Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robin Banks on April 20, 2016 at 9:25pm

I use the PSA website as a guide for presidential autos.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard Halegua - MPB auction on April 21, 2016 at 1:12am

thanks Robin. I had actually been examining the PSA site, but they have little for the non-sport categories like actors & actresses, music, politicans, religious figures, models etc.. I need to find a resource that helps with a long list of people

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on April 22, 2016 at 10:06am

Hi Richard, as a fellow long-stretch MOPOer welcome to the world of the web-based forum.

You can probably tell by the lack of responses that you are barking up the wrong tree (forgive the pug-related pun) in hoping for a useful autograph price guide.

There are, or have been, guides (cannot even remember the names) but they are next to useless as so much depends on the eye appeal, period and provenance of an autograph. So you can say that a genuine Audrey Hepburn 10x8 should be $500 upwards but it could be way more than this if the image and provenance are interesting or it is from an earlier period. Inscriptions and dedications can also often add or detract to value considerably.     

I think you are heavily into comic books and movie posters. The only variable here is usually condition so it is far easier to compile a very exact price guide (Overstreet etc.). Condition plays a role with autographs too but I would say it is a fairly minor one - unless the condition is so bad that it makes the autograph ugly or difficult to make out. 

I think the best way to price autographs is to try to find similar items on dealer sites and auction house "prices realised" lists. You could also ask on here but I wouldn't do that too often as it can get tedious for everyone else and you'll probably get a lot of very different answers anyway. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard Halegua - MPB auction on April 22, 2016 at 10:28am

hey Pug.. yes Thank you. While posters & comic art may be my main thing, I do indeed understand autographs well and I 100% understand the difference between a quick signature on a photo & a superb inscription with a careful & bold signing. I also understand context (a signed photo of an astronaut suited up is more favorable then him at the dinner table).

My question for a current (or reasonably current) price guide is not for a Neal Armstrong, George Harrison or Michael Jackson autograph, but the thousands of other sub $100 autographs that pile up from a collection.

I also figure that I'm not getting much action on my question because I am a 'newbie' here. I have an opinion on that, but I'll keep it to myself.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on April 22, 2016 at 11:02am

Hi Richard, I don't think the lack of responses is due to newbie discrimation. I've sown my fair share of fallow ground seeds too. I think the number of responses has more to do with the subject - whether it is a controversial topic, whether it is easy to have an opinion on, whether it is easy to answer etc.etc. Some discussions go way off course or, on rare occasions, end up in arguments. That can make the response rate look much higher than it really is.

Apologies if it sounded like I was trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs. At the risk of rubbing salt into the wound I would question whether it is worth investing a great deal of time in the sub-£100 autograph market, or at least in the really small beer. I'm no dealer but I get the impression that the lesser stars from years back are extremely difficult to shift. They may have a catalogue price of $x but most will end up being bagged up as "assorted male/female stars". It is a bit like the lesser movie posters that end up with no place to go apart from being added to a bulk lot at a weekly internet auction.   

There may well be a big market for more modern sub-$100 material but I don't look at that material as a general rule.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on April 22, 2016 at 11:09am

After the Sanders guide, I can't think of any printed guides that have been out there for many years. I think pug's comments are pretty accurate. Printed guides or even online databases are kind of obsolete. So much of the value of autographs, especially modern celebrities, is dictated by online sales. Supply and demand sometimes fluctuates significantly. Source, quality of the signature and desirability of the item signed, authentication, provenance, etc - these are all variables that seem to play more of a role than they did maybe 20 - 30 years ago. These variances in prices sometimes are not minor differences. This would making assembling a price guide more difficult than ever and almost inherently inaccurate.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard Halegua - MPB auction on April 22, 2016 at 11:47am

thanks folks. I appreciate the input.

the deal is that I just picked up a huge collection (YUGE) and while there is a good argument that many just won't sell unless grouped, they still need to be dealt with and the 'guides' are a ruler for measurement.

in our modern internet world, I had a pretty good feeling that no current guides exist, though I am surprised that no one has put together an online version. It's easy to find out prices for popular autographs (or more specifically, sales results) and like all hobbies, for the average person there is a steep learning curve. Naturally much of the lesser material is going through my auctions, in whatever format, and lots will be listed, lots will be in display books for conventions.

results databases also have to be scrutinized for what they are. Clearly Heritage results can be trusted much more than fleaBay results because there is so much fake material listed there.

It would also be nice if there was a reference site that compared honest signatures with fakes, so that it could be used by fans to determine with better tools if something they're looking at has a reasonable expectation of authenticity. I regularly see fakes on sites where the people should know better and offer little recourse for buyers and I'm not talking about those crooks selling movie posters with a complete set of Godfather autographs for $179.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on April 22, 2016 at 11:53am

I think certain things are easier to price than others - it's seems like the sports arena might be easier to nail down a bit more, as so much of that market is controlled by major companies, as opposed to other realms (music, movies, etc).

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard Halegua - MPB auction on April 22, 2016 at 12:04pm

yes, we call that "manipulation of the market"

;-)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on April 22, 2016 at 11:05pm

Hi Richard, there are several internet sites that can be used for reference material.

There are also several signature studies for the bigger names (Beatles, Monroe, Taylor, Bogart, Garland, Elvis etc.) who are obviously not in the sub-$100 category.

isitreal.com is probably the largest reference site with secretarial examples but there are other reference sources. Can anyone else chime in with some good examples?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard Halegua - MPB auction on April 29, 2016 at 4:48pm

thanks!

I'll take a look at that site. It's great they have secretarial stuff.. a part that most novices would get caught on very easily

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard Halegua - MPB auction on April 29, 2016 at 4:55pm

isitreal could use a little help.

the last Burt Lancaster shown here is an autopen. I got 4 diff photoss in this inscription & signature and they dig into the paper. So it has to be autopen

http://www.autograph-market.com/isitreal/forgery-reference-database...

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page