I envy you American folk. You can go to a card show and pick up relics and autographs of scrubs for $1-2. Not here. The cheapest tend to be found around $10, though their book value from (now defunct) SCM lists them at $25-30 to start. Yup, that no-named scrub who plays on the farm team and carries a triple-digit jersey number books at $30. Then again, autographed card print runs rarely exceed 100, and are usually around 60 each.
But seek and ye shall find. One of the local card shops here occasionally throws some nobodies into a clearance tray at 500 yen (about $5) each and if I see them I pick up the ones I need for my type collection. Nothing really special here, but let's see what my latest splurge got me:
Getting an autograph from one of the box sets is a pleasant surprise since overall there tend to be fewer; the average team set release probably has 4000-4500 autographs, while the box sets have 3000 or less (usually 1000-1500, I think). Really, getting to knock any of these cards off the want list is always a big plus in my book! Next year, I might focus more on my Japanese type collection, especially increasing the number of autographs I have.
Every one of these signatures is a work of art... which helps justify spending $5 for a common autograph.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting to find one with really cool, clear kanji. Kanji scribbles are more interesting than English ones, though.
DeleteOh man. These are scribbles? Can't wait to see a clear example.
DeleteSadly, most autographs are scribbles. In fact, I don't recall seeing a well-written autograph. Then again, I haven't looked.
DeleteOne of these days, you and I will go to a nigun game and get lots of in person autographs.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I caught a glimpse of Yomiuri's ni-gun playing Nippon Ham. If I had known about it I would have gone, but alas, it was not meant to be.
DeleteI wonder if the prices stay high because college and high school baseball is a lot more popular in Japan then the US and some of these guys might have been stars there?
ReplyDeleteThat might be it. But I believe that in Japan, prices are just simply higher. The shops tend to control almost everything, and there's a certain expectation for what a card is "worth" in the box. I mean, common cards cost 100 yen - $1 each - at all of the Mint shops. One $60 box has over $60 in commons alone! Inserts are always $3 or higher, autographs $10 or more. It's just the way they price things. The independent shops are a bit better: 30-50 yen each for singles, inserts as low as 100 yen (usually 150 or 200 yen though as a starting price). There are no nickel and dime boxes anywhere. It's sad.
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