Autograph Collecting Tips

• Although the autograph you have obtained in person may be real in your eyes, an authenticator does not use your vision when determining if it’s real or not.

• Strive for quality not quantity.

• Don’t buy mass-produced pieces. Usually the fewer numbers that exist of an item, the more potential there is to increase in value.

• Don’t react to the market; let the market react to you.

• Don’t try to graph a celebrity who is with their family.

• Don’t request multiple autographs at the expense of others getting none.

• Interrupting a celbrity for an autograph is rude.

• Don’t lie to other collectors. Information is a form of currency in the autograph trade. Knowledge about where someone is and when they will be somewhere is precious. This rule should not be interpreted as a suggestion that you should give up your intel when someone asks for it—just don’t intentionally mislead them. That’s bad form.

• Say “please” and “thank you”

• Give people – celebs and other collectors- their space. It’s a natural instinct to descend upon a celebrity once they get into range. But I wonder how many more autographs we would get if we lined up in an orderly fashion and politely asked someone to sign. It only takes one person to start a bum rush and, in most cases, it usually ends poorly.

• Don’t trespass to gain access to a celebrity.

• Share with others. If you see a child waiting for the same autograph from a celebrity – slip him a sharpie and a few index cards if you have them. It is the right thing to do.