Paying for an autograph ... what do you think ?

[Hotfoot]

At our Hospital Engineers meeting last month we had Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves and MLB Hall of Famer 1982 I believe as our Keynote Speaker. He spoke for 90 minutes than spent about 2 hours signing photos, his book, baseballs... He also chatted with everyone for a few minutes. This was on a Wednesday Morning. The Saturday before our convention he was Mountain Biking in Utah. Said he forgot 3 things. One he was 52 years old. 2 he was 52 years old and 3 you always apply the rear brake first when going down hill.

He had flipped over his handrails and landed in the ditch he was trying to slow down for. As he lay in the ditch his first thought was Am I Paralysed and How am I going to talk in Savannah in 4 days.

He had a mild concussion and 2 compressed vertebrae fractures.

He was a nice guy and very down to earth. A lot different than todays players.

[starsky]

that must have been a thrill to meet dale murphy. tremendous ball player and all around great guy. he does have some awesome stats but unfortunately is one of those players that have not been voted to the hall yet!! can you believe that?

[jessica]

I've never gone to a convention before where there were $tar$ $igning autograph$...but I think $20 per $ignature is what the going rate i$ from what I have $een. All the stars I would have wanted an autograph from have passed on.

[spiderrogue]

ive paid for a few autographs down here at the yearly sci fi cons..nothing over 20 bucks though....the way that it is set up(or was??), if you paid in advance for the gold package(through the comic shop, they were the sponsers)..you would get first dibs in line with the main stars, get front row seats to all of their on stage chats, get to eat supper with them, and i think that they got free signatures too....but the package price was pretty high....we never did that...we would just get whoever's name that we really wanted to....

[twilitezoner]

Most pro athletes sign for free while at the stadium, but will charge a fee at a specific signing or card show. I think your standard Con signature charge is anywhere from 20 to 40 dollars. Dragon Con here in Atlanta has a specific signing space where the stars will sign for free. The catch is, you need to get there early, because there is a limited number of people allowed.

[mitchedwards]

I have issues paying for a autograph. In the past I used to visit the Chicago Bears training camp, and if you don't harass the players and act cool you can get the whole team to sign a football for free.

In the 90s I went to Trek conventions and never had to pay for a autograph.

I was thinking about going to a comic con, just to meet Adam West and get his autograph, however I think I'll pass since I heard he was charging 40 bucks a pop

[kingdom warrior]

At our Hospital Engineers meeting last month we had Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves and MLB Hall of Famer 1982.

Dale Murphy isn't a Hall of Famer.....a very good ball player and maybe borderline Hall of Famer.....

[kingdom warrior]

Actors Charge because if they don't Some Dealers get their autographs and sell them..cutting out the actor. Rosie O'Donnoll signs for free but NOT for adults only for kids. My Dad knew Joe Dimaggio and i was able to get stuff signed for free.....I don't mind paying it's a matter of who's autograph means more to me...........Anthony Daniels signed for my son and he spoke to him and was awesome he also gave my son a freebie signature....It all depends on how bad you want it.....

the worst ever was Val Kilmer he was a BLEEP!!!!!.......

[toys2cool]

I don't mind paying for an auto',I wish it was a little cheaper like $10 so i could everyones,but when it $20= you really have to decide who you really want,here's my next convention,I'm getting the whole Dawn of the Dead cast

Spooky Empire Halloween Horror Convention Orlando, FL

[batmanmc]

i have paid for a few stars autos and also got afew free. adam west charged me like 80 for a signed photo and burt ward was 30 the downside was after getting thomas box of julie newmar signed i had no money to have her sign anything for me . that show i didnt spend anything because i spent so much on autos. mike

[huedell]

Money for autographs?

It's simple---people WILL pay---so the celebs DO charge.

That's business---and that's life.

[AUSSIE-Rebooted-AMM]

the downside was after getting thomas box of julie newmar signed i had no money to have her sign anything for me .

OUCH. . .Mike. . .I'ld say . . .somehow. . .somewhere. . . .down the line. . . Thomas owes you a roll in the sack with the lady herself. . .that is true devotion to your friends and Mego-Amigos.

[Hotfoot]

Dale Murphy isn't a Hall of Famer.....a very good ball player and maybe borderline Hall of Famer.....

Sorry, He was MVP. I rechecked what he wrote! (I don't follow baseball and could care less about their stats...) I knew the name from being in Atlanta and really enjoyed his talk and his commitment even though he was in obvious pain from his accident.

He easily could have said "I'm staying home and enjoying my pain pills!"

Point is he seemed to really enjoy his talk and spending time with us. Oher Athletes and Celebs act like they are better than you and treat their fans like dirt.

[megocrazy]

I refuse to pay a fee to someone when they are being paid to attend. And they are all pretty much paid to attend. I was doing the baseball card show circuit many years ago when they were free, and dealers would pay someone to continuously stand in line and get numerous autographs so they could sell them. It wasn't until they started commanding big dollars that players started charging huge fees, which caused the show promoters to increase prices. They originally increased the table cost. It wasn't unheard of to pay $150 per table for a show in the northeast, and this was in the early 80's. As the player's started increasing prices and the attendance numbers went down, most of the major promoters started negotiating deals based on the number of auto's signed and started charging a fee for autographs to protect themselves from losing money. The only upside was the admissions were usually cheaper, so if you didn't want an autograph it really didn't cost you any extra. The best deal I've seen in recent years has been car shows. When I raced R/C we had a couple of races each year that were set up as promotions for car shows and I was fortunate to get a couple of really good auto's of Nascar drivers. Got to meet Richard Petty, but couldn't get an auto cuz there were 5000 people in line to get 3000 autos from the time the show opened, until his sign time at like 5:00pm. He signed 3000, and got up and left. It would have sucked to been 3001. Had to be 8 or 9 hours in line to that point. Did get Mark Martin, man is he short, Terry Labonte, Derrick Cope,and Michael Waltrip. Bunch of other lesser known drivers too, and all free. There were always sports guys but those lines were always long. The best was Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque at a show in Boston. And mid level movie and TV stars. Met Elvira. She was really nice. Took her time, was personable, and really seemed to enjoy being there. Wrestlers were popular there too. Playboy models, soap opera stars, pretty much every major vendor had someone to draw you to their booth. Those were the good old days. Now I usually just take a picture as they're signing someone else's stuff. A free memento but not an auto. I would probably pay if they did the charity deal. Gary Carter former Expos/Mets catcher has done that even before he retired, but I don't see any other sports guys that do that. If ya want an auto, ya got to pay.

[The Bat]

I would pay for an Autograph...depending on who it was. Shatner....YES! I can't remember which one it is...but either Shatner or Nimoy...won't sign Autographs...but the other will if You make it out to Their favorite Charity.

I got Sulu's for free...He's a really nice Guy.