Have professional in-person collectors ruined collecting for true fans?

What's your opinion on the in-person collectors that graph for the sake of selling them onwards. Has it stopped true fans from having their stars sign autographs for them? I'm just asking myself is it even a hobby anymore with all the fuss competing with people for autographs, it seem pretty chaotic with some of the footage you see, people trying to graph when artist are in their cars. In the 90's from what ive read it was fairly casual affair for ip collecting, even if you were to sell a few, your not the worst person in the world. I've purchased a few things of ip collectors, but not a great deal, I'm just saying I'm not any better than anyone else.

Any thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 11, 2016 at 7:12pm

Hi Paul,

I don't know. There's not much one can do about it for one. I would hope "Hello, I love your work, would you please sign this "To Eric"?" might be seen a bit differently from someone with a backpack and clip-board etc. It seems obvious to me a lot of the time who is there and why - celebs must see the same. Is IP collecting a hobby anymore? Sure, perhaps more difficult now but still worth a shot in general. For me, I don't really recall trying for a graph and not getting one if I was anywhere near the celeb and they were holding a pen. I am certain it has happened but I can't recall an example at the moment. I normally do not seek IP I must say. It is almost literally never that I will be in a social situation and actually ask for an autograph...that's a no-no for me. Twice I can recall breaking that rule since 1990.

Permalink Reply by Joe W. on October 11, 2016 at 7:45pm

Autograph is a hobby and a business. As long as the demand is there, someone is going to fill it. It used to be that autographs of current stars were not as costly as today. But, with prices of the big names going for the hundreds a pop, that attracts a lot of attention. That is not what is hurting the hobby; forgeries are.

Permalink Reply by Paul on October 11, 2016 at 7:52pm
The forgery business is huge.
But im thinking of people like Ringo who gave up signing because his autograph fetches 100s of dollars,it wasnt a problem in the 60s when kids wanted to tac his graph on the wall.
Permalink Reply by Paul on October 11, 2016 at 7:57pm
Axl rose came out and said he wasnt going to sign because of people putting his signature on ebay, but he still does.
Permalink Reply by Joe W. on October 11, 2016 at 8:01pm

Not signing just adds to the price. And, those "tacked" signatures sell for thousands.

Permalink Reply by Paul on October 11, 2016 at 8:24pm
Now they do.
Permalink Reply by Paul on October 11, 2016 at 10:47pm

I recently purchased an autograph from a Ip collector / dealer , who organized a private signing so he could have a bunch of items signed and the artist probably was paid for their time. Great idea if possible.

Permalink Reply by Robin McKay on October 13, 2016 at 3:41am

Aye I agree - wherever you can, get any autograph in person - at least then you KNOW its the real deal. However, there are trusted sellers out there as well.

What one needs to remember here is that not everyone (yup, me) has access to the A-Lister celebrities or indeed any celebrities, they find of interest, which is why they rely on the people who do, the in-person collectors, to help them out, wherever possible, so personally, I see no harm in those people offering those who don't have that type of access, a service, but at the same time, there is no harm in charging for those autographs as people need to live. 

Joe is right in when he says that forgeries hurt the business and I don't want to recount the number of times I've been stung - when you are a collector, when you buy from someone, whether it be a shop or whatever, you trust it is the real deal, but to a naive collector, they could very well be being sold a fake. The most important thing when buying an autograph is ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST and ALWAYS GET A RECEIPT if the item turns out to be a forgery (lifetime guarantee will only suffice here, not if you're not happy within 7 days of purchase). 

Also, remember, that you would be, I would imagine, somewhat lucky to have a run of getting always authentic autographs if you didn't obtain them in person, because somewhere along the line, you are likely to get stung, unfortunately. Its the nature of the beast. Like when I went to visit Michael J. Fox, for example, in London last year at L.F.C.C., at least I knew the autograph I got was real as I saw him sign it right in front of me and that's a big deal as he is still a relatively big name whom is in high demand, due to the amount of BTTF fans there are out there, but because he has gone on the circuit a little more regularly, I'd imagine the price of his auto might shrink, too. 

Anyways, to cut it short, I agree in that providing a legitimate business to those who don't have that type of access is a good thing. Some celebs may not see if as thus but people need to make a living, somehow and if they are interested in seeing other people happy, the collectors, what's the harm? 

Permalink Reply by Paul on October 13, 2016 at 2:08pm

Very true Robin, they do bridge a gap for people to own a graph.

They also cut people out of the market on the other side of the coin, eg Bruce springsteen books , the dealers are out to make money and will ask for double or triple the price for a signed book. Bridging the gap, to more like hogging the market.

Permalink Reply by Adam Halloran on October 13, 2016 at 2:55pm
I do agree with you on that Paul, half of the annoyance would be those who really wanted to meet Bruce, but couldn't cause the tickets were bought by resellers.

However, nothing is stopping Bruce or any artist for that matter, to sell signed items via their website. A lot do now. Not so much the big profile names, they could make it more accesible and even donate the money to charity, cutting out the dealers.

Same for concert tickets, they all have websites and can deal bigger chuncks of tickets through fan clubs, but they all know about stub hub and resellers who are making big money after market.
Permalink Reply by Paul on October 13, 2016 at 3:22pm
Some great points Adam!
Permalink Reply by Robin McKay on October 13, 2016 at 3:32pm

I would be cautious buying from a website as I prefer now to get autographs IP. 

Not to say of course autographs from official sites are forgeries, but anything you buy online now, you are taking a chance, unless you are absolutely 100% the person/organisation you are dealing wit is trustworthy.

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