What is a guest worth?

[Dom]

There seems to be alot of talking going on about the price of guests.

 

My argument is this, if you honestly think that anybody from the list above is going to come to a convention and that is a BIG IF with most of them! Do you honestly think for a second they will do it for £20 an auto? Get real people these guys can make more than that just doing a crap acting job for a day!

 

These are just a few of the great guests that im sure we would all love to meet and if people do not start sticking thier hands into thier pockets, it will not happen!

 

The argument this sets a dangerous precedent is valid, but the rules changed as soon as background characters started charging £15 and getting it. Im shocked Sean Astin & Bernard Hill were charging so little! Im 1000% sure Elijah Wood will not be £20 next time he comes around.

 

I have said it before, the only way to make these events grow is to get a guest that will make people take notice and bring people in that would never have thought about it before. Guests the caliber of Val Kilmer are a great start, but we need more!

[dufresne]

Christopher Lee every time ! But anybody charging 50 lids MUST personalise !!

[Dom]

Christopher Lee every time ! But anybody charging 50 lids MUST personalise !!

Yeah 100% agree with that, it would have to be otherwise you can just get them from a decent dealer

[Dom]

QUOTE (GoldenGreen @ Jun 1 2005, 10:57 AM)

The reasons the guests do the signing are all different, so this is bound to influence the cost of the autograph, because at the end of the day it is primarily based on their attendance fee.

 

And like anything else , you have to pay the going market rate , which is based on a whole range of things:

 

- their fame

- the roles they have played

- how often they do a convention

- what else they could be doing

 

etc etc

 

What concerns me is that the prices seem to be out of proportion, for example, normally in life prices are on a scale, so if you are buying a shed you don't expect to pay the rate for a 3 bedroom house. For guests that are stand-ins, body doubles etc surely these guys shouldn't be commanding more than a fiver, whereas the main star of a film or series on the balance of things could justify their charge.

 

Mark Hamill was the main part in the three of the biggest movies of all time, and what has become a cultural phenomenon. There are certain character names worldwide that you could probably say and people would know them, like Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Bilbo Baggins for example.

 

Then you have to decide what you can afford. Mark Hamill would be justified in charging £50 , but it doesn't mean you have to buy his auto, because each of us has our own value on what we put on things and also at the end of the day we our restricted by our own financial resources. You could choose to go and give blood and spend nothing, but potentially save a life, so you decide what is most valuable.

 

 

 

This was in another topic but illustrates the argument perfectly!

Edited June 1, 2005 by Dom

[porkfat]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

[Dom]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

Your only 100% safe bet on that argument is Christopher Lee, Star Wars,LOTR,Bond & Horror! They are the 4 biggest groups attending these shows!

[porkfat]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

Your only 100% safe bet on that argument is Christopher Lee, Star Wars,LOTR,Bond & Horror! They are the 4 biggest groups attending these shows!

 

Exactly.

 

But how many Christopher Lee's are there? Do you know what I mean?

[GoldenGreen]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

Your only 100% safe bet on that argument is Christopher Lee, Star Wars,LOTR,Bond & Horror! They are the 4 biggest groups attending these shows!

 

Exactly.

 

But how many Christopher Lee's are there? Do you know what I mean?

Thre is only one Christopher Lee of course, but there are other guests that will appeal to more than one audience group, for example, Robbie Coltrane - Harry Potter and James Bond.

[Dom]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

Your only 100% safe bet on that argument is Christopher Lee, Star Wars,LOTR,Bond & Horror! They are the 4 biggest groups attending these shows!

 

Exactly.

 

But how many Christopher Lee's are there? Do you know what I mean?

Exactly if he did a SM event there would be 1000 people a day for 2 days reckon on half of them geting 2 things signed. At £40 a hit thats £120,000, that is not a bad chunk of change!

[fugaziuk]

it should also be taken into account that some stars could come and not want to charge that amount of money in respect of thier fans! Like rutgaur hauer (sp don't know how to spell his name) was doing for charity at a previous event.

 

Plus i don't think that some of the stars who have an appreciation for their fans would want to charge at all! This is why i don't think you will see people like ewan mcgregor or brittany murphy

[Dom]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

Your only 100% safe bet on that argument is Christopher Lee, Star Wars,LOTR,Bond & Horror! They are the 4 biggest groups attending these shows!

 

Exactly.

 

But how many Christopher Lee's are there? Do you know what I mean?

Thre is only one Christopher Lee of course, but there are other guests that will appeal to more than one audience group, for example, Robbie Coltrane - Harry Potter and James Bond.

Yeah same goes for Ian McKellen xmen & lotr and Sean Bean LOTR, bond and loads of other good films!

[porkfat]

The idea is to find the right guest that can cover many different audiences.

 

It becomes a bit of a gamble if you ask for your audience to double their money if you deliver a guest specific to a particular movie/television series etc.

Your only 100% safe bet on that argument is Christopher Lee, Star Wars,LOTR,Bond & Horror! They are the 4 biggest groups attending these shows!

 

Exactly.

 

But how many Christopher Lee's are there? Do you know what I mean?

Thre is only one Christopher Lee of course, but there are other guests that will appeal to more than one audience group, for example, Robbie Coltrane - Harry Potter and James Bond.

Yeah same goes for Ian McKellen xmen & lotr and Sean Bean LOTR, bond and loads of other good films!

Can you see my point, though? In order for this to work, you would need to find somebody that can satisfy various (large!) audiences. Otherwise, the large fee would scare people away.

[old bloke]

the only one worth that money is Harrison Ford, given the parameters of the accepted genre that attracts people.

[Dom]

the only one worth that money is Harrison Ford, given the parameters of the accepted genre that attracts people.

Yeah but christ knows what he would want to do it, if he would even comsider it.

 

I would pay £50 to meet Sly Stallone though!

[indio]

i would pay 50 quid for bill shatner providing he would pose for a photo with me

[mistaken_plane]

Actually theres a flaw in your thinking.

 

Very big guests dont need to large wads of cash, so can charge less, because they have other soruces of income.

 

People who charge more are the ones who do this for a living.

[Sauron]

ian mcdiarmid but only if he did posed photos and dedications

Edited June 1, 2005 by Sauron

[Dom]

Actually theres a flaw in your thinking.

 

Very big guests dont need to large wads of cash, so can charge less, because they have other soruces of income.

 

People who charge more are the ones who do this for a living.

True but the people who do this for a living are easy to get and are everywhere, plus like you said they do this for a living.

 

Making somebody come who does not do conventions and has other commitments is the trick and at the end of the day money talks!

[Sauron]

have to agree with dom

[Dom]

have to agree with dom

Cheers Dude

[Sauron]

you are very welcome

[lams9999]

50 £ for SMG if she poses naked

 

Just kidding of course

 

I don't think I'll pay 50 £ for any signature of any actor BUT it's also probably because I know that most (if not all) of the actors you've chosen are highly unlikely. So if one of them do indeed appear, I may reconsider my position

[GoldenGreen]

Actually theres a flaw in your thinking.

 

Very big guests dont need to large wads of cash, so can charge less, because they have other soruces of income.

 

People who charge more are the ones who do this for a living.

Whilst it is true that a few possible guests will sign for charity, or not feel comfortable doing an event at all, most of them have an appearance fee which you have to meet.

 

For example, say David Boreanaz wants £50,000 to attend the event, this may or may not include his expenses, but lets keep it simple. To pay back this appearance fee showmasters have to get him to sign at least 1000 items at £50 each, or 2000 at £25 each.

 

On the face of it , this may well be possible, but I heard rumours that David actually charges an appearance fee of £100,000, so that means you would be looking at 4000 items at £25 each, or 2000 items at £50 . You get the idea !

 

If the guest is attending the event, particularly if travelling from overseas they are missing out on other opportunities , such as auditions, promotional work etc, so you can understand them wanting to be compensated.

 

They have a certain lifestyle which they presumably want to maintain.

[Dom]

Actually theres a flaw in your thinking.

 

Very big guests dont need to large wads of cash, so can charge less, because they have other soruces of income.

 

People who charge more are the ones who do this for a living.

Whilst it is true that a few possible guests will sign for charity, or not feel comfortable doing an event at all, most of them have an appearance fee which you have to meet.

 

For example, say David Boreanaz wants £50,000 to attend the event, this may or may not include his expenses, but lets keep it simple. To pay back this appearance fee showmasters have to get him to sign at least 1000 items at £50 each, or 2000 at £25 each.

 

On the face of it , this may well be possible, but I heard rumours that David actually charges an appearance fee of £100,000, so that means you would be looking at 4000 items at £25 each, or 2000 items at £50 . You get the idea !

 

If the guest is attending the event, particularly if travelling from overseas they are missing out on other opportunities , such as auditions, promotional work etc, so you can understand them wanting to be compensated.

 

They have a certain lifestyle which they presumably want to maintain.

Dude you are always so on my line of thinking, id let you shag my sister! (I don`t have one, but if I did you would be welcome to a bash )

[lams9999]

On the face of it , this may well be possible, but I heard rumours that David actually charges an appearance fee of £100,000, so that means you would be looking at 4000 items at £25 each, or 2000 items at £50 . You get the idea !

 

If the guest is attending the event, particularly if travelling from overseas they are missing out on other opportunities , such as auditions, promotional work etc, so you can understand them wanting to be compensated.

100 000 £

 

And I disagree with you because if they have an audition, work or whatever, they have the right to cancel their appearance ! So, okay, they work during a week-end meeting their fans instead of resting along the swimming-pool .... is that worth 100 000 £ ? I really don't know ....

 

But to be back on topic, the price asked by the big guests is a reason I don't really like to meet them. If you add that given their notority, their queue will be huge, which means several hours of waiting just to say hello and probably no personalisation and no posed pictures (naked or not ). I'd like better to meet smaller guests.