One of the hottest collectibles going right now is the Michael Jackson memorial program book, tickets and wristbands that were handed out to attendees of the July 7th service held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. It may seem a bit crude to some, but keep in mind a lot of people travelled very far, missed work and spent a lot of money to be there. I suppose they figure that they were fortunate enough to be there in person so why not pay for the trip by selling the memorabilia they obtained? That makes sense to me, the memory will stay with them forever.
The programs that are in excellent shape, along with the wristband and ticket are going for as much as $400.00 on eBay and Amazon. On the low end of these collectibles are items such as a torn or damaged ticket or wristband (with no pamphlet) for as little as $25.00. Average price around $150.00-$200.00 for all three items sold as a set. Are they worth the price?
Of course only time will tell but I say an emphatic yes! Consider that first off there were only about 8,000 "sets" handed out. If only half were made available that's only 4,000. You have to figure in just a few short years many will be lost or damaged. There were approximately 1.6 million people who entered the lottery for the Jackson memorial service tickets. Nearly 30 million viewed the service on TV. That's a whole lot of interest in an item that may only number about 2 or 3 thousand in existence a few years from now. Maybe even less!
Collectibles are almost always bought for sentimental value over monetary value, as they should be. However, these program books, tickets and wristbands may hold an equally high value in both departments. After all, "The king of pop" is a world wide icon. In fact, the Michael Jackson memorial service was attended by folks worldwide as well as watched on television around the planet. Michael Jackson's legacy, value and admiration are not going away anytime soon.
As strange as it may sound, these Jackson memorial booklets being auctioned off can be looked at as a win-win scenario. People who attended the memorial service experienced something even rarer than knowing someone who was at Woodstock! Now they have a chance to get some of their costs back but they will forever have that memory and experience to talk about. Fans who couldn't make it and serious Michael Jackson collectors will have an incredible piece of memorabilia for their display if they can obtain one of the books or even just a ticket or wristband. If I had attended, there is no way I'd give mine up!
No comments:
Post a Comment