Signed Index Cards

I am an autograph collector, not an autographed photo collector. Don’t get me wrong, getting an autographed photo is always great and is much preferred over just getting a signature. However, in many cases, getting a signature on an index card can be just as rewarding for your collection.

The first consideration is space. What are you going to do with all your autographed photos when they start rolling in? Remember, most photos that you get through the mail will be 8×10′s. They take up a ton of space if you frame them and stick them on the wall, or they take up a complete page in any album that you may use to display your photos. Me, I have about 100 photos hanging on the wall in a single room and have about 140 others displayed in 2 Photo Albums. I have no more space on the wall. Period. Right now, if I get a signed picture from a “Biggie”, someone “Less Biggie” has to come down off the wall to make space.

Another consideration is cost. The accepted practice in the hobby used to get a signed photo is for you to send a pre-paid return envelope. Obviously, in order to get a picture, you need to send a pre-stamped MANILA envelope with enough postage attached to get the thing back to you there in Timbuktu or wherever you live. I get a manila envelope, address it to the celebrity, put 3-4 stamps on it, insert a manila envelope inside, made out to me, with another 3-4 stamps attached, and then mail them off. Doing the math, one picture request via the mail will run around $2.50-$3.30 or so for each request. It might not sound like much, but it adds up real fast!

If there is a celebrity that you would like a signature from, and it is a person that you do not absolutely have to have a photo of….consider sending them an index card to sign. You can get a standard envelope with one stamp, send a letter to the celeb, place a folded return envelope addressed to you with one stamp, and you can get a persons signature for all of 88 Cents total! Plus, you can place 3 index cards on each page of an album which will save you a ton of space. If you really want to show off the persons signature, you can always print out your own photo at home and then place the index card in the frame with the photo. The main thing is that you did get the persons autograph! Unlike a signed photo, you will not get PREPRINTED index cards back from the celebrity. I always write my name and address on the reverse side of the card before I send them off so that I know the card I get back is indeed authentic.

So, economy pinching your wallet? Your walls cluttered with photos? Your albums overflowing? Try mailing out some index cards. Good luck and Happy Hunting!

PS* No, those are NOT my signed index cards in the photo. Someone else in the hobby is off to a pretty good start though….