High autograph prices

[TerraHawk]

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.

 

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*

 

I think any organiser would be open to criticism if David Tennant or Matt Smith were £50 - it would be out of reach of many of their fans. The ones who's parents do the paying.

[TurkFox]

I think any organiser would be open to criticism if David Tennant or Matt Smith were £50 - it would be out of reach of many of their fans. The ones who's parents do the paying.

Have to agree there! All the other Doctors only charge £15 and I don't care if people say "but it's a much bigger thing nowadays", they're still just Doctors like the others

[crippsy_99]

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.

 

I think any organiser would be open to criticism if David Tennant or Matt Smith were £50 - it would be out of reach of many of their fans. The ones who's parents do the paying.

 

And you can get them on ebay for £35 or less

*waits for the cries of "But you dont meet them in person then!!!"*

Edited June 29, 2010 by crippsy_99

[cybernator_uk]

I am not a fan of Mike Tyson so I won't be paying it, HOWEVER, if there is somone I want to meet, it isn't bout money. My friend rung me to tell me Shatmeister was 35 for sig/photo shoot. First thing I said? "Here is my card number, book the photoshoot please."

 

It shouldn't be about us complaining about it should be cheaper. When you think the average price signature is 15gbp and we don't just get the signature, we get it persoanlised and a chance too meet the person with a handshake and if we are lucky, a photo at the desk. When you think about it in those terms 15gbp is good value and I consider all these one-off chances.

 

How many times will be able to say "I met Patrick Stewart" or "I met Mike Tyson."

 

If you look at it like that, what we pay is good value for money.

 

And I have finally purchased my talk with William Shatner and Katee Sackhoff photoshoot.

[jayjedi]

Not taking sides but i think that showmasters guest prices are slightly lower than other certain event managment prices . The 1 example that that stands out is Alan Harris, who played Bossk in ESB. £10 twice last year at showmasters events...... then £15 in march... not saying where but you get my drift

 

There are plenty of £10 guests if you dont have the biggest of budgets and a couple of whoppers if you fancy splashing out. at the end of the day you dont HAVE to get the signatures and its like anything else in life you have to limt yourself to within your means... i would bloody love a porsche but am stuck with a vectra and as for the Parents who end up paying thing, well i try and give my kids as much a i can but if they wanted the latest iphone everytime one came out i'd be broke. i have a budget like most and you just have to stick to it...Mike i'm coming to see you baby but not this time Mr Shatner

[DavidB]

I think any organiser would be open to criticism if David Tennant or Matt Smith were £50 - it would be out of reach of many of their fans. The ones who's parents do the paying.

Have to agree there! All the other Doctors only charge £15 and I don't care if people say "but it's a much bigger thing nowadays", they're still just Doctors like the others

While I certainly wouldn't expect anything near £50 for those two, I'm sure people would agree that it's more than possible they'd be more than £15 considering their rarity etc. I'd be absolutely shocked to pay the same for them as for Doctors that have regularly done the con circuit for years.

[Grazer]

If the last few signings he's done is anything to go by, the price has been largely dictated by his handlers but that's just personal opinion

[TerraHawk]

Not taking sides but i think that showmasters guest prices are slightly lower than other certain event managment prices . The 1 example that that stands out is Alan Harris, who played Bossk in ESB. £10 twice last year at showmasters events...... then £15 in march... not saying where but you get my drift

Funny thing was I didn't mind spending £15 on Chris Munkle or Norman Chancer (they seemed to do well enough) sometimes it easier to cross a few at a time rather than a dozen at once, Then I saw John Chapman round the corner from them who was signing free in return for buying his book.

 

And you can get them on ebay for £35 or less

 

You can get some very dubious fakes on eBay for less. And more.

 

But you can imagine the field day the press would have - children in tears coz their parents wouldn't pay the 'silly' money. Not good publicity for current UK actors.

[crippsy_99]

at the end of the day you dont HAVE to get the signatures and its like anything else in life you have to limt yourself to within your means...

 

I did that once years ago when I started doing signings. Thought no, i'll save my money..James Doohan will be back again and i'll get him next time..he never was!

So some people could be thinking like this..what if they miss them now because they cant afford them, and something happens..

Now I try not to miss anyone, so technically I DO have to get the signatures or risk never getting that person again!

 

But as ive said, I understand why guests cost what they do.

Edited June 29, 2010 by crippsy_99

[echoamaru]

*wading in with two cents worth, thanking dufrense and Count Fooku for making me laugh this evening as I read through this topic*

 

I kinda agree with Poppy on this.

 

I'm interested to see the 'bigger' guests being announced, but whether the price is too high for me does depend on how much I personally want to see them. For example, I'm not a especially a Shatner fan or a Tyson fan (Jonathan Frakes is my 'most wanted' auto/photoshoot at this event); I thought about meeting Mr Shatner, but decided that £35 was more than I wanted to pay to meet him. When Mr Tyson was announced, I found myself thinking "£50, hmmm.... but it is Mike Tyson!", and I'm thinking of getting a photoshoot. And he isn't a guest I would have automatically thought "yes - if he is announced, I'm definately meeting him, no matter how much!"

 

I commend SM for going for the bigger names - if Robert Downey Jr or Johnny Depp were announced I'd be first in line. However, I'd like to say (just for the record) that the lower priced guests are still definitely of interest to me! Please do go for the big names, but please carry on bringing us the lower priced guests too! (I know, I just want it all! )

 

Echo

[adriangill]

I can quite happily accept that 'bigger' and/or the more rare guests will cost more. If I can afford those that I want to get auto/photos from then great. If I can't then so be it, no complaints here. I certainly wouldn't begrudge those that can afford it the opportunity. If you can get these guests then get them!

 

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 am liking this

 

 

 

While I certainly wouldn't expect anything near £50 for those two, I'm sure people would agree that it's more than possible they'd be more than £15 considering their rarity etc. I'd be absolutely shocked to pay the same for them as for Doctors that have regularly done the con circuit for years.

Along with Christopher Eccleston I would expect Tennant and Smith to be more than £15 as well.

 

Now I try not to miss anyone, so technically I DO have to get the signatures or risk never getting that person again!

Same here!

[dufresne]

*wading in with two cents worth, thanking dufrense and Count Fooku for making me laugh this evening as I read through this topic*

 

*takes a bow*

[TommyT]

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.

Au contraire, mon brave. I asked for it to be sent over chilled; there was no suggestion that I was going to whip the corks out and glug them down straight away like some dipsomaniac oik. In the current climate, with the mercury headed towards 30C, and traffic an absolute b*/gger, if the Count sends them chilled then they can slowly warm up here to an optimum 16 or 17 C whilst they breathe. Send them over unchilled and they're in danger of arriving too warm. (I assume the Count's man is still driving that glorious old shooting brake which certainly never had anything so hi-falutin' as air conditioning...)

[BeatrixKiddo88]

Ahahaha I only used Smith and Tennant as examples of the type of guest I'd personally be willing to pay big money for.

 

I doubt they would ever be that high, but if they were, I'd pay for multiple autos in a heartbeat.

[DavidB]

Personally I'd only pay that much for Smith if he came with Orbital and they performed together

[keithporter23]

TommyT - as the Count and I can confirm; the lack of presence of any tannins in white wine, means there is no need to let it breathe! I believe you should fire your sommelier immediately!!!

Edited June 29, 2010 by keithporter23

[showmasters]

 

And you can get them on ebay for £35 or less

*waits for the cries of "But you dont meet them in person then!!!"*

 

 

BUT ARE THEY REEL ? or just a peace of worthless junk ??

 

jason

[hobbitfanatic]

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!

 

Didn't this happen with Andy Serkis as well all the hobbit guys we're £20 and Andy was £15 then they put him as £20

[showmasters]

thanks for your input on this i do think that most of you are thinking the same as us , but i will say this i have fought very hard over the years to keep prices down , and i will still be doing this , as i feel the shows work so well because of the prices being fair to the fans .

 

we are also working on the agents and guest to allow photos at the tables when ever we can , this is also something i feel should happen , and i want you all to know we fight for this all the time and will keep on at this .

 

the only time we go to stop photos at the table is when we see that some fans will not get to meet the guest as there are to many fans wanting to meet the guest , so if that happens we some time do then say no photos at the table so help make this happen for the last fans of the day

 

anyway thanks for the input and for keeping it nice and constructive good on you all thank you for helping us learn and improve the events we run for you

 

thanks

 

jason

[TommyT]

TommyT - as the Count and I can confirm; the lack of presence of any tannins in white wine, means there is no need to let it breathe! I believe you should fire your sommelier immediately!!!

There's more to breathing than the polymerisation of tannins. Some white wines certainly do benefit from breathing, sometimes amazingly so. (I wouldn't have believed it myself until somebody demonstrated it to me some years back. The palate doesn't lie).

 

I think any organiser would be open to criticism if David Tennant or Matt Smith were £50 - it would be out of reach of many of their fans. The ones who's parents do the paying.

Have to agree there! All the other Doctors only charge £15 and I don't care if people say "but it's a much bigger thing nowadays", they're still just Doctors like the others

Yeah, and Neil Armstrong's just another astronaut, Chuck Yeager's just a pilot, and Clint Eastwood is just another guy who used to be mayor of a small American town

[JacknDaniel]

Jason, nice to see your honestly with regards to the prices, and photos at the table. The only thing I would say is that it's made sure that all crew members know this, as quite often i've felt as if I don't want to put the guest in an awkward position, so I have asked the crew member with the guest if I can get a posed photo, and they've been very dubious about it. Most times I have been lucky, but one that sticks in my head is George Takei at C-London last year, where he wasn't busy, and people had been getting their photos with him. I met him and asked the crew member if I could have a photo with him to which I was told 'no BECAUSE he's doing a professional photo session'

 

This has always annoyed me as we're told that guests we won't be denied photos for this reason

[gibbo247]

If the prices was to go up, i probably won't bother getting any of them.

There should be a cap on the prices. No more than £40. Not everyone can afford that, even.

I enjoy going along and getting some autographs, but i would not pay what i would call an excessive amount.

Every time i go along i usually end up sending £250 - £400 on autographs and photoshoots.

Most of the "stars" are there, because we have put them there, buying dvd's, t-shirts, watching programmes, films etc.

Without us, the fans, they wouldn't be able to sell their time to sign.

Please understand i'm not saying that they should do it for free.

I don't mind paying a reasonable price, however there should be a limit.

You get the idea.

[Count Fooku]

TommyT - as the Count and I can confirm; the lack of presence of any tannins in white wine, means there is no need to let it breathe! I believe you should fire your sommelier immediately!!!

There's more to breathing than the polymerisation of tannins. Some white wines certainly do benefit from breathing, sometimes amazingly so. (I wouldn't have believed it myself until somebody demonstrated it to me some years back. The palate doesn't lie).

 

Breathe? Tannins? What a load of bloody rot, I don't pay these oiks who work for me £5,000 a year so that I have to worry about what temperature the jollop should be served at. Leaves a chap more time to enjoy the real red blooded pursuits like chasing the local ruddy cheeked fillies round the stables what!

 

I should correct one point though, I wouldn't go after someone with a shotgun and tweeds over a point of minor protocol, much more sporting to don the old fox huntin' garb and go after them with a horse and a pack of hounds.

[MikeDonovan]

Most of the "stars" are there, because we have put them there, buying dvd's, t-shirts, watching programmes, films etc.

 

I get quite annoyed with this point of view. They do a job, for which they get paid a market rate. Acting is a profession, just like being an architect, a profession that requires a great deal of training and hard work. And they should be paid for it. They don't owe you anything. They've made a product (a film) that you've decided to buy. You really need to understand that you didn't put them there - what put them there was their hard work. By suggesting otherwise you devalue their profession. This also goes for writers, directors, musicians, any of them.

 

If the prices was to go up, i probably won't bother getting any of them.

There should be a cap on the prices. No more than £40. Not everyone can afford that, even.

I enjoy going along and getting some autographs, but i would not pay what i would call an excessive amount.

Every time i go along i usually end up sending £250 - £400 on autographs and photoshoots.

 

Fine, you can't (or won't, more properly) pay more than £40, that's up to you. But if others want to, that creates a market. And when Kevin Costner comes over and charges £75, I will be getting a Silverado poster signed.

Edited June 30, 2010 by MikeDonovan

[JacknDaniel]

If the prices was to go up, i probably won't bother getting any of them.

There should be a cap on the prices. No more than £40. Not everyone can afford that, even.

I enjoy going along and getting some autographs, but i would not pay what i would call an excessive amount.

Every time i go along i usually end up sending £250 - £400 on autographs and photoshoots.

Most of the "stars" are there, because we have put them there, buying dvd's, t-shirts, watching programmes, films etc.

Without us, the fans, they wouldn't be able to sell their time to sign.

Please understand i'm not saying that they should do it for free.

I don't mind paying a reasonable price, however there should be a limit.

You get the idea.

The prices aren't going up, you'll still be paying the same amount for the calibre of guests you have been previously. But you don't expect them to get Harrison Ford and charge £25 an auto do you? They'd go bankrupt. What they're saying is if we want more A-Listers, they'll have to charge more to meet them, which is understandable. Your solution to the problem is basically saying 'dont get A-Listers' which isn't good for anyone as people do want to meet them