RIP Hammerin Hank. What are your thoughts....

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Him dying makes me want to keep mine in the PC even more. As for those selling, its not my place to judge. I dont profit off the death of players but hold no malice to those who do.
 
My thoughts lie with the buyers of this stuff.

The whole "person X is dead, so I must buy their memorabilia" has always confused me greatly. This seems to be a phenomenon in both sports and music. In music it is "Artist X has died so I must run out and buy their records!!". If one was such a fan to begin with wouldn't they aready have their music???

And in sports, once the person has passed that closes the book on them. 1 year from now, they'll still be dead. 5 years from now, the same. A hundred years from now, ditto. I think much of this is herd mentality. I was lucky enough to acquie a nice Tommy LaSorda RC last year as well as some sweet vintage Aaron cards. I picked them up because they were Hall of Famers not beacase their time is probably short due to their age or health issues. But the general public is much like card collectors in that they chase the market which is the worst thing you can do in the hobby or in life..
 
My thoughts lie with the buyers of this stuff.

The whole "person X is dead, so I must buy their memorabilia" has always confused me greatly. This seems to be a phenomenon in both sports and music. In music it is "Artist X has died so I must run out and buy their records!!". If one was such a fan to begin with wouldn't they aready have their music???

And in sports, once the person has passed that closes the book on them. 1 year from now, they'll still be dead. 5 years from now, the same. A hundred years from now, ditto. I think much of this is herd mentality. I was lucky enough to acquie a nice Tommy LaSorda RC last year as well as some sweet vintage Aaron cards. I picked them up because they were Hall of Famers not beacase their time is probably short due to their age or health issues. But the general public is much like card collectors in that they chase the market which is the worst thing you can do in the hobby or in life..
I agree 100%. I was a card shop and the owner was talking about how hot all these cards were. He was talking about some player from the Heat who nobody has really heard of other than people who really follow basketball (like me). I asked him if this guys auto was really worth 500.00. Players like LeBron I can understand. But those types of players are once in a lifetime players. Even Zion I think is overrated. I can almost guarantee that he will break down in a few years. His body type is just not suitable for along career in the NBA. There are a lot of people who are going to be eating these cards. I can name a ton of "hot" can't miss players who have come and gone. Yasiel Puig ring any bells? Dice-K? Strasburg? The list goes on and on.

I for one refuse to pay these outrageous prices for this stuff. I will wait them out and get the stuff I want for pennies on the dollar.
 
I agree 100%. I was a card shop and the owner was talking about how hot all these cards were. He was talking about some player from the Heat who nobody has really heard of other than people who really follow basketball (like me). I asked him if this guys auto was really worth 500.00. Players like LeBron I can understand. But those types of players are once in a lifetime players. Even Zion I think is overrated. I can almost guarantee that he will break down in a few years. His body type is just not suitable for along career in the NBA. There are a lot of people who are going to be eating these cards. I can name a ton of "hot" can't miss players who have come and gone. Yasiel Puig ring any bells? Dice-K? Strasburg? The list goes on and on.

I for one refuse to pay these outrageous prices for this stuff. I will wait them out and get the stuff I want for pennies on the dollar.
I'll bet the Heat player with the $500 auto is either Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson (who should have been a Spur with a name like that).

I don't get the Zion craze at all. He is very injury prone and like you said his body is the type that will probably not hold up over the long run. He currently is 19th in the NBA in scoring and 31st in rebounding. With as wide open as the lane is these days and as big and explosive as he is, he should be scoring 30 ppg easily. And only averaging less than 8 rebounds/game with hsi physicality makes you wonder about his conditioning. His team is 4 spots out of the playoffs in the ****** West and as hard as the NBA tried to get the Pels in the Playoffs last year, they still did not make it! To me if you are a true superstar you will get your team in the playoffs every year at a bare minimum barring catastrophic injury.

Like you said the LeBron James type players come along only once in a generation and that status is determined on performance, not hype.

On the Aaron front, a dealer friend of mine called today and said his phone was ringing off the hook with inquiries about Aaron cards. I told him to strike while the iron is hot because a year from now only a few hardcores like me will want his cards since he'll be out of the public eye..
 
@SymphonicMetal and @mm1sub

I agree with you guys, honestly, we are in such an out of sight out of mind/right here right now society, unfortunately the speculation and striking while the iron is hot are a real phenomenon. Doesnt make much sense. Reminds me of when Michael Jackson passed, everyone was jumping on the bandwagon, buying up all the records, CDs, etc. "Lifelong fans" dont last long anymore. Unfortunate.

Blessings,

Kevin
 
I agree with Symphonic for the most part. Anytime someone passes that had a huge impact in their sphere, the public will take notice. I don’t understand the rush to buy regular cards or stuff. However, I do set up at shows selling what I don’t want to afford what I do want. I have closed, many a deal on autographs with a “He ain’t signin’ anymore” statement.

As Aaron has always been my favorite player, I am fortunate to have a couple of pack certified autos and several other autos of him. As he is a top 5 all time player, I doubt his cards will cool too much. Always easy to sell Aaron, Mays and Clemente...
 
I'll bet the Heat player with the $500 auto is either Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson (who should have been a Spur with a name like that).

I don't get the Zion craze at all. He is very injury prone and like you said his body is the type that will probably not hold up over the long run. He currently is 19th in the NBA in scoring and 31st in rebounding. With as wide open as the lane is these days and as big and explosive as he is, he should be scoring 30 ppg easily. And only averaging less than 8 rebounds/game with hsi physicality makes you wonder about his conditioning. His team is 4 spots out of the playoffs in the ****** West and as hard as the NBA tried to get the Pels in the Playoffs last year, they still did not make it! To me if you are a true superstar you will get your team in the playoffs every year at a bare minimum barring catastrophic injury.

Like you said the LeBron James type players come along only once in a generation and that status is determined on performance, not hype.

On the Aaron front, a dealer friend of mine called today and said his phone was ringing off the hook with inquiries about Aaron cards. I told him to strike while the iron is hot because a year from now only a few hardcores like me will want his cards since he'll be out of the public eye..
It was Tyler Hero. A nice player but are his cards really worth what people are paying now? And the few shops that I have been, the only thing people seem to be talking about is how much they are going to flip these cards for. I have never been one to sell cards. And I have never been one to hoard cards either. Maybe that is why I think I am pretty easy to trade with. I have been in this hobby for a long time. I like to think I have a pretty good eye for cards that I can trade pretty easily. But I am not one who will pay 250.00 for a card just so I can sell it for 275.00 a week later. The only card I ever really sold was a 1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle. My dad bought some cards off of a guy he worked with for 90.00. One of them was that mantle. I sold that card for 1,000.00 in 1987 or 1988. I never told anyone I sold it. It was a beautiful card but I had a GREAT TIME with that money when I was 17 years old and in high school.
 
I think the biggest death craze as I can recall was Dale Earnahardt. I was a big time ebay seller at the time and if you happened to have his stuff on when he died you made a mint. What I didn't understand was like shot glasses, flags and so on. Its like people thought they would never make it again. I use shot glasses as a reference because a 4 pack of his shot glasses sold for over 1000. The amount of items being added hourly was astronomical. Like somebody already mentioned "capitalism at its best". DG
 
I think the biggest death craze as I can recall was Dale Earnahardt. I was a big time ebay seller at the time and if you happened to have his stuff on when he died you made a mint. What I didn't understand was like shot glasses, flags and so on. Its like people thought they would never make it again. I use shot glasses as a reference because a 4 pack of his shot glasses sold for over 1000. The amount of items being added hourly was astronomical. Like somebody already mentioned "capitalism at its best". DG

Haha, well put DG, I remember going to an antique jukebox show with my uncle in the mid 90s in Chicago, and people were buying Elvis memorabilia as fast as the dealers could put it out on tables. I asked my uncle what was so special about the items, to which he replied "just another overpriced thing to slap Elvis' face on and sell!"
 
Haha, well put DG, I remember going to an antique jukebox show with my uncle in the mid 90s in Chicago, and people were buying Elvis memorabilia as fast as the dealers could put it out on tables. I asked my uncle what was so special about the items, to which he replied "just another overpriced thing to slap Elvis' face on and sell!"
As an Elvis fan since the time I was old enough to know what music was, I would agree that of most legends in the music field the Presley memorabilia is rivaled possibly only by KISS. I try to focus on the stuff that is well made. Unfortunatly my sister in law is one of those fans who collects anything with his face/name on it and has told me that when she passes, she knows that I will take care of her stuff... wife says that we may have to buy a new house!
 
As an Elvis fan since the time I was old enough to know what music was, I would agree that of most legends in the music field the Presley memorabilia is rivaled possibly only by KISS. I try to focus on the stuff that is well made. Unfortunatly my sister in law is one of those fans who collects anything with his face/name on it and has told me that when she passes, she knows that I will take care of her stuff... wife says that we may have to buy a new house!
Haha! I can relate, as my 2 best friends are major collectors, rivaled only by their parents!! I do wonder where all their collections will go someday!!

As with anyone, there is the well made memorabilia, which is truly what is worth collecting for its value. Of course, collectibles, like anything of value, are just in the eye of the beholder!

Blessings,

Kevin
 
I will give both sides of my opinion on this one. I bare no ill will to anyone who wants to make a profit from something like this. It is an item owners decision whether or not to sell. Mentioned it elsewhere - I have an Aaron signed ball, right now is probably the best chance I have of getting WAY above market value for it. But I have no desire to sell it, I would much rather it remain in my collection for my son to enjoy for as long as he wants to.

Dale Earnhart was mentioned above as a time when ebay went nuts - a friend of mine was at the Daytona that he died at. He sent me a program signed by the winner that year (Jeff Burton maybe), which I could probably still sell for a nice chunk of change - just based on what happened at the race..

More recently, what about Kobe? His stuff went nuts as soon as news broke - I never liked Kobe, just wasn't a guy that I wanted in my collection. The stuff of his I had on ebay sold immediately and as soon as I got that stuff packed up, I went through all my hoops cards and everything that was Kobe I put up for sale and it was all gone in probably no more than 72 hours.

If someone wants to buy something, and I have no attachment to it, I am more than happy to sell it to them.
 
Good thing or bad thing in this scenario?
It is what it is, really..........People trying to make a buck...........I have auto's of all the recent HOF'ers that have passed, except for Don Sutton and Tommy Lasorda, and I'm going to keep them because that's what I collect..........eBay is flush with folks capitalizing on hot RC's or dead sports stars...........Been going on for the last 20 years, if not more............
 
My thoughts lie with the buyers of this stuff.

The whole "person X is dead, so I must buy their memorabilia" has always confused me greatly. This seems to be a phenomenon in both sports and music. In music it is "Artist X has died so I must run out and buy their records!!". If one was such a fan to begin with wouldn't they aready have their music???

And in sports, once the person has passed that closes the book on them. 1 year from now, they'll still be dead. 5 years from now, the same. A hundred years from now, ditto. I think much of this is herd mentality. I was lucky enough to acquie a nice Tommy LaSorda RC last year as well as some sweet vintage Aaron cards. I picked them up because they were Hall of Famers not beacase their time is probably short due to their age or health issues. But the general public is much like card collectors in that they chase the market which is the worst thing you can do in the hobby or in life..
Well put.
 
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