How I request autographs through the Mail (TTM)

This is how I go about obtaining the many autographs that I have received through the mail (TTM), all without the use of begging, groveling, crying, and making up fake terminal illnesses.

First of all, I figure out who I want to try to get an autograph from. If you look at my results, you would think that I have a blind monkey reach into a huge bowl filled with millions of names and I have the poor animal just randomly grab a name. That is pretty close. I actually have a huge swimming pool filled with millions of ping-pong balls, each adorned with a celebrity name and address, and I have a legally blind dolphin, handicapped with a deformed flipper, who swims around then randomly tosses me a ball while swimming aimlessly in circles….again….due to just having one good flipper.

I now have a name.

I go to every free celebrity autograph address related website that I can find. (They are out there) I check and cross-check the addresses listed for that celebrity until I find the one address that multiple people from different websites have each successfully used. I then, due to my encroaching Alzheimer’s, check and make sure that A: The Celebrity is still ALIVE and B: the address has had a success sometime in the past 20 years or so.

I now have a name and an address.

I then go to my trusty computer and type out a short (usually just 1 paragraph) letter to that Celebrity. The key is short and to the point. I POLITELY ask for a signed photo in the first sentence. I then go on to tell them BRIEFLY why I am a fan. I tell them what I like about their work and their career. I politely thank them for their time, I tell them to have a nice day, and I sign my name. Below my name is my full mailing address. Most fan letters are read by assistants. Some are actually read by the celebrities. They get tons of mail. There are hundreds of thousands of people who collect autographs around the world. Even a Star that you consider obscure is probably buried in fan mail. Keep the letter as short as possible and above all…BE HONEST. They can tell BS when they read it. Do not make up stories about you having a terminal illness or that the autograph is for your terminally ill child. Just be honest. I choose to type out my letters on the computer and then hand sign them due to my terrible handwriting. If you want to send a hand-written note, go for it.

I then write my name and address on an index card that I put into the envelope solely as a backup to make sure they have my correct address. I then get a 10 x 13 manila envelope and write my name and address on the cover. I then place (3) US Stamps on that envelope. This is my RETURN envelope. I then get another 10 x 13 manila envelope and address it to the Celebrity. I put my name and address in the upper left corner. I put (3) US Stamps on that envelope. I then fold the return envelope in half, fold the signed letter in half, add in the index card, and put them into the envelope addressed to the celebrity.

That is it. I mail it, make a note in a database on the computer as to who I sent a letter to and the date, and then I sit back and wait. At this particular moment, I have 43 letters that I have sent out that I am waiting to get replies to. The oldest ones were sent out in November, the newest letter was just sent out today. In reading the autograph websites you will see that some Celebrities will answer quickly, within a month or so, and others may take up to a year. Some celebrities take multiple tries before you get a success. About 40% of the letters I sent out will never get any responses whatsoever. If you can live with a 60% success rate, it will be a rewarding hobby.

Some celebrities will never sign anything, except in person. I won’t list their names here, but many of the biggest stars will never sign anything you send them. Some have agreements to only sell their autographs through certain websites or dealers. I try very hard to verify that people have actually had successes from that celebrity before I send anything out.

Finally, the biggest question in autograph collecting……

Are they Real?

I have no idea. I have found that the hobby is one that is based very heavily on faith. Faith that what you have received was actually signed by the star. The only autographs that you can be sure are real with 100% certainty are the ones that you physically saw the star actually sign…in person. Every….EVERY…EVERY…. other autograph on the planet..including those sold in memorabilia stores, online, by dealers, by other collectors, on EBAY, etc……can never be guaranteed to be authentic and real. Someone can offer you a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) to prove that the signature is real….but unless you physically saw the star sign the photograph…yourself….you will NEVER know for sure.

I write my letters, I get some of them back with signed photos, and I publish what they send me. I trust that most of them are real and authentic and I am perfectly happy with that. If I could not live with that understanding then I am in the wrong hobby because I have not seen a single one of my autographs signed in person.

In the hobby, autographs can be classified as Authentic, Pretty sure it’s Authentic, I think it is Authentic, Pre-Printed, Autopens, secretarials, signed by Elephants holding sharpies, forgeries, etc. As stated before, the only one’s that you will ever know are 100% authentic are the one’s you see the star sign in person.

It’s a fun and rewarding hobby. It sure makes going to the mailbox fun each day. A few days in a row, or a week, with nothing will get you a little down but then you get a picture from one of your favorite childhood stars and it really makes your day.

I did not write to all the people that I have received autographs from. Amost half of them came as a result of sending an email to the celebrity or to the celebrities agency. Obviously, these autographs cost me nothing. I still have dozens of people that I have emailed that I am waiting to hear back from in addition to all the letters I have sent out.

I get a signed photo, I scan it into the computer, post it on the blog, slap it in a inexpensive frame, then I mull exactly where to hang it on the wall here in the computer room. Each new picture results in multiple celebrities being moved around to “just the right spot”. The “Big Boys” that I am most proud of are visible on the wall just as you walk into the room. Every week, a few big name stars get bumped off the “Big Boy” wall by newer, “Bigger” celebrities.

Sundays suck. You know that nothing will ever arrive on a Sunday.

If you want to give the hobby a try, go for it! Send out a couple letters. If you get a success back a month or two later…..I bet you will get hooked as I did.

Good Luck!