Four days ago, in this space, I wrote a little bit about an autographed Stephen Strasburg rookie card on eBay going for $34,600. I discussed the absurdity of it all, and some other things you could do with $34,600, and why autographs should be worth anything in the first place. Standard blogger fare.
Little Picture Of Stephen Strasburg With Name Scrawled Illegibly In Blue Ink Worth More Than Your House
Four days ago was nothing. $34,600 was nothing.
This isn’t a funny joke anymore. This is going to end up concluding with the exchange of a seven-figure sum of money. That $999,900 bid wasn’t some outlandish attention-seeking sum the bidder has no intention of paying - it was the 27th bid of $900,000 or above. People got serious. People got serious about a name scribbled down on a glossy piece of cardboard.
The bidding has taken on a life of its own. They say Paris Hilton is famous because she’s famous. This autographed card is a high-priced collectible because it’s a high-priced collectible. Unlike Paris Hilton, of course, the card had redeeming value before it got all this attention, but it’s no longer something someone wants to own because it’s a Stephen Strasburg autographed rookie card. Now it’s something someone wants to own because it’s the Stephen Strasburg autographed rookie card that sold for more than a commercial spot in the season finale of Lost. It isn’t a card. It’s a piece of internet history. And history has a cost.
Over the past 24 hours, the bidding has jumped by more than $850,000. There are still three days remaining before the auction comes to a close. Note that Stephen Strasburg himself is costing the Nationals $3.875m for the 2010 season.
See More:
