TriStar Conventions

[loumud]

Re: TriStar Conventions

Frik - The main question is whether it is worth it to you? You generally pay a premium to get an item signed in person.

Remember, it typically costs TriStar or any other company more money to transport the player to a venue and then the amount of time it takes to do a public signing so those costs are being passed on to the customer.

It takes an athlete more time to sign 500 pieces in public then it does to sign 500 pieces in a private room that is set up like an assembly line.

Since many of these autograph shows sell well, it seems most are willing to pay the Premium.

My favorite first-hand story of whether an autograph was worth the money was of the Barry Bonds/ARod "Holiday" show they did in New York City on Dec 11th, 2004. Most people were getting premium items signed as the cost for a package of 1 sig from each was $1,050. There is a mother and a kid that came to the event and the kid had a fresh out of the box MLB ball he was going to get signed. I said to the mother, you can buy a Bonds ball off of eBay for $175 and she says thats OK, my son wants to meet Barry Bonds. So, I guess that is the mindset some people have.

Andrew

Andrew's absolutely right - the autos are really worth what you're willing to pay for them. But, since Tri Star came out with a pricelist for everything, I would say that I personally think that the prices they're charging for Berkman and Oswalt are fairly reasonable. Someone might disagree, but it's my opinion. Berkman's inherited the position of being the Astros franchise player since Biggio retired, and I think he's got a good shot at the HOF if he stays healthy. Ditto for Oswalt. In person, I know Oswalt is a little easier to obtain autographs from, though he's not very talkative at times. But, I also know that many times you can't be the setting of an organized signing for the quality of the autograph. In person you never know what you'll get. I've gotten Oswalt multiple times in person on balls and 8x10s at the park here in SD, but sometimes he signature comes out extremely sloppy and difficult to make out. No so when he's sitting down at a table taking the time to sign each signature. Just my thoughts!

[frikativ54]

Re: TriStar Conventions

Is there enough stuff at the convention to be there for two days? How large is it?

[loumud]

Re: TriStar Conventions

Is there enough stuff at the convention to be there for two days? How large is it?

Not sure about the exact size. but the last one was probably anywhere from 60-100 tables? Quite a wide range, but I'm sure if you e-mailed Tri Star directly they could let you know better how many dealers would be there. I would say that a 75-table show could be done in 1 day, but if you're going to be waiting around to get autographs you could probably stretch it to 2 days and get your money's worth. What I like about the Houston show is that for me it's a Mecca of Astros stuff! Living in San Diego everything over here is Padres, so it's a relief to be around so many Astros-related items. Plus, you got the BoSox series that weekend. So, I'm personally planning on coming into town for all that.