Helping Michigan Students Out - Could use some advice from all of you (which I know you all like to give!).

Submitted by James Burrill Angell on
Alright, here goes. Brian encouraged me to take a run at emerging technology, something I'm not apt to do, but I'll try it. I posted a while back about an Online Auction to benefit the Bernard "Pat" Maloy Scholarship which is a scholarship given to Michigan students who either have cancer or whose direct family members have it. Every other year we hold a big online auction centered primarily around autographed Michigan sports memorabilia. The website is http://www.umich.cmarket.com  
The twelve member committee who runs the scholarship include a bunch of former students of Professor Maloy, almost all of whom work or worked in sports including former Michigan running back and current EMU running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley. Anyway, point being, all of us have direct access to the people signing the stuff so while we may lack the personal finances to set up a scholarship, we do have the connections to get authentic sports memorabilia to auction off to raise the necessary funds. Obviously I encourage you all to check it out and, if you have the financial wherewithall in this foul economy to bid, please do so, the cause is certainly noble.

THAT SAID, I mentioned advice, and advice I require. Although I know how to get a hold of these players, I know next to nothing about what this stuff is worth. What I want to know from you all is whether I've overpriced or underpriced some of these items. Here are some links. I would really appreciate your opinions on our opening bids. I'm surprised we haven't gotten any action on these particular pieces:
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=91943266
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=75917044
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=91661664
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=90328532
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=91161175
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=75987434
http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=68350528

Again, anything you can tell me such as what you think a reasonable price is or whether something is good, bad, cool, lame or maybe there is something you see that I don't would be greatly appreciated.
ham sandwiches

Comments

umjgheitma

September 4th, 2009 at 12:48 PM ^

Sports memorabilia is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. There is inherent value in the actual object (i.e. football, basketball, helmet, poster, etc.), but outside of that it's just worth whatever the highest bidder writes down. A football signed by Wheatley could go for $50 or $500, neither is really wrong. Your best bet is to either check out ebay or a memorabilia shop to see what people are paying for similar items. Best of luck to you and your cause.

Joined: 12/02/2008

MGoPoints: 2388

umhannon

September 4th, 2009 at 1:01 PM ^

Steiner could provide an idea on prices. Their regular site runs high on pricing. However, their marketplace is a great barometer for what the public will pay for sports memorabilia. Best of luck with this project.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 5391

RageCage35

September 4th, 2009 at 1:03 PM ^

One of your problems is that your items are random. A collector is not going to purchase items that are autographed by multiple players with little relation other than going to the same school. If your going to pool autographs together it should be Michigan's Heisman Trophy winners, coaches, QB-WR tandems, so on and so forth. I realize that this is difficult to acquire but pooling multiple autographs together doesn't necessarily increase value. Best of luck in your noble cause.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 9

redwhiteandMGOBLUE

September 4th, 2009 at 1:07 PM ^

Your first link appears to be dead or not working. All of the individual links do seem to work. As stated, the item is only worth what someone is willing to pay but there are a few places to start. Check out his link - http://www.ehow.com/how_108449_buy-sell-sports.html as it has help me in the past. Also, as stated, scour eBay for similar items/pricing. PSA is another great service - http://www.psacard.com/ You can also try Beckett as they are a leader in sports memoribilia grading - http://beta.beckett.com/Content/Corporate/ContactUs.aspx One more thing, I noticed that you accept credit cards but it takes about two weeks for the transaction to clear. If possible, you should set up a PayPal account - http://www.PayPal.com You can accept credit/debit and bank account transfers through them. You will receive your money quicker and your customers will receiver their items much sooner. Hope this helps and good luck with the fund raising. Go Blue!

Joined: 07/08/2008

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James Burrill Angell

September 4th, 2009 at 1:08 PM ^

I hear you. Lots of people have said that. Here's my problem, all say "look for similar items". With the single signed items like the Dierdorf minihelmet, ok sure there are others like it. But as you can see, there are a LOT of our items that are multi-signed while very few multi-signed items on ebay. Further, some have suggested that we're more believable than the stuff at ebay since we're the University and we're more likely to be authentic (since I personally met with almost all of the former Michigan players, I can certainly vouch for that). Does the latter fact really come into play.

Joined: 08/12/2009

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Don

September 4th, 2009 at 1:06 PM ^

But I'm not surprised that bids haven't gone much higher. Stuff like this is a completely non-essential item, and in this economy people are simply less inclined overall to purchase non-essential stuff. I would imagine that giving to charity efforts has also been affected; where people were once giving $100, many are now giving $50, or not at all. One minor point: some of the descriptions could be more accurate. • the first item is described as showing a group of players in a pre-game huddle, when in fact the photo shows players jumping to touch the M banner • The Dierdorf-signed helmet is described "Dan Dierdorf autographed white Michigan mini-helmet. Unsigned mini-helmet donated by Moe Sport Shops,..." Obviously, it's neither white nor unsigned. • The description of the illustration of the flag "waving in the breeze above Michigan Stadium" would be much better suited to an image of a flag silhouetted against the sky. The actual illustration shows the flag with the crowd behind it. Doesn't really look like its above the stadium. I'd don't know if these description quibbles have much to do with whether they will sell or not, though.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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username

September 4th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^

I know this doesn't help with the current items and is a repeat of a prior posting, but the randomness of the collections of autographs is probably a detractor to many buyers. I will embarrass myself for a second, but on an episode of Antiques Roadshow, an individual brought in a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth and Roger Maris. The appraiser commented that usually multiple autographs on a signle item will lead to a lower value, but this was an exception. The point being, in the future, you're probably better off going for a single autograph of prominent player rather than whoever is around and willing to sign. Easier said than done, I'm sure. Good luck with the auction - it sounds like it's for a great cause. Unfortunately, I don't have anywhere to put stuff like this. One day, I will have a basement full of cool Michigan memorabilia, but that's a long way off.

Joined: 10/31/2008

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aenima0311

September 4th, 2009 at 3:09 PM ^

I agree that a single autograph, or autographs done in groups that makes sense it the way to go. Still, your items should fetch a decent price because they are way cool. Good luck with the fundraising. If I weren't already broke and back in college I'd take a stab at something.

Joined: 11/21/2008

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