D'oh! Buying when emotions are high.

[Adam West]

Last week I noticed a huge spike in Sean Taylor memorabilia and people on Ebay making a quick profit from his murder.

At the game last week, they handed fans memorial towels and some people sold them for a pretty hefty price considering they were giving them away for free

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sean-Taylor-Reds...QQcmdZViewItem

Not more than a couple of days later, Redskins.com has the towel for sale in their shop for $3.99, and it's the exact same one that they handed out to fans at the game, with profits going to Sean Taylor's daughter as a trust fund.

Unfortunately, I think some hawks looking to make a quick buck, bought up the towels and they have temporarily run out but they should be back up soon.

My wife ordered me one for Christmas and it is backordered to ship on December 6th. I'm sure they'll keep cranking them out but in the meantime, the towels are still selling for over $20 a pop even though some Ebay'ers have added auctions basically saying "Idiots, go over to Redskins.com and buy them for $3.99 instead of buying them here"

Just goes to show what can happen when emotions get the best of you.

[palitoy]

ech, I can't stand when people try to profit from death. I noticed a lot of Evel Knievel stuff on ebay right now too.

[PCofmisfittoys]

yes it's very sad , but it happens everytime we lose someone. If you recall someone put a piece of Princess Dianas car on ebay and it got real high before ebay pulled it i think.

[Marvelmania]

Ebay goolies always make me sick! Nice to hear that the Skins are doing that for Taylor's daughter!

[theantiquetiger]

I would never do it, but I understand it. That is the sports collectible world. Things get valuable when some one passes. Now this time is stupid because I never even heard of the guy before now and his stuff will bottom out again very soon, like the guy's stuff from Arizona (killed in war, a true hero).

I understand doing this when some one like Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, etc. who pass away, because of what they did for their sport. Not just because some one became famous for what happened off the field.

[Adam West]

Well, in his defense, he was actually one of the stars of the team and one of probably 6 players that they were making specific jerseys and selling.

He was picked #5 in the 1st round 3 years ago in the draft (I think) and he made the probowl last year. He was also leading the NFL for interceptions for the year at the time of his murder.

I realize that non-Redskins fans might not have heard of him because he has only been in the league for a couple of years but he also wasn't an average no-name player. Actually, the Redskins traded Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis because Sean Taylor was perceived to have more talent than Champ and fans were talking about him as being the next Darrell Green.

[theantiquetiger]

I didn't mean he was a nobody, I realize he was a star player (pro bowler/1st round draft), but he was no Manning, Tomlinson, Brady, etc. when it comes to being famous. He was probably as good or better player at his position than some of these superstar players. What runs the sports world collectible market?, how famous this person is/was. Unfortunately, Sean Taylor became famous because of his death, same as the guy from Arizona.

You are from Maryland. One of my favorite teams is the Orioles. Everyone knows Cal Ripken, he was a superstar and very famous. But other than the true sports fans/collectors, Eddie Murray was just some guy who played with Cal, not a guy who is on the 500 HR list and was as good a player as Cal.

The point I guess I am trying to get across is, in the sports collectible world, it is not how good of a player you are, as much as how famous you are.

[megoat]

I'm confused. Are we saying that we hate the whole concept of folks being interested in the careers of recently deceased celebrities?

This happens ever time somebody famous dies. Big deal. It's a testament to their fame. When famous musicians die, the record labels see a peak in their record sales. After Johnny Cash died, should Columbia Records have stopped selling his CD's out of respect for the Cash family? When a famous actor dies, DVD sales go up and Blockbuster rentals of that actor's movies increase. You're gonna see the same thing on eBay. Demand goes up, so you see a lot more things being offered and ending at higher prices......I guess I just see it as a logical outcome of what made a person famous to begin with.......

[theantiquetiger]

A very good example I see is when Stan Lee passes away. His stuff will go through the roof (even though some stuff already has). There are lot more comic collectors here than sports collectors. What will the be feeling here when people start selling his stuff after he passes?

I can see a signed Lee comic going for $200 now, more than double.

(BTW, I loved it in Fan4, when he was denied access to the wedding because he didn't have an invitation)

Has he appear in everyone of his movies like Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock?

[Count Creepyhead]

Sports collectors are what ruined the collectibles game in the first place. I'm not surprised someone is trying to make a buck off this stuff. It's mostly about money and "Value" than a true love for the items.