We've just posted the poll for May, which asks the question "What is your favorite type of chase card?". Click here and vote:
http://www.nscardcollector.com/cover_poll.shtml

Then come back here and tell us why you voted for what you did.

I voted for Autographs, and after many years of collecting, I still find it a great thrill to pull an auto from a pack. My favorites are the signers who don't just write their name but add something extra. On my David Boreanz auto from Buffy I, they had mentioned his dog's name on the back of the card incorrectly. He took the time to cross it out and put in the correct name. To me it was a cool little touch.

I picked memorabilia cards.

I like autograph cards also but I never buy them, mostly because I don't trust most dealers and companies when it comes to autograph cards.

I read in a recent issue of "Sports Collectors Digest" that the F.B.I. says that about 70% of sports autographs ( etc. ) are fake. If it happens with sports cards, then why not non-sports?

Plus a lot of actors / actresses hire people to sign autographs for them.

I know that "Upper Deck" has what they call a "five step" process for their special cards.

What's the procedure for the non-sport card companies?

Do companies like "Inkworks" and "Rittenhouse" have a person from their company in the same room while the celebrity signs the cards?

How does a company verify that the memorabilia in a card was actually worn or used by the celebrity?

How do the companies know that they're not "being taken for a ride"?

The second reason I didn't pick autograph cards is because most of them look like "chicken-scratch"

I voted for autograph cards myself - I would hope there is some control over who signed the cards, plus, if I'm not mistaken, the signer gets paid per card, so hopefully there's less incentive to make a fake autograph.

anthond

This is in response to Notebook in defense of autographed cards. It is probably true that most autographed memorabilia is fake. A trip to the sportscard store will find all sorts of jerseys, balls, photos and whatever else signed by sport stars, most of it without a certificate of authenticity, and even those can be faked too. However, I think we have to trust cards, both sports and non-sports with an official seal on them. Card companies have too much to lose if it ever got out some of their cards were not what they said they were. I was in contact via e-mail a few months ago with actress Yvonne Craig, and I asked her if she had signed any cards for Wild Wild West, and here's a quote from her reply: "I have just signed the 1000 cards for the Wild Wild West promotion - I think they will be out in July or August. I had worked with Steve before on the Star Trek third season cards when he was with Fleer/Skybox". Yvonne sells autographed photos and books and has mentioned on her website the problem of faked Catwoman photos appearing on the web. While the chance an assistant or secretary has signed a card for a celebrity exists, I think most stars would take the responsibility seriously and that we are safe in trusting autos with seals on them. I have 3 autographed cards without some official proof of authenticity. I know they were signed by the people on the card because I was there, but what proof do I have besides my word? If it doesn't say "ooficial autograph" somewhere on the card, anybody could fake it.
As far as Notebook's belief that many autos look like chickenscratching - yes I agree. Nicholas Brendon's (Xander from Buffy) auto has no identifiable letters in it. My award for the neatest handwriting: Christine Sutherland (Joyce) from Buffy.

Just for the record, I was not trying to bad mouth the non-sports / sports card compaines.

The questions I asked are legitimate. As a consumer, I have the right to ask these questions.

All I want is an "official" reassurance from the card companies, that they've done everything they can to make sure the special cards are genuine. I'm not the only one who feels this way.

One of my formerly favorite sports card companies was recently involved in a memorabilia card scandal. It seems the cards were supposed to contain 100% game used baseball bat, but according to most dealers the cards had a lot of cork! I no longer look at their special cards the same way.

P.S.
The company no longer has a M.L.B. license. I can only think the worst.

I received an e-mail this afternoon from Inkworks about this thread. They are interested in what everyone had to say and wanted to add the following...

"As you are aware, Inkworks takes this issue very seriously and we realize the importance of authentic items to our collectors and our licensors. We cannot afford to damage our crediblity with the studios, the actors, our
distributors and, most importantly, our collectors by allowing items or autographs that are not legitimate and authorized.

We obviously don't have an Inkworks representative at every autograph signing, as frequently the actors are in remote locations filming their next movie or television show. We do, however, require each autographer to sign, and have witnessed, a document that certifies that only they have signed the cards. Our authentication seal on each card gives the collector assurance that the card has not been replicated, and that the autograph is real. We provide each actor a precise number of cards to be signed and require that
ALL of those cards be returned (even if they are damaged or unsigned). Any blank, smudged or damaged cards are destroyed by Inkworks to avoid the possibility of unauthorized cards being released to the public.

On the costume side, we get our costumes directly from the studios, and go to great lengths to ensure that it is an actual costume (we even post photographs on our web site of the costume before it was cut), and that is was WORN in the film or series, and which episode. In addition, the image on the each Pieceworks card is one of the actor wearing the item on screen.

We hope this information will help you assure collectors that items carrying the "Inkworks Authentic" seal are legitimate.

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about bad handwriting on autographed cards!"

Andy Modlin
Inkworks PR

Thanks Andy, for listing all the efforts Inkworks goes through to ensure autos are legitimate. Also, just wanted to let you know I wasn't complaining about Nick Brendon's writing, hey, I was really excited when I pulled that one from a pack. I guess it's just like back in high school, the girls have better handwriting. Autographs still are the best chase card, but I'm really looking forward to my Pieceworks card from Rachel Wiescz (sp?) from Mummy Returns - I just sent in the redemption card 2 days ago.

The first thing I want to say thank you Mr. Modlin for giving an "official" response.

What that tells me is that "Inkworks" really cares what their customers think and for outling the procedure used by "Inkworks".

I'll feel a lot better about purchasing an official autograph card from now on.

I hope you did not take offense at my commments, as I said before I was not trying to bad mouth Inkworks or your reputable competitors.

Considering the cost of some auto cards, I think it's ok to be interested in the process the cards go through when autographed. I was disappointed that SkyBox stopped stamping their cards (esp since blank cards seemed to stay with the stars) and even Rittenhouse doesn't stamp. Not that it CHANGES anything very much, but it was nice.