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SO HOW THE HECK CAN I GET A REAL AUTOGRAPH?
Here is the best advice I can give you: Get your own autographs! It’s fun, it’s easy and it is so much more exciting to receive an autograph you’ve requested from a celebrity than winning one in an auction. Less expensive too!!!
GETTING STARTED
Start buying autograph magazines from your book store. Look at the adds and find companies that sell great photos of big stars. Order their catalogue (they are cheap) and choose photos of your favorite stars. Usually color photos are 5.00 apiece, black and white are around 3.50. After you have made your selection check your autograph magazines to see if it includes addresses of these same artists. The internet also has good free celebrity address sites.
Write a nice short and sweet letter to your celebrity of choice. Introduce yourself, describe what you admire about them and close by asking if they would sign the photo you sent.
LARGE MANILA ENVELOPES.
Go to an office store and buy a box of large Manila envelopes. Maybe two boxes, one size just slightly larger. You want to be able to fit your 8X10 photo in the smallest envelope without folding it. Put the photo in a manila folder. This will help keep the photo from bending in the mail. Now put the folder in the manila envelope and write your own name and address on that envelope. Also write: PHOTO, DO NOT BEND. Don’t seal the envelope. This will be sent back to you. However don’t forget to buy postage for yourself. Go to the post office and explain that you want this envelope sent back to you from the address you are sending it to. They will give you the correct amount of stamps to do that. After awhile you get an idea how many stamps to put on and you won’t have to keep bugging your post person with this detail. Make sure you have more postage on your return envelope than not enough.
Now take the larger envelope and put everything in this. Write the name and address of the celebrity and your return address. Also write PHOTO, DO NOT BEND. Go to the post office and send it out. This may seem like a lot of steps but it becomes a very quick and easy process once you do it a few times.
NOW WHAT?
Now you wait everyday by your mail box and annoy the heck out of your postal carrier. This waiting can be unbearable so I kept myself busy writing even more letters and finding more addresses of some stars that I would like signatures from. Send out about 5 requests a week to different stars. The more requests you send out the higher probability you will get a response.
I had such good luck with this method of autograph collecting. The good news is that most of my photos were returned signed!!! Only a few came back with rubber stamps, only a few were returned completely untouched. This method of autograph collecting takes effort but I believe the celebrities appreciate the effort and feel more obliged to sign your item and return it to you.
CAN I JUST WRITE A LETTER AND ASK FOR A SIGNED PICTURE?
You can. I had luck with that when I was 10. I don’t think it’s very effective now. I think you will receive a lot of 3X5 preprinted autographed cards. Not too exciting. The other method will surprise you how well it works.
GOOD LUCK
Final ThoughtsI hope this info was enlightening. I am tired of seeing fake autographs so readily available on the Internet Auction Websites. I thought I wrote this information to stop crooks from lining their pockets with your money. I was wrong. I feel sorry for bidders who are buying fakes. I know how crushed I was when I found out my first autograph was fake. I still remember the feeling of disgust and disbelief. I would like to stop fraud for this reason. I experience that same disgust and disbelief when I see a fake autograph sold to someone that was fooled.
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(He followed my advice and look who's smiling!)
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