Harvey Haddix 50 Yr. Anniversary - Not in the Cards

Can a museum really sell out of tickets? Apparently so.

I planned to attend the Clark County Historical Society's 50 Year Anniversary Celebration for Harvey Haddix. Thanks to Phungo for the heads-up last week.

Haddix pitched 12 1/3 innings of perfect baseball 50 years ago and is from the Springfield, Ohio area. The historical society was having some artifacts, guest speakers and such. I called Friday for more information and I was informed they were sold out?! WHAT?

How does a museum sell out? Think about - a non-profit organization, in a recession, is selling out of tickets? If you're a non-profit (or profit in this economy) you should never sell out of anything. You're leaving money on the table! Either move the event to a bigger venue or charge more money.

So... (yes I'm still grumpy about this), I planned to take the family and spend the afternoon in Springfield getting closer to baseball history and could not go because they stopped selling tickets! Amazing.

James Earl Ray or James Earl Jones?

You can't spell "pissed away" with P-S-A.

PSA/DNA certified this James Earl Jones autograh for an auction at Historical Auctions in Florida. The only problem, it's a James Earl Ray autograph!

One James Earl speaks at Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations in Lauderhill, Florida to honor the hero. The other James Earl died in prison while servicing his sentence for shooting Martin Luther King Jr. That's a fairly significant difference between the two men. You would think an autograph authenticator would know the difference.

Thanks to autograph alert for the story an image.

Pro Football Hall of Fame - Clueless Book Signing

What's the #1 marketing goal for a museum? To sell memberships!

How do you sell memberships? You create more sales by bringing as many people as you can to your museum and providing the best possible experience for them. I have 4 great was the HOF can sell more memberships.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio is missing a great opportunity for people to visit their museum, buy a membership and keep coming back.

I received an email from the HOF this week about the Tony Dungy book signing and was excited to take the family. I'm not a huge Tony Dungy fan, I don't follow the Colts or Buccaneers, but I thought this would be a great experience, until I read more about the event and called the Hall of Fame.

The "free" Tony Dungy book signing event next week isn't free at all. To to get a Tony Dungy signature you must do the following:

• Pay $10-$15 to get into the Museum store (paying to get in a store?).
• Pay $15-$29 for one of Tony Dungy's books at their museum store (the books are $10 cheaper online).

I've been to several book signings and I have never been charged to:
1) walk through the doors of the store and
2) buy the book from them if I already have it.

The stores and museums I've been to for these events understand their goal is to bring people into the store/museum and get new memberships - not make a few dollars on a book or entrance into the store.

Four great ways they can sell more memberships! Think how much better would my experience be if:

1. Entrance to the museum and book store was free while Tony Dungy was signing
2. I could bring my own copy of Tony Dungy's book to get signed
3. They offered a 10% discount to become a Hall of Fame Insider Club member
4. Give all members first in line access to the Dungy book signing

Bring people in and show them a good time and you'll have loyal customers for life.

Autograph Alert - Is SCD DOA?

The fall-out over a Sports Collector's Digest possible conflict of interest continues. Autograph Alert continues the pressure.

SCD could have answered the questions on their forum and on their blog, but they decided to cut-off the debate by not allowing comments on their blog. Stopping comments/questions on your site does not end the discussion, it moves it. The discussion has moved to Autograph Alert, Voice of the Collector and Sports Rings.

I asked TS earlier this week to reconsider and allow comments again, but this hasn't happened yet. They need to get their arms around the situation and begin to answer questions from their customers.

Mounted Memories Football Hall of Fame Show

Say it ain't so! Mounted Memories is once again running the autograph session at the Football Hall of Fame this summer.

Their shows web site has "Canton Induction Weekend" listed as an "upcoming signing." Mounted Memories has run the autograph shows the last 4 years and in the process, has priced out the average collector.

The football HOF previously had "tent sessions" where you could you buy one ticket and get multiple autographs of Hall of Famers in the tents. Since MountedMemories was outsourced as the autograph vendor, the tent sessions have ended and prices have spiked. Fortunately, some Canton malls have autograph sessions throughout the weekend with prices for the average collector. Two years ago, Art Donovan was signing at one of the malls where he signed my 1952 Dallas Texans helmet. He was awesome and worth the $25!

Hopefully, the local malls will come through again with some great guests.

My First 1/1 Card and it's David Ortiz!

I've been a card collector forever, but I finally received my first 1/1 card! I don't open too many new (overpriced) packs anymore which could explain why it's taken me this long to get a 1/1.

I got this David Ortiz 1/1 sketch card from 2009 Topps - my redemption came in this week. I like the sketch cards, I think they look cool - I just wish it was a player I liked more. At least I have a good friend who's a Sox fan and will appreciate it.

Sports Collector's Digest - See No Evil

This week T.S. O'Connell from Sports Collector's Digest turned off the comments on his Infield Dirt blog. That's not a typo - he turned off comments on his blog. [Major credit to Voice of the Collector for being the first to blog about this change.]

This just in . . . it's not a blog, if you don't allow comments.

I have emailed T.S. in the past (and did yesterday asking about this) - I think he's someone that really cares about the hobby, but playing the "hear no evil/see no evil" game doesn't help things.

Online "commentary" isn't flawed as the title of T.S.' blog post states. The flaw occurs in how corporations use it. Companies engage in social media to bring them closer to the customers. To hear their voice, get their feedback, and have a conversation with the people who pay their salaries. Blogging is social media - if you aren't listening then you're just another web site or medium.

My social media soap box:
It's the rise of social media like blogs, facebook, and twitter that has taught companies to listen to their customers and that customers like to be heard. Don't run away from comments, encourage feedback and use it to gather precious data about your customer's preferences. Use the feedback tool as a way to show them how much you respect their opinions and appreciate the time they dedicate to sharing it with you.

My advice to T.S. - allow the comments, moderate them before posting if you must (I have to do that now because of spam) and have a conversation with your customers.

Best Baseball Autograph Inscriptions

I've always said, it's the inscription that can really make an autograph baseball unique. This Mickey Mantle one is the best... no wonder the family paid $2,700 for it and deny it is real.

Here's a cool story of some of the more memorable baseball autograph inscriptions out there.

Here are some I'd like to see!
- I'm sorry I took fertility drugs - Manny Ramirez

- I'm sorry for everything Jeter ever said about me - Alex Rodriguez

- F--- Face - Billy Ripken

- Nolan - I'm sorry I charged the mound - Robin Ventura

- Robin - I'm sorry I pounded on your face - N. Ryan

Thanks BBTF.