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I'm new to the site, so please forgive any perceived ignorances on my part. I am -- with your help! -- learning. I've become interested in the world of serious autograph seeking, and I'm doing some research for what I hope will turn into a feature article. I'm fascinated by how word gets out about who will be where (celebrity-wise), how those in the autograph community mobilize, and how that translates into either success of failure. I have written for GQ and Details magazine, among others, and I'd be very grateful to anyone who has a few minutes to chat and provide further thoughts and/or direction. Just message me, or send a friend request, or respond here, of course!

Cheers!

Tags: Article, Celebrity, Hound, Tips

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thanks, Im hoping people would find the flick interesting, with the angle we are taking. eventually we will prolly set up a kickstarter page and beg for money haha. hopefully by late 2012 we can enter it into some film festivals. We have talked to lawyers regarding having a celebrity in the film nd what we have to do etc. i do a music and sports shows on local TV so this is my first shot at a film so we shall see.

Mike,

Please let us know if and when this happens...

Very interested in seeing the film you have made.

Mark

thanks, we are working on all the logisics now and will do the majority of the shooting in the spring. we will be looking to interview people about their IP experiences in general as well.

 

From personal experience, another timbit about in person collecting is to gauge the hounds around you as well. Many of the hounds I've had the displeasure to wait around with, are not, to put it politely, ''all with it." They are middle-aged, unbathed, 8x10 wielding nutcases that have even punched me to get to their precious autograph. Mind you, I am less than half their age with one record in my hands. Age doesn't always account for wisdom, for they are still children inside.

I'm bitter because I've been there.

Damn stipe...I never had it come down to that but have been in shoving matches...that's about it...I am quite a big guy so I guess when push comes to shove....there aint to many of these "all with it" ass holes that will be shoving me around much....LOL....

Stipe's comment is very true about most of these "Hounds"...most of them are real skell dirt bags...I seen a guy trying to get autos once wearing pajama pants....I was like wow....really ?!?!?!?!

They can be entertaining looking that's for sure.  I did it for about 12 years and I saw alot of really depressing people getting autographs.  Now I also have seen some really cool people that are still my friends to this day but those are VERY far and few between.  Most of them remind of the comic book guy on the Simpsons.

LOL Roger...you so hit it on the head !!!!!!....

It doesn't get a better description for most of these guys then that....I have also met a few cool dudes myself...but like you said it is very far and few between....especially when most of these guys are doing this for a living to resell and the average fan (like myself )  has to fight with the sharks like a bloody piece of tuna to get an auto to display...

Punched in the head?? Yikes. Have you guys found this to be a typical experience (maybe not the violence, but the physical nature of jockeying for position)? Any horror stories?

Also, it sounds like the guys with the stacks of portraits are "pro" seekers. Would you not consider them to be part of the auto seeking community? (Is a hound inherently a negative distinction?) Also, are there also "pros" that are not so greedy with celebs' time? Maybe bring 1-2, then sell those? I guess I'm wondering how

Jockeying for position definitely plays a BIG part of it...the best time I noticed is the late night hounding...like after midnight when the hoarding crowd is much much thinner...when there is 4 or 5 collectors....competing in crowds of 15 to 25 people can be very stressful...not only for the ONE auto collector....but more for the celeb in general... 

As far as the "pro seekers" its really not what they do that is the problem....its how some celebs react because instead of the regular guys just wanting to add a piece to there collection the guys with 10+ items are obviously in the business of reselling there in person autos for a profit which is totally fine with me...but at the same time it ruins it for the average fan that just wants one auto because some celebs get turned off immediately when one individual is getting many items signed...I have seen it happen before...and it sucks but hey....HOUNDING IS NOT A SURE THING ANYWAY....LOL

Why would someone need 30 signatures of the same person and multiple people 30 times or more? I mean .... wearing disquises to get someones auto because they actually remember you??? What the heck!?!?! That just sounds obsessive (as in a mental illness), or they are doing it to sell and make money, which I have no problem with making money off of rich peoples success as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.  I dont hear any "artists" telling their fans not to spend the diaper money on their new album because That extra $20 bucks wont make a difference anyways.

I am a collector.  If I was out somewhere and saw a celebrity I dont like (example: hillary clinton) I would still try to get their auto but yes I would probly sell it and then buy an auto of someone I like.  after I thoroughly washed my hands :)

I might as well live in the middle of a corn field (actually thats where I grew up), because the only celebrities we get here come for either a concert a ball game (our local teams suck) or the indy 500.  in each of those cases, the celebrities are hard to get to.  I use to have a friend who played for the pacers.  So I went to a lot of games (not a basketball fan), so I would sit in a restaurant called the best locker room under the bleachers, and I would watch people hound Larry Bird for autos the whole game.  He would only sign during time outs and such.  But the poor man would get approached by the same guy sometimes 10 or more times and Larry would refuse to sign.  Some people need to act like adults and get some manners.

I have never been and never will be an IP autograph collector. I did TTM for a few years, in the early 80's with much success, but because people started to get greedy with the TTM requests, the response went south. 

Reading the descriptions of what happens at these events, and the types of people you are likely to run into, combined with my personality, it is probably a really good thing for me AND the a******* who push and punch, that I don't collect IP's.

Hey Terrier....free IP autos are the ones that get a little nutty...also I do agree with you on the whole TTM front on people getting greedy...I never sent more then2 requests at a time...but I have known people to send like 5 but that's on them...I love going to shows and paying for autos...s*** 80% of my collection is acquired that way...the other 10 percent is ttm and 10 percent in the street

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