Cool. I've met Juliet Landau, James Leary, Julie Benz, Nicholas Brendon and loads of others. And I saw Robin Atkin Downes at a convention but I didn't actually meet him

It does seem weird that some celebrities won't personalise. At Memorabilia Eliza Dushku was really busy signing all day but she personalised all autographs

-Claire

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Originally posted by BuffyAngelFan:
Cool. I've met Juliet Landau, James Leary, Julie Benz, Nicholas Brendon and loads of others. And I saw Robin Atkin Downes at a convention but I didn't actually meet him

It does seem weird that some celebrities won't personalise. At Memorabilia Eliza Dushku was really busy signing all day but she personalised all autographs

-Claire

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Most signers prefer to personalise as it deters/stops people selling the autographs later for a profit.

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Originally posted by Andrew David:

Most signers prefer to personalise as it deters/stops people selling the autographs later for a profit.

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I think that is a good theory for the short term and it has been my experience that most stars believe this. I remember meeting Marjorie Monaghan and she seemed kind of down about signing for me until I specifically asked for personalization, then she was quite pleasant. I guess she got hit with a bunch of autograph only resell types throughout the day. Not that this is my motivation but as time goes on I think personalization actually enhances the value. The more that a celebrity writes the easier it is to authenticate if required.

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. I remember meeting Marjorie Monaghan and she seemed kind of down about signing for me until I specifically asked for personalization, then she was quite pleasant. I guess she got hit with a bunch of autograph only resell types throughout the day. Not that this is my motivation but as time goes on I think personalization actually enhances the value. The more that a celebrity writes the easier it is to authenticate if required.

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Think you are right there, I have no problem with signers getting carried away ! I have seen autograph stall holders leaving requests with signers at shows for large amounts of unpersonalised photo's which it is obvious they are going to make a large profit on.

George Lazenby photo's available at the NEC in Birmingham typically appear for £30 - 40 more than they were going for at the signers table.

I have to agree with you somewhat. I do collect autographs and have gotten many by mail, or in-person.

Nothing beats the rush of an in-person autograph. These days, if I have a camera around, I try to get my picture taken with the celeb to at least confirm the meeting which gives some credibility that the autograph I have is real. The only pictures I have to date with celebrities are:
Mark Leonard (Spocks Father - no longer with us), Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and Art Monk (ex-Redskins player).

I have had some fairly good success with emailing celebrities and obtaining autographs that way:
Rodney Dangerfield, Ed Asner, Paul Anka, Cybill Sheperd, Alec Baldwin, Ann Murray as well as politicians (Ted Kennedy & others) and TV talk show hosts.

I do have a few autographs in my collection that I do not know if they are real or not. I have bought them on Ebay or similar places. I'll assume they are real until I found out otherwise.

The only problem that I have in general with authenticated autograph cards is the cost of them.
I bet you can buy a Lucy Lawless autographed 8 x 10 cheaper than you can buy an authenticated trading card with her signature on it. For that reason alone I probably will not continue to collect autograph cards. I plan on selling most of the ones that I do have (less my William Shatner Tek World card).

Mike.

In person or authenticated autograph are without a doubt my two preferred ways of collecting. There is no doubt you can get an 8X10 cheaper than a card. My thing is with me being in the military the smaller item is much easier for me to store/protect/display. Also I like the limited nature of the card company autographs. The average number usually ranges between 500 and 1500 per signer. Just on a national level that only averages out to about 20 cards per state!!! It gets less when we start talking international. I personally think that many of the autographs are undervalued but seeing how I am in a buyers market you wont get any complaints from me.

I like to get autographs in person, as (I suspect) most collectors would. However, sometimes this is simply not practicle, and so the auto cards from non =-sport packs is probably the next best thing! The thing I used to like about Skybox autos was that they were embossed with a 'seal' of authenticity - it's a shame that current cards are not similarly marked!

My only worry with cards where people sign upwards of 400-500 cards is that the temptation to use an autopen might be too much to resist - I haven't heard ot this yet though.
Au Res.,
Paul

Hi, I too used to write away for auto's but found that I could never really tell which were real and which were either re-production auto's or really knew if it was a secretarial signature for the person. In one of the NSU's (I think!)Anthony Head was interviewed and commented on the service Sarah Michelle Gellar uses to sign--and suggested that they were all reproduction signatures. This led me to compare the auto's I had from her and Gillian Anderson to the one's my brother had obtained, and they were different, but only in the way that any two signatures would be. Still doesn't really guarantee that the auto is really from them... with the auction site, YIKES! I used to buy 8X10's all with certificates of course!, just because they look better to display, but the authenticity just isn't there...unless you really know what and who you're buying from...I know I paid big bucks for a couple and know that the sig's aren't real. Do your research if you buy this way because some dealers will give themselves away either by signing cert's differently, or by having items that you know don't exist like Tiger Woods signed golf balls or Shannon Elizabeth sig's from either Playboy or American Pie 1. Cheap prices are also a give away! With in persons, I've met many signers at conventions or signings, and the money they charge is often more than the card is worth...and I would rather have a certified auto that people will believe than an in-person I had to nag or pay for...Pack pulled auto's should also be more expensive, they aren't just some card that was maybe signed at a convention, they are honest to goodness inserts! Lately at conventions or whatever I just settle for meeting the star, I have nothing to prove to anyone and my memory or a picture is just as good --chris

I have a few points. . .

First as (sorty of) previously mentioned the vast majority of autographs sold on the internet are fakes, especially on auction sites. In fact a couple of years ago ebays #1 seller was shut down and nailed by the FBI for selling forgeries.

Second. . . fake 'certified' autographs do exist. A few years ago some fake FPG autograph cards, with the gold seal and everything were sold on ebay -- there is an article with scans on my web site: www.webjon.com/collect/index.html And while I can't confirm it, more than one person has mentioned to me that all of Betty Lynn's autographs in TV's Coolest Classics look a bit to similar, especially in the 'y' in Betty, all the autographs have pretty much the same break in the loop -- I'd love to see scans that disproved this.

Finally. . . celebrities at shows certainly should charge for autographs. I didn't always feel that way. . . in reality someone has to pay for the Celebrity to be there, and unless you are talking about a major headliner at a major show the promoter is giving them very little -- maybe table space and a refreshments room. Someone has to pay their airfare, hotel, meals, etc, and the people who buy their autographs end up doing that. Another good reason for them to charge -- I was at a show with Joe Lisner -- who was signing for free. . . since the line was only about 4-5 people deep I decided to jump in for an autograph. . . one guy pulled out about 30 comics and cards to sign, and the next guy had a stack of comic books nearly a foot tall . . . I guarantee if Lisner was charging for sigs that wouldn't have happened.

Ohh, and as for pack pulled autos being undervalued. . . what about the Willow autographs on ebay selling for $300-800?

Happy Collecting!

Jon

Paul...

are you referring to auto-pen with the inserts from card companies?? It is my understanding that there are strict contracts that are signed between the signer and the card company. I think if even one is proven to be a fake it would be a mega lawsuit on someones hands. Also the trust factor with card companies would be gone. I dont think they would risk losing the whole company in order to push fake autographs. I also dont think that a star would want to pay for damages if they were caught doing such a thing. I know that upper deck is acutally using a camera in the pen that shows the signature being signed.

Jon

I agree about signers charging. For some of the 70's stars out of work it is one of their only sources of income. At DragonCon it was my understanding that the free signers were paid by the convention. Thus they would only sign at certain times. This is how my kids and I got to meet John Rhyes Davies and get his autograph. I only had two cards to be signed and he seemed so happy that I didnt have a stack of stuff that he gave my kids a personalized 8X10 each and let us take several posed pictures. I am amazed at the attitude difference of some stars when they find out that you are a fan and only want one or two autographs and a picture.

I saw that item about Upper Deck - it's a good idea, but I suspect za little too expensive ti implement on some non-sport sets (where you can get up to 4 auto cards per box!) I realise the stars have tight ontracts, and I very much hope auto-pen DOESN'T slip in, but ther temptation is always there!
As for 'In Person' experiences, I have only ever regretted going up for an autograph, and that was at a Memorabilia NEC show a couple of years ago. An actor from one of my favourite 60's shows (I'm not naming names, but it WASN'T Trek) was signing photographs for a fee, which I thought was reasonable. There was noone else in the queue (so, in fact, there was no queue) I went up, and politely asked for a picture, money in hand. The actor didn't even look up - he just took a photo from the stack, signed it, pushed it over to me and ticked a list (a tally I suppose) Not a word passed his lips, not a smile, not a look.
Now I realise that these events can be boring for stars, especially if you're not the one being swamped by fans (I believe Ray Parks was there, doing one of his first signing sessions as Darth Maul!), but ven so, a smile and a "Good Afternoon" wouldn't have hurt!
Generally, the autographs I get are at book signings/promotional appreances and media conventions, and the people are friendly, charming and happy-ish to sign.
For these 'in-person' items, it doesn't really matter if I can't prove authenticity - I won't be selling them anyway, and I know they are genuine as I was there!
Au Res.,
Paul

Apart from the in person signings giving the collector the most confidence that the autograph is genuine, from the few I've been to the cost you pay for the auto is alot less than you would pay to get it from a dealer. I know that dealers always add in the cost of going to the shows to their costs but if you are able to get to the show would have not gone to the event anyway even if there was not signings there.

I guess another way to tell about the autopen thing is to look for variations for sale on ebay. If they all look exact I guess we could have a problem. As far as meeting bummer stars I have seen a few. One guy who stared in my favorite 70's science fiction show was into this positive energy directing psychobabble. I went up to his table to buy one of his $35.00 autographed limited hard cover books on a contiuation story from the show. He was so deep into his "therapy" conversation with one young lady that he completely ignored several others of us around his table. I waited with my kids for a good 5 minutes because I thought it would be cool for them to meet him. After awhile I got tired of listening to his theories so we left.

Alric,

I probably wouldnt go if no one was signing because autographs is what I collect. I agree about the in person autograph. They are much cheaper and in my mind I know that they are authentic. I have no intentions of selling so I only have one person to really prove it to. I also have many great pictures with such stars as Claudia Christian, Erin Gray, Dave Prowse, James Doohan, Don Bluth, Virgina Hey and Elvira that I will always treasure.

In response to the auto cards being undervalued, I can only suggest that how many of us will ever have the chance to meet Alyson Hannigan from the Willow card and to get her sig in person? Supply and demand sometimes is a nasty thing (I still don't understand the Merry LotR card though...). With many stars the lines (sometimes hours long-and you have to get there hours ahead of time), convention admission fees, going to the convention costs (many of us don't live in major centres!) for travel and maybe taking the weekend off work...even with the Willow, it might just be cheaper to buy the card! (also think back to what the odds were, demand for Buffy has gone way up and I've seen season 1 boxes go for 200-400 US.when you can find them) In defence of stars though, I've found many to be quite unexpectedly friendly, especially the fringe character actors or actors who are signing to raise money for charity (wholly crap I thought Chase Masterson was going to need to write the words "continued on back" for an 8X10 I have, made me a fan!), and if you ask a big star to personalize it, they generally warm up a little more since they have to talk to you--or realize you aren't just going to sell it! Blank auto cards or companies that seem to have printed rare auto cards on the same sheets as common auto's--expecting perhaps employees to destroy "extra's" are still the devil. --chris

Chris. . . do you agree that the Willow card is undervalued? I think I am missing your point. . .

More to my point. . . the value of the Willow autograph has more to do with what set it is from than what the autograph is -- same with Merry. . .

It is all a marketing thing. If the Merry autograph was a regular retail or hobby autograph it would be about the same as the rest of the, and if the 1:37 box autograph was Frodo or Arwen -- it would still sell for the same price the Merry autograph is selling for. . . who actually signed the card is less important than Topps stating the card is 1:37 boxes. . .

Just like the Willow autograph -- while it would be expensive it wouldn't be selling for what it is selling for if it was from season 3, 4 reflections, etc.

So just because a Willow autograph card sells for $300, doesn't mean her autograph is worth $300. . . being on that card adds quite a bit of value to it, similar to certain cards taking away value of an autograph. . .

Where can you buy an authentic Martin Sheen autogrpah for less than $20, except on a Babylon 5 card?

Hi! The "big thrill" for me is getting an autograph signed in person. But the opportunity doesn't present itself often .... depending on where you live and the ability to attend cons. My most treasured autograph is a personalized signed cartoon from Steve Leialoha of comic book illustration fame. He was friendly, polite and happy to talk to his fans. He made the time to sketch/draw me a "Howard the Duck" and signed it to my name.

And at a recent Stargate con in London, I had great chats with the TV show guest stars in the autograph line-ups. They seemed genuinely interested in where their fans came from and tried to "personalize" the signatures with "Regards", "thanks for watching the show", "keep the faith", etc. I did ask that one or two signed pictures have just the autograph because I do intend to donate them for charity auction. I would never sell any of my autographs.

I have to agree that there are some very high priced stright from the pack autographs. Buffy is most definately one. My local card shop manager is still kicking himself for not getting the willow when they were going for $150 dollars. Like most of us he figured it would only drop over time. As far as LOTR is concerned I do not understand the high price for the retail autos. I have done several auction counts and there seem to be just as many of the retail autos as there are hobby signatures. The Merry card baffles me, in evolution the Chewbacca card was inserted at the same odds (about 900 packs) and it goes for around $150 to $200 dollars. Also if I had that kind of money to blow I would go for the Carrie Fisher autograph in evolution. With this said, in general most autograph cards can be had for $40 or less. The Burt Reynolds from TZ is going for dog cheap as far as I am concerned. Most in person autographs range from $10 to $20 and, like others have said, you have to get yourself to the location which for most is not cheap. My trip to Atlanta's Dragon Con with my kids cost well over $1200. And we had family to stay with.

Sorry--my comments about the Willow card were in response to other "Willow talk" (?!), but are really that many auto's are underpriced over all.

Would you rather pay $20 to buy the Bab5 Sheen, or pay $20 (plus as was stated!) to get a common signed card, which legitimately may actually have his signature on it-or not, that reportedly was signed at a convention--in who knows what quantity over who knows how many annual shows? I'd take the Bab5, and maybe a couple extra's for when non-collectors figure it out! (I'm trying to type without offending anyone, and from memory as my computer is hiding the page I'm replying to--I think someone actually made this point for me...)

In terms of auto's I think there are many bargains to be had, like the 1:360 Sabrina I was cracking, and with 6 auto's in the set, that would make the MJ Hart 1:2160 and it typically sells around $50--and those blow out boxes can't last forever...or the Batman/Robin's (1:360 X 6 in the set or again 1:2160 if you're after a particular character), expired redemption sets/singles from Topps, the small soldiers Kirsten Dunst, and as much as I realize it's the earlier Buffy auto's that grab the cash, I'd watch for all key characters to go up when the show is popular--even season 5,with 7 auto's in the set as the odds of getting a major character are slim--and pulling them is what will get many of us to crack it. --chris