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Dedications on autographs - yes or no?


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I'd much rather be behind a dealer in a queue at a con than in front of one at a premiere (or similar event)... at least at the signing event I won't end up squashed to pieces and still end up without meeting the guest...

 

I've personally had autographs signed in everything from black or silver to orange, purple or turquoise. Sometimes an interesting colour of sharpie can even be a conversation starter!

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I have no problem with dealers, it's a pain if you're behind one who has 150 boxing gloves to get signed but such is life lol :smile: as you say it's all money for Showmasters that is invested in booking guests in the first place.

Maybe they should have like the supermarkets a 5 items or less queue. lol

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It actually depends for me on what the item is.

 

So if I am trying to get multiple signatures on something like a poster, space is a premium so I don't really want a whole load of dedications and my name written 30 times on it.

 

Where as for a picture from a favourite film then I would get it personalised.

 

Blu Rays I may go for personalisations as well, again for space reasons

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There is one very big reason why celebrities do personalisations and that is to make them essentially worthless. It's just a shame that it isn't compulsory because that would make sure the people getting stuff signed are genuine fans since no one in their right mind would buy an autograph dedicated to someone else. That's also why many signed books in person by authors don't fetch much on the second hand market because they are mostly written to the person getting them signed. If you're name's Mark you don't want something saying To John lol.

 

 

I encourage more personalisations when possible, guests that have been on the convention scene a long time are usually smart to it and will ask your name. They're usually also smart NOT to bring any blue sharpies. If you see a fan bringing their own blue sharpie you know right away that it's to sell on.

 

 

To be honest i usually ask for personalisations, but then again that's how i usually prefer it. I do have a few that are just signatures, mainly if the guest had a sign up saying they won't do it or i didn't ask for them or they were not in the mood or not able to do full personalisations. Also most of the books i have that have signatures in have no personalisations.

 

Actually on the whole blue sharpie thing, two guests i have met used them. Was fine for one of the photos but the other photo was dark.....so yeah if i want to read the auto i have to tilt it in the light xD

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I personally dont like dedications. I have never sold an autograph. I have been collecting for 11 years. Especially annoying when you have a book signed by most of the cast of a show and a person dedicates it to you. That really annoys me . But like most people on here i let the celebrity choose the colour pen.

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What makes me "sick" about this dedications on autographs is this bloody assuming in stereotypes which comes with it.

 

If a men wears pink --> Must be gay

Ever thought that pink is just their fav colour no more no less ?

Not wearing pink cause it's just not mine. No more no less.

 

If you are eating meat --> You support killing animals

Ok... so there must be thousands of millions of "serial killers" ???

 

And than this one and only...

 

If you just want the autograph and only with a blue sharpy --> YOU ARE A DEALER and want to sell the auto the very next minute you got it.

Man c'mon get a life and take a reality check...

 

So if you want an autograph you want it to suit the picture and to look great, marbelous, outstanding or just absolutely damn f'n awesome.

You just want this WOW-Effect every time you look at it. So this depends tremendously on the picture and the pen colour.

 

With the knowledge of the picture i want an autograph on and the knowledge in my head that at the table in 9/10 the pen colour they use is silver or black i decide formyself if silver or black suits the picture or not. If yes than it's fine and no need to worry... If not... i definitely bring a pen myself that will

 

There's no more pita then you have finaly the picture with the star you ever wanted and then have it "ruined" just cause he signed with a silver pen on the photo where he is wearing a light grey sweater... TU sxxxer

 

That's when a sky-rocket "can't believe i have a photo with him" photo goes straight rock bottom to a "There goes 20 bucks... but at least i have the autograph which will R.I.P in the cardbox under the bed"

 

 

For me dedication is photo and situation/occasion related. So also the colour is.

 

2 quick notes for memorable autographs...

 

I got a very great photo with Scott Bakula on his first european appearance at LFCC. Some years later he attended another show in germany. So i decided to have him signed this one. He looked at it and asked how old this was and where from. Saying LFCC London years ago led to a little smalltalk and then him saying "Ok, give me a minute... i have to make it perfect for you. Dedication was then... From England to Germany like there and back again, great seeing and talking to you"

 

Secondly Katee Sackhoff...

 

Also great one where she smiles like the stars in the sky and more memorable dedication then ever... "Awesome great photo... and i know where your hand was"

For not going deep in details... just that... due to the rush in the queue "move next, wait, move next, stand her, smile" i accidently touched some part of her. I excused myself endless times. Next day getting the autograph she remembered and said... "I'll write a special dedication just for you".

 

 

I also have a big and massive Dr. Who pictureframe with pictures from all the Doctors in there specific costume. Bought at LFCC some years ago.

For those picture i want just the autograph. No name or dedication. Just dedications will disturb the picture itself.

 

 

So... long story short

 

Just my 2cent

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I haven’t read all the comments here so this might have already been mentioned but for my two pence worth I avoid dedications because it takes away from the art of the item. One of my favourite pieces is a Biggs Star Wars picture signed by Garrick Hagon who has one of the most beautiful autographs you will ever see. Personally I feel it would look awful if he had dedicated it. The irony is that 90% of my autographed book collection is dedicated to me.

As for the colour thing I feel that as customers buying the autograph we should be able to get it in whatever colour and whatever pen type we want. Interestingly Garrick used a thin nibbed silver pen and not a standard Sharpie when he signed for me which gives his autograph a real classy look. Although it did take an age to dry and I had to hold it like a newborn baby.

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Personally I don't mind either way. Since I don't ask. But last year was my first ever event and it was lfcc it was amazing. I spent 15 mins plus talking to 50% of the guests I met. Dave Prowse asked my name because we chatted for a while before he signed anything, and I felt it made it more personal like you had a connection with the person in your favourite film or tv series. And now every time I look at that autograph I can think that I got to talk to darth vader and he signed an autograph just for me! Where as some I don't have dedicated for example my cousin and I had been queuing at Jeremy Bulloch's table for a while as he'd gone for lunch and when he came back we were right at the front of the que because some had just wandered away etc etc, but he was so curtious and kept apologising about the wait. We had a long chat took some pics and then he signed. I didn't want to ask for personalisation because we'd already had pictures and a full blown convocation with the man behind boba fett. Later on we had our photo op with him and of course he remebered and just before I left he said goodnight and it was a pleasure to meet us! So personalisation and pen colour depends on what experience you had with a guest in my opinion. If say you had an aweful time meeting the guest you may not want it dedicated. Any way just my 2 pence worth

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While I agree with some many of the above I also disagree with just as many lol

 

I NEVER get anything personalized I hate I really do I think it looks horrible as it takes away the Art of the Autograph and Photo.

I've also refused to have something signed because the Person was only dedicated ( The only time I had a chance to meet Adam West springs to mind ).

 

I always get my items signed in Silver Pen, a Sharpie that works is the best but I always have a Paint Marker handy in various sizes. I find that 60% of Photos are dark in some way and I find using a Silver pen the Autograph stands out. I also always get the person so sign over their Image ie over their Body/Chest area ( some like it some don't ) I will always try and say to them " Would you mind signing here " as I feel if I'm paying for it I want it how I want it ! lol You cant do that sort of thing if your using a Black Sharpie Black on Dark doesn't work and so they end up signing some where stupid. Trust me it matters to me when they are framed and up on my Stairs wall they look amazing.

 

Does that make me a dealer ? No it doesn't never sold a Autograph yet and I'm not going to start but I may act like a dealer that's only because most of the time this may be the only time I will ever meet the Guest so if I don't get it right well you get my point lol and of course I'm Paying for it so if I didn't want to meet the guest well I might as well buy one from Ebay.

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I think it is an unwritten rule that there be no personalizations on posters. I know a lot of people are now into the 12x14 mini poster prints for getting signatures from cast members and they're still big enough to enjoy the artwork and get all the signatures and are easy to frame. I find photos can be dark. I've got some silver signatures on darker photos and even the silver looks dark on it. I'm not a huge fan of Sharpie's, even silver ones. A few years back I was at a signing and just to be different and because I wanted to try it out I got this silver marker extra fine point pen and it did look nice but you had to shake it quite a bit before using. That is something I'll probably look into and see if there is any other fine point pens that really jump off the print.

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To state "Blue Sharpie = dealer" is ridiculous. If you have a photo/DVD cover/whatever that has black or dark areas, if the person signing accidentally (or chooses to because of lack of space left by other signatures) signs wholly or partly over that bit then blue will show up better than black. With tickets or programmes I'll always offer a blue pen so it shows up over any text - I tend to avoid silver as they always seem to dry out on me. I have an avengers pic that Tom Hiddleston very kindly signed at the premiere, but when Chris Hemsworth signed it too, the only space left was over a dark area and as he was using a black pen unfortunately it is barely visible :( . Of course it was still great to have those few moments but as we all know, we love autographs as mementos of these moments! I understand that at premieres swapping pens slows things down, but I've had other occasions when an actor has taken my blue sharpie I've offered, signed for me and those around and then passed it back to me, despite others holding out other black pens so clearly many have nothing against signing in blue! David Tennant very kindly signed a pic through the mail for me, in blue sharpie - it was a Christmas promo shot so with the colours of the photo blue looked lovely, much nicer than black. I have taken a black sharpie but only if I have a photo I know it'll show up well on eg if there's plenty of light areas...

 

At autograph events where someone can sign sitting down, with your photo etc nicely flat on a table and take a moment or two to choose where to sign it, one would hope that they would choose an appropriate colour that would show up. But you do hear from attendees occasionally when that hasn't happened, and if we're paying for an autograph, I feel we should be able to have it signed in any colour we like.

 

Personally at an event I've seldom had any trouble - if I have something that's already been signed, I've found guests usually either ask which colour I'd like them to use or choose themselves but check with me before starting to sign. But less so with 8x10s though, and unfortunately I have had an occasion when I was buying an autograph for someone as a present and after signing my pic in silver the guest chose a gold pen for my friend's (we were chatting and it was too late before I realised) and it just didn't show up well at all on the colour of the photo's background - very disappointing when paying good money. Since then I have always made sure that if a guest is having to sign quickly I'll always quickly ask "could you possibly sign in (eg silver) please?" after greeting them to try and avoid that situation again!

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My opinion is if i'm getting multiple people to sign one thing (eg a poster) then I would like it to be consistent with them all being personalised or none at all... preferably the later for space reasons. On the other hand if I was getting an image of specific actor/actress signed then I would prefer it personalised.

 

At the end of the day is all personal preference no right or wrong thing!

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So here is the thing, I have never been to a convention before, this LFCC will be my first one (I am mega excited). There is a possibility that I might have bought a blue pen with me not thinking that it would have been a problem… and honestly I don't think it is a problem. It would be an honest mistake by a first timer that has no intention of selling on her autographs.

 

What I have a (small) problem with is that I might be standing in the queue, and I might whip out my new blue pen, and some other person in the area will look at me and think that I am not a 'true' fan and just some autograph pirate looking to make some money.

 

I get that some people out there are looking to make a buck or two, and I get that people who have been to a lot of conventions probably know all the tricks of the trade and judge those people. I am here to do neither, but I just want to point out as politely as I can that tarring everyone with the same brush leads to misunderstandings that might end up making people feel unwelcome and upset.

 

I also think there are a number of reasons why someone might not want their item personalized. One of them is because they plan to sell it on, all the others (of which there are many) are not.

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What I have a (small) problem with is that I might be standing in the queue, and I might whip out my new blue pen, and some other person in the area will look at me and think that I am not a 'true' fan and just some autograph pirate looking to make some money.

 

To be honest its more of an issue at premieres and theatres, where you wouldn't have to pay for autographs. So long as you are paying the same rate as everyone else no one should have a problem with it.

 

You'd have to be lucky to make a profit on an event like this, the price they cost per auto.

Edited by TerraHawk
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What I have a (small) problem with is that I might be standing in the queue, and I might whip out my new blue pen, and some other person in the area will look at me and think that I am not a 'true' fan and just some autograph pirate looking to make some money.

 

To be honest its more of an issue at premieres and theatres, where you wouldn't have to pay for autographs. So long as you are paying the same rate as everyone else no one should have a problem with it.

 

You'd have to be lucky to make a profit on an event like this, the price they cost per auto.

 

 

 

I think you're right. Most people are not all that bothered by it which is good to know : )

 

I was just responding to the insinuation that all people attending a con with a blue pen are intending to sell their autographs on which is not true.

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OK, so I think that you misunderstood my comment about the blue pen. I never said that blue sharpie equals a dealer. I said it's their trade mark, which means that this colour of pen is TYPICALLY used by people who intend to sell autographs. Not always. And they usually bring it to places where they don't have to pay for an autograph.

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I like my astronaut photos personalised (I know it devalues the item somewhat but I ain't selling them!)

 

I got Gene Cernan's last year at Autographica- he didn't personalise it but I went back to him later for a personalisation so I could talk to him again!

 

To say celebs deliberately personalise a photo as a cynical ploy to devalue it is complete and utter nonsense.

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To say celebs deliberately personalise a photo as a cynical ploy to devalue it is complete and utter nonsense.

 

It's not entirely without merit actually - there's one or two wise to the tricks who delibrately overlap your name with theirs so it can't be removed. But again they are theatre actors signing for no reward, so beggars can't be choosers.

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well it's pretty much like a two sided coin - one side is that you've got some personalisation which is yours to keep but then you have a conversation starter really, but if you don't want it, you can just get their signature (as is what I'm going to do with the doctor who poster) but it's all up to you!

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There's definately tricks and celebrities who have been doing the signing circuits for a long time on both sides of the pond tend to ask your name anyway. If you're ever at any of these shows, go round the dealers stalls and look at their autographs and I'll guarantee you over 90% of them are in blue sharpie. Most sports memorabilia that is signed is signed in blue. I didn't say that everyone who carried a blue pen with them is a dealer, what I said was, for the stars that are signing all the time, they're used to it, they know generally what that means. At a signing event like LFCC then absolutely no star will refuse to sign in blue., you're paying for it so you have it any way you want it but if you're one on one with someone outside of working hours then it's a different thing altogether. If you have a blue pen at a signing event then you either really like the colour or you're more smarter than you're letting on.

 

Oddly enough some of the stars i've met at Showmasters events did the convention circuit all year round in the States, not so much now and I noticed when they signed my 8x10s, they either wrote a quote from the movie aswell as their name or the signature they gave took up a lot of space on the 8x10. Some were very busy but in open ques and asked me right out who am I signing this to? Even though I like having them personalised I don't think I could have said to them, no don't do that just write your name. I know it shouldn't matter but I think it would have made things a bit sour but they done that years and years on end several times a year. It was a treat having them over here but it was second nature to them. I think it was just to be nice, it wasn't done so that I wouldn't sell it on later in my life. Unless it is a real legend, or someone who has been dead a long time, no one will buy an autographed item addressed to someone else, because you're buying someone elses memory. It's not for you but absolutely there are stars out there that do ask your name for that reason, in their mind they consider themselves a big deal. You know that anyway, a lot of stars tend to put themselves on a pedestal. Paranoia comes with the job.

Edited by thewizard
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If you're ever at any of these shows, go round the dealers stalls and look at their autographs and I'll guarantee you over 90% of them are in blue sharpie.

 

Unless it is a real legend, or someone who has been dead a long time, no one will buy an autographed item addressed to someone else, because you're buying someone elses memory.

 

Both of these are untrue, I've seen tonnes of dealers at stage doors, and non of them have ever got the actors to sign in blue, mostly they have black pens.

 

Secondly, I know lots of people that have bought autographs personalised to someone else, mostly because they tend to be a little cheaper then non-personalised ones.

 

 

Personally I love getting my autographs personalised, but I can definitely see why you won't want it.

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What I have a (small) problem with is that I might be standing in the queue, and I might whip out my new blue pen, and some other person in the area will look at me and think that I am not a 'true' fan and just some autograph pirate looking to make some money.

 

To be honest its more of an issue at premieres and theatres, where you wouldn't have to pay for autographs. So long as you are paying the same rate as everyone else no one should have a problem with it.

 

You'd have to be lucky to make a profit on an event like this, the price they cost per auto.

 

 

 

I think you're right. Most people are not all that bothered by it which is good to know : )

 

I was just responding to the insinuation that all people attending a con with a blue pen are intending to sell their autographs on which is not true.

 

 

As some others have just stated, my experience is that most dealers prefer black actually (my experience at Premieres etc...). As to the whole personalisation debate...I vary sometimes...I only ever get my own personal artwork signed (that alone is a very personal thing for me). So in many ways, I don't really need it personalised as they have seen and signed something very personal for me already. I would say due to specific situations I have had both personalised and non-personalised. I many ways though, the unpersonalised does look better on my artwork, cleaner I guess. That said, my pride and joy is a personalised Scarlett Johansson drawing.

 

I think it's very difficult to generalise though so I would just urge everyone to ask what they want...use whatever colour pen etc...unless the guest objects of course (I doubt most will have a problem either way) :)

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