General Collecting > Autographs

Autographs through the mail

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Reconsgt:
Use this thread to post adresses to send your items to obtain autographs through the mail>

jkno:
Autograph Collecting Tutorial

by Victor_Von_Doom


http://p4.forumforfree.com/viewtopic.php?t=782&mforum=thecave


I've been getting a lot of people asking me lately how to go about collecting autographs. I figured that I may as well write this tutorial to help those that are new to the hobby or looking to get into it.

There are many ways to get autographs. You can buy them from a dealer, get them in person, or get them through the mail. Through the mail is one of my favorite ways, because you get the autographs for virtually free. The following posts will focus on how to collect through the mail.

This is a very fun hobby and you'll soon get addicted to collecting autographs. However, you must remember that when sending through the mail, nothing is guaranteed. Stuff might get lost in the mail, the celebrity may change addresses, or they may just throw the letter away. Don't get discouraged if you don't get any autographs for a while. Even the most veteran of collectors go through droughts where they don't recieve any in a while. I've not recieved any for weeks, and I've also recieved six in one day. Patience is key to this hobby.

I hope that the following tutorials help you enter this hobby. If you have any questions, please post them in the Autograph Troubleshooting thread and I'll try to answer them as soon as possible. If you are looking for an address and can't find it, please post it in the Address Request Thread.

Supplies

The following list is of items that you will need:

Stamps or International Reply Coupons (IRC)
Standard white envelopes
Large manilla envelopes (9x12)
Pen and paper or computer to write the letter
Address of the celebrity you wish to write to


The following are optional, depending on who you are sending to and what you are sending:

Unlined 3x5 inch idex cards - sometimes the celebrity supplies there own items, sometimes not. Its usually a good rule of them to include 2 of these in each letter you send in case the celebrity runs out of photographs. However, don't be suprised if you never see the index cards again, as most celebrities toss them if they are giving you a picture.

Photographs or other items to send - do some research to see if the celebrity usually provides their own items, or if you will need to send something. Its also good to send your own photographs if you want a signed picture from a certain movie or if you want more than one picture signed. There are many ways to obtain photographs, whether you print them out on photo paper on your own computer, take them to a store to get them developed and printed off, or buy them from a dealer. If you are sending your own homemade pictures, doing a Google search should yield a lot of potential images that you can alter or resize in Microsoft Paint, Photoshop, or a similar program. Its a good idea to always send an item when you are sending via venue. If you are still confused about photographs, check out this link

Colored marker - this is good to write on your manilla envelopes with. You need something to write on the envelopes with anyway, so you might as well make it eye catching so the celebrity doesn't lose it in a pile of generic envelopes. Just make sure that the marker you use doesn't bleed through the envelope, or you might recieve your autograph back with ink all over it.

Smaller manilla envelopes (5x7) - these are good if you know that the celebrity does not provide their own photographs. If you choose to send index cards, giving them a 5x7 SASE instead of a 9x12 SASE will help you cut back on costs.

Getting Addresses

There are many places to get addresses, both on an off line. A good place to get a list of extensive addresses in paper form is Jim Weaver's Autograph Lists, although it does cost $45. Another good place is the Star Archive, but again it costs money.

If you are looking for Star Wars addresses, there is no place better than the FREE list at Wattographs

If you are just looking for a Non-Star Wars address, Fanmail.biz and Stefan's are good places to find them for free.

There are many, many more places to find addresses, and doing a search online should help you find some more.

Writing the Letter

So, what do you write? The answer is to write whatever you want. There is no definitive letter. Just make sure that you keep the letter brief, say please and thank you, and tell the celebrity what work of theirs you liked. Also, don't lie - celebrities recieve thousands of letters a day, and can tell whether you are telling the truth or not. If you chose to hand write your letter, make sure that it is legible.

Here is a generic example of what I write:

"Dear _________,

Hi. My name is _______. I am ____ years old and a ______ at ________. I was wanting to write to you today to tell you how much I enjoyed your work. I thought you did a great job in _________ and _______, but my favorite work of yours was ________. (Next talk about their other work you liked, or ask questions here). I was wondering, if it is not too much trouble, could I please get your autograph? My address is:

____________
____________
_____________

I know you are a very busy _____, so I tried to keep this letter short and I thank you for your time. I have enclosed a self addressed stamped envelope for you to use. If you cannot provide a photograph, I would appreciate it very much if you could sign the index cards I have enclosed. Even if you cannot send an autograph, I wish you the best of luck and look forward to enjoying your work for many years to come!

Sincerely,

____________"

Each letter I write is unique, so that example is not what I do each time, but hopefully it will help. Please do not copy this example and just fill in the blanks.

Some people like to ask for personalizations, but I don't usually. I've found that a little more than half of my autographs were personalized anyway. Its really up to you whether or not you want to ask for it.

If you need information about the person you are sending to, check out www.imdb.com or www.wikipedia.org

Addressing the Envelopes

Standard white envelope: Address it just like you would a normal letter. Put one 39 cent stamp in the upper right hand corner. Place your address in the upper left hand corner. Place the celebrities address in the middle.

Manilla Envelopes: Place 2 39 cent stamps in the upper right hand corner. Put your address in the top left hand corner. Then put your address in the middle also. The reason for having your address on the envelope twice is in case you put insufficient postage on the manilla envelope, it will automatically come back to you, so you will still get your autograph!

In the US, it costs 39 cents to send a one ounce package, and 24 cents for every ounce after that.

These links should help if you have any questions regarding postage:

US Domestic Postage Rates
US Postage Calculator
US International Postage Rates
English Royal Mail
Canadian Post
What is the cost to post abroad?

What to put in the envelope

If you are not sending a photo, put all this in a standard white envelope. Include your letter and a folded up SASE. SASE stands for "self addressed stamped envelope". This is the large manilla envelope that you filled out earlier. Take it and fold it so that it fits inside the white envelope and place it inside. It is optional whether or not you want to include index cards in there too.

If you are sending a photograph, put all this inside one of the large manilla envelopes. Include your letter, a folded SASE large enough to accomondate the photos, and a piece of cardboard to prevent the photos from bending in the mail. Again, index cards are optional. If you are sending a photo, also include another 39 cent stamp on the envelopes, for a total of 3 stamps on each envelope.

It is a good rule of thumb to never send anything that you wouldn't mind never seeing again, as there is no guarantee the celebrity will return it. I personally shy away from sending action figures and posters for this reason, but some people do it and are successful.

Sending Overseas

If you plan on sending letters overseas, you will need to buy some International Reply Coupons (IRC) at your local post offic. Each IRC is around $1.75. These are used by the celebrity to buy stamps. If you send overseas, include these inside your envelope and do not put postage stamps on the outside of the returning SASE. If you are sending a photo, its a good rule of thumb to include 3-5 IRC. If you are sending just a postcard or small letter, a single IRC should suffice when sending to Europe or Canada.

From America to Canada: include 2-3 IRC

From America to Europe: include 3-4 IRC

From Canada and Europe to America: its best to obtain stamps of the country you are sending to from your local post office.

Make sure your local post office stamps the IRC, or your mail will not be returned to you. The stamp the post office uses is circular and has the date of purchase on it.

I'm not a bonafide expert on IRCs, so if you need more help consult this link

Tips and Tricks

The following are tips and tricks that will help you not only increase the ammount of autographs you get, but also help you keep the autographs you do have in good shape.

 Keep a record of when you sent the request, who you sent it to, what you sent, when you recieved it, and what you recieved. This will help you keep tract of what you have pending as well as get a feel for the signing habits of certain celebrities.

 Big stars won't have time to sign. For instance, if Brad Pitt is getting married and filming a movie, chances are it will take a LONG time for you to recieve your autograph. Your best bet to increase your successes is to look around on websites such as Fanmail and Wattographs for recent successes people have gotten. Its also a good idea to take the celebrities personal life at that time into consideration before you choose to send to them.

 Write "DO NOT BEND" on the back of your manilla envelopes. This won't always cause your photos to come back unbent, but will help decrease it happening.

 Don't use tricks to get more autographs, like sending to a celebrity twice using the same address but different names. Some celebrities keep logs of who they sent to already and can see ploys like this a mile away.

 Don't send more than 3 items to a celebrity. Some celebrities see it as taking advantage of them when you send them a ton of things.

 If your manilla envelope has metal tabs to keep it closed, put a piece of Scotch tape on the inside of the envelope over the metal. This will prevent the metal from scratching your pictures.

 Don't ask a celebrity to get some one else's autograph for you, even if they are working on the same movie. Send a letter to each star you wish to get the autograph of individually.

 Don't assume that a star is a jerk if they don't respond. Things get lost in the mail everyday, and they may even be getting around to it eventually. I've seen reports of people getting things 3 years later! If a star hasn't responded after 6 months, it is ok to try again.

 Don't send any autograph requests if you plan on moving soon. If you do move, give the post office your forwarding address.

 ALWAYS double check the letter and envelope to make sure you are sending it to the right person.

 If you choose to put your autographs in a binder, make sure that you get acid free photo sheets to hold the pictures. Also make sure that the binder you choose has a D ring (as opposed to an O ring); this will reduce your autographs getting bent in the binder. It also helps to put cardboard backing behind the picture to help them stay sturdy.

 When writing your letter, its usually best to leave out the fact that you are an autograph collector. If you tell them you are a collector, some stars are put off by this and think that you may just want their autograph to sell it or just to collect it and that you aren't really a true fan of their work.

Via Venue

Writing via venue means that you are writing to a celebrity at where they are currently working, whether it be a film studio they are with currently filming or a concert hall a band is supposed to play at in a few days.

When sending via venue, you need to make sure that you get the request out before the production ends. Sometimes the mail is forwarded afterwards, sometimes not.

Successes are very good via venue. A good quality about it is that the star sometimes doesn't have their preprints with them, so they will just sign whatever you send them. Some people that I've gotten that normally send preprints through their agent but sign via venue are Carmen Electra, Willem Dafoe, and Tim Allen.

If you need a list of via venue addresses, ask for it in the Address Request thread.

Abbreviations and Terms

Form the time being, please consult these links for term meanings until I have time to compile them:

http://www.fanmail.biz/mboard/viewtopic.php?t=4681

http://www.wattographs.com/collecting/terms.html

http://forums.thebothanspy.com/showthread.php?t=9556

http://www.fanmail.biz/mboard/viewtopic.php?t=9991&start=0

Reconsgt:
Very helpfull article Sergiu, thanks for posting it up here.

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