High autograph prices

[thepurplehoodedwarrior]

At the end of the day Showmasters are giving you the oppertunity to have an autograph whether you choose to take up that oppertunity or not for whatever is completly down to you.

As stated Showmasters are using Tyson for example to see if people are willing to pay that amount for "higher calliber" guests so will see for themselves if it's worth getting these guests and if people are willing to pay that amount.

I think the way the rates are worked out are fair, I won't be getting tyson's autograph as not a fan of boxing and although Hangover was a good film 75 quid for a cameo is too much for me but i won't begrudge anyone who does and commend showmasters for raising the bar. After all at least all prices are individual and not averaged out otherwise £15 for say kenny baker turns into maybe £40! At least you are paying for what you want and not contributing to someone elses.

For the record I would pay more for higher names, Would've paid £45 for christopher Lee, would pay more for Mark Hammil etc.

So staying on topic I think it's fair to raise the price as long as the guest warrents it I'e big name or rare signer.

 

[TommyT]

how awful that some people consider the Savoy high class, it's practically a McDonalds these days

Much as I wouldn't expect Stenun and his call for Marxist revolution to know these things, surely even the flakiest member of the nobility knows that there's no food to be had at the Savoy these days, be it gourmet or Macca's - the establishment has been closed for refurbishment since December 2007 and isn't scheduled to re-open for months. It makes me wonder if Fooku is all he's cracked up to be, or just some nouveau riche fake sheikh, a Wilko in Burke's Peerage, our very own Dis-count Fooku.

He can of course assuage my fears by sending his man over with a couple of chilled bottles of Montrachet, post haste.

In the meantime, consider the possibility that Mr Tyson may well attract a number of people who don't normally come to these shows. Who as well as paying admission may also spend on other stuff when they're inside, be it other guests or at the dealers. Thereby helping make the show a financial success and ensuring its future. Isn't that good for everyone?

[hobbitfanatic]

When showmasters booked christopher lee I would have loved to have met him but it was too much money. I had a few friends who wanted to met him and didn't care how much it was and I was really happy for them.

I understood what a big guest he was and that he should charge me.

I do know what it's like to want to see someone and not have the money but I do agree the auto price should be increased.

[timelord81r]

When showmasters booked christopher lee I would have loved to have met him but it was too much money. I had a few friends who wanted to met him and didn't care how much it was and I was really happy for them.

I understood what a big guest he was and that he should charge me.

I do know what it's like to want to see someone and not have the money but I do agree the auto price should be increased.

 

sm got chris lee? when? man bring him back asap!

[thepurplehoodedwarrior]

When showmasters booked christopher lee I would have loved to have met him but it was too much money. I had a few friends who wanted to met him and didn't care how much it was and I was really happy for them.

I understood what a big guest he was and that he should charge me.

I do know what it's like to want to see someone and not have the money but I do agree the auto price should be increased.

 

sm got chris lee? when? man bring him back asap!

He was announced I think but had to cancell unfortunatly!

[DavidB]

It was LFCC 2006.

[talie]

I don't see why anyone would complain about autograph prices if you want it that bad then you'll buy them if not you wont.

 

I'd rather them removed the upper price limit so these kinda of top quality guests can be brought in

[timelord81r]

I don't see why anyone would complain about autograph prices if you want it that bad then you'll buy them if not you wont.

 

I'd rather them removed the upper price limit so these kinda of top quality guests can be brought in

 

so SM have a price limit they work by?

 

scrap that, get the biggest guests possible please, even though im skint, the choice should be there, also the bigger they are the wider the audience, im aure tyson will bring ppl in who wouldnt normally come to lfcc, shame he couldnt of been announced in time for the flyers though

[DavidB]

It was mentioned at one point that they hoped to not go over £25, as a lot of people were discussing how expensive things should be etc. Obviously £15-20 will still be standard, with a few £10 ones and a few higher ones too now.

[talie]

It was mentioned at one point that they hoped to not go over £25, as a lot of people were discussing how expensive things should be etc. Obviously £15-20 will still be standard, with a few £10 ones and a few higher ones too now.

This is what I meant really haha Not saying that they had a strict limit!

 

Like David I thinkkkkkk and you timelord Im a photo person say for instance robert pattinson gets announced and his photos are £40 Im going to pay it lol, even though i got one for free at a premier.

 

I'm not really fussed about autos tbh haha but like most people have said I'd want the option there for those who could

 

People have mentioned premiers too.... tbf this is what pattinson signs at premiers:

 

 

LUCKILY x 149014901 we had queued so long and the security had seen a girl full on punch me in the face lol so his agent agreed to have him sign our stuff for us

Edited June 29, 2010 by Talie

[gobo1979uk]

I don't see that there is really an argument here. It stands to reason that the 'bigger' the guest the more costly it is for showmasters to get them to appear and therefore the more expensive it is for autograph.

 

I don't see why there should be a limit. To spare the feelings of those people who can't afford an autograph? Im sorry but them's the breaks and you are going to struggle in life if you can't accept them.

 

What an autograph is 'worth' (ie. not the price you could sell it on for) to a person and how much they will pay for it is also quite subjective. Personally I have no interst in meeting or getting autographs from Mr Tyson so to me it's not worth even £10 for an autograph. I will however be quite happy to pay £10 each for a number of Star Wars bitparters at shows. I would also happily pay £75-150 and higher for bigger/rare guests because, by definition, you wont be seeing them at every show and won't be paying out that much very often.

[skyhawker]

I paid £85 for Mark Hamill at Celebration Europe

It was 100% worth it

I would pay double that to meet Harrison Ford

[crippsy_99]

What if a guest see's another guest charging say £75 for their auto, while theirs is say £25, and cheaper guest now wants to charge more simply because they know people will pay more for an autograph and greed sets in?

Now im not saying it was greed at all, and I can see why they did it, but at one of the mk events years ago with John Frakes, Levar burton and I think another TNG guest, wasnt it one was £20, the other two were £15, then on the day decided to charge £20 because the one person was selling them for that price? I think thats what I remember hearing.

 

Anyway, while I do think Tyson's price is way too high, and I personally wont be getting an auto (unless I could get two and guarentee to make a profit selling one of them off ), if I was after his sig that desperatly, id prob still pay for it.

My trouble is is how many id get. Someone I really wanted to meet enough, like kiefer sutherland, if he was say £50, Id get two (an 8x10 and one of my cast shots I started years ago), but put him at £75-100, then id just get the 1 as its just silly money.

 

People I work with and know outside of autograph collecting think im nuts paying £10-20 per sig which I think is perfectly normal!

Edited June 29, 2010 by crippsy_99

[TerraHawk]

Obviously £15-20 will still be standard, with a few £10 ones and a few higher ones too now.

 

£10 is still the standard price for a UK guest; I'm pleasantly surprised Lis Sladen is in that price bracket actually. If £15 became the new £10 I probably would cut back substantially.

[DavidB]

What if a guest see's another guest charging say �75 for their auto, while theirs is say �25, and cheaper guest now wants to charge more simply because they know people will pay more for an autograph and greed sets in?

That's always going to be a potential issue unless all the guests are the same price, which is never going to happen so I guess they can't really afford to worry about that.

 

And I wouldn't always believe what you hear.

[keithporter23]

He can of course assuage my fears by sending his man over with a couple of chilled bottles of Montrachet, post haste.

 

You had to google that didn't you

[Charisma]

I think its a crazy price i wouldnt pay it... You could go to a prem and meet Higher stars and get autos for nothing... Just seems a lot of money now..its more like oh i wana meet a person i need to skrimp and save thats like a weeks wages for me for someone to scribble on someting... ill never do it.

But you get some people who wait all day and get absolutely nothing from a premiere, so surely for the right person you'd be happier to guarantee that you'll meet them?

No i wouldnt at the end of the day there only human like us that act.. i just could never jsutify it for no one not even Vincent Karthesier who i loveee lol but nope never would im more of getting photos then autos anyways but still wouldnt pay £50 to stand next to someone for 2 seconds.

[TerraHawk]

I paid £85 for Mark Hamill at Celebration Europe

It was 100% worth it

I would pay double that to meet Harrison Ford

 

Yeah that was amazing weekend. Cause Mark wanted to make time for everyone.

 

Always said my only regret was not getting two. Funny enough had he been £50 I probably would have.

[Poppy]

I am in two minds about this - I kind of agree what people are saying that its good to have the opportunity - however on the other hand I am slightly concerned that this will be an upwards thing. Will we eventually see the end of £10/£15/20 guests because everyone knows that people will pay more? Will soon every single guest being asking for more & all autograph prices go up, outpricing these events?

 

 

A few years ago Showmasters did say that they would not get certain guests where the autos would have to be over £25 - this is not a complaint or criticism at all, but I am very curious about what has changed? Could this mean we may get certain others guests that have been turned down in past because they would have to charge too much for autos?

 

I am very reluctant to spent £25 on a single auto, but I mean if Leonardo DiCaprio was at one of these events I think I would pay a higher but reasonable amount as have probably paid more than that going down to London a handful of times trying to meet him & mainly not suceeding!!

 

If these bigger guests like Mike Tyson are meeting less people because the prices are higher, do you get a better meeting or would you still be rushed through if necessary?

[BeatrixKiddo88]

It always depends who it is but I'm goign to use a few for examples:

 

Someone I like but who does cons a few times like Lis Sladen or even US guests like Frakes or Burton, I'd pay normal SM prices, up to £20.

 

Someone rare and great but not on my 'list' as it were (I'll get to that) I'd pay up to £50 for. Like Shatner, Matt Smith, Colm Meany.

 

Now for 'the list'. These are the people that are rare and I like so much that pretty much I'd pay anything as long as it wasnt going to actually bankrupt me or be the only auto I could get that weekend. Probably put my limit at £150 for those kinda people.

 

These include Harrison Ford, Robert Downey Jr, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johansson, Jack Nicholson.

 

 

So yeah, always down to who it is rather than the prices for me. If I want to meet someone bad enough, I'll pay pretty 'stupid' money.

 

But hey, cant help who your heroes are. And SM make it possible for people to meet their heroes *gets mushy*

[BACYLON]

Definately go for the big guests Jason, theres no harm in trying to entice them over here.

 

As for paying a high price, well finances permitting, how high people will go will depend on the guest and what it means to them.

 

So many different factors come into determining the limit for each of us, do we want to meet the actor/sports star, are we likely to get another opporunity, are they the only one left to complete a cast shot etc.

[touchthesky]

 

 

Like David I thinkkkkkk and you timelord Im a photo person say for instance robert pattinson gets announced and his photos are £40 Im going to pay it lol, even though i got one for free at a premier.

 

I'm not really fussed about autos tbh haha but like most people have said I'd want the option there for those who could

 

 

 

Yeah, I go for photos > autos as well. I like the photo as a wee memory thingy and cuz I'm not an autograph collector they dont really matter to me.

 

Only autos I really get are Twi-ones.

[The Dork Lord]

So yeah, always down to who it is rather than the prices for me. If I want to meet someone bad enough, I'll pay pretty 'stupid' money.

 

But hey, cant help who your heroes are. And SM make it possible for people to meet their heroes *gets mushy*

 

Very true. Take Collectormania 16. Jeffrey Combs is my favourite character actor, and his autograph was £15 (a far cry from some of the other autograph prices). As I enjoy his roles in Star Trek so much, I got three signed photos and one signed DVD (Re-Animator). Did I mind that I'd spent £60 plus about £15 for a photo shoot? Not one bit. The price was set, and it was my decision to pay that for the autographs I wanted. As a result I've got a great set of autographs and a professional photo that I'll treasure forever.

[MikeDonovan]

He can of course assuage my fears by sending his man over with a couple of chilled bottles of Montrachet, post haste.

 

You had to google that didn't you

 

Sadly, as I'm sure the Count will point out, TommyT has betrayed his semi-petit-bourgeouis origins by suggesting that Montrachet should be chilled. A true aristrocrat would know some white wines should be served at room temperature, and would certainly never chill a sophisticated wine like a Montrachet.

 

The mere suggestion has probably caused the Count to send his butler off to clean the guns! I can see TommyT running through the grounds now, chased by the Counts twin dobermans, while the Count calmly follows in his tweeds with his shotgun over his arm....

[Will Jones]

its interesting that you all see it the same way , mostly ? and in a way i do to , i know i can gook bigger guests but the fees would have to be more and that means the cost of an auto would be more .

 

for this sports guest i feel that i could just try this once to see if it would work , its his first world public signing so its a rare chance to meet this guest , and its seems to be working with fans coming from all over the world to meet him .

 

the thing is if i talk this limit off and book some more A list guest i know there will be people on here going on about how 5 years ago you go your Dr who guests at £5 and you could get another 4 items for free , this is not sastanable and no one can book the bigger names at these prices anymore .

 

i do feel that Showmasters have been able to keep the prices down and in cheque for the last 8 years as if you look back the £10 are still £10 and the £15 are still £15 and so on , i know we talk alot with the agents and brokers to keep it this way , there the odd exsepshions to the rule and it just comes down to if we want them to attend then we have to come up to the bar .

 

the london events has gotten bigger each year and i also feel that the event should go for a few more bigger names and A listers , i know there are lots of you out there that do understand that it will take the cost of an auto going up to get the bigger guests , i think we are sensable and will alwase try to keep the costs of an auto down for all the fans , but i agree its time to push the limits and see who we can book .

 

i do not think i can get this in play for this event but we will start to go for it for Collectormana London in Nov

 

i hope you will help me when we do get some negative feed back about pricing and help us to explaine why bigger names charge more , and i also hope that everyone on here knows that we do only have you in mind and we are the ones that have fought for years to keep the price of the autos down and we will still work very hard to do just that .

 

thanks you for this chance to talk openly about this and lets see what the future holds

 

yours

 

jason

I think that it is great that you have taken the time to explain, but I feel it is not needed. Things 5 or 10 years ago did not cost as much as they do today. I am old enough to remember being able to buy a pint of beer for a £1. Or £10 for a brand new computer game.

 

Mike Tyson is a marquee name that will bring the crowds in.

 

He can of course assuage my fears by sending his man over with a couple of chilled bottles of Montrachet, post haste.

 

You had to google that didn't you

 

Sadly, as I'm sure the Count will point out, TommyT has betrayed his semi-petit-bourgeouis origins by suggesting that Montrachet should be chilled. A true aristrocrat would know some white wines should be served at room temperature, and would certainly never chill a sophisticated wine like a Montrachet.

 

The mere suggestion has probably caused the Count to send his butler off to clean the guns! I can see TommyT running through the grounds now, chased by the Counts twin dobermans, while the Count calmly follows in his tweeds with his shotgun over his arm....

I have read this several times and am still laughing very loudly!!