Greetings people!

Three points:

1. I met Chase Masterson at Memorabilia in Birmingham. She was really nice, we had a long chat and she went to a great deal of trouble with the signature. I paid £10 (which went to charity). Having never bought an auto like this before, i was extremely impressed.

2. As far as i can tell, LOTR autos are hand signed. I have a complete hobby set & several spares. None of my duplicates are exactly the same. As other people have pointed out, to get caught doing this would surely spoil Topps' and the signer reputations badly.

3. LOTR retail autos - 1 bought 3 boxes from very different locations and didn't get a single auto. This would have cost me in the region of £200. If you have a retail auto, and you can get big money for it - good luck to you. Personally, i suspect that the market will level out. I hope to be able to buy @ more "reasonable" prices in 12/18 months time

rob

I hope you are right however, with two more films on the way I think it will be a long while before these settle if at all (i.e. buffy autos). I honestly believe that topps had no idea what these cards were going to do. I mean how often do you see a set of autographs where virtually every autograph is hot? You couldnt go wrong in purchasing a hobby box of cards. I was able to sell all of my extra sets on ebay for $10.00 each and basically traded my one duplicate autograph for one I did not have. I would be very suprised to see any further issues with these great odds.

I'm not saying you can always spot an auto pen but there are several give aways such as uniform line thickness( people don't sign at 90 degrees to the page), the uninterrupted flow of the ink as the signature is produced at a constant speed (again unlikely in a real auto) and especialy the start and ending of the signature ( no ink pooling etc). The hardest spot is a hand written fake. Neil Armstrong is a classic in this context, as he doesn't sign anymore has an easy signature to come close to and is probably the most famous person still alive. There are websites galore offering advice (paid and otherwise) of how to spot fakes. Buy from a UACC member would be my advice if you don't get it in person.

Autograph collector magazine ran an interesting article about through the mail autographs. They compared signatures through the mail with in person autos and they seem to think that a secretarial signature is more the exception than the rule. They base it on the logic that if a star doesnt want to sign they wont and with services like studio fan mail (preprint service) as an option there is no need to be in the business of misrepresenting your own autograph. What do you think?

With the day of the internet it's very hard for me to say for sure if an autograph is legit or not unless I obtain it in person. But if certain celebrities don't attend conventions I go to then I don't have much chance of getting one.

That is what I like about these Authentic Autographs. I know theay ARE real. I've always been a huge Danny Elfman fan but find it would be impossible to meet him in person with his busy schedule. From joining this site and looking around I noticed that there is a Danny Elfman Auto from Sleepy Hollow. I never knew that but now that I know it's high on my list to hunt down.

I collect 8x10's that are autographed, but I only collect the ones that I have obtained in person. I love having trading cards with autos because now I am able to own a few lucy lawless and renee oconnor autos.

That's cool Jessica. I too have got a few 8 X 10's from conventions which I obtained in person. These of course don't matter if someone thinks are real or not because they will stay in my collection.

Yea, no one would buy my autos because they are all (or most of them) are made out to Jessica

I prefer getting my autographs in person.

I got a nice collection of Autographs from the following shows:

Doctor Who, Blakes 7, Babylon 5, Buffy, Angel. I also got some actors from Farscape, Starwars, Star Trek etc. I wouldn't sell them.

I wouldn't buy signed auto on 8 X 10 for 2 reasons. It means more to me to get it in person and their is just too much fraud out there.

I do like the autograph trading cards. If it is an actor I like I wouldn't sell or trade it.

the daft thing is most people do not like autographs made out to other people, but you are getting more of the persons signature (even if made out to someone else) than if they just sign their name alone.

As has been said before some signers are nice in person some are not.

Theres also collecting through the mail. Obviously theres never a 100% gaurentee that through the mail autographs are authentic but you can compare them to in persons which gives a good idea of how real it is. Its fun to collect through the mail and, if a through the mail does turn out to be fake you've only spent around £5 tops rather than the stupid amounts that some people sell fakes for

-Claire

I like to get Autographs in person when I can but, some of mine I have had to get from others that I know got them in person. You know when am I ever going to meet Frank Oz, but I knew someone who was going to an event he was at in Chicago and got her to get it for me.

I don't think I would buy Autographs from Ebay because I would have little control over wither I could ever say if it was real or not.

I have been collecting autographs since i was 9 years old (so almost 30 years). I love in person autos because then I am certain they are real plus I can get a photo of them signing and sometimes even a picture of me with them. I have tons of autos that I have received via the mail too but you can never be certain if they are real. The only autos I have ever purchased are from companies where the signer is personally signing for you (i.e. Scott Standers, Pierce & Shelly's, etc). I love the hobby and love the fact that there are more and more shows each year that celebrities sign at!

My favorite autographed photo is one I have that is signed by Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor & Gina Torres. The fact that they all signed it personally is what I really value. I'm really only interested in signed photos that I can get in person.

quote:

Originally posted by BuffyAngelFan:
Theres also collecting through the mail. Obviously theres never a 100% gaurentee that through the mail autographs are authentic but you can compare them to in persons which gives a good idea of how real it is. Its fun to collect through the mail and, if a through the mail does turn out to be fake you've only spent around £5 tops rather than the stupid amounts that some people sell fakes for

-Claire

I've sent several pictures to celeb's throught the post, some returned some not. But it is fun and I've had Tony Blair (early on in his 1st term), Patrick Stewart and other Trek pictures back with genuine signatures. Other i've has pre printed spictures back or nothing at all.

This morning I received an action figure signed by Amber Benson. I found out a week ago that I would be receiving this figure and was so excited this morning when I saw a parcel in the porch. Its a limited edition figure, costs around $125/ £65 which I could never afford. My figure is numbered 1218 of 2000. I didn't buy this figure or receive it from an autograph request. Made up with it. Heres some pictures if anyone is interested









-Claire

I have never been thrilled with the idea of paying for a celeb's autograph (with the exception of auto cards, of course ). However, I do undertand why it does happen. I mean, with the advent of ebay, celebs sign for fans and then see these autographs up for auction the next day! Though, I do attend about 3 conventions a year, so I have grown accustomed to paying if I really want someone's autograph in person.

I also think it amounts to a bit of competition as well. Celeb "A" charges $10.00 for an autograph, then finds out that Celeb "B" charges $15.00, and then suddenly "A" is charging the same or more at the next con. Some I have met even charge different rates for different items....especially if said celeb finds out that some of their merchandise goes for good money.

Besides, other than authentic auto cards, meeting a celeb "face-to-face" is the only way I will buy/obtain an autograph. I find ebay too risky when it comes to that....even if the seller adds an "Certificate of Authenticity" with the autograph.

To me, a Certificate of Authenticity means nothing and does not certify anything. Just because they have a candid photo of the celeb and "say" the celeb signed that card/comic/picture (whatever) that day, doesn't necessarilty mean he or she did.

As far as personalizations go, most celebs I have met have asked me if I wanted it personalized. Though, I have heard of some celebs who won't sign without a personalization.

I believe that celebs owe it to their fans to be courteous and pleasant to them....especially if said fan is dishing out $20+ for their autograph. If they are in a bad mood and it's not a good "people day" for them, then I believe they shouldn't even be at the con, signing (wherever). I have met some great celebs....and I have met some not-so-nice celebs. Overall, I have had some of the most pleasant experiences ever.

Some of the nicest ever are Camden Toy, Julie Benz, Don Marshall, Bob May (good golly is he a sweet man!)...oh, who am I kidding? The list is too long to mention them all!

ok, rant officially over....phew!

quote:

Originally posted by Starchild:
Some of the nicest ever are Camden Toy, Julie Benz

Don't get me started on Julie Benz! On my autograph site I rate all the celebrities out of 10 on how nice they were when I met them. I'm pretty sure I've got Julie marked down as 0/10

-Claire

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

quote:

Originally posted by BuffyAngelFan:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starchild:
Some of the nicest ever are Camden Toy, Julie Benz
QUOTE]

Don't get me started on Julie Benz! On my autograph site I rate all the celebrities out of 10 on how nice they were when I met them. I'm pretty sure I've got Julie marked down as 0/10

-Claire

Wow....quite honestly, that does surprise me! She was so sweet to me when I met her last October.

I'd like to check out your site! Do you have the site address linked anywhere here?

quote:

Originally posted by Starchild:
I'd like to check out your site! Do you have the site address linked anywhere here?

My website is STAR AUTOGRAPHS

The link to the page about meeting Julie Benz is
http://groups.msn.com/StarAutographs/celebritiesinpersonbajulie.msnw

-Claire