The Brill Report: Who Blew the Yankees?

By Bob Brill

Okay now here is the ultimate disaster for sports memorabilia. Was it Steiner? Was it the Yankees? Or was it the *&^xn&8#+-AT-! Mailman? But somebody blew it and someone needs to fess up!

The NYY and Steiner get together to offer seats for sale from the old Yankee Stadium. The price tag a whopping $1500 a pop! Now that is bad enough but for an extra $500 the collector/buyer can get the seat of his choice. So, John Lefkus decides he'll go for broke (which is an appropriate term here) and get the very exact seat he's sat in for 23 years. He's a freaking season ticket holder for gosh sakes! He ought to know where he parked his butt for 23 years and 81 games a season. He's sat in that seat for approximately 1863 games, or 16767 innings. He ought to know which seat is his.

Steiner and the NYY sent him a reburbished seat with new hardware! These are things Lefkus says they stated right in the ads they would NOT DO! HE showed his lawyer the ad and then added when he got the seat it had obviously been dismantled during demolition and reassembled without regard for what parts came from what chairs.

Now his rear end sat in that seat often enough to understand the seat ain't his. I'm sure he sat down, moved around to get his proper feel and it just didn't FEEL right. Again if anyone would know it would be Mr. Lefkus.

He filed a class action suit. You go GUY! Kill'em, nail'em to the wall. Get your butt in an uproar and put theirs in a sling. Aren't you just a little bit tired of those who can screw you in the collectibles world, will screw you? We're not talking a $1.25 baseball card here. We're talking $2000 worth of sitting down for 23 years. Plus Shipping & Handling which we're sure Steiner and NYY didn't throw in for the heck of it -- although for a 23 year season ticket holder they should have walked it to his house and threw him a party.

What a hack job! Oh by the way, Lefkus says Steiner put a different seat number on it and tried to pass off a non aisle seat as HIS Aisle seat. Now c'mon guys did you have to do that to the guy too?! If I'm paying $2000 plus the price of my season tickets I want the ^%&$*# right seat!

The guy wants $5 million. Brandon can afford it and so can the NYY! Pay Up or Go Away!

(LILLINGTON, NC) $40,000 worth of baseball and football cards were stolen from a home in Lillington, NC, as cards again are once again the target of thieves. Owner Bart Dillow says $400 in cash plus jewels also were taken. As the economy continues to be bad, thieves continue to look for easy to flip items and sports cards still are a sound investment for a thief.

(HOLLYWOOD SHOW STARS) Guess who appeared at the Hollywood collectibles show in October to sign autographs? Big names Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper and even Valerie Cartwright of Lost in Space and Make Room for Daddy fame. The show has really come on lately with the big name signers.

(CASH FOR CLUNKERS IN SPORTS) You read it right. Famed artist Don Marquess, who does lots of sports stuff for his Marquess Gallery, is offering a strange bit of twisting of the Obama Administration. If you turn in art, any art, posters or whatever you will get a one-third discount on any art you buy from him. It has to be at least an 11 x 14 size purchase to qualify and your art really doesn't have to be much of nothing to qualify. Check out his stuff at www.baseballfineart.com. Tell them you read it here. It won't get you anything special but thanx anyway.

(PATTI WAGGIN DON RUDOLPH BOOKS ARRIVE!) Yeah Baby! Finally. The books were delayed a month when the printer in China put the books on the wrong boat. Thank the Good Lord Somali Pirates weren't looking for a book on a baseball player and his stripper wife. Suggeted Retail Price is $49.99. Check it out on line at Amazon or the others, our own web site www.pattiwaggin.com, or at your local book store. Ask for it by name "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale," or by author name; Bob Brill. The Special Edition book is only available on our website and it's limited to 200 and sells for $199. It comes with an autographed item by the late Patti Waggin and a DVD of one of her performances and is signed by the author as well as numbered. You can also email me at bob.pattiwaggin@gmail-DOT-com

Tags: don waggin rudolph lefkus seats letters steiner yankees patti fan brill stadium sports stripper burlesque nyy

The Brill Report: Kobe in the fold

By Bob Brill

  There is no more perfect fit in sports marketing. Kobe Bryant and Panini. What more could you ask for after Kobe signed an exclusive deal with the trading card and sticker maker. Here are the facts as Panini sees them.

1 ) Panini is the exclusive maker of basketball trading cards in the world. Kobe Bryant is the no. 1 players in the NBA today, LeBron James notwithstanding Kobe has won championships.

2 ) Panini is an Italian Company with world wide distribution in stickers. Kobe was raised in Italy, speaks fluent Italian and collected Panini stickers as a child.

3 ) Panini knows how to market it's goods. Kobe is known world wide and is a very easy marketere. He is Marquee.

  It was only seen as inevitible and since UDA and UDC lost the rights to make NBA trading cards Kobe had to find someone to market with. His comments hold true.

  "I know from my own experience growing up, how fun collecting and trading these products can be. I really believe collecting these products has the power, through the unique emotions of sports, to unify and strengthen bonds within families and across social groups, no matter what age you are. Panini and I are passionate about developing this hobby in many new and exciting ways."

  It was a natural fit for the Italian company and the kid who grew up watching his father Jelly Bean Bryant play in the Italian version of professional basketball. Speaking Italian fluently means a great marketing tool for Italian TV as well. Kobe can address fans in their native tounge and this means a lot to those who have watched TV with subtitles.

  I like Panini and always have. They will bring a fresh new approach to the trading card game even though it will take some time. Having Kobe locked up shows they are serious.

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(PANINI AMERICA) -- I'm sold! Panini just sent dealers and journalists a nice new packet and it actually included something usable. It was a large round basketball mouse pad with the word "Panini" on it. Finally something useful in the mail from a card manufacturer as a freebie outside of shopping bags. I've always liked Panini, my Italian is descent and I have friends and relatives in Italy. OK Panini I've given you a plug, now how about a job?

(RUMORVILLE) -- My how rumors spread. A former customer came up to me this week to pick up her annual Topps Factory Sets. I hold them while she's out of the state for months at a time. Her first question to me was "Is it true none of the card companies are going to make cards will the players on them? Are we still going to be able to get our Topps sets?" I explained the licenscing situation and how it evovled and how only Topps will have guys in their uniforms and logos. Her answer was "Good Topps will be the only real cards then?"

(1991 DONRUSS) -- Six weeks and counting. It has been six weeks since I unveiled my plan to make 1991 Donruss and other products of that era hot and valuable again. No one yet has taken me up on it. Darn it! I tried to get rid of that stuff for you guys but no one would listen. Another tree falling in the forest and lots of lumber was cut from 1986-1993 for trading cards.

(MCFARLANE LTD) -- McFarlane is taking the collector thing to the next level on it's prime action figure line. The Sportspicks figures will carry six different levels of collectibility including MVP which will be limited to up to 50 figures. In this instant collectible world no one yet has figured out what makes the thing collectible and desirable is time and the end user, not the manufacturer today.

(CORRECTION) -- Brad Abbott owns www.Rickeyhendersoncollectibles.com and contacted us to correct us upon stating it was Rickey's site. It is not but he has worked with the Henderson people regarding the site and products. Thank you for letting us know.

The latest Patti Waggin Tale. You have heard me talk about my new book about to hit store shelves on September 28. Well "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" has been delayed about a month. It seems the shippers in China put the books on the wrong boat and it's still on the water. They will get to my publishers warehouse October 18. Now as long as Somali Pirates keep their hands off my ship we should be fine. Delayed, but fine. Our book signing at Book Soup in West Hollywood will be on November 1, at 2pm.

Sorry about taking last week off. Just too much to do and ran out of time. You can contact bob at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Tags: rudolph baseball to a panini basketball burlesque fan waggin mlb kobe mcfarlane topps soup letters rickey nba book donruss stripper don patti

The Brill Report: TAKING IT TO AUCTION

By Bob Brill

TAKING IT TO AUCTION

  As some of you know I've recently been associated with Huggins & Scott Auctions out of Maryland and to say the least I've learned some things. I've also been pleased with the fact my hobby knowledge is paying off. There is also no shortage of people who don't understand the process. There is also no shortage of stuff from the hobby's most over produced era, 1982-1999. Let me help set a few things straight.

  There are several good and legitimate auction houses in the hobby these days and more seem to be springing up all the time. Remember the number of grading companies formed during the heydey of grading? All want a big piece of the pie while there are niche's to be had, the pie has shrunk and the most competitive will survive.

  During the grading heyday of course there were the two biggies; PSA and Beckett. SCG carved a niche since they graded oversized cards, GAI would grade packs while nearly everything coming from Mint, BCCG and others would be a 10 whether it had a bent corner or not. Eventually nearly all of them faded away leaving the market to the big three.

  Auction companies sprang up after eBay starting taking much of the hobby business. People like auctions and while eBay still does a booming business changes and fraud at the internet auction site opened doors for other auctions on the internet. Mastro was probably the biggest but persistent rumors about improprieties and government investigations pretty much put them out of business. Their key staffers went elsewhere. Heritage remains along with Huggins & Scott, Mile High and a host of others. Several more have gone by the way side including Mr. Mint Alan Rosen's auctions. Now it is all about marketing and how much you can afford to spend to get buyers to your site.

  There are more than enough hobby related items to be auctioned off and in this economy they are coming up daily. Vintage cards are still the best but good solid vintage autographs are right behind them. NASCAR, modern manufacturered memroabilia and cards post 1970 don't sell. Even wax boxes from the era turn sour?

  A couple of tips about going to auction with your stuff. Vintage cards are always in demand and while condition will determine price, buyers are not really condition sensitive. I've personally taken in a large number of vintage off grade cards and when I say off grade, it's really more about quantity than quality. Quality will bring more money but a strong lot of off grade vintage cards will also do well.

  Autographs? Jimmy Spence of JSA handles most of the certifacation for the auctions houses in the hobby and why not. He is the best. Many of the auction houses have deals with him and they usually take care of the certifacation. The company will usually charge you what Spence charges them for the service and it comes off the end of your sale.

  The auction houses charge anywhere from 10% to 20% to the seller although this varies due to what the owner is selling, how much of an advance he'd like if one is offered, what the competition is offering and how good the collection is. A customer selling a complete T206 Set with all the cards in PSA 7 condition might be offered a 7% fee, while someone offering up 1500 boxes of 1988 Donruss in sealed cases would easily be giving up 15% to 20%. Those are hard to sell while the other will sell easily.

  The buyer is also charged a commission and this is where the auction house makes its money. The commission taken from the seller usually pays for the representative of the company who found the collection, the shipping and some advertising. The buyer's commission is what pays for the catalog, employees and hopefully the auction house itself makes money so it can stay in business. Selling $2 million in merchandise does not guarantee the company a profit considering all the factors involved.

  I've done very well with complete Topps Sets from the 1950's and 1960's, 800 count boxes of vintage baseball and football cards while bulk autographs don't seem to do as well. There is usually some interest in a bulk lot of autographs. What there is no interest in are inserts and insert sets. These are dime a dozen items and commonly manufactured.

  Will this all change? Probably as things in the industry change we'll see changes in the auction process too, as well as customer tastes and new collectors coming to the auction market to buy. Some of the auction houses will fade away due to lack of financing not due a shortage of material. Personally I get calls almost every day but unfortunately much of it is for modern day baseball cards. The questions I get are usually from the uneducated...

"What kind of cards do you buy?" We don't buy we consign.

"What kind of cards do you collect?" We don't collect, we sell.

"Is Shoeless Joe Jackson still dead?" No, I heard him out back talking with Elvis last week.

"What is my Upper Deck 1996 Michael Jordan Rookie Card worth, I have three of them." A lot less than the 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie Card.

"I have lots of card from back in the day when I was a kid, I'm 22 now and found them in the garage. I'd like you to take a look at them to see if you are interested." I'm not, I want to talk to your father who collected cards back 'in his day.'

"I have lots of old Becketts I was going to throw out but I want you to put them up for auction." Walk them out your back door and head straight for the trash can.

"My grandfather died and left me a bunch of boxes of sports stuff and cards he collected when he was a kid. What do I do with them?" Nothing, what is your address I'll be over in 10 minutes.

  One big name dealer years ago said there are no more great finds. Of course there are because people die and their collections usually go to their families who don't want them. They want the money the collection might bring but even then many of them don't care so much. They have no emotional attachment to them. This is what we are looking for. If you have an emotional attachment, keep it because chances are you won't get enough money for it to overcome your emotions.

  We are trained to be conservative in estimating the value of a collection because we don't want you to be disappointed. We also would like to know what your expectations are. If you have a collection you paid $75,000 for and in today's market the value is $10,000 and you want $95,000 chances are you should try to sell it on eBay instead. It will take you longer, you won't get your money in one lump sum and you might get $12,000 for it. It's a hard lesson to learn but a lot of folks are learning it.

  The one good thing about today's market with it's bad economy is there is always a great market for premium merchandise. Especially if that stuff is linked personally to a player. A ring worn by Ali, a check written by Babe Ruth or a bat owned by Joe Jackson. These are all premium items and will find a home with someone with expensive tastes and cash to burn. A bat signed by Hank Aaron while under contract to Score Board, a Willie Mays baseball signed in 2006 or a "Limited Edition" numbered litho signed by guys who all hit 50 home runs in a season -- well there are lots of them and they are not unique. Anyone who really wants one can have one and this is not good for the collectibles market or your investment.

  Most auction houses don't deal with framed items. They would rather take the stuff out of the frames, ship them to their warehouse in a less costly matter and sell the items as they are. Few collectors, buying at auction, are buying them for the frames. If you walk into a store and see a framed piece and you want it, you buy it. You usually don't buy it at auction. At auction people are looking for "rare" or "a bargain."

  Selling at auction is a great way to get the most for what you have and if you don't have a clue as to how valuable what you have is, it's a tremendous way to find out. Chances are you will be pleasently pleased although there are often disappointments. Like the man said selling anything anywhere, auctions, swap meets, eBay, garage sales -- it's a crap shoot. However if you use a legitimate auction house which advertises, publishes a nice catalog and has good reps come out to visit with you, you are halfway home to a good experience.

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 (BURBANK) Hollywood Collectibles Show was good the last weekend in Burbank as a "Happy Days Reunion" themed show took center state. Even Erin Moran was there and she was previously estranged from the group. Henry Winkler (The Fonz) was a huge hit and we heard him remark afterwards "This was really a wonderful thing, certainly worth being here."

  (DV Valkenburgh)

(In photo above, Happy Days stars; Donny Most far right,Henry Winkler far end standing, Marion Ross in Blue, Anson Williams looking away in black shirt)

Photo credit to Dave Rodriguez, Signatures.com. The free table area was loaded with about 60 or more signers. These are celebrities who get their table for free and can charge what they want. Most are former TV and movie stars, Playboy Playmates and working actors and actresses such as Deborah Van Valkenburgh seen below. The "Too Close for Comfort" star and co-star of the classic cult film "The Warriors" is constantly working and usually makes all the Hollywood Collectible Shows. She was there with co-star Lydia Cornell. Almost the entire living cast from the Bob Newhart Show was there. We were there to promote our new book "Love Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" and pre-sold a few books in the process.

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(THE MOON) Mounted Memories is offering up framed pieces of the Apollo 11 Moon walk. The items feature text of the mission and photos of the landing, the walk and some of those famous shots NASA says it lost in the years gone by. There were no shots of anyone's forehead simulating the man in the moon for you conspiracy theorists.

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(ORLANDO) College Hunks Hauling Junk, a clean out company, cleaned out a storage locker and founds lots of sports memorabilia. Judging from the COA's, the holders and the names of the players who signed it looks like someone who collected stuff from The Score Board. Mays, Aaron, Schmidt and many more former TSB inkers. Some of the stuff was ruined by the poor conditions but some will go to charity.

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 (EBAY) The recent deaths of star names has put a real boost into the memorabilia market, and it also continues to send shock ways through the fake autograph market. The deaths of Michael Jackson and Steve McNair pumped up the market as usual and as unfortunate as that is. At the same time the obvious fake autographs flowing out on eBay and other auction sites continues to show what is wrong with our industry, and the world for this matter.

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(PITTSBURGH) For the same likely reasons we have to also follow the news and scandal market to see where the value of our collectibles go. Case in point, another athlete accused civily (not criminally) of rape months after an alleged encounter took place. Ben Roesthlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers vehemently defended himself in a news conference this week, stating earlier the encounter was consentual. The woman who is making the accusations filed the civil suit but never filed a criminal complaint. The question is should athletes now have to fill out a form before and after having sex stating their intentions before and after? Imagine if Mickey Mantle and some of the other great players who were known to stray frequently were around today?          

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Bob Brill can be reached at bob.pattiwaggin-AT-gmail-DOT-com. You can find his new book "Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale" available on many different on-line book seller sites although the limited edition version may only be purchased from the web site, www.pattiwaggin.com. Patti Waggin was married to MLB player Don Rudolph and both have fan clubs on the the site. Special bonuses and discounts apply for those who join.

Tags: the don jimmy stripper beckett waggin van dancer burlesque jsa memories patti jordan scott spence strip elvis mounted and michael report steelers topps baseball rudolph winkler tease huggins psa heritage valkenburgh ebay brill exotic