These are two topics I’ve brought up before, but different things about those topics.

First, is Bruce Springsteen. I did a blog where I complained about a member here not helping me get his signature when my fiancee and I went to see him in L.A. (he got the Boss, I didn’t; I was on the wrong side of the sports arena when he came in and signed for fans). I liked to think autograph collectors would help each other out. Anyway...I may not have made the girlfriend happy because I didn’t secure the autograph, I have a chance to make up for it this Christmas. You see, the ‘57 Chevy Bel Air Springsteen once own is on eBay right now for $200,000. Now, a story says it was once valued at $800,000, but I’m not sure why.

Springsteen bought the car for a couple thousand dollars, but it was before his “Born to Run” album came out. Afterwards, he was a big star. They say he felt the yellow top was to conspicuous. The car comes with a copy of Springsteens original registration. So, I guess that’s kind of cool. It would be cooler if it was a car pictured on an album cover or sleeve. Heck, I’d gladly settle for that Corvette that’s on the cover of his book “Born to Run.”

Now another, more frustrating topic, that has been covered. The eBay autograph sellers and autograph dealers, that make it hard for the collectors to get anything done.

Former Saturday Night Live and Joe Dirt star David Spade was on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Kimmel mentioned all the autograph seekers that surround Spade. He said, “How do they know where you’re gonna be? Or do they just walk around carrying pictures of you everywhere?”

Spade shed some light on it for Jimmy. He said, “They pay off people to get that information. I don’t know how much of a tip you give a guy who tells you where I’m going to be. A nickel? An autographed photo of me can’t go for more than a dollar.”

He then went on about how annoying they are by trying to convince him they’re fans and not autograph dealers. He said, “They try to move their hands around, handing you different pictures, from different angles, like you don’t notice it’s the same person in the bunch. One guy even said, ‘Come on man, I’m your number one fan! They should make a ‘Joe Dirt 2’.’ I then told him they did make a Joe Dirt 2 and he said ‘Oh.’ He obviously wasn’t my number one fan, but...even if he was my 100th fan, he’d probably still know that fact.”

Kimmel was laughing hysterically at these stories from autograph dealers. Spade said, “The worst are the ones that pimp out their kids. They’ll be some little girl handing me a picture to sign, and she’s telling me she’s my biggest fan. I look down to sign the picture, and see it’s a Happy Gilmore photo, and the dad is yelling at her ‘Not that guy, not that guy! The other guy, over there!’ Because the photo was meant for Sandler to sign.”

Seriously, I wish when stars saw and noticed these types of things, they would just say “One autograph a person. That’s all I have time to do.” And if they think the person is a dealer, they can make the signature sloppy. I’ve also suggested to some of them, during interviews I’ve done, that they just personalize all autographs. Spade had some situations with that, too. He told Kimmel, “I’ll say to them ‘Who do you want me to make this out to?’ they’ll always say ‘No, man, don’t worry about that. It’s not about me, man...it’s all about you. Just sign it with your name’.”

So for any of waiting to get an autograph from a celebrity, and you are NOT a dealer, and you see a dealer near you with 20 8x10’s...say what I’ve said to them before. Nicely explain, “You know, when they see all those, they’ll think we’re all just going to sell our stuff. And that makes them not want to sign. So, why don’t you let us get our stuff signed first, then you can take out your box of 25 headshots, and get them signed.”

I’m especially strict of people with guitars, because the musicians hate that, and it usually turns them off to any kinds of signings.