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Tricks of the Trade

This group offers helpful tips for maximizing your collecting experience! This group is geared towards in-person autograph collecting. Posts in this group have the potential to be included in future 'Tricks of the Trade' columns in the magazine.

Members: 131
Latest Activity: Sep 28, 2023

Discussion Forums

How to keep 11x14's from bending in the field?

Started by BC. Last reply by wjfranz (Bill Franz) Aug 25, 2016. 1 Reply

Beginner looking for advice on framing.

Started by Simon Tam. Last reply by Simon Tam Aug 10, 2016. 8 Replies

Paint Pens vs. Markers

Started by Louis Becerra. Last reply by Lisa Meyer Jul 19, 2016. 21 Replies

Can Something Be Applied To An Autograph To Protect It?

Started by PICTURE PROOF AUTOGRAPHS. Last reply by PICTURE PROOF AUTOGRAPHS Jun 26, 2015. 4 Replies

Is there any way to fix a faded autograph?

Started by Daniel Alayof. Last reply by Scott Paul Jun 16, 2015. 5 Replies

Best paint pen for leather/cleats?

Started by Mike P. Last reply by BC Jul 30, 2014. 1 Reply

Taking A Picture Signing Is Best Authentication

Started by PICTURE PROOF AUTOGRAPHS. Last reply by PICTURE PROOF AUTOGRAPHS May 3, 2014. 1 Reply

How to protect autographs on diecasts

Started by PICTURE PROOF AUTOGRAPHS May 2, 2014. 0 Replies

Comment Wall

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Comment by Jeffery Kite on January 26, 2012 at 5:32am

Most the black baseball's that I've seen are signed in gold paint pen. It looks NICE, but I know some people have had a hard time with the drying action of gold paint pens. I guess silver would look nice on there, too, but I think the gold would stand out more because isn't the stitching on those balls gold?

Comment by FL Oriole on January 25, 2012 at 8:46pm

I bought a Black Rawlings offical MLB ball. What do you guys recommend I use to get an auto on this baseball? Silver sharpie?

Comment by Jeffery Kite on December 22, 2011 at 1:59pm

Oh, I know about the @, and that's not what I try to have made up. Just pictures I print off the internet, with permission, noncopywritten, and free to who ever wants them.

Comment by DB on December 22, 2011 at 11:36am

Jeffery -  unfortunately, it is way too real.  CVS (Drugstore) does (has done) the same especially if there is a @ on the picture.  They have been sued for reproducing high school class pictures who have the @ on the picture.  If it doesn't have a @ identifier on it then I don't know what the beef would be about but if it does then Office Depot is setting themselves up sooner or later.

Comment by Jeffery Kite on December 22, 2011 at 10:00am

Since Wal-Mart gives me crap about made up copyright laws, and Walgreens/CVS charges a small fortune for 8x10s, I have taken my business to Office Depot, who printed up a nice photo of Fred Haise, Jr., using what I think was a color copier and nice think stock photo paper with a glossy finish. I'll let you all know how it turns out. Might be something you all would want to try. Only cost $0.72, tax included.

Comment by CEE GEE on October 14, 2011 at 7:41am

WHATS UP FL ORIOLE...BEST THING TO DO...NEVER GET BASEBALL SIGNED IN MARKER OR SHARPER ETC. THEY WILL EVENTUALLY START TO BLEED INTO THE SURFACE AND LOOK LIKE A BLUE OR BLACK BLURR AFTER A WHILE...ALWAYS USE A REAL MLB BASEBALL...NOT THE CHEAP MADE IN CHINA OR OTHER CHEAP BASEBALLS AS THE PEN INK WILL ALSO BLEED INTO A CHEAP BALLS SURFACE....ALWAYS USE BALL POINT PENS...PAPER MATE OR BIC...NOT GEL PENS OR MARKERS ON BASEBALLS....AS FAR AS CARDS BALL POINTS ARE COOL AND SO ARE SHARPIES....BUT BE CAREFULL...IF THE CARD SURFACE HAS AN EXTREMELY HIGH GLOSS SURFACE THE INK WILL BEAD AND NOT WORK AT ALL...GOUDEY REPRINTS AND ALLEN AND GINTER CARDS ARE GREAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO GLOSS FINISH ON THERE SURFACE AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU USE TO SIGN IT IT WILL LOOK NICE...MAGAZINES AND PHOTOS I WOULD SAY SHARPIES ARE BEST BUT ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE INK DRYS BEFORE PUTTING IT IN A TOP LOADER OR BOOK...AND BE REALLY CAREFUL WITH SILVER AND GOLD PAINT MARKERS...THEY TEND TO TAKE A BIT LONGER TO DRY...AND ALWAYS KEEP ITEMS AWAY FROM DIRECT SUN LIGHT IF POSSABLE

Comment by Jeffery Kite on October 14, 2011 at 6:45am

Hey Oriole, the beauty of this hobby is that you can make it whatever you want it! Some people like the thick, bold presentation of a Sharpie marker, some like the little subtleties that an ink pen will give you, and so on. But, as a general rule, people use these guidelines:

Baseball - blue ink pen (black tends to fade over time)

Baseball cards, magazines, and photos - Blue, black, or silver marker

Comment by FL Oriole on October 13, 2011 at 6:39pm

I recently got into collecting autographs. What pen/maker would you guys recommned for diffrent items. Say a baseball, baseball card, magazine or photo.   Thanks!

Comment by Jeffery Kite on February 26, 2011 at 7:32pm
Hey Lou, something that I have been trying for the past year on my requests using trading cards is that I go over it with an eraser ever so slightly to take off all that gloss. It has been working FANTASTIC!!! Have had no problems through the mail or in person.
Comment by michael hardin on March 11, 2010 at 1:05am
lets see how many tips i can rattle of for an autograph seeker, i use a blue vis a vis pen, these are better than sharpies, because they are more bold, and the great thing about vis a vis is if you have multiple items to get done the dry a lot quicker than sharpies and thus dont smear, if you are in a cold weather city like i am dont leave the cap off of your pen outside ive seen this happen with so many ppl and then they wonder why there pen isnt working when the celeb actually gets to them, by the time the celeb gets to them the pen has dried out,the only thing that is bad about silver sharpies is it isnt really a real good looking silver, if you get a decocolor pen, it works out a lot better for anything you ant to get done, do not i repeat do not shake a paint pen when it is cold out in your city, i have also seen this happen to many times then i care to mention of ppl who keep shaking there paint pen and testing it to see of it is working, then when the celeb comes out the pen usually explodes all over the place, this is bad for the celeb and all of the fans, another thing that i hate about ppl who are waiting to get autographs is when they tell a bunch of people what is going on and who is coming and so on, if the person doesnt know what is going on it isnt your responsibility to let them know, i know that is harsh, but if you want to get your item done then your best bet is not to start blabbing out infor to ppl who probably dont know what is going on. most of my autographs that i have gotten have taken place when there is either 1 other person or noone around to get them, another tip when getting autos is to have your car close by and follow the celeb, most times when the celeb is at a venue they usually come out after the show and leave right away,i know this sounds bad to, but what the average fan doesnt know is that the person will probably sign for you the second they get out of there town car or limo at there hotel or at the airport, perfect example for me was just recently when stephen king was in town to do a lecture series about one of his books, he came out after the show and said he was tired and had to go, well 2 of us out of the 10 or 15 that were waiting there followed him to his hotel which was 3 blocks down the street, waited for him to get out and approached him about signing for us, he started to sign for us and then i started talking to him about the boston red sox, and he ended up signing 2 books for me, he would have signed more but i only brought in 2, that is another key when getting an autograph or multiple autographs, do your homework and find out something the person is into that is not something he would get talked to about everyday, for stephen king it was the red sox.another tip for ppl is when a person says no originally and they start to walk away from you, ask them to personalize the photo or baseball or whatever you are getting signed, this happened last year with mark teixiera when he was on the yankees, he came out and turned everyone down, so we followed him to where he was eating his dinner, he came and said im not going to sign for you guys , and then i said you can personalize it and he came right back to me and asked me my name, he then explained himself by saying you know i just dont like signing autographs if you guys are going to sell them, the only he actually stopped is because we asked him to personalize, most people when getting autographs go with the pack, if you want to have success you need to break a couple of rules everyone now and then and not go with the grain,those are the ppl that have the most success, also while you shouldnt share info with just anyone, it is important to gain friendship with a couple of autograph seekers that you can trust, also if you can form a good relationship with doormen and lim o drivers this will go along way in helping you get autographs, this helped me get dustin hoffman and joe montana, dustin hoffman was in town and i would have never known about it but a dorrman told us that he was here to go to an art exhibit and to check out a site for a play he was hoping to get running, well sure enough that day me and one other guy got him to sign 2 photos each, for joe montana the driver told us what flight he was on and what terminal he was going to drop him off at so i headed out to the airport to try fir him, he originally turned us down then when i approached him again when he was in the security line he said come on guys, i told him to look up at the board cause his flight had been delayed 30 minutes he then said he would sign one autograph for each of us, while he was signing he told us you know i do shows right, i then said hpow many shows have you done in minnesota he then paused and said yeah your right, this brings me to my next point you cant treat these celebs like they are gods, yeah give them there common courtesy and say please and thank you but sometimes you have to tell them how it is to get an autograph. my example here is for kevin youkilis, he came out of the skyway and me and my buddy were the only 2 up there and there were about 30 other ppl downstairs waiting for autos for the red sox,we followed him through the skyway and he said he wasnt going to sign for us cause we followed him, well my friend had had it and had given this guy his space the last 3 days at the hotel, so after he was done shopping for a new phoen he walked back up to him and youkilis gave one of his excuses again by saying hed get us at the ballpark, we were irate, we then told him that he had said that the last 2 days and that he doesnt even give us the time of day at the ballpark, he then said alright and said hed sign one for us,sometines you have to know what buttons to push and when to push them, if you do get autographs signed with blue pen, make sure you have a black pen with you just in case the celeb doesnt sign in blue, there are a couple of celebs who hate blue pens,cher, jonah hill,david copperfield,viggo mortensen
 

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