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UK Signed, The Books They are a-Changin'!

Maybe not the right forum to raise what is becoming an issue for me. Just wondering if anyone else feels uncomfortable about what seems to be becoming the new norm in the UK.

Barnes & Noble and other US retailers have long been adding new pages to books bearing author signatures for many years. I don't have a problem with it because there is usually some legend on the page - Special Signed edition, or Barnes & Noble Exclusive or just "Signed by the Author". If you are an autograph collector with no particular affinity for books then it's not an issue.

Of course the pandemic has changed things and so we have seen more and more of this in the UK over the last couple of years but it's not being done in the same way so recently, e.g. I have a seen a book with two title pages - one signed - and another with two half-titles - one signed. The first example very dumb, i.m.o. - you have a front endpaper as normal, followed by title page (signed), followed by half-title, followed by actual title page. I don't like it.

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Permalink Reply by ShadyBootlegger on November 27, 2022 at 9:08am

Personally I don’t see the issue

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Permalink Reply by Addison Casey on November 27, 2022 at 10:21am

I don't care as long as it's signed. I always felt that the "I want the author to touch the book" is just dumb

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Permalink Reply by Jason H on November 27, 2022 at 10:24am

I would think you will receive different opinions on this. Im not a book collector at all. As an autograph collector, I do not have an issue with things being this way, regardless of what style is released, im usually happy getting an autograph that would otherwise be hard to obtain. The only way to stop this is if tip-in style books stop selling out. If this never happens, the practice will continue.

On the other side, with music, I do have issues with receiving signed inserts instead of booklets and album covers. Just as with tip-in books, we are at the mercy of what is offered. I have turned down purchasing some autographs because they were art cards. Taylor swifts new release I was very upset about.. Maggie Lindemann's debut cd and vinyl both were only released as inserts. I had to hunt a vinyl down that was signed in person and am grateful that my original package for cds was lost. I finally received a refund and do not regret at all spending that money plus some extra to have an actual album cover signed. Certain artists, im fine with art cards. Special items, like debut cds or items that are limited, I believe they should make an effort to actually sign the item.

I'm sure true book collectors will feel similar to the way as I feel with music. Its frustrating but there isn't really anything we can do about it as long as people keep buying these items regardless.

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Permalink Reply by crazyrabbits23 on November 28, 2022 at 12:20am

It's definitely a double-edged sword. Do I think there's a premium to owning new books where the artist/author clearly signed it on the title, sometimes as an association copy or some other attribute (sketch/inscription et al.) that makes it an attractive proposition? Absolutely. I'll buy those all day, every day, and there are a handful of authors whose work I buy new who still sign on the title (albeit in limited amounts).

However, as said above, the pandemic changed signing habits completely. So long as an artist only has to sign a stack of loose sheets versus a potential pallet of physical books being sent to their home, this practice will continue ad infinitum.

It's the exact same thing that's happened with the sports card industry and signed stickers. You cut down on shipping fees, the signer doesn't feel as pressured to have to manage/move a bunch of inventory, and (generally) you'll be able to secure more signatures for more customers at retail.

The downside is that several of the biggest autopen fiascos were clearly caused by managers/authors abusing this process and shipping it off to get faked, with no checks or accountability. Unless there's some way of ensuring this is stopped in the vetting process, you're going to continue to get situations like Dylan, Parton and Gretzky, where the managers/authors abuse the public's trust and try to pull a fast one over on them.