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In person signing Oddity...

Had an interesting experience yesterday that I thought I would share. I met about 6 celebrities yesterday. Not a bad day considering it was bone cracking cold outside. I thought my feet would actually fall off, but I digress. After Mariska Hargitay and Will Forte, I met Kellen Lutz, the star of the new Hercules. Really super nice guy. He signed and took pictures with everyone. He did however require that everything be signed in black. I prefer blue, because it is a much bolder signature and holds up better over time. Blue however has now been dubbed a "dealer's" pen. This is not the first time that I have been told that a celebrity would only sign in black. A smart in person collector will always carry multiple pens, just in case. Go blue, but always carry black. The next one was a first for me. I had the chance to meet the absolutely beautiful and talented Sophia Bush. Not only is she gorgeous, talented and very nice, but she is very street smart. I watched her turn down someone for a photo because she had seen him before. "I got you yesterday", as she stopped for everyone else. She clearly pays attention. I got my photo with her and then she did something that no one has done before. I am interested to see if this has happened with others? As she took my pen to sign, she asked me my name. I gladly told her my name was Jim so she could personalize the photo. She wrote Jim in a bold, clear print and then proceeded to add her signature directly on top of the printed Jim. Although it is not the best and clearest signature I ever reecived, my friends and I tried to figure out why she would write on top of the personalization. We could only speculate that she knows the hobby so well, as well as the tricks of the trade, that she did that to avoid the personalization from being erased! Honestly, I had no intention of erasing it. In fact my photo was on a type of printed paper that I could not erase without damaging the picture anyway. I just found this to be fascinating and was wondering if anyone else has had this experience. Not by accident but deliberately?

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Comment by James Lafaman on January 15, 2014 at 3:31pm: Yesterday I met Jillian Michaels amongst others. I handed her one magazine which she personalized and wrote out a full Jillian Michaels. My buddy handed her four magazines and he got a lower quality Jillian with no Michaels. She signed them all, but to Rich's point, the quality dropped off significantly.

Comment by Rich on January 15, 2014 at 3:48pm: Even in that case, the dropoff quality was temporary (based on rushing through a stack for someone she may have thought was destined to sell them), as you were still able to get a full signature. I think in some instances, the quality decline is more consistent and "permanent" - i.e. even in the most ideal circumstances you won't get a quality signature, regardless if you're perceived to be a fan, have it personalized, no crowd, only one item, etc.

Comment by Carlos on January 15, 2014 at 10:39pm: There's no need to get 4 things signed.
I'm not a fan of people getting bulk autos to sell at all.

Comment by Rich on January 15, 2014 at 10:46pm: In all fairness, I have multiples from a couple bands I'm a big fan of (and no intention whatsoever of selling any of them). It's not inevitable that someone getting multiples is going to sell them, though that may be the perception.

Comment by Chad B on January 16, 2014 at 8:03am: I am generally happy with any signature a celeb gives me at no cost. I feel it is a great kindness to give their time to someone they don't know. This is the first time I heard about the signing over the inscription. That is creative. It wouldn't bother me if the item was for my personal collection.

I mostly collect UFC guys and they are wonderful to fans 99% of the time. The signatures are nice and they don't do odd things to your photos/items.

Comment by Rich on January 16, 2014 at 8:08am: I'm typically happy to get anything from them, too. Or just meet and talk to them for a bit if possible. Actually, much of the time, I'd almost prefer a photo op. However, I tend to be less than photogenic, so I figure the autograph will at least be presentable.

Comment by James Lafaman on January 16, 2014 at 8:16am: I still get a genuine thrill every time I meet someone. The same as my first one over 40 years ago. Also, my friend has an extensive collection. He earns very little money working in a theater and does not sell any of his stuff. So just because a "fan" puts out four different magazines, doesn't neccessarily make him a bad person. If he sold 1/10th of his stuff he could live a better life. So don't always judge a book by the cover.

Comment by Rich on January 16, 2014 at 8:27am: Yep, same here. The act of meeting them is the most thrilling, and I suppose any souvenir you walk away with is ultimately a bonus.

A friend of mine is a fan of a band I also like and have met, and he had them basically sign ALL his stuff, but, like me, asked that his items be personalized. He also has no intention of selling them at all.

Comment by Carlos on January 16, 2014 at 9:55am: Ha hahahaha no one like Julian Michaels that much
There are people that ruin it for everyone else, they are not collecting they are retrying to make a profit.
I don't like them

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