We are an eBay affiliate and may be compensated for clicks on links that result in purchases.

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?

1 member likes this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rich on October 17, 2016 at 10:30am

If I ever saw anyone cursing out my favorite singer for any reason, I would deck them without a second thought.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Paul on October 17, 2016 at 10:46am

That's uncalled for!
Most of my graphs are from guys like perry cox and tracks, kinda vintage dead rock stars and a i few a few from stores and a few from ip-dealers.
I ask myself if the dealers keep any autograpahs for themselves?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on October 17, 2016 at 10:51am

It's completely just. Greed and rudeness coupled with straight up harassment are a prime recipe for an equally aggressive response from actual fans.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Paul on October 17, 2016 at 10:53am

The day would suck when you couldn't get to your fav pop star because of jerks.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on October 17, 2016 at 11:41am

Here's my take for what it's worth. My actual in-person experience with the pro collector types is extremely limited, as I tend to go after newer indie artists, which are less sought after than bigger names. Additionally, most collectors who intend to sell tend to be more inclined to intercept them at airports or hotels instead of actually going to a show. So I haven't really butted heads with anyone.

I have bought off IP collectors and probably will to a certain extent in the future. That being said, some of what I see if admittedly downright awful. I see a lot of terrible autographs with no actual long term value and with silly price tags. It seems like collectors have complete disregard for the quality of what they get and sell and price completely on the difficulty of obtaining it, even if the item itself is complete garbage. The sad part is that people actually buy it.

Again, my in-person experience with pros is limited, but when I see some of these videos of nothing but sellers pushing and shoving for ugly scribbles from celebs, shouting random pathetic/awful things like "can I get you here?" - I completely understand why celebs wouldn't want to sign or go anywhere near fans. Granted, that's just a snapshot and some celebs are genuinely just tired old jerks. But some of the behavior I see is pretty unreal. At some point, autograph collectors ended up on the same level as paparazzi, which isn't good.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 17, 2016 at 12:11pm

That is what I have been thinking about...the often less-than-stellar quality of IP sigs.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on October 17, 2016 at 12:16pm

Some of them leave me shaking my head. I saw someone on RACC offering soem Kanye's for $400, saying that's what his signature looks like now. I don't doubt it, but I wouldn't want it for free, even if I liked the guy. It's completely worthless unless it has actual personal sentimental value to you, because it was literally a scribble that anyone on the planet can duplicate. Sorry you chased after him, it was hard to get, he's a huge star, etc - but garbage is garbage.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 17, 2016 at 12:19pm

I can see accepting a lousy signature if you are a fan and your primary desire is to have something that passed through the celeb's hands. If that is the motive, signature quality doesn't matter much.

However, if you are a more discerning COLLECTOR, signature quality should matter as it is a driving factor of long-term desirability. All signatures are not created equal and there should be decreased demand for poor examples.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on October 17, 2016 at 12:30pm

This is primarily why the appeal of sports signatures has plummeted. Achieve any measure of professional success, and your price skyrockets - and the same person can't be bothered making any attempt to actually write his name. Kudos to Stallone for at least giving his highest quality signatures at paid signings.

But, back to the point - if I'm going to pay for something from a third party, it's going to be nice and full and have some ability to be proven authentic without having to say "well, that guy said so."

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 17, 2016 at 12:38pm

and have some ability to be proven authentic without having to say "well, that guy said so."

This is an important point. I see many discussions where someone states something to the effect of, "you need to trust your source on this one." Typically in reference to an indecipherable modern entertainment signature.

That's all well and good for NOW, but that trust/provenance completely evaporates when it comes time to sell down the road. In 10 years, the next potential buyer probably isn't going to be convinced because you got it from "LAgrapher49" and some guy on a chat board said he was a reliable IP source.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rich on October 17, 2016 at 12:44pm

Exactly. If he's honest, great. But that might not be a selling point to the next guy. If it's something you really want and have to have, I get it. But, personally, I wouldn't get much satisfaction displaying a halfhearted scribble I didn't get myself.