Charging for Autographs
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (68084)
United States
October 27, 2015 5:55pm CST
A few years ago I went to a small sci-fi/superhero convention. There was an actor there who'd been on a TV show in the 70's (and, as a 14-year-old girl, I had a big crush on him). My interest in meeting him was almost immediately doused when I discovered he charged to sign autographs.
Worse: his fee seemed based on what he thought the item was going to be worth once he signed it. A picture was $10, a "collector's item" that someone had possessed since 1974 was $30.
I asked if I could pose for a picture with him. When he said "sure" I almost asked, "And how much will that cost?" 
So...should these actors be charging for their autographs? Aren't they already getting paid for their appearances by the sponsors of the events (and, by extension, the money you pay to get into the convention)? Or is that just an accepted fact of life?
So...should these actors be charging for their autographs? Aren't they already getting paid for their appearances by the sponsors of the events (and, by extension, the money you pay to get into the convention)? Or is that just an accepted fact of life?4 people like this
6 responses
@topffer (42156)
• France
28 Oct 15
It looks like it becomes common in the US. I cannot tell if it is good or not. I know that some people are asking autographs to sell them on Ebay. If an actor asks to pay, it will stop them. Something funny happened to me once : a seller of used books asked me to do a fake dedication on one of my books that he had in his shop to sell it more easily
.
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Yesterday afternoon, Sylvester Stallone turned up at New York Comic-Con, partly to promote his upcoming film, Escape Plan, and partly to sell a tiny fragment of his existence for a steep fee. A very steep fee: $395 an autograph, $445 a photo.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (68084)
• United States
28 Oct 15
I can understand that, to some degree. I bought a copy of Meat Loaf's autobiography for a friend of mine and sent it to her just before he saw him. Before the end of the concert he said from the stage that he'd be out in the lobby but he was NOT going to sign anything, because, "I'll sign it tonight and it'll be on eBay in the morning."
My personal take on that: Meat Loaf (or any other actor/singer/author/whatever) can open their own eBay store. "I'm Meat Loaf and I'll sell you copies of my book or Bat Out of Hell for $15, autographed for $10 more." If he is online selling his own autographed stuff, he shuts down (or severely reduces) the autograph selling trade he was apparently objecting to. I also think that, if you paid $30 for the book or $20 for the DVD, the actor has already made money off of you, so why charge more?
But that goes back to the Stallone article you linked: if someone will pay it then, in his mind, he's not charging too much. If everyone walks away with the wave of a middle finger at him, then he knows his price is too steep.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
28 Oct 15
@FourWalls I am happy that the only persons selling their autographs in France are tv reality shows "stars" and soccer players. A book author would never do it. When you sign a contract for a book, you accept to participate to its promotion by signing it in various bookstores. The travel costs are usually paid by the bookstore ; the bookstore hopes to recover them by selling a consequent number of books, and the author owns a percentage from the publisher for each book sold, so it would be not correct to ask to be paid for an autograph.
. A book author would never do it. When you sign a contract for a book, you accept to participate to its promotion by signing it in various bookstores. The travel costs are usually paid by the bookstore ; the bookstore hopes to recover them by selling a consequent number of books, and the author owns a percentage from the publisher for each book sold, so it would be not correct to ask to be paid for an autograph.1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
28 Oct 15
I went to Star Trek conventions in the 70's and nobody thought to charge for autographs then, but also they weren't sold all over the place either.
Three years ago, I took my kids to an Invader Zim convention, and all the voice actors were charging $20 per autograph. Ugh.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
28 Oct 15
Maybe they charge for autographs so that they aren't swamped by everyone and his uncle. It does seem a bit cheesy. But anyone who is really a hot actor with better things to do doesn't show up at these events usually. So maybe they need to make money any way they can.
1 person likes this
@crewgirl (191)
• United States
28 Oct 15
Well, I guess the guy can do whatever he wants. He probably needed some way to make money since he was probably an out-of-work actor. It would turn me off if someone I loved charged for autographs. I'm broke. They'd probably have more money than most of their fans.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
7 Feb 16
The selling of autographs has become big business at conventions. The late Mickey Rooney made thousands at one sitting. It's mainly hard up forgotten actors or those on Supernatural cashing in on popularity.
1 person likes this
