Excited to see Sylvester Stallone at New York Comic Con until I saw the prices $350.00 for a signature and $445.00 FOR A PICTURE WITH HIM!!!!

BIG YOW!!!!-Talk about a big bite. Looks like someone is trying to finance his next film at this show.

Chloe Grace Moretz-$75 A SIGNATURE AND $95 for a picture with her-I think she's a fantastic actress but that is much more then I want to spend. I may cave in for her as I think it will only get worse but greed is destroying the hobby of autograph collecting.-GOT TO BLAME THE AGENTS AND THE PEOPLE WHO BRING THEM IN WHO ALL WANT A PIECE OF THE PIE. The only way to stop this is not to bother paying these prices.

Sadly there are a lot of people willing to pay. And you can only expect to see this get worse and worse. Personally, I think I could live through life knowing that I chose to pay my mortgage over meeting Stallone.

Chloe Grace Moretz is severely overpriced for her status as well.

And it doesn't help that it's $50+ just to walk in the door.

quote:

Originally posted by FRANK AMICO:

The only way to stop this is not to bother paying these prices.

Hey there ya go, you solved the problem already.

It was like this at Wizard World New Orleans. The prices were insane. From The Walking Dead Shane from the Walking Dead was 75.00. His line was slow but he had people coming in. Micheal Rooker 40.00(Reasonable price) His line was packed. Norman Reedus 50.00(getting into the high category but the big thing right now) His line was insane.
The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation were all really high too. I skipped them all.
Adam Baldwin 30.00 (Firefly, Chuck, guest star on a ton of shows) Long line.
You have to be super hot to command high dollar prices and CGM is just a kid-75 bucks no. Stallone for 445? I would rather buy 6 or 7 boxes of cards.

Apparently, you have to have a lot of expendable income to get an autograph of ol' Rambo. In these somewhat rocky economic times, it's a bit of cliffhanger since he is the star of a beloved Oscar winning classic, but in the end, c'mon, $450 is a just a little over the top.

I saw him AND Arnie up close for free at Comic-Con in 2012. Good enough.

Chloe Moretz IS a cutie, though. Who wouldn't want a picture with her? Still, for $95, you can get a NICE box of cards, so do that with the money instead, and, as a public service for NSU Card Talkers who don't want to go without,
just paste or photoshop a picture of your own head over this guy's



Wow, not only Chloe, but also Ashley Greene! Think of how impressed your friends will be, and they've probably never seen you in a shirt so white, to boot.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
In these somewhat rocky economic times, it's a bit of cliffhanger since he is the star of a beloved Oscar winning classic, but in the end, c'mon, $450 is a just a little over the top.

Not only is he the star of an Oscar winning classic, he had 2 nominations of his own for said film.

I was actually listing six Stallone movies in my rather clumsy two sentences, and not really saying anything. I couldn't figure out how to get "Rhinestone" or "Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot!" in there.

As to the Oscar nominations, one of those was for writing, which was truly exquisite in that movie, great use of the "underdog" story with dialogue that rang true, and some great actors delivering it. I always liked the novelization of "Rocky", also by Stallone, I'm pretty sure. It had rougher language and even included some scenes with Rocky doing his job as a legbreaker for the mob, which Mickey only alludes to in the movie. It's kind of like a director's cut.

"Rocky" remains a great movie. "Rocky II" was OK, a remake of Rocky with a happy ending and we got plenty of cards and stickers of Stallone smoking cigarettes in the Topps card series based on it, so some nice 70's camp value there.

I think if you watch only the original "Rocky" and the most recent "Rocky Balboa" which was a real throwback in style, back to back, and sort of forget the more fantastical stuff from the middle four movies, you get the full measure of Stallone's talent.

Still, for all the movies of his I've watched, and videos and DVDs rented, and even cards based on his movies I've bought over the years, he should pay me for my autograph.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
I was actually listing six Stallone movies in my rather clumsy two sentences, and not really saying anything. I couldn't figure out how to get "Rhinestone" or "Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot!" in there.

As to the Oscar nominations, one of those was for writing, which was truly exquisite in that movie, great use of the "underdog" story with dialogue that rang true, and some great actors delivering it. I always liked the novelization of "Rocky", also by Stallone, I'm pretty sure. It had rougher language and even included some scenes with Rocky doing his job as a legbreaker for the mob, which Mickey only alludes to in the movie. It's kind of like a director's cut.

"Rocky" remains a great movie. "Rocky II" was OK, a remake of Rocky with a happy ending and we got plenty of cards and stickers of Stallone smoking cigarettes in the Topps card series based on it, so some nice 70's camp value there.

I think if you watch only the original "Rocky" and the most recent "Rocky Balboa" which was a real throwback in style, back to back, and sort of forget the more fantastical stuff from the middle four movies, you get the full measure of Stallone's talent.

Still, for all the movies of his I've watched, and videos and DVDs rented, and even cards based on his movies I've bought over the years, he should pay me for my autograph.

.

Don't be quick to Judge Dredd him since he has a pet Cobra to feed before they Demolition Man his house. After all he might be a little short ofmTango and Cash!

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by FRANK AMICO:

The only way to stop this is not to bother paying these prices.

Hey there ya go, you solved the problem already.

Actually it's not that easy. I am not going to pay that kind of money for an autograph but there will always be people who will. If this continues I will only be going to shows for the dealers and free stuff. Not only is it expensive to get in but there's the toll, parking (they were charging $60 to park nearby-but I did find a lot for $40 a few blocks away) People who support prices like this must be lottery winners or have some throw away cash. Probably the same kind of people who always pay for the gold package at Creation Cons. I refused paying the $130 for a Chris Helmsworth at Wizard World PA as well but the line was hours long for those who were willing to pay it.

Well you may have to be one of the Lords of Flatbush to afford this, but I am more put off by the $445 picture than I am by the $350 autograph.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't pay it for either one, but I could see a big Sly fan wanting to do this. Don't forget you are also paying for the whole experience of meeting him and hopefully exchanging a few words, as well as getting an autograph. So that becomes part of the price.

But the picture should never command the same price of such a high autograph unless he was also signing the photo, which I'm sure he's not. It is kind of a ratio thing. I have been at shows where the signature was say $35, and the photo was say $30, and you could buy a $60 package deal. This would set you back $795 as a package. I couldn't see anyone but the most devoted fans even considering it.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

But the picture should never command the same price of such a high autograph unless he was also signing the photo, which I'm sure he's not. It is kind of a ratio thing. I have been at shows where the signature was say $35, and the photo was say $30, and you could buy a $60 package deal. This would set you back $795 as a package. I couldn't see anyone but the most devoted fans even considering it.

Before these stupid prices were known for Sly, I was talking with my cousin about this and in this case, I would prefer to get a pic with him instead of an autograph, and I'm an autograph collector. Given his stature, I think a pic-with would be much more special to go home with.

You can buy an autograph off Ebay, you can't buy a picture of yourself with Rocky!

I wish I'd gotten a better picture of this, but it was a wall of seemingly unclaimed pictures from the Photo Op company at Comic-con. I don't know if you paid in advance or not, but if not, these people who got to meet the celebrities, however briefly, and then didn't pick up the pictures, got to meet them for free, I suppose.



They're not shown, unfortunately, but the whole top of the wall had at least 30 pictures of Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny of X-Files posing with a variety of fans. In their pictures, Mulder and Scully had the pretty much the same poses and smiles in all of them, so it was sort of hypnotic, seeing them all together like that.

You can see the company also presented photo ops with Edward James Olmos, Stan The Man Lee, and John Barrowman of "Torchwood". Big smiles from those guys and Barrowman not only really mixed up his poses, but it seems he even brought a couple of changes of shirts.

^^^ There's one pic on the bottom that looks like a family portrait with Stan Lee. "OK kids, gather around Uncle Stan."

You know, card collectors have to accept some responsibility for the escalation in autograph prices being asked at conventions. Just take a look at the prices some autograph cards have been fetching on eBay over the past couple of years. This will not have gone unnoticed by celebrities and their agents. If people are willing to pay those sorts of prices for ready signed cards, it's not unreasonable to suppose that they will pay the same or more for an autograph in person. If you were, for example, Mark Hamill or Carrie Fisher and spotted the $12k asking price for a GF2 dual auto on eBay how much would you think about asking for an in-person auto at your next convention appearance ?

While it's true that the number of fans/people who can even consider parting with that much money is pretty tiny, they are out there. That little detail is going to have an affect on how much is asked for in other circumstances.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
You know, card collectors have to accept some responsibility for the escalation in autograph prices being asked at conventions. Just take a look at the prices some autograph cards have been fetching on eBay over the past couple of years. This will not have gone unnoticed by celebrities and their agents. If people are willing to pay those sorts of prices for ready signed cards, it's not unreasonable to suppose that they will pay the same or more for an autograph in person. If you were, for example, Mark Hamill or Carrie Fisher and spotted the $12k asking price for a GF2 dual auto on eBay how much would you think about asking for an in-person auto at your next convention appearance ?

While it's true that the number of fans/people who can even consider parting with that much money is pretty tiny, they are out there. That little detail is going to have an affect on how much is asked for in other circumstances.

You're talking about a licensed, authenticated, guaranteed collectible versus, well... not one (you could turn the in-person autograph into one, though). It's like people who don't understand why an original document signed by a specific historical figure is worth, say, $500. But cut it up and put it in a 1/1 card that autograph is now worth 3x as much. An autograph is an autograph, but on a card it's now another level of collectible.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:
You're talking about a licensed, authenticated, guaranteed collectible versus, well... not one (you could turn the in-person autograph into one, though). It's like people who don't understand why an original document signed by a specific historical figure is worth, say, $500. But cut it up and put it in a 1/1 card that autograph is now worth 3x as much. An autograph is an autograph, but on a card it's now another level of collectible.

Ted, I do understand the difference (although with the possible exception of 258 West autographs who always get photographs of their signers actually signing cards, there is always a question mark over whether trading cards and stickers were signed by the celebrity or a PA) but will celebrities see that aspect ? It's quite well known that some of the better known astronauts started charging for or increased their fees for signing autographs after seeing how much their signatures were selling for on eBay and the like.

Equally, how much difference is there between a celebrity signing 500 autographs at a convention and doing the same thing with 500 trading cards in the comfort of their own home ?

Like it or not, the prices being paid for trading card autographs will be having an influence on regular signing fees.

I don't actually think that price for Chloe Grace Moretz is that bad, although I wouldn't pay it. I mean, I paid $75 to meet Leonard Nimoy and felt a little twinge there, and the guy was Spock for crying out loud.

Zachary Quinto went to Wizard World Chicago and I wanted to go and get him to sign my Star Trek 09 teaser poster (which is what Nimoy signed for $75) and the guy was charging $125 Autographs at shows are becoming big money, and I am being priced out of collecting.

Fortunately, I'm not much of an autograph collector so their prices don't bother me too much. The last in-person autographs I collected were a bit special but didn't cost me anything. In 2010, I was lucky enough to be one of the guests at the London Film Museum for the opening of a new exhibition celebrating the life and works of Ray Harryhausen. He was there in person to cut the ribbon (quite literally) and to celebrate his 90th birthday. I gave him a birthday card, he gave me a piece of his birthday cake and autographed a book I bought while I was there. The book was also signed by his wife Diana, his daughter Vanessa, the ever lovely Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke (who never seemed to stop smiling) and a couple of special effects people who were there too. My only regret was not having the courage to ask Peter Jackson and John Landis to add their signatures as well.

OK, in order to get a sense of how these autograph and photo prices are set you have to think like a show promoter. Now just about every promoter I've ever spoken to has told me that they don't expect to make big money on the autograph guests. Their purpose is to get publicity and attendance up for the show. Promoters say they are happy if they break even on autograph tickets, but I think they are holding back a bit on that.

Anyway, typically the promoter is paying a set price for the appearance based on time, usually 2 to 4 hours of signing. So then they start estimating how many autographs/photos can be done in an hour, how many tickets are actually likely to be sold for that hour, times the number of hours, divided into the contracted price and add on an extra margin for error or poor sales. If more tickets are sold and the production can keep up with it, they make more money than expected. If the guest does not draw as much as expected the promoter may not make the appearance money back and he winds up in the red.

The higher that appearance contract is, the higher the asking price of the autograph/photo must be. Guests usually don't get a piece of the action, just the appearance fee, however if business is really good a guest might agree to stay an hour or so more and get paid on the spot for the extra time.

Only the big shows like the Cons can risk getting the bigger stars. Its more money up front and the higher the autograph price the fewer people you will have actually buying. You could definitely get a mob if you have a big name and ask a more reasonable autograph price, but the problem with it is that you can only do so many signings in the time alloted. The promoter may sell out all his tickets and still take a bath if his discounted price doesn't cover that big appearance fee.

So it all comes down to that contracted appearance price, not the value of any certified autograph cards that a particular celebrity may have out on eBay. The prices of autograph cards vary because of many factors, it isn't a good gauge for the value of someone's pure autograph.

This is very long, so I'll just state one example. If you get James Earl Jones autograph card from a Star Wars set it will run anywhere between $150 - $500. If you get his autograph card from Conan its between $30 - $45. All are certified autographs, so what does that mean to the price of his show signature? Should you ask $300 or $50? Its all the same authentic signature.

The card prices mean absolutely nothing, his show appearance price depends on how well the promoter negotiated the contract. The guest may think he's worth more because of autograph card pricing, but those prices are based on a lot more than just the signature. The same way that an in-person show autograph includes the cost of meeting the celebrity and not just getting his signature on something.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raven,

How I miss the early 90's.

I-Conn on Long Island cost $50 for the weekend and no additional charge for autographs. Star Trek DS9, Nana Visitor, Alexander Siddig, Andrew J. Robinson And Babbylon 5 guests.

NYC convention at the Pennsylvania Hotel. $30 entrance No additional charge Terry Farrel Autograph.

In early 2000 I went to a Grand Slam in California, I don't remember the entrance fee but I paid $50 to meet and get a Kate Mulgrew Autograph, She wouldn't look up to say hello.

Also early 2000, NJ convention. It wasn't alot to get in, More DS9, Babylon 5 signers and John de Lancie all free autographs.

Mid 2000, Every convention I went to wanted additional money for an autograph. Maybe $10 or $20. I purchased Grace Lee Whitney. When I was leaving the convention you had to pass the Hotel check-in/check-out line. In front of me checking out of the hotel was René Auberjonois. That's when I realized these "stars" are only regular people standing in line like everyone else. That was the last time I paid for an autograph at any convention.