Tony Hawk: Gouging Asswipe

[Ritalin]

So my kid is a huge Tony Hawk fan. He's got the games, the shoes, the PJs, the whole thing. He even has his website bookmarked, and looks at it often.

This morning he runs into the kitchen breathless: Tony Hawk is coming into town to do an event (he's got a new game coming out). I look on the website to get the details, and next to the time and the location is a link for "pricing".

That motherfucker wants $100 to sign something. My kid saw that and said "why does Tony Hawk want $100? Isn't he rich?" He doesn't even want to go and I explained to him that he can go and not get something signed, just shake his hand if he wants. He doesn't want to.

Tony Hawk can kiss my ass. Fuck him.

[Tall_James]

For $100 he best be signing my junk.

[RAAMONE]

just like anyone else in sports

i guess everyone is an asshole then

i'm actually surprised its that cheap

[razorboy]

Sounds painful.

[Hottub]

It sounds like your kid gained some valuable knowlege from this.

What a scumbag.

(Hawk, not your son)

[Fezticle98]

Go and kick Tony Hawk's ass.

Then you'll be your son's hero.

[TheGameHHH]

wow, the dude wants to get paid.......what an asshole. fuck capitalism

[donnie_darko]

wow thats strange, tony used to be a pretty down to earth guy, what an ass.

i mean is a tony hawk autographed item even worth 100 bucks? i can't imagine it is. Unless the signs a $100 bill i guess.

are you sure the 100 bucks doesnt include one of his skateboards or something?

[Contra]

Well he aint going to stay rich by NOT charging for it, gotta get his

[MM2]

Well he aint going to stay rich by NOT charging for it, gotta get his

Really? Aren't autograph signings just promotion for a product? The money he's going to make should be coming from the sale of his video game or whatever else he's promoting. $100 for an autograph? That's craziness!

I could see charging money if he's going to do a performance or something like that, but if its just a straight promotion gig, it should be 100% FREE.

[TheGameHHH]

Really? Aren't autograph signings just promotion for a product? The money he's going to make should be coming from the sale of his video game or whatever else he's promoting. $100 for an autograph? That's craziness!

I could see charging money if he's going to do a performance or something like that, but if its just a straight promotion gig, it should be 100% FREE.

says who? if i could get away with charging 50 bucks for people to have my autograph then guess what? im charging 50 bucks. why is it such a crime that dude wants to get paid? cause it involves a kid? thats absolutely crazy.

[RAAMONE]

says who? if i could get away with charging 50 bucks for people to have my autograph then guess what? im charging 50 bucks. why is it such a crime that dude wants to get paid? cause it involves a kid? thats absolutely crazy.

sports players actually have autographs signings...not even promoting or performing anything

they show up and sign...you pay...they leave

its nothing new and everyone does it

pay the 100 and get your kid his heros autograph...hes not ripping you off...its just how it is

[TheGameHHH]

sports players actually have autographs signings...not even promoting or performing anything

they show up and sign...you pay...they leave

its nothing new and everyone does it

pay the 100 and get your kid his heros autograph...hes not ripping you off...its just how it is

exactly my point, thank you.

[Knowledged_one]

Shit i remember being in Cooperstown when the Yankees signed Hideki Irabu, and an autograph ball signed by him was $85

And i think the fact that some of the people charge to put HOF (year inducted) in addition to their signture.

But be aware sometimes this price is set by the group doing the signing not the player themself. Ive been with my dad a few times (our family gets a lot of memorbilia done) when the player has put their HOF year and the people handling each player gets upset about them about it and will even make snide comments about it

So sometimes its not Tony Hawk putting the price out there its the group handling the signing

[Ritalin]

says who? if i could get away with charging 50 bucks for people to have my autograph then guess what? im charging 50 bucks. why is it such a crime that dude wants to get paid? cause it involves a kid? thats absolutely crazy.

I'm not saying what he's charging is illegal or that he somehow can't do it. Of course he can.

I can also understand why he might want to charge something, say $20. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. Baseball players like Pete Rose watched autograph hounds sell his signature for profit and thought, well, why shouldn't I get a piece of that. Is a Tony Hawk signature ever going to be as valuable as a Pete Rose baseball? I don't think so and the idea that he's trying to carve a piece of some secondary market is ridiculous.

He just wants to cash in. He has fans that buy his games (and the appearance is in support of the release of a game), equipment and clothing, and now he wants to gouge them for $100 for a little signature.

He's perfectly within his rights to do that, but in my book that makes him a douchebag.

My kid's not heartbroken. I was surprised at how quickly the light went off. He expressed his astonishment, said he didn't want to go and left the room. It's a cold lesson for a 9 year old, but he was going to find out sooner or later that there are people like that in the world.

And let me contrast this with an example, Game: You think Ronnie B. would gouge us?

[HBox]

I remember when the first of my childhood dreams was crushed like an ant into the sidewalk.

:glurps:

[TheGameHHH]

I'm not saying what he's charging is illegal or that he somehow can't do it. Of course he can.

I can also understand why he might want to charge something, say $20. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. Baseball players like Pete Rose watched autograph hounds sell his signature for profit and thought, well, why shouldn't I get a piece of that. Is a Tony Hawk signature ever going to be as valuable as a Pete Rose baseball? I don't think so and the idea that he's trying to carve a piece of some secondary market is ridiculous.

He just wants to cash in. He has fans that buy his games (and the appearance is in support of the release of a game), equipment and clothing, and now he wants to gouge them for $100 for a little signature.

He's perfectly within his rights to do that, but in my book that makes him a douchebag.

My kid's not heartbroken. I was surprised at how quickly the light went off. He expressed his astonishment, said he didn't want to go and left the room. It's a cold lesson for a 9 year old, but he was going to find out sooner or later that there are people like that in the world.

And let me contrast this with an example, Game: You think Ronnie B. would gouge us?

hahaha, actually to be 100% honest with you i'm not really sure what "gouge" means. when i read it in a sentence i just imagine ronnie or tony hawk poking my eye out. do you mean would i be pissed if ron charged me money for an autograph? no, i wouldn't. i simply wouldn't ask for it, a handshake is fine. but i believe ron is well within his reason if he wanted to charge and people were willing to pay for it.

[TheMojoPin]

People who can charge for their autographs do so because it's one of the ways they can make the most money. He's not doing anything that countless other athletes have done for decades.

[Enabler]

Maybe he's donating the money to charity? I think an autographed Tony Hawk skateboard would be worth $100.

[MM2]

sports players actually have autographs signings...not even promoting or performing anything

they show up and sign...you pay...they leave

its nothing new and everyone does it

pay the 100 and get your kid his heros autograph...hes not ripping you off...its just how it is

There is a difference between an autograph signing and a promotion. The poster says its a promotion tour promoting his new video game. So there should be no fee involved. Now if its a straight autograph signing, then of course you most likely are going to have to pay.

Two different things, its shameless to charge people when you are there to promote something.

[MisterSmith]

Ritalin - the event is being sponsored by Steiner Sports, which is a memorabilia company. That's probably why the shit is so high; Tony Hawk is getting a flat fee for showing up and Steiner Sports keeps the remaining cake as profit. So it isn't really Tony Hawk charging for the autograph, but those greedy, a-hole, memorabilia peddling douchebags.

I can understand why athletes might charge for autographs given the current cultural climate and since they have a limited time to ply their craft. However, I personally think buying an autograph is kind of asinine, especially from an athlete; it's just some guy's signature on paper.

[Section 8]

We used to sell a few Tony Hawk signed items where I work. The most expensive thing we sold was an autographed brain bucket (helmet) and it WHOLESALED for $75. An auto'd 8x10 went for $35.

I seriously doubt he's gotten that much more popular in the past 3 years.