Dodgers Team Issued 8X10 Photos - Lost within the masses

[mrmopar]

The Dodgers sold singles or packs of these 8x10 color photos from at least the early 60s into the early 80s. They are thicker than the standard 8x10 photo and more like card stock, they have a thin white border and have facsimile signatures on them. You see flyers showing packs of them available through Danny Goodman's concessions both at the park and through the mail. I have seen them "loosely' listed in the annual almanac type collector books, but this is nowhere close to an accurate list of the subjects included and when they were issued.



I have been collecting these for years now and have done my best to collect as many different as possible, but the year of issue for many is still impossible to tell. Lots of players have multiple different photos, obviously issued at different times of their career. I highlighted the various Steve Garvey photos in my blog 10 years ago:

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They are not numbered, blank-backed, have no stats and the closest you could come to dating them is to look for visible clues in the photos (uniforms, background, hair styles, etc) or with certain players, their tenure with the team was brief (Frank Robinson is a perfect example).

One of the more frustrating things about an issue like this that is fairly nondescript, is that it can be tricky to find them available for sale. Nobody knows what exactly to call them, so they come up with what they think works. However, there are also a lot of people who just don't seem to want to put in the effort to have their items seen either, using terrible descriptions that lake important key words or details. I'll use ebay, as it is still clearly the gold standard for buying and selling collectibles. Because this issue does not seem to have commonly accepted set name, the best hope is that someone will include the term "team issue". That lands you a lot of game gear though. The next most reasonable search criteria would be 8x10 Dodgers color photo. here is where it gets old. I tried that search today just to illustrate my frustration and it came back with 532 hits. That is excluding descriptions, titles only. After looking through each listing, I found 22 of this type of photo, mostly by a single seller (who uses team issue in his description). There may be another half dozen other listings by various other sellers. that is not a very good hit rate. I am sure there are more out there, but how are people listing them? It's not like you can say "1976 Dodgers Team Issue photos" and get good results. The similar 5x7 B&W picture pack photos are another example. Sold through Goodman for years, they were not identified by year of issue. i suspect left over stock was mixed with new stock as players changed teams back and forth. These two sets alone could drive a Dodger collector to insanity, trying to figure it all out. At least the postcards from the same era have a numbering system!

These are not rare. I have purchased small lots throughout the years, often for less than $1 per photo, but get them out as singles and most people ask between $5-15 for them. I could see paying on the low end, but definitely not interested a the higher end of that scale. Still, finding them to have that choice is the tricky part.

There are maybe 5-6 that I have seen listed on ebay at one time or another that I still do not have. All have been singles, all have been listed at the higher end of the spectrum. I know there are more of these out there, but I just need to come up with a name that will stick, be known to the entire worldly population and then wait for them to show up!!

I'm sure others have items that get lost in the vastness of ebay. Think about all the really cool stuff that might be ripe for the picking if only we didn't have to wade through the same common, overpriced crap that gets listed and re-listed constantly. I still love ebay for what it is, but it can be a lot of work to mine the really good stuff and even that often requires a bit of luck as well.

Share some of your "lost in the masses" items. Maybe people will see this and reach out or list 'em! Exposure and networking is a big part of this hobby. It is a double edged sword where if you reveal too much, people have the upper hand and may sek items you want, price gouge or hold something hostage; yet if you reveal too little, nobody knows you want or need something that may just be a junk item not worth their time of day.

I need that Ferguson, by the way. Not going to pay $15 + Tax for one though. Been watching that one on and off for probably 2-3 years, maybe longer, and the seller has not budged on the price. I tried offering on a different photo and they were firm (they still have that one for sale too - Hmmm, maybe my offer isn't so unreasonable after all), so have never bothered to even ask on the Ferguson. I can't even pull the trigger when I have free money (ebay bucks) or a discount. It's the principal!

 

[finestkind]

Very cool. I never got interested in photo's like that. No room for me to display them.

 

[mrmopar]

Yes, I display very little of my collection. Really nothing is actually displayed, unless you count a bookshelf. I do have these in a binder though, for easy viewing. I need to check it now and again to verify if I have/need one when I see something unfamiliar. Too hard to remember exactly all that I have.

 

[finestkind]

I've bought or won the same card I already have a few times. My collection isn't organized.