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Diamond Pass Guests autograph limits


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Hoping someone can help here.

 

Is there a limit of 5 autos for Diamond Pass guests?

 

the reason I ask is I don't want to be in a position like last year, when queuing for Terrance Stamp - The person in front of me had 25 autographs on various things which took ages and I was told 3 was the limit.

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32 minutes ago, homerj said:

Hoping someone can help here.

 

Is there a limit of 5 autos for Diamond Pass guests?

 

the reason I ask is I don't want to be in a position like last year, when queuing for Terrance Stamp - The person in front of me had 25 autographs on various things which took ages and I was told 3 was the limit.

Usual limits apply unless otherwise stated homer, occasionally a guest may be announced where they limit auto's a la MJF and Pele but it's clearly stated in the announcement how many you were limited to.  Unfortunately sometimes traders do get in before you and likewise the crew have to slip stacks in to fulfil the pre orders.  Hopefully you will be lucky this year and won't be behind one of them.

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10 minutes ago, AckAck said:

If pre-orders are done during the day, why can’t you collect one instead of it being posted?

Because they are collected all through the event and keeping track of which are going to be collected when and which need to be sent out would be somewhat complicated and time consuming, particularly around making sure it actually is the person who ordered the autograph.

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49 minutes ago, AckAck said:

If pre-orders are done during the day, why can’t you collect one instead of it being posted?

What Astro says, it would be a nightmare of admin for them to try and sort out at the event especially as most of the orders are for people not attending.  Having to keep track of a few specific items so people can collect at the event would be too much hassle i think

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Pre-orders fine, but dealers really pee me off. If you’re stuck behind one as they get multiple same items signed I’d suggest going back again later. Not only is there the interminable wait but they tend to get the guest in a bad mood too - and who can blame them! Ok they're getting paid to attend but are also here to see the real fans, not fill the dealers coffers, who will sell on their autographs at inflated prices...

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26 minutes ago, Diabolik said:

Pre-orders fine, but dealers really pee me off. If you’re stuck behind one as they get multiple same items signed I’d suggest going back again later. Not only is there the interminable wait but they tend to get the guest in a bad mood too - and who can blame them! Ok they're getting paid to attend but are also here to see the real fans, not fill the dealers coffers, who will sell on their autographs at inflated prices...

Agree! That is why there should be a limit. And perhaps something done about it. 

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I agree - I had a diamond for John Cleese last year and didn't meet him until 4.30. They had to cut the queue and say diamonds only.

I remember a few years ago meeting Ian McDiamond and being behind someone with 50 items. He went through them quickly but then the dealer (im presuming he was anyway) wanted a chat!

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I totally agree to everyone’s comments on this subject I think the dealers should be limited to 5, I have had the same before and not just one occasion Christopher Lloyd in 2015 where a dealer was in front of me with another one of his colleagues in front of him with a total of 8 hover boards each to later see them all on his table at an eye watering price, plus also when Stan lee went I was lucky to get there Friday to get his autograph but this guy behind me had a role of what looked like more than 20 posters of the same one he soon got found out that he was trying to film with camera glasses but the security guy saw straight away (sucker). 

The dealers do wind up the guests and this is why some guest have gotten to the point where they won’t sign anymore. There are people who are genuine fans of not just the movie the actors and actresses also and then you have the people who try to profit and sell the autographs at excruciating prices. The only genuine people I would buy autographs off at that expo would be the guests and if not it would be celebrity ink and Hollywood autographs the guys who are linked to the show and have such amazingly fair prices.

Edited by Not bad for a human!
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1 hour ago, homerj said:

I agree - I had a diamond for John Cleese last year and didn't meet him until 4.30. They had to cut the queue and say diamonds only.

I remember a few years ago meeting Ian McDiamond and being behind someone with 50 items. He went through them quickly but then the dealer (im presuming he was anyway) wanted a chat!

50!!! That’s absolutely ridiculous, dealers really annoy me for the fact that they are just there to get as many autographs as possible to then sell on at a crazy price, me personally I go to these events and meet these people because I genuinely want to meet these people, possibly talk to them for a bit, get a personalised autograph and create a lasting memory for myself, I like to think many people join me in this way of thinking because tbh the dealers are there just to get loads of items and sell them on at as high a price a possible, and I truly wonder what a guest think when they see someone getting all these items signed 

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There are special rules for dealers which I am not totally familiar with. I do know that in general crew members are being asked to tell them to come through at a quiet time, and same goes for pre-orders. Sometimes that doesn't always work, because for one day guests as John Cleese there is no quiet time. We go through this pretty much every show because someone is upset because it happened in their line.

It is a fine line which SM are trying to balance. 

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I don’t have all the facts but I agree that dealers asking for 5+ autographs is considered unfair for fans like us (I went to one event where me and a friend queued for a guest for 2 hours because 2 groups wanted some 50 autographs between them, and we saw one of those groups at another event a month or two later).

For dealers, selling autographs is how they make money to earn a living but they could get bulk autographs for when the guests are at a quiet time when most fans will have met them by then.

I know guests have the right to refuse to sign certain items but I’ve not observed any who have commented about bulk requests or refusing to sign that many in the interests of fairness to the fans.

With this year’s LFCC ending at later times, hopefully dealers will have the sense to acquire bulk autographs from guests at a later time which, hopefully, their queues will have quietened down.

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On ‎15‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 1:27 PM, Chris1970 said:

Pre orders I can accept, all part of it. But traders... there should be a limit of 5 for auto’s. 

Not sure I've ever seen the limit imposed, but its rare for me to get a big guest. I remember the David Tennant signing many moons ago had the £45 (price) times table on display, up to 20. But with such a limit the trader will just get a second pair of hands, or get a second VT, perhaps even a different day, it doesn't really speed things up

On ‎15‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 5:48 PM, homerj said:

I agree - I had a diamond for John Cleese last year and didn't meet him until 4.30. They had to cut the queue and say diamonds only.

I remember a few years ago meeting Ian McDiamond and being behind someone with 50 items. He went through them quickly but then the dealer (im presuming he was anyway) wanted a chat!

That's the thing, one guest can sign 50 things for one dealer much quicker than they can meet 50 people getting one thing each. If they are 50 copies of the same photo they can almost do that on autopilot. Individual dedicated photos in different colours with a few words for everyone takes longer. I think dealers within reason prevent prices going even higher. I could imagine one dealer paying for one of the smaller Star Wars guests alone.  

 

On ‎15‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 7:57 PM, Queen_Sindel said:

There are special rules for dealers which I am not totally familiar with. I do know that in general crew members are being asked to tell them to come through at a quiet time, and same goes for pre-orders. Sometimes that doesn't always work, because for one day guests as John Cleese there is no quiet time. We go through this pretty much every show because someone is upset because it happened in their line.

It is a fine line which SM are trying to balance. 

I'm surprised they aren't done behind the scenes, or even in their hotel rooms for the multiday guests. Quieter for them and under less pressure not seeing queues of people waiting for them.

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18 minutes ago, TerraHawk said:

 

 

I'm surprised they aren't done behind the scenes, or even in their hotel rooms for the multiday guests. Quieter for them and under less pressure not seeing queues of people waiting for them.

There are considerations - it may cost more to do that as they would have to pay them for the time.  I'm sure after hours the guests would rather be out having fun than sitting in their rooms signing some more.

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I guess another point is that, if we banned dealers, you're potentially taking 100's of auto sales away.  That could mean, for us, that a £75 auto becomes a £95 auto.  A £25 becomes a £35, etc.

 

Although I agree that they should have to do it in batches of say 20-25 rather than have someone with 70 odd in one go.  I got stuck behind someone at a collectormania once who had about 50 football shirts to be signed.  Took absolutely ages as he has to swap each one over, flatten it, hold it while it was signed, repeat, etc!

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4 minutes ago, bobd_uk said:

I guess another point is that, if we banned dealers, you're potentially taking 100's of auto sales away.  That could mean, for us, that a £75 auto becomes a £95 auto.  A £25 becomes a £35, etc.

 

Although I agree that they should have to do it in batches of say 20-25 rather than have someone with 70 odd in one go.  I got stuck behind someone at a collectormania once who had about 50 football shirts to be signed.  Took absolutely ages as he has to swap each one over, flatten it, hold it while it was signed, repeat, etc!

That is just horrible. Well, not ban dealers but include them in a limit of perhaps 5 or 10 autos per person.

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17 minutes ago, Chris1970 said:

That is just horrible. Well, not ban dealers but include them in a limit of perhaps 5 or 10 autos per person.

Then they bring extra People.

They tried something similar at a store that Releases Pins in California. That resulted in Dealers dragging in the whole Family, from grandmother to babies in prams. Now they have implemented an additional age Limit to stop that, which wouldn't quite work with vendor staff working a Show.

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Maybe a blanket "max 2 autos at a time" should be implemented. Not a problem if the guest is quieter, then dealers can go in and out, still giving the fans a chance.

If the guest is busy then to the back of the line and wait your turn like the rest of us.

Edited by spengler
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Well, just like ticket scalpers you might not get rid of them but make things harder. I know in the end it will mean more work.. But there got to be a way to stop someone clogging up because someone is getting 25-50 or even 70 things signed while other wait in queue. Maybe DP is the only one that can get more than a certain number of things signed...or something like that.

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Or just have the crew tell them 'come back later' where possible if they have loads and have the power to enforce it by saying to the guest 'please stop signing for this person now'.  Awkward I know but it may be the only way.  You institute rule, people get around them.

Edited by Raylenth
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