Tim Wakefield, What is he worth???

Since 1995 Tim Wakefield has been a fixture with the Boston Red Sox.  #49 has been worn by the same man, known for throwing the dancing and unpredicatable knuckleball.  Throughout his career he was loyal to his "Team First" approach.  He is a fan favorite and other than never knowing what to expect from one of his appearances, very few people complained about him.  I know in my circle of friends, we were always excited to see him pitch in person, because that almost always meant a quick game would be played.

Tim holds many Red Sox pitching records.  He is first in innings pitched with over 3000, he faced 12971 batters, over 1500 more than Roger Clemens.  He started more games than any other Red Sox Pitcher with 430.  He is second in Red Sox history with 2046 strikeouts, and 186 wins. 

He had a huge impact on various Red Sox playoff runs, and was vital in the 2004 MLB playoffs.  He appeared in 4 games during that playoff run and went 1-0.  He threw out the first pitch of the 2004 world series. 

So what does this all mean in collectible world?  To be honest not much.  A Tim Wakefield autographed photo or baseball is worth $50, authenticated.  Maybe $75 on a 2004 world series ball or other item if it's inscribed with "world series champ", "reverse the curse" or the "date of the 1st pitch".  He will be no more popular than Trot Nixon or Ellis Burks.  Very much a fan favorite, but just above average in the history of major league baseball players.

Tim Wakefield autographed 2004 World Series baseball.

Time to Meet Milan Lucic

New England Picture Company is hosting another opportunity to meet a New England Champion and fan favorite.  On Monday February 27th you will have the opportunity to meet Boston Bruin forward, Stanley Cup champion and tough guy Milan Lucic. 

The last time he made a public appearance of which was in southern New England, there were over 350 people there.  People waited upwards of 2-3 hours to meet him. He is a popular sports figure and rarely makes these autograph appearances.  His pricing is great.  $49 for regular photos and pucks, $69 for everything else, $20 for inscriptions. 

This time he'll be appearing in Portsmouth New Hampshire.  The information is below.

For more information please visit http://www.newenglandpicture.com/

Back by popular demand, come and meet Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, team president Cam Neely and Milan Lucic

Clearly and justifiably the Patriots are the hot interest sports topic in New England.  The 5th superbowl appearance in 10 years should garner that attention.  However, we cannot forget that Boston's most recent championship came from the Boston Bruins.  Bruin player appearances have occurred often in the past 3-4 months and the demand on some is still incredibly high.  Therefore, to meet that demand New England Picture company and sureshot promotions have teamed up again to offer fans the opportunity to meet and acquire an autograph from Milan Lucic,  Zdeno Chara and Cam Neely. 

Chara is the current team captain and was a key player in last season's championship run.  Lucic is a very popular current Bruin known for his speed and fighting.  Cam Neely is currently the Bruin's team president and played his hall of fame career for the Bruins in the late 80's and early 90's before he stopped due to injury. 





The information for the appearances is below.

No Refund will be given on Tickets - If you do not show during signing times.  ALL SALES FINAL. One Ticket required per Autograph. TICKET PICKUP DAY OF SHOW You will receive an order confirmation in your email. Please print and bring that confirmation to pick up your tickets the day of the show. Thank You! Pricing for Chara starts at $59 for regular items and $79 for premium items.      TICKET PICKUP DAY OF SHOW CAM NEELY PUBLIC AUTOGRAPH SIGNING  WHEN: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, 2012 TIME:12PM-1:30PM New England Picture Store (2nd level next to Nordstroms) South Shore Plaza, Braintree, MA Neely Pricing starts at $39 for regular items and $49 for premium items.   Lucic pricing starts at $49 for regular items and $69 for premium items. All sales are final.  As always - one ticket is required per autograph ... MILAN LUCIC PUBLIC AUTOGRAPH SIGNING Monday February 27, 2012 6:30PM - 8:30 PM Location TBD For more information please check the following websites: http://www.sureshotpromotions.com/ http://www.newenglandpicture.com/

New Year's Resolution, Time to Organize, Time to Refresh

Most people I know start every January with a New Year's Resolution.  Some friends I know want to exercise more, hope to lose weight, or commit to saving money.  While I wish to also meet those expectations, I thought of a resolution that can be a win-win for myself, my family, and local groups looking to raise money.

In late December I was cleaning my collectible room, which is also our family room and daughter's play room.  As I was cleaning and organizing my autographs, I realized 2 things:
1.  I need a larger room.
2.  I need to refresh the displays with updated items and photos.

I noticed that I had baseballs displayed of players that mean nothing to me, I had photos of players that are no longer in professional sports, I had plenty of current player items that were hidden (ie, Current Bruins and Celtics Items).  So it was time to re-organize, update and purge.

The first thing I accomplished was cleaning of the current items and replacing of outdated items. This was easy because I had frames in which I can easily switch photos, ball cubes for the newest baseballs and labels so I could easily identify the autograph.  The frames I purchased were the Format brand which are usually $5 and under at stores such as Michaels, Walmart and Target.  Format frames have easy to pop glass and only need a small nail to hang.  Ball cubes of all sizes can be found at sporting good stores (Dick's sells them starting at $3.99.)  I highly recommend investing in any type of label maker which can be found at any office supply store. 


Ray Allen autographed photo in 8x10 format frame.



Labeled autographed baseballs in cubes

 The second thing I accomplished was create shelf space by taking down and separating items by what i want to store and what I want get rid of.  By doing this I added about 20 square feet of shelf space, to which I created more room for new bobblehead dolls and of course Bruins Stanley Cup autographed pucks. 


New shelf space for Bruins Autographs

As I was purging items I categorized them into 2 areas.  The keep, but store pile and the give away or sell pile.  While I sell a very small portion of my autographs, I do offer many up as donations to non profit organizations that are hosting fundraisers in the form of silent auctions, etc....  This is always a win-win for all involved.  So take some to time to organize, refresh and prioritize what you want and need, and guaranteed you'll feel accomplished and maybe a little heavier in the wallet.

Come and meet, AFC champion, Rob Gronkowski

Congratulations to the AFC champion, New England Patriots!!!!  For the 5th time since the 2001 season the Patriots will be appearing in the Super Bowl.  This means one thing, possibly another championship for a New England team.  With the possibility of another championship, that also means for 2 weeks we'll hear about all the hype and the dissection of every active player on the roster.

One player Patriots fans have grown to love is tight end Rob Gronkowski.  His record setting season has propelled him to one of the most popular Patriots behind Tom Brady.  He is very popular with all the diehard Patriot fans and all females. 

With that said, now is your chance to meet him.  New England Picture and Sure Shot promotions have scheduled a public appearance with Rob Gronkowski for the 2nd Monday after the Patriot's season is complete, which now will be on Monday February 13th (PLEASE CHECK WEBSITES BELOW FOR EXACT TIME AND DATE). 

From personal experience I'm telling to pre-purchase your tickets now.  This will sell out regardless of the outcome of the SuperBowl.  And if the Patriots win, you will lose out on an opportunity to meet him if you do not pre-purchase now.

His pricing is great.  The charge for one autograph is $59 or $79 depending on the item you have signed.  Inscriptions are $20.  This price will increase after February 13th, guaranteed and unlikely to ever be this low again.

The location is La Carreta Mexican Restaurant

35 Manchester Rd., Derry, NH

(Hannaford Plaza, across from Wal-Mart)

The time is scheduled for 7pm - 8:30pm. 

For more information check www.newenglandpicture.com or sureshotpromotions.com.

Small Business Saturday

Back in June of 1988, I was 14, just finished 8th grade, and went out looking for a job.  So one day I decided to walk into a local business (Video rental and one hour photo store) and apply.  What do you know, I got hired.  I learned much about good customer service, connecting with your customers, and being active in the community we worked in.  I also learned more about what it takes to run a small, successful, independent business. There's no way we would've been as successful as we were if it wasn't for our local, neighborhood customers.

23 years later, how times have changed.  Big box stores, retail chains and a tough economy have negatively impacted the livelihood of these small businesses that took a chance on me.  Trust me, I shop at the big stores as well, but I like to think I find a balance. 

There is a movement called Small Business Saturday, in which small business owners are asking that you shop their stores on Saturday November 26th.  Over 2 million people have pledged to make at least one purchase at a local small business on Saturday.  There is no reason to not do this if you need to purchase items on Saturday.  Yes, the price might be a bit higher. Yet, the positives out weigh that with easier parking, smaller crowds and a great way to stimulate the local economy.  

If you are not aware of the 3/50 program it is worth reading about.  Essentially, they are asking you to think about what it would the impact would be if you had 3 less independent businesses in your community.  They note that if you spent $50 a month at a local business, that would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.  And that for every $100 spent in the community, $68 of that will be returned to that local community through taxes and other means. 

Fore more information on these movements please check the following websites:
http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/
http://www.the350project.net/home.html

So I hope that all of you will take some time and shop at a local business this Saturday.

Discretion is in the hands of the signer!!!

Last week, I had the pleasure of working at the Greater Boston Sports collector's club convention/collector's show.  It was a great weekend honoring the 1986 Red Sox, baseball hall of famers Orlando Cepeda and Cal Ripken Jr, and working with some of the current Bruins. 

However, one problem that kept arising from the paying customer was the lack of cooperation from some players to inscribe special messages or noting accomplishments or items there were not authentic.  What does this mean?  Well, there was one customer who thought he had authentic game-used hockey sticks for Tim Thomas and Tyler Seguin.  However, Tyler noted those specific sticks were not used by him and that he would not inscribe them as "game used".  He inscribed them with 2011 stanley cup champs instead.  Then according to the customer they were not signed in the correct spot. 

Additionally, Rich Gedman and Wade Boggs were asked to inscribe accomplishments that they actually did not accomplish.  There were willing to add accurate information, but not something they did not complete themselves. 

So beware, players don't have to sign inscriptions at all, especially if they are not comfortable with it.  Most promoters will put a disclaimer on tickets or in signage that all signatures, inscriptions and locations of inscriptions are up to the players.  Now, this hardly seems fair, as a paying customer, but the rules are posted.  If there is a legitimate issue, the promoter will work with the agent and player to attempt to make everyone happy and maybe add a refund.  Again, this is rare, especially if a customer paid for the extra addition, but on that weekend this came up too often. 

My advice, be fair and make sure you have your facts straight on the items you have to be signed.  As happened with the Nomar signing, you really never know what you have with regards to game used items.  And with inscriptions be reasonable and keep them to a professional sport accomplishment or a simple personalization.  If you are reasonable, the player will be as well.