And, it's back.

The Neil Armstrong signed shuttle lithograph I wrote about last week -- yes, the one that sold for $1,830.61.

Well, it's back again. This time for a princely $3,400 Buy It Now.

LOL. Gotta love it.

Neil Armstrong autograph: High on grade, low on context

This signed photo closed for $1,830 on eBay last night. Two months ago it sold at RR Auction for $1,150, which is a price one would expect considering the Space Shuttle photo is un-related to Neil Armstrong. (Kinda like having Mickey Mantle sign a photo of Wrigley Field.)

RR Auction always commands strong prices and has a great reputation for authenticity, so those were not likely issues. So one could conclude the only difference between the first sale and the second sale is the PSA/DNA "9" grade. (However, the eBay sale did not mention creasing, which was noted in the RR Auction listing.) Are people really chasing "graded" autographs now? While it is undoubtedly authentic and a very nice signature, wouldn't you rather have a "6" that is on a photo representative of Neil Armstrong?

Full disclosure department: I am the space authenticator for RR Auction.

Advice for "investing" in collectibles

I don't consider my collectibles an "investment," but when I spend money on something, it would be nice to get something back out of it down the line when it's time to sell.

With this in mind, I advise avoiding mass-produced material as much as possible. By that I mean single signed balls of common signers, common signed flats, etc. If it has a Steiner sticker, it's probably not rare.

Go for items that are less common. If you really want a signed item from someone who is in plentiful supply, get one with a less common inscription. This applies to all collectibles, not just baseball autographs.

Derek Jeter may be signing baseballs for another 50 years.
Will you ever get $400 back out of it?

If I could tell go back in time and give myself one bit of collecting advice, it would be, "one $200 item is way better than ten $20 items."

Neil Armstrong autograph values hold steady

This photo closed on eBay today for $1,212. A strong result for a personalized photo with condition issues.

To top it off, it's not even an image of Neil Armstrong.

Since his passing in August, so much Armstrong material entered the market, I was wondering if prices would actually drop. Yet demand seems to have increased resulting in values holding steady.