Good luck with your business.

I hear you Dan, it is the hardest part of TTMs & I've had to start over w/ sets many times, thanks for the shout out.....

 

[teamcolin]

Sure mort, Ill do my best. If you're on Facebook, that's probably the best place to follow as Ellis often posts on there too: www.facebook.com/pastpros

We are aiming to release at least 1 new site per week (it's just me making them, and it's more of a hobby than a business at this point!) The slow part is getting the guys set up on PayPal

We have about 12-15 sites in the backlog, ready to go - just waiting on final confirmation on each.

 

[aspoe093]

I have noticed that a lot of the players don't have prices for submitting balls. Are they only going to be signing cards/photos through this way and then you have to buy a ball from them? Also, how do inscriptions work if I want to send a photo? Do I pay extra?

 

[teamcolin]

aspoe093 - that will be coming soon. We wanted to iron out the kinks with cards/photos first. If you are willing to wait, we'll probably start accepting submissions for balls and equipment in the very near future (the cards/photos have been pretty smooth). There's no extra charge for inscriptions (within reason i.e. not a crazy stat ball or a haiku), just fill in the 'comments' section in the checkout and I'll make sure the guy sees it.

FYI - I am pretty sure Tommy Davis is the only one accepting baseballs at the moment, and that's through his agent (something he has done for quite some time)

 

[teamcolin]

Thanks to feedback from you guys, we are attempting to improve our offerings a bit:

1) Some of the players have agreed to drop their price.
2) For Autograph Submissions, you can send now a SASE in lieu of paying the additional postage fee

So, for example, to submit an autograph to Jerry White last week cost $13, it now costs $7 flat (for American customers), JR Richard is $12 flat rate, etc. I will be going through all the sites today to make similar updates.

The downside to this is that we can't track any items that are sent out but we'll see how this goes and adjust if necessary.

Again, if anyone has any further suggestions - we're all ears.