New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez

You couldn't find people to buy Alex Rodriguez collectibles in February, after he was outed for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Seven months later, it's a complete reversal.

"It's an incredible comeback," said Bobby Mintz, vice president of sales and celebrity relations at Tri-Star Productions, a Houston-based sports collectibles company.

"March might have been the all-time low for A-rod," Mintz said.

"No one would even buy a signed baseball at $200. Now he might be at an all-time high. People are buying his autographed baseball for $500."

• Maybe With All That Dough - A Rod Would Like One of These

Brandon Steiner, chairman of Steiner Sports, which has a joint venture with the Yankees, isn't willing to say A-Rod is at his collectibles peak, but part of that has to do the fact that the market itself is different from what it once was.

"He's definitely back in the collectibles market," said Steiner, who believes A-Rod's collectibles hit top dollar when he hit his 500th home run in August 2007.

Rodriguez hasn't signed much over the past couple years, mostly because executives at the collectibles companies believe he charges too much and therefore makes it too hard for them to earn their standard rate of return.

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