Steve Jobs Signed MacWorld for $2274.00

["Bryan Villados" <news002@macgeek.org>]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14433&item=2151450105
&rd=1

Bummers... If this was sold last week for that much, it would have topped my
most ridiculous bid of the year list, even more than the $1200 Apple IIgs.
Now it'll have to wait a full year before this bid can be considered. If you
think about it, Steve Jobs' autograph is worth more than almost any
currently living Hollywood celebrity WITH a certificate of authenticity. To
me, a story like "I took Tom Hanks out to lunch, and he signed my copy of
People Magazine" wouldn't get $200 without some sort of proof of
authenticity, and that would have been a much better story than the one
given in this bid.

If you're going to collect autographs, this sort of cash would be better
spent on something signed by Woz. What I'd like to see is someone test the
market by putting up their Apple II, II+, or IIe system signed by Woz in
today's market and see how much it would sell for. Based on data I've
collected the past few years, an Apple IIe signed by Steve Wozniak (nothing
mass-printed or anything, Woz actually signed it himself) sold for $200 to
$400 each on eBay. Those sales benefited a school Woz volunteered for... He
went down the line of Apple IIe's the school had and signed each cover with
a Sharpie. The authograph itself is identical to the "Woz" signature you see
on the limited edition IIgs systems.

Why do I think Woz's signature is worth more than Jobs? For me, I just
respect Woz more. He cared for the Apple employees during his time spent at
Apple. And, he's also a great humanitarian for the help he's given to
schools around his district, and his openness to fans via his web site. And
even if Jobs' autograph is considered mega-rare, it's still not worth
$2274.00. Maybe $1000.00 with some sort of proof would be acceptible.

I currently own a Noriko Sakai (JPOP star, bigger than Madonna in the Asian
market) autographed cardboard with her Victor record label logo on it from
1987. She signed it right in front of me during one of her visits to Hawaii.
And though I love her to death, it's not worth that much in monetary value
because of the lack of authenticity of the autograph. Another example of
this is a good friend of mine who owns a copy of Fantastic Four #1 with what
he says is Stan Lee's autograph on the cover. Funny story here... Mr. Lee
grabbed the copy, held the book in the air and yelled throughout the
ballroom, "Ladies & gentlemen, this is my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK". Right
after that, he slammed his autograph on the cover. Because the signed cover
bears no proof of authenticity, the value of the book actually dropped more
than 75-percent ($8800 for a VF grade down to about $2000 just because of
the autograph). A huge room of people saw Mr. Lee sign the book, but still
it doesn't matter.

Collecting autographs is probably one of the most vulnerable forms of
collecting, period. That's why if I bought anything signed by someone, I
would only purchase them from a place that has a good reputation, such as
Field of Dreams. Maybe they should start collecting authographs from Silicon
Valley personalities. I'd kill for a Larry Ellison autograph. :)

--- Bryan