If it's not personalised, I may as well buy from a dealer..?

[Avengers7]

I dont agree with reasons for not personalising to be honest. How long would it take for the person that takes your money to write your name on a post it note or something and put it on the photo. So when the photo is handed to the guest they can see who to make it out to straightaway. For example it would take 2 seconds to write "To Bob" on a picture.

The counter-argument is that all those two seconds add up across hundreds of autographs, which is true enough.

 

However, I too prefer personalisations, and I'd rather that autographs were limited to one per person than have dedications stopped.

 

Yeah I think that if a guest is THAT busy then people should be limited to 1 or 2 autos that can be personalised rather than up to 5 each that cant. Would mean more people get at least 1 signature.

At the chevron con werent people limited to 1 in person autograph from RDA?? Maybe that was for a different reason but the logic is the same.

 

I disagree - if you have 5 items to sign then there no reason why you shouldnit as for 5. Limiting the amount can cause as many problems as not limiting. I remember in London last year, there was a no limit on Denis Lawson autographs and some people were getting 10, 20 etc autos.

[alisonloub]

I dont agree with reasons for not personalising to be honest. How long would it take for the person that takes your money to write your name on a post it note or something and put it on the photo. So when the photo is handed to the guest they can see who to make it out to straightaway. For example it would take 2 seconds to write "To Bob" on a picture.

The counter-argument is that all those two seconds add up across hundreds of autographs, which is true enough.

 

However, I too prefer personalisations, and I'd rather that autographs were limited to one per person than have dedications stopped.

 

Yeah I think that if a guest is THAT busy then people should be limited to 1 or 2 autos that can be personalised rather than up to 5 each that cant. Would mean more people get at least 1 signature.

At the chevron con werent people limited to 1 in person autograph from RDA?? Maybe that was for a different reason but the logic is the same.

 

I disagree - if you have 5 items to sign then there no reason why you shouldnit as for 5. Limiting the amount can cause as many problems as not limiting. I remember in London last year, there was a no limit on Denis Lawson autographs and some people were getting 10, 20 etc autos.

 

I was standing behind a guy in Robert E queue and he had about 6 items to be signed, which when a guest is busy I thought was a bit excessive, the same happend today as I was with Robert P, a guy was with the other Robert and he had a massive box full of items to be signed and the queue was massive! the guy yesterday was getting it all personalised so I would guess they were all for personal use, but the guy today was just getting autos, so I guess he will be selling them soon, esp the one that Robert said was rare!

[jael001]

As well as conventions, I go to some Premieres to get the real A-List people and I've only ever got one personalisation (Chris Pine from the new Star Trek, which made my year as I am, first and foremost, a Trekkie) but I have stories to go with all my other autographs that are unique and add colour to the autograph and sometimes you get a nice moment with the star, something they say to you that makes for a great memory. So personalisation isn't everything to me, it's the story around it that matters.

 

That reminds me, my only personalised autograph at a premiere is from Christian Bale who apparently always personalises to stop his autographs being sold on ebay. When I met Ewan McGregor at The Island premiere he was amazing, he signed then put the cap back on his pen and stood and chatted to myself and the people I was with for a good few minutes. It's moments like these that are far more memorable to me than a signature on a photo or piece of paper or whatever.

[Queen_Sindel]

I was standing behind a guy in Robert E queue and he had about 6 items to be signed, which when a guest is busy I thought was a bit excessive, the same happend today as I was with Robert P, a guy was with the other Robert and he had a massive box full of items to be signed and the queue was massive! the guy yesterday was getting it all personalised so I would guess they were all for personal use, but the guy today was just getting autos, so I guess he will be selling them soon, esp the one that Robert said was rare!

 

 

If the Virtual Queue system is in place the limit normally is 5 items per person.

Denis Lawson was an exception to that which Jason had previously announced.

[TerraHawk]

a guy was with the other Robert and he had a massive box full of items to be signed and the queue was massive! the guy yesterday was getting it all personalised so I would guess they were all for personal use, but the guy today was just getting autos, so I guess he will be selling them soon, esp the one that Robert said was rare!

 

That might have been someone for Tenth Planet, getting all the stuff signed for people who preordered by them.

 

On the other hand people are fully entitled to get stuff signed to sell on if they so desire. If I wanted 3 items myself, bought 6, and sold the other 3 for twice what I paid for them, those sales would pay for mine. Never actually tried it though. I've seen other people sell on eBay right after a show and get less than what they paid to get them done! Ebay customers seem to think they are overpriced!

[TurkFox]

Autographs are a nice thing to have, but for me it's about having met the person myself and the autograph is usually just a means to an end - so I don't buy from dealers. I made one exception earlier this year, but it was very cheap, rather an obscure one to have bothered to fake and a great photo that I would have paid for even without a signature on it so it doesn't really count.

 

Personalised or not doesn't matter to me at all, in fact if I'm trying to get several on a boxset or picture, I prefer just having my name on there once (or not at all).

[Scifi]

I decided after my experience this time at CM17 that I don't want to pay for any more Autos without a personalisation.

From my point of view, its too big a part of the experience and I would rather pay more so that the guest is less busy or just not get their auto.

 

I guess its also a good reflection on how long you are likely to get with the guest.

[chimmykins]

I don't mind if I get personalisations or not, it's about meeting the guest, though I do prefer my 10x8s personalised (tend to get collectables personalised).

 

The only non in person autos I have are from guests who are no longer with us.

[alisonloub]

a guy was with the other Robert and he had a massive box full of items to be signed and the queue was massive! the guy yesterday was getting it all personalised so I would guess they were all for personal use, but the guy today was just getting autos, so I guess he will be selling them soon, esp the one that Robert said was rare!

 

That might have been someone for Tenth Planet, getting all the stuff signed for people who preordered by them.

 

On the other hand people are fully entitled to get stuff signed to sell on if they so desire. If I wanted 3 items myself, bought 6, and sold the other 3 for twice what I paid for them, those sales would pay for mine. Never actually tried it though. I've seen other people sell on eBay right after a show and get less than what they paid to get them done! Ebay customers seem to think they are overpriced!

 

 

I didn't realise that you can get autos on tenth planet for people preordered, this does explain why there were a few people getting more than one, I can understand it a bit more,

But I do think if the queue is quite long then it is a bit time consuming for the people standing behind them waiting, but that is just my opinion x

[tanusspijek]

Agree with quite a few others - its all about the experience.

 

Been doing the CM's from near enough the start and I only have a couple of pieces that haven't got my name on - Patrick Stewart and Alex Kingston (PS on a Tempest poster and AK on my DW poster)

 

Not a bad number considering the amount of signatures I have so I find it odd that people complain about the odd guest who has to rush due to amount of signatures or time constraints.

 

Even though rushed, I found Alex Kingston to be really nice and she found time to ask me about my poster and the signatures on it.

 

I'd rather have a non-personalised picture than a personalised picture but the guest was rude.

[Avengers7]

I wish the rules were made clear though - I heard Jason say that there were no limits on Alex's Auto very early on . However, I had 6 items I wanted Robert Patrick to sign (they were all for me) and was told to come back,

[Queen_Sindel]

I wish the rules were made clear though - I heard Jason say that there were no limits on Alex's Auto very early on . However, I had 6 items I wanted Robert Patrick to sign (they were all for me) and was told to come back,

 

The 5 item rule is in place if the VQ ticket system is running. That's the standard rule, and that's why you were asked to come back for Robert. Sometimes Jason decides to make an exception (like for Mr. Lawson at LFACC). You should be informed if there's an exception at the table where you pay.

[Puddle Jumper]

I never get mine personalised as to be honest... eventually (ie many many years in the future) they will either be sold or passed down to my boy who is looking like he is going to be a Star Wars fan at least.

 

In either case, having my name on them will not benefit anyone other than myself or someone with the same (uncommon) name as me.

[pez]

depends on what im getting signed all my trek stuff is auto only as the main stars tend to be no personalisations my heroes /spn/hp stuff is made out to paula if i can get it and so far any of my generic twilight ones are made out to pez after one guest at et2 signed it pez it sort of stuck.

 

i dont mind not getting a personalisation meeting some of the guests that i have in the past even just a sig and a bit of a chat is enough.

 

i have got autos that others have given or gotten me in the past but its not the same as i havent been there in person to get it myself.

 

one of my prized prossesions is a scrap of paper signed my sir ian mackellen that i got in the most random of sercumnstances in a coffee shop, its the experiance after all lol

[owlpost1992]

I dont agree with reasons for not personalising to be honest. How long would it take for the person that takes your money to write your name on a post it note or something and put it on the photo. So when the photo is handed to the guest they can see who to make it out to straightaway. For example it would take 2 seconds to write "To Bob" on a picture.

The counter-argument is that all those two seconds add up across hundreds of autographs, which is true enough.

 

However, I too prefer personalisations, and I'd rather that autographs were limited to one per person than have dedications stopped.

 

Yeah I think that if a guest is THAT busy then people should be limited to 1 or 2 autos that can be personalised rather than up to 5 each that cant. Would mean more people get at least 1 signature.

At the chevron con werent people limited to 1 in person autograph from RDA?? Maybe that was for a different reason but the logic is the same.

 

If that was Cheveron 7.6 (or something to that effect) could it have been he was very limited on time and more

People wanted his auto?

As for me i once bought John barrowmans auto cos I thought I would never meet him,

Lo and behold a few months later I met him also bought a auto from the guy who played the real jack harkness as he'd just missed the con and wasn't gonna do anything but again he came to a hub months later. But yeah, I do like to try and get mine from the guest themselves as it means a whole lot more as you can say you've met them rather then look at something and go still haven't met them and lie to yourself about it. On the subject of personalisations I do like them but im not fussed if I know how busy a guest is, for Alex I waited two hours for her queue and was one of the early ones so got photos of her writing and two personalisations so I think dedication being repaid like that is good. When I did the first hub I was literally the cut off point where John barrowman wouldn't personalise I was a pissed with this but I cheekily asked his sister to sign a german don't read, mods please delete mag that had an article of anything goes and once me and him had finished chatting over his gift he saw what his sister was doing and asked me if i wanted him to sign it as well which I said yes, well I wasnt going to turn down an offer like that! I'm not really into him or torchwood any more but I still have that fun memory and will keep it for a long time.

[Stenun]

If you take off the question mark, I agree completely with the thread title.

For me, it is COMPLETELY the same as buying from a dealer or from eBay if there is no personalisation. Partly because if the "no personalisation" rule is in place then it means the guest is too busy to really say much more than "hello" (or, as I found out this weekend, sometimes not even that) but also because it means more to me if it is personalised.

 

Look at it like this, pick your favourite star whom have ever met at a Showmasters event. You have the option of a non-personalised photo with just their signature or a personalised photo with a dedication and even a little message. Which do you pick?

I would imagine that, given the choice, the vast majority would go for the second. If the choice is there, you'd want the personalised option.

 

So from that, we can conclude that a personalised photo is better for most people than a non-personalised photo. Full-stop.

 

Now ...

I accept that the choice might not always be there.

So then it comes down to the pros and cons of the situation. Are the cons of a non-personalised photo greater than the cons of not meeting the guest at all?

For me, yes. Meeting a guest usually lasts a minute at most - occasionally a little longer. (I think the longest I've evern had chatting with a guest was with Bruce Boxleitner who read the synopsis of the Robert Rankin bok I had gotten signed and then we chatted briefly about film noir - all told, about 3 minutes). Whereas a signed photo lasts (hopefully) forever.

 

So I can pay £X to queue up, get a non-personalised photo and maybe 1 minute saying hello to the guest. After that, it's no different from buying it from a dealer.

Or, I can pay £X to queue up, get a personalised photo which will therefore be unique in the world, maybe 1 minute saying hello to the guest, and then the unique photo is mine forever - not aviailable from anywhere else at all.

 

So that's what it comes down to for me.

Not just the brief moment meeting the guest but also the uniquie personalised signed photo and - ideally - a unique photo that I take of them.

 

If the guest is too busy to provide that, then I'm paying my money just to queue up and say hello.

Or alternatively I can take longer finding a better photo or even wait a few years until they come back and are potentially less busy.

 

On two previous occasions, I walked away from near the front of the queue when I found the guest in question was not doing personalisations.

Sunday was the first time I ever stayed in line anyway. And I already regret it. Won't be doing it again.

[Count Fooku]

It's not always easy to answer this question, I remember meeting Leonard Nimoy at another event several years ago and there was a no personalisation rule in place. I got a 10x8 and my Star Trek book signed by him. While I'm happy with the non personalised signature in the book (the majority in there are just straight signatures) I've often looked back at the 10x8 and wished I'd not bothered with it because it feels like a very inpersonal item. I don't think it helped that it was a real conveyer belt system in place and he barely acknowledged me when he signed it. In many ways I tend to look at it like something I bought from a dealer.

 

On the other hand, the unpersonalised Sean Astin photo I have seems a lot better because we did at least exchange a few words as he was signing it. Same thing with my astronaut autographs. The majority of them are not personalised but because I've usually had a decent chat with the astronaut as they are signing it feels like a much more personal item.

[rosie727]

i think i remember saying to one of the crew after they said why didnt i just get a pre ordered autograph of darren morfitt rather than stay an extra day. my answer was whats the point of that i would like to meet the person, even if they dont personalise than just buy one.

btw darren did personalise both photos, so was well worth an extra day!!!!!

[TerraHawk]

Look at it like this, pick your favourite star whom have ever met at a Showmasters event. You have the option of a non-personalised photo with just their signature or a personalised photo with a dedication and even a little message. Which do you pick?

I would imagine that, given the choice, the vast majority would go for the second. If the choice is there, you'd want the personalised option.

 

There's different types of collectors, those who have a collection of people they've met, those who have a collection any way that they get signed. If I was told in a queue it was dedicated or not at all, I wouldn't get it, if I was paying for the item.

[Farqhuarbeedlebum]

Have to agree with the Count on this one. I actually don't mind having a non-personalised autograph if I feel I have been acknowledged in some way by the guest, for example have them look up from what they are signing or say "hello, how are you" etc.

 

The whole conveyor-belt set up can be so impersonal...... you might as well stand behind a barrier, give your photo to crew, watch it beign signed from afar and have it handed back to you.

 

Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Christopher Lloyd and now Alex Kingston ......they have all been as pleasant as possible under the circumstances and I have signed photos from all of them but I can't really say more than that despite having queued for hours and paid quite a lot of money for the "experience".

 

There has to be a better way of doing this..... maybe a premium queue where you pay an extra £5 for a personalisation. So if a guest is £15 and you have 5 items to sign and you want one personalised you pay 4 x £15 and 1 x £20. I'm sure there could be a special mark or box or something on the little slip of paper that is given out when you pay.

 

I just want to re-iterate, I think the crew do a great job of managing line-ups and peoples expections etc. I just believe their might be a better way to do this to keep more people happy.....

[DavidB]

Do you really think introducing a policy for charging extra for personalisations would go down well?

[Count Fooku]

I'm not sure thats the answer either, presumably if no personalisations are stipulated then its because either the guest has said they don't want to do them in which case I guess a few extra quid won't make much difference or if personalisations are restricted due to time constraints. Under the current arrangements at least everyone gets something (give or take a couple of exceptons), if some people were paying more to get extras (in the non Gentlemans club sense of the word) it might mean a lot more people going home with nothing.

 

I think the other problem with a two tier system would be around over the desk photos, added quotes, character names etc. You'd probably hear a lot more complaints of the "I paid an extra £5 therefore I should have got evrything I wanted" type.

[MinkyKnights]

Do you really think introducing a policy for charging extra for personalisations would go down well?

Nope. Especially as the market value of an unpersonalised autograph is greater. And the issue here is really time; not money.

 

If, as it's often said, the plan is to get through as many people as possible, as opposed to autographs, I think it would make sense to limit the number of items per person to one or two. It doesn't seem too fair that one person can get five signatures if they wish, while another can only get one but can't have their name added to it if they wish.

 

If the system for personalisation is efficent - ie, the names are taken at the money desk and added to the back of the slips - the time spent dedicating for one person versus the time spent signing multiple items for one person ought to be no greater.

 

If the VTs are exhausted and the queue goes open at any point, of course people should be able to get multiple items signed.

 

The problem with the system at the moment is that everyone pays the same amount of money per autograph, but not everyone gets the same service. (And again, I say this as someone who gets up at stupid o'clock and queues early - so far, I've always got what I've wanted at Showmasters events. I do understand others' complaints, though.)

[Farqhuarbeedlebum]

Do you really think introducing a policy for charging extra for personalisations would go down well?

Depends on how it is implemented. As an example Chase Masterson was comfortable asking people to donate £15 to charity for a photo over the table if you wanted one.....I'm sure if people still really wanted an over the table shot they paid for it, if they didn't want to pay for it they didn't.

 

With someone as busy as Karen is going to be, making it clear on the forum, website and on the day that her autograph is €25 (non-personalised....because we all know it is going to be anyway) or €30 (personalised) should work.

 

It seems to work with the sports guests, one price for an auto on a photo and another for an item. Or the astronauts one price for an auto and a different one for a completion (although I have no interest so I'm not 100% on this example).

[TerraHawk]

With someone as busy as Karen is going to be, making it clear on the forum, website and on the day that her autograph is €25 (non-personalised....because we all know it is going to be anyway) or €30 (personalised) should work.

 

You can of course in theory pay £6 extra for a dedication on the pre-orders from Tenth Planet. So you you have the ironic situation where those that meet her get non-dedicated, and those that don't do.

 

I say in theory, might be so busy they have drop those dedications too.

Edited May 31, 2011 by TerraHawk