You know an autograph is something written or made with one’s own hand, and that most of the autographs collected are those considered “famous,” whether they be a musician, an actor, an actress, a writer, an author, etc. Most autographs collected are handwritten signatures, but for artists and painters, their work often speaks for itself. You can buy autographs from hundreds of venues ranging from Auction Houses, eBay, mail order catalogs or websites. The price will vary depending on the following factors:
1. Who signed the autograph.
2. Whether the signature is on a glossy, a letter, a postcard, a cancelled check, etc.
3. Whether the item signed is something historically significant.
4. How much the vendor/seller paid for the autograph and the money they need to get back for their investment.
And for those who are connoisseurs of selected autographs, they take into consideration the age of the paper the signature was written, the size of the signature, and so on. A magazine cover will generate less money than a glossy because a glossy photo will last much longer, but the cost is relative. Some like myself prefer cancelled checks, contracts, letters, and other sources that makes me comfortable knowing the autograph is legit. For one friend of mine, getting authors to sign books is his pill – not glossy photographs.
There are also conventions, film festivals and fan gatherings nationwide where celebrities sign autographs for fans. For a set fee, the celebrities will sign glossy photos for you to choose from, or items you brought to the show to have signed. For the record, most celebrities do not set the price – their agents/managers do. For some conventions (not all of them) a percentage of the autograph price goes to the convention promoter which, yes, drives the price of the autograph up. For convention promoters that ask for a set fee, such as $10, that means a celebrity who normally charges $40 will now charge $50 at the event. If you disapprove of the fee the celebrity is charging, remember it is not the celebrity that sets the price. The celebrity just shows up to the event and does what they are asked to whether it be posing with a fan for their smartphone camera or signing multiple autographs.
There are auction houses that specialize in selling rare collectibles and autographs – often charging a premium price. Personally, unless the autograph is something I absolutely want hell or high water, I tend to avoid those venues. For one (name not disclosed but many of you probably know what company I am referring to) the employees are allowed to bid on the item which, naturally, drives the bidding up. Whether you feel the company is justified doing so is all up to you. But I avoid bidding and buying from auction houses that do that.
There are a number of companies that have established a business of charging you a fee in return for their authentication of an autograph and providing a certificate of authenticity. This option, where fans can mail their autograph to one of these companys and pay an average of $30 per autograph, to receive it back in the mail with a certificate of authenticity. Personally, when I get an autograph from a celebrity in person, I see no reason why I should pay a third party $30 additional to get a certificate of authenticity, since I intend to frame it and hang it on the wall of my house.
A few years ago, I made the decision to submit an Olivia DeHavilland autograph to get certified. I paid the fee and submitted the autograph. It was returned as “not legit.” This was bizarre because I got it from her in person. I phoned the company and explained this and the reply I received was a recommendation to put what I just told them over the phone in writing and… get this… pay another fee for submitting it again. I did what they suggested and they sent it back with the certificate.
I have a friend who visits conventions and gets autographs from the celebrities. He said about one-fifth of his autographs came back as not legit and he said he, too, questions what system they use to validate the autographs. He just went to a Comic Con to get Jodi Benson’s autograph on a reproduction of The Little Mermaid poster. She was the voice of Arial, the Little Mermaid. It came back as not legit even though he got the autograph in person. Yeah…. Wow.
So you can understand why I am not a fan of the certificates of authenticity.
More importantly, the average price for autographs at conventions is $30 to $40, depending on the celebrity. (Yes, HUGE name stars command even more money but remember that is the agents/managers who set the fee.) For vendors/sellers who make money buying and selling autographs, they often strike deals with the agents/managers at the autograph venues and get a stack of autographs for a discount, so they can resell them for a profit. Thus a $40 autograph may cost $20 each because the vendor bought 20 autographs.
This is why, when people ask me whether I believe an autograph (not sold by me) is legit, I often look at the price first. Who would pay $30 for a certificate of authenticity, for an autograph that cost them $20, when the buyer can get the same autograph in person from the celebrity for $40? Rational thinking applied, if there is going to be a counterfeit autograph, those are the ones that sell for $400, $500, $600. To equate, this would be like counterfeiting $1 bills instead of $100 bills. Who the heck would counterfeit a one-dollar bill? So if an autograph is $20 or $30, there is a stronger chance the autograph is legit.
I would like to announce that Keith’s autograph collection is being sold on the following website, along with some of my personal collection. Most of the autographs are available for $19.99, $24.95, $29.95 and $39.95. The only time autographs are listed for more is when Keith or I had to pay $40 for the autograph and is therefore justified charging $60 to $75. There are probably about four dozen autographs in the inventory that are sold for more and only because they are extremely rare to find or the demand for that autograph will be so large that it seems prudent to raise the price. (
Most of the autographs on this site were acquired at conventions across the country such as Fanex, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, Chiller Theatre, Shore Leave, Ray Court’s Hollywood Collector Show, even letters written to the celebrities direct. Keith has been in the hobby for more than four decades. I have been in the hobby for two and a half decades. My most treasured items are framed and hanging on the wall, and I am not letting them go at any price. But seeing that I need to raise additional funds for the coffee shop, I am letting some of my collection go – just not the real treasures on the wall.
So if you are looking to do some early Christmas shopping, or a unique birthday gift for a friend or family relative (believe me, a framed autograph is an AWESOME gift to give someone), consider purchasing an autograph – or two, or three. Unsold autographs will be returned to Keith in June so do not delay.
