How Much is a Celebrity signature worth

[bevins2016]

I am attending the Comic-Con in Indianapolis that is coming in march. Jason Momoa will be there and I was thinking about getting his signature on my Best Buy season 1 Stark slipcover. However I have never been to one of these things and didn't realize I would have to pay cash to get an autograph. It costs $40 per signature from him! I think this is really high. What do you guys think. If my Stark Season 1 isn't worth $40 more than it currently is, after getting the signature, it seems like I'd be overpaying for something.

On another note if the $40 is worth the signature should I deface the front of my mint Season 1 stark slip to get it there?

[frogmort]

Things like this are very personal and opinionated. If having his signature is worth $40 to you, then yes. Me personally, I'd rather have $40.

[F13BluRay]

I couldn't imagine any scenario where I would pay $40 for an autograph

But it's absolutely a personal choice

[Al_The_Strange]

$40 sounds about right for Mr. Momoa.

The first Comic Con I went to, I considered getting Lou Ferrigno's autograph for about $30. However, Shatner's was like $70 or so. It just gets higher the more popular the celebrity is; somebody told me he spent $300 to get a picture of Patrick Stewart and other STTNG cast members on an Enterprise bridge set.

Yep, it all depends on how personal the experience is and how badly you want it. I personally never felt compelled to dish out the money for these photo ops or autographs, but I could kick myself for missing Christopher Lloyd by the DeLorean on the last con I went to.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Completely subjective topic. They are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them. Is his signature worth 40 of YOUR dollars? THAT is the question.

Myself? There are very few signatures that I would pay for. If I was to witness Patrick Stewart signing something IN PERSON, I'd easily pay $100 to $150 if the item I brought to be signed was appropriately associated with him. $50 maybe for a high quality glossy headshot. $25 for just a piece of blank paper. See how that works for me? And everyone has their own opinion on the matter depending on the celebrity in question.

[Mikester71]

It's funny - I just looked up Toronto Comic Con about an hour ago to see when it was and noticed that most of the celebrities were charging $30+ for autographs. And most of the celebrities appearing do not seem like $30 worthy actors, to me anyways.

But to each their own I guess!

[neoz]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Completely subjective topic. They are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them. Is his signature worth 40 of YOUR dollars? THAT is the question.

Myself? There are very few signatures that I would pay for. If I was to witness Patrick Stewart signing something IN PERSON, I'd easily pay $100 to $150 if the item I brought to be signed was appropriately associated with him. $50 maybe for a high quality glossy headshot. $25 for just a piece of blank paper. See how that works for me? And everyone has their own opinion on the matter depending on the celebrity in question.

I agree with Petra on this one. It all depends on if you want it Bevins and if that $ is worth it to you. I spent about $35 to get a poster signed George Romero and then $35 to get my Christine blu ray signed by John Carpenter. It was worth it to me as I enjoy their work. I too would easily pay $100 to $150 for Sir Patrick Stewart autograph if I ever had the chance. They had a Con in Nashville but he wasn't attending at the time.

But yeah it all boils down to you. If like like the actor enough then go for it. If not then save your money and get Sean Bean to sign it. I would rather have Jason Momoa sign a Targareyn slip if you have one.

Here is the poster George signed btw.

[Show spoiler]

[PLG1962]

I miss the days when stars would happily sign something or pose for a photo for free

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

I miss the days when stars would happily sign something or pose for a photo for free

The event organizers started drastically reducing the incentives to have personalities show up. The celebrities needed to make up for it somehow. They give up an entire weekend to help a group of people make money, the least they deserve is some compensation for that. It gets passed onto us to show our appreciation to the stars in that regard.

[Rich65]

I paid $320.00 for a 20 x 30 poster signed by Sir Patrick Stewart and the rest of the TNG cast, to me it was worth it since I got them all in one shot and that is not easy having all seven of them together. Sir Patrick is a very nice guy, I also got a shot from Excalibur which he really enjoyed. I got to talk to him for a bit and I told him that was the first movie I saw him in.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by Rich65

I paid $320.00 for a 20 x 30 poster signed by Sir Patrick Stewart and the rest of the TNG cast, to me it was worth it since I got them all in one shot and that is not easy having all seven of them together. Sir Patrick is a very nice guy, I also got a shot from Excalibur which he really enjoyed. I got to talk to him for a bit and I told him that was the first movie I saw him in.

[PLG1962]

Hijacking this thread for a moment has anyone who is following a celebrity on twitter ever received a reply for a question I find Twitter strange at the best of times

[omenboy]

In the world of autograph collecting, an autograph is only really worth something if it is rare, and any celebrity autograph like Jason Momoa's, who does numerous conventions and signs thousands of autographs, will not be worth much down the road because there are too many out there.

However, if you are a fan of his, it may be worth every penny of that $40 to you in order to have him sign something. Some of the actors at those conventions also charge a steep fee for a photo op in addition to the autograph.

Another note - autographs are always worth more when they are not personalized (for example "To Fred"). The signature alone is worth much more. The same with having first and last names- a full name signed is worth more than just "all the best, Jason M". Oh, and autographs are worth the most when they are on a photograph of the person who is signing.

[Operation Swordfish]

I'll echo what most have said in here. I would have no problem whatsoever dropping $40 for an autograph for an actor or actress that I really like. I could even see myself going up to $500 on some. It really should come down to how much you like the person that is signing your item, or how much you like the item you are having them sign. If I really liked that particular item and its very special to me I would think having the actor/actress sign it for me would make it even more special to me.

[Just Jimmy]

If you are having doubts about it, then you really don't want to pay $40. I think $40 is steep also personally but that's just me. I wanted Robin Lord Taylor to autograph my copy of Gotham at CC this year but he's charging $40. Last year I wanted Zachary Quinto to sign heroes season 1 but he wanted $100!!!

So I moseyd on over to the Weasley twins and got theirs for $20 each.

I think that $20 is a great price for an autograph, however free autographs are the best autographs.

[bhampton]

Nothing less than a cool million.

[bevins2016]

Originally Posted by neoz

I agree with Petra on this one. It all depends on if you want it Bevins and if that $ is worth it to you. I spent about $35 to get a poster signed George Romero and then $35 to get my Christine blu ray signed by John Carpenter. It was worth it to me as I enjoy their work. I too would easily pay $100 to $150 for Sir Patrick Stewart autograph if I ever had the chance. They had a Con in Nashville but he wasn't attending at the time.

But yeah it all boils down to you. If like like the actor enough then go for it. If not then save your money and get Sean Bean to sign it. I would rather have Jason Momoa sign a Targareyn slip if you have one.

Yeah my Targaryen slip is season 3 and it would make no sense for him to sign that one. I think if I end up getting his signature at all I will get it on my Stargate Atlantis box set instead. However if I get the chance to get Sean Bean's signature on my slip I would not hesitate. Besides that being cool I know it would increase the value of the item.

Thanks for your opinions everyone. Its nice to hear all sides of it. I'm trying to take a very practical approach to collecting. Although I collect because I enjoy it since I am investing a serious amount of money into what I'm buying that could go into a savings account. Keeping that in mind I try to only buy things that will retain value or not lose too much value over time so if the day comes and I have a financial disaster I can sell my collection. If they are selling the signature of a celebrity to me for $40, that is a good, not a service. If I am buying a good I should be able to turn around and sell that good for at least 75% of what I paid for it if it isn't something that spoils

[sandman slim]

You've basically answered your own question. The autograph is, in this case, a product just like the box set itself, and forty bucks is more than you want to pay for it.

Personally, I don't care for autographs even if they're free; never understood these folks that see a celebrity out somewhere and feel the need to stick a piece of paper in their face to get a scrawled bit of ink that you usually can't even read. I do own a few signed books, but all were bought for the book, not the signature. Most recently, I got the deluxe edition of Clive Barker's "Midnight Meat Train". It includes the original short story, the full screenplay, and tons of Clive's art; the fact that it includes a signature page is incidental to me, and didn't sway my decision to buy the book.

[Moviefan2k4]

Personally, I don't like that celebs charge such high prices for autographs, so I've skipped quite a few in recent years. I have no problem whatsoever with celebs being compensated, but there should definitely be a limit set on how big their fees can get. I'm not talking about involving the Feds or anything, but the responsibility of all involved does need to improve. For example, I've heard some actors often receive money for just appearing at a show, plus their hotels and flights paid for by the promoters. In that scenario, I wouldn't be comfortable letting them charge for autographs; fan events should be primarily about the FANS, not stuffing the pockets of greedy promoters, agents, or celebrities.

The most I recall paying for an autograph was $40 for James Marsters, about two years ago. Even though he was nice and patient, I still felt uneasy over spending that much. Many who run these events won't even let folks in line anymore, unless they're prepared to purchase something; I find that truly despicable.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

I miss the days when stars would happily sign something or pose for a photo for free

I've only had that happen twice, that I recall. The first was with voice actors Kevin Conroy & Arleen Sorkin, who showed up at a show in Plano maybe 7 or 8 years ago. They were both signing for free, and Mrs. Sorkin's sense of humor made me laugh...



The second time around was when I took a trip to Metropolis, IL, back in 2009. They have an annual street-fair event called the Superman Celebration, and I was blessed to meet "Smallville" stars Justin Hartley and Phil Morris. They didn't have any photos available, but I got my Season 6 companion book signed...