My wife and I have never paid for an autograph, but we have accumulated quite a few over the years.

My wife inherited from her grandmother a letter signed by Lincoln which is pretty neat.

I attended a few basketball games where I was able to meet Nixon. It took me awhile to work up the nerve to ask him for his autograph, but he was most gracious.

Some others that we have gotten over the years include - Debbie Harry, Johnny Cash, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Tommy Lasorda, Vin Scully, Ed Meese, Jimmy Carter, Tip O'Neill, Bob Dole, Nancy Reagan, Zora Duntov, Lee Iaccoca, Carroll Shelby, Ferry Porsche, Alan Hale Jr.

Somehow the idea of paying someone for their autograph doesn't sit well with me, especially considering that most people who can charge for a signature are probably a lot wealthier than the people they are charging. It seems to me like signing things and making appearances are actually pretty good ways to boost one's own brand in the first place, and it's not really necessary to pull cash out of people's pockets.

On the other hand, I'm also really excited that Larry DeMar and Eugene Jarvis were willing to sign my Robotron marquee. Both of them were extremely gracious and generous with their time. I paid to get into the show, but there was nothing extra for the panel presentation, the autographs, the handshakes or the pictures.

$0 here. Back in the 90's I did send fan letters to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme and they sent me an autographed photo which was awesome.

I paid 30 dollars for a pic and autograph of John Astin, but It wasn't for me, it was for my niece. I did go to the event specifically just to meet him because I was always a fan of The Addams family .
Autographs and celebrities in general aren't my thing, but I would like to meet Elvira someday and have her sign a pinball rules card. Otherwise, I have no desire to get anyone's autograph, but to each their own.

The most I have ever paid is also the most anyone should ever pay: $0.00

$2,500 for an autographed Tom Petty guitar.

Is Bill Paxson on there?

$20 each for 2 signed photographs of R Lee Ermy. At the time my oldest wanted to be a Marine (he was 12) Lee was doing a promo for a new gun shop in town so I waited in a 3 he line for my autographs. I only paid as the money was for a military charity.
I've met a couple of the Houston Rockets from back when they won back to back but didn't ask for autographs as we were just out and about.
Same for Dennis Leary, we had flown into Shannon Ireland and were renting a car at the airport he was at the next booth over. Literally bumped elbows with him. I just shook his hand and stated I admired his comedy then let him be.
Autographs are not my thing. Just dont ask how much I pay for pinball machines or Star Wars toys!

Sure is. Nice guy rip

Very nice in person and signed twice when he found out I was a former marine

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Autograph collecting is like a disease though, you get a slight high when you get a nice signature or experience, then you go after your next one. I always thought asking for an autograph was a sign of respect to the person you were asking, if you were polite. Some people were great in person. Rowdy roddy piper would look at each item he was signing, shake his head, and say "memories". Leguizamo was the same way. Other celebs looked at you like you were scum, jordan and bruce willis to be exact. Some, at shows, kept their heads down and just signed, like machines. You had to hand your item to someone, who handed it to someone else, down the line. Nimoy and mickey mantle were like that. You never got close to them. I got robert conrads autograph in person and he was just as I imagined, nice as could be and my idol growing up. Here's a willie mays story. He was goodwill ambassador (oxymoron) to a casino. They had a boxing event and I came prepared. He shows up half way through and sits in front row. People are handing him all sorts of crap, pieces of paper, whatever they could find to get signed. I wait and hand him a baseball. He looks like he just ate dog crap. "I aint signing that". ok, nice to meet you anyway. I get back in line and hand him a mini baseball glove when its my turn. Same expression " I aint signing that either". No problem willie, you have a great day. Enjoy that free seat and the paycheck they give you to be "goodwill" ambassador. I eventually did get him on a card as he was walking into another boxing event a few years later. Just to prove I could. I look at all the boxing stuff I got signed through the years and shake my head, most of the legends are dead.
I did get to meet bo derek, ann margaret, and raquel welch due to collecting.

Interesting thread - glad I opened it.

I was never even aware this was such a lucrative pastime for celebs.

Meanwhile the accountant in me is quietly tabulating how much these "famous people" could be getting as undeclared cash in hand on top of their regular career or residuals. $30/40/50-200 for less than 10 seconds of work. The mind boggles.

Question for the autograph collectors - do you ever onsell the sigs you attain or is it more to accumulate?

In answer to ops question - zero, but maybe I should look into it more.

I will post some pictures when I get a chance but with moving everything is a mess right now. I try to collect unique items/autographs, not just autographs..

I collect them from personal favorite movies, shows, players, events, etc.

I ALWAYS try to get some different, Drew Brees helmet signed Drew "cool" Brees. Mike Tyson boxing glove singed " baddest man on the planet" Brett Farve jersey signed " the Gunslinger". Charlie Sheen signed Major league jersey "vaughen" Cast of Super Troppers, Sidney Crosby Vancouver Olympics signed jersey, I still look at this every day!

Some people like it, seems alot here don't but its a hobby just like collecting games.

at first, i would never sell an autograph unless i purchased it. If they made money, then so can I. I gave many autographs away to friends. But when I saw one friend sell a mike tyson I had given him, I stopped doing that. If I get a free autograph, I feel guilty selling it. But I have done it when times were tough. I did sell a big chunk of boxing autographs to help pay for daughters college. I actually cried when the buyer drove away in a van full of my stuff. I still feel pangs of guilt when I see my stuff on ebay and have bought stuff back. I have rare ones I would never sell, they are usually attached to a good memory. Others I have no attachment to and might sell, but the $5 you are offered isn't worth the guilt of selling. I have a bunch of signed baseballs and no idea who the hell signed them. Its more about the fun of collecting, the challenge, the meeting of a celeb, than it is about the value.
I got a signed hockey stick at an estate auction. $15. Everyone was asking who is it who is it? That my friends is sergei federov, which I then sold for $100. On the other hand, I drove through a blizzard and got wayne gretzky to sign a stick in philly one year. I would never sell that one. Memories of the scariest ride back home ever in the z100 after the blizzard make me laugh every time I see the stick.

I did hear ernest borgnine made 50 grand one weekend at a chiller autograph show in NJ a few years ago. He did have a line at all times. Other people you have to shake your head when they want to charge for a signature. They were on 1 tv 20 years ago and they expect you to fork over $ for an autograph.

I'm always fine with celebrities signing for charity. For the most part I'm okay with people selling autographs if they aren't clearly set for life along with their grandkids. Celebrities go broke all the time, and it isn't always easy to change over to a desk job once you've been famous. Fran Tarkenton for those bullshit prepaid legal services. Sally Struthers for that bullshit online degree thing she used to sell. Wilford Brimley for... something about diabetes?

Even Wilie Nelson did a Taco Bell commercial at the height of his IRS troubles. Getting paid for your signature is honest work. I wouldn't begrudge that of anyone.

Cost me a fortune for my signature when I signed for a mortgage all those years ago

$120, William Shatner.
$100, Sir Patrick Stewart

And that's if you don't include hotel, travel, conventions, etc, star trek cruise to get said autographs.
And no; I don't regret the purchases... as my Star Trek Translites never looked so good.

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Can’t say that I even have any autographs. Sounds neat though. I can delay a brief story though. My parents were flying somewhere and Terry Bradshaw happened to be on the flight. Being Steelers fans my mom wanted to get his autograph. She conjured up the hootspah to go up to him and ask. He never even looked at her according to dear old mom and simply said let me have the napkin. Signed it again without even looking at her and said here. She returned to her seat, crumpled it up and threw it away.

I have tons of comics, posters, statues , original comic book art, 5 marvel stern pinballs, 1 vintage spuderman pinball, and a 4 player xmen arcade autograph with Coa by the one and only Stan Lee ..... One of the most humble and friendly persons I've ever meet ...here we are eating at one of my restaurants.

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So weird, I think the best country to live anonymous as a star, is here in belgium. When we see/met somebody famous, it's maximum more like a silent whisper; "psst, that's ****" and thats it.(except those idiot #hipsters)

During my technical prefession I've met a couple douzen of them(national/international/american) and it's like; "morning, let's see how we can fix ur problem", most of the time after 30 or so minutes, they start to talk about there status themselves during coffee, others enjoy that they don't have to talk about there career, but just normal human things.

this is the best autograph anyone can receive..

The only autograph worth paying for is one from spfxted

Great stories!

Was that big estate sale Ackerman?

I had a chance a few years ago to buy all 4 Beatles's signatures on a airline menu card when they were on a plane coming over to the USA. It was like 250.

Kick myself for missing that one.

I have a new appreciation for signed autographs. Interesting thread.

I think the only autograph I have is "Weird Al" Yankovic.

I’ve got a lot of autographs most were free. The most I paid was $50 for Chevy chase. $50 for hank Aaron, and $35 for mike Tyson. I’ve been given some. Some just cost me time waiting. And 1 of them just cost me a beer.

I cant get to my other pics but here's a few posters (in the background) I had signed by cast members. Other posters you cant see with signatures are Dawn of the Dead, Weird Science, Hellraiser and Return of the Living Dead.

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$0 since pinball celebrities don't charge.

$5.00 for Joe Montana at a Shrine East/West game at Stanford U!!!!

I havent opened my autograph box in 30 years....nothing super special in there, but back then, they were free, with a postage paid envelope, or
just patience at a show.

The most it did ever "Cost" me was a trade. 1976-77, 11 AM, Spring Training at Tinker Field, Yankees vs Twins.
We cut school, and drove to the field to be a couple of the 20-30 kids that showed up.
Of course, Mickey Mantle, my Hero was there. Everyone wanted his autograph.
I dont remember the exact exchange, but it was like, "Its time for a Beer for Lunch", I traded a Beer to Mickey for his signature.
(I was 16 with fake IDs, and we snuck bottles in)

Your mom needed to understand Terry's perspective before approaching him.

For your mom, it's just a minute or two of his time. But to Terry, it can easily be a daily perpetual interruption that has been occurring for years or decades, at a time when he's not seeking attention.

He still signed for her, but your mother wasn't satisfied because he didn't engage with her at all.

He might've known it would draw more attention to him, destroying any temporary anonymity he may have had. And your mom would be back in her seat happily unaware.

Personally, I feel bad for Bradshaw in this story.

Amen brother!

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Johnny Bench and Pete Rose in the same year. Think it was $40? $80? Per piece. But worth it to be able to meet 2 baseball greats. Can't find Pete's photo.

Also got a Kurt Warner on a mini-helmet. I worked at their (St. Louis Rams) training camp the season after they won the super bowl in 2000. Talk about someone the kids need to look up to. Every day, after having two long practices in summer heat, he would walk the entire line of kids and sign autograph for up to 2 hours after every practice. Every day.

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You collect pinball machines, you should be more careful about judging other people's hobbies...

Is there really no reference to a divorce decree or something here? I am disappointed...

Brad

I think the only autograph I have is by Steve Ritchie on my STTNG apron with a gold pen. Looks really good there. No charge.

Les Paul, Norm Abrams, Jerry Mathers, and Stephen Ambrose were generous with their time and didn't charge a dime.

I find with a nice personalized letter, a SASE and your own item (sports card, photo, etc), many sports figures and celebs are happy to sign for free or on the cheap. But not seeing it signed in person you run the risk of an autopen (machine signed) or the secretary/management company scribbling the signature on it and dropping it back in the mail without the person actually seeing it. My wife paid for Elvira's signature for a birthday gift for me a few years back, and it was quite pricy, from what I recall. I have a guest bathroom where I hang all the celebrity signatures I have gotten over the years, and I've got all of them for the cost of a stamp, except Elvira. Granted, I'm not going after A-listers to get a signature--highlights of the autograph bathroom include Lee Majors, Dee Snyder, Super Dave Osborne, the Iron Shiek and Bob Barker. My gameroom is decorated with signed photos of New York Islanders, and the most I've paid at a signing is $45, for a Mike Bossy autograph...but again, the rest came for free, or from a small donation to a charity.

I've extended my autograph hobby into pinball, getting designers to sign an apron card to display on the games they've designed. Most have been very receptive. A few went above and beyond. Only one has requested a "signing fee" (you can probably guess who) and one has rebuffed my requests completely (again, easy to guess who--he's as slippery as an eel).

Or relatives of the celebrity signing them to help out.

And you run the risk of them keeping them. You don't have to return items you didn't request.

LTG : )

True enough. For most of the NY Islanders I send 8x10 autograph requests to, I send along an extra copy of the photo for the player to keep...that's usually enough to get them to return the photos as I do a lot of digging to find some unique photos. I've dug so deep into the roster that I've sent to guys that only played a handful of games with the team. The hard part isn't tracking them down, it's finding a decent high res picture of them in the Isles uniform.

Here are some pictures.. I have tons, including 60% of baseball hall of famers, those are packed up now.

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Forgot the great one! I've met him several times now.

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The thought occurs to me, "nothing" is not a payment...

i agree Awesome Guy...

I have a lot of mixed feelings about autograph collecting, even though I can't stop. I never understood why a celeb couldn't sign a few index cards while doing nothing, say sitting on a plane, and hand them out if asked. Gretzky rarely turns anyone down, thats why he's known as the great one. Ali signed if you could get to him through his security. Do I feel bad for bradshaw, hell no. He wants fans to cheer for him. He makes millions from sports announcing, that requires ratings. The flip side is be nice to your fans and sign a bit without being a douche.He was on a plane, not out to dinner or somewhere with his family. It takes so little to make someones day, I wish I had that power.
A few more stories off the top of my head. I remember Bob Uecker running away from fans after announcing a baseball game. If he moved that fast while playing, he would have been an all star. Ritchie ashburn would sign for everyone. One of my greatest items is a picture of me and ritchie he signed.
David Ogden Stiers was a nasty guy. I never met him but heard he would berate anyone asking for an autograph. He wondered why he was accosted for an signature every time just because of his profession. If he had said that to me, I would have replied why does your profession get perks and awards. You can't have it both ways.
Joe Namath walked into a hotel and signed for a bunch of kids saying they couldn't afford the price they were asking at shows. I saw that in person.
I went to gym in vegas tyson was training at to get his signature. A kid was talking to me and said he was a fighter too. To humor him I had him sign a glove. That kid was floyd mayweather jr.
I heard ted williams was a nasty guy. He would sign a ball at a show and bounce it back to you.
You take a risk when asking for an autograph. If your hero turns out to be a dick, you feel terrible. On the other hand, when you meet someone you admire and they are cool, it makes it special.
I went to boxer diego corrales house to get him to sign in vegas. His wife said I just missed him. No problem, I would get him next time I was in town. He died in a motorcycle accident 2 weeks later.
I bought an F-Troop costume off of ebay. I showed it to larry storch at an autograph show. His manager liked it so I offered it to him in exchange for having coffee with larry in NY. I wanted my daughter to meet him. So me and my daughter had coffee with larry in NY in his apt.

They wouldn't say who the collector was, promised his family. But he had a ton of stuff. They said it was all garuanteed to pass authentication. Many allready had authentications on them. The guy had like 50 nimoy and shatner dual signed 8x10's. They were selling them for $60. Posters, pictures, comic books, you name it, he had it signed. I'll get the name of him though at the next estate auction they have.

there is a list of most forged signatures and i'm pretty sure the beatles are #1 on the list.

I wouldn't pay for an autograph. With one exception. I read years ago where a baseball player was sitting at a McDonalds and signing autographs for $15 each. A lot of people didn't think much of him until they saw a sign by a big jar next to him. He was raising money for a family in that town who lost everything they had in a fire. All the money he raised went to that family.

One person who amazed me at the practice round of the US Open golf tournament in 1991 was Seve Ballesteros. From the green to the next t box people tried to get autographs. Some players walked fast with the arms up to avoid getting a pen or pencil in the eye. Some would grab the item, scribble, then toss the item.

Now Seve had a temper, fired caddies on the course type stuff. I never thought much of him until that day. From green to the next t box, he'd only sign one or two things. He asked the persons name, who they were rooting for, what was making the day special for them, were they having fun, and hand the item back.

I became a huge fan of him that day. I was sad to hear when he died seven years ago.

LTG : )

A few book signing stories.
Pele was being advertised as signing at barnes and noble in NY 4 years ago to promote his book and world cup in brazil. I got there 2 hrs early and line was around the block and then some. Pele came late. His people kept walking around saying thank you for coming and Pele will sign everything. Yeah, he signed for 1/2 hr and ran out of there. Luckily I was near the front door and could return my book before the stampede.

Tina Louise had a book signing for her childrens book. A real pile of excrement book. There was a big sign when you walked in, Tina will NOT sign anything besides her book.

Jimmy Carter signed up to 5 extra books if you brought them to his book signing. You had to go through a tunnel of secret service agents who were very professional and very thorough. Not a bad deal if you bought the books used for $1 at used book store.

I had rowdy roddy piper sign his real name reginald tooms in his book. He had a smile on his face the whole time, loved meeting his fans. He would sign anything, but paused at each item to reflect on a memory.

At superstar billy grahams book signing, I was first in line. A reporter asked me how long I was waiting. I replied "40 years". Not bad for off the top of my head.
He also signed all 3 of his action figures for me.

I brought an action figure to brooke shields book signing. I was last in line. Her manager sees the figure and leaps up, no extra autographs, only the book. Yeah, thats what I wanted, a book on post partum depression. I caught her going out the back and she wouldn't sign. She just said I should sell the figure on ebay. Thanks Brooke. A few years later I saw her try and get into a boxing match at madison square garden, but VIP security didn't know who she was and wouldn't let her in. I did get her to sign an index card as she was walking away.

I went to a adam corolla book signing. My neighbor/ friend loved the movie Hammer, so I had corolla sign the poster and gave it to him for christmas.

raquel welch would only sign her book. she said to send everything else to her fan club. At least I got to meet her. Still hot.

I’m guessing the winner of this thread is going to be somebody that got an autograph on divorce papers. That can be a pretty expensive signature.