packrat wrote:It's odd, but I was just thinking about giving up my project of trying to get the Heroes cast. I've had ONE success, and have quite a few out there since last October. Like you, I've seen successes from several of the actors from Heroes posted by others, but I only got one. It's almost like they recognize my name or something. "Hey Harry, here's another one from that guy from Upstate NY! Let's hide it behind the break room fridge!"

I got back something which I'd completely given up on (after waiting for over a year) which I was thrilled about, but it did make me wonder where on Earth it had been. I have a few requests out too which others have had back and I'm still waiting on.

Tiggedy2 wrote:That's because eBay and other such selling markets are hurting the hobby

You have no idea how much I hate eBay when it comes to dealers selling autographs. And it's not just eBay. It's also big-name dealers like Steiner who charge so much for an autograph it's cruel. On another site, I tried to wage a one-man campain to get people to stop purchasing autographs from these online dealers and to put them out of business, but to no avail. I was looked at as a guy who is as dumb as a bag of rocks. It just seems that there are too many people who have no clue and keep buying.

Barring that, he only real anti-dote I can think of is for the celebs to keep signing -- and to sign everything sent to them. That is something that is done by a couple of athletes that I know of. One is baseball Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who will sign for five or ten bucks TTM. The other is current Minnesota Twins pitcher Pat Neshek, who signs everthing you can send to him for free (and even has a blog where he lists an address where to send to him). The result is that it lowers the prices dealers can charge, and makes it not really worth their while to sell these guys' autographs. But that will never happen either.

Really, it's time for people to wake up and take back the hobby. Somehow.

Well I don't agree that they don't owe us anything, I mean the pleasure of my watching someone for maybe 90 minutes every year for 10 years is not equal to the lifestyle they get to live. So I think they do owe us something, and it's sad that we have to feel "oh, my gosh they were so nice to do that for me" nearly all the time.

In a way signing for fans should come as part of the package. Logisctically it would be impossible to sign for everyone, but it would be nice not to have the brick wall of "will they won't they?" to have to climb over.

Lots of things in the life of celebrities must be an inconvenience. Paying numerous minders, taking longer than ten people to get made up before an event. Signing autographs is no big deal ompared to other stuff they do.

But anyway. I too sometimes get irritated that people who send stuff out after me get theirs back quicker. But I think that maybe they liked my letter, they wanted to take their time signing by stuff. Maybe it took longer to get there than the other person's did. It's just one of many irritations that can flare up, but the good normally outweighs the bad.

My advice is this:

Spend what you can afford and still have it be a worthwhile activity for you.

In other words, if it costs $5 per request and you send out ten. How many do you have to get back in order to be happy? If the answer is 10, this probably isn't the hobby for you. If you get back one (where you essentially paid $50 for the autograph) would you feel like a sucker or be happy with the "purchase"?

The reality is that celebrities owe us zip (we get the benefit of the art they produce not a lien on their time) and fan mail is an inconvenience to everyone in the chain (from the PA who actually deals with it, to the celeb who might have to spend two hours signing their own name over and over again) and so signing is a courtesy and nothing more.

So, I send out stuff, stick it on a spreadsheet and forget about it. If it comes back, awesome, if I never see it again then that's life. I know where you are coming from (I keep seeing Dakota Fanning successes from people who sent theirs far later than I sent mine AND I contacted her agent directly) but getting angry does nobody any good. I will either get it back or I won't.

Think of it like the lottery 'cause frankly it's about the same thing. You buy a ticket and you hope. You have no right to win and no right to get your item back signed.

Personally, on balance, this has been a fun hobby for me and even the bad stuff (like when Schwarzeneggers staff fucked up my poster) can make for a good story.

Just remember, you have zero control over what happens...it's a chance to let go (very zen) and appreciate what comes...

Tiggedy2 wrote:

It helps if you ask the person you're writing to if they will personalize your pic/item. Lets them that know that your truly want it for you.
Lisa[/color][/b]

I ALWAYS ask that and some do .... some don't ... But yes, I agree - better way to make it lok that YOU really want it:-) Nice point, Lisa

The ratio is pretty slim in terms of successes though, i used to collect years ago and a lot better rate of success and not nearly as many pre-prints, sec's etc.... (no 'studio fan mail' back then

That's because eBay and other such selling markets are hurting the hobby. I have been at shows and seen people have a celeb sign 20 or more things. And I have heard some celebs ask people if they are going to sell their autograph on eBay. It helps if you ask the person you're writing to if they will personalize your pic/item. Lets them that know that your truly want it for you.
Lisa

guilder1st wrote:

dfreely wrote:The "someone sent after me, but already got theirs back" gets to me sometimes too.

Me too. Especially if you see some people getting a success within 2 weeks of sending, and your request was send out months ago. Oh well. With this hobby you win some and you loose some.

I guess we've all felt this way sometimes! :neutral:

Good luck with your requests!

I feel the same pain.....seeing someone else get something back lightning fast when i have request out to the same celeb for 3 months. But i guess we have to remember that we're only seeing the 'successes' there might be another 40-50 people waiting for the same celeb even longer and maybe the one success came through for some reason. The ratio is pretty slim in terms of successes though, i used to collect years ago and a lot better rate of success and not nearly as many pre-prints, sec's etc.... (no 'studio fan mail' back then )

If you enjoy the hobby then don't let those things get to you too much. I'm sure that at some point gotten your items signed faster than someone else. It's all the luck of the draw. There is no rhyme or reason why stars sign for some collectors and not for others.

guilder1st wrote:

dfreely wrote:The "someone sent after me, but already got theirs back" gets to me sometimes too.

Me too. Especially if you see some people getting a success within 2 weeks of sending, and your request was send out months ago. Oh well. With this hobby you win some and you loose some.

I do get (most of) them back eventually, though I still pretty much go into "Should I resend.." mode whenever it happens.