TTM Tutorial:

Q: What does "TTM" stand for?
A: "TTM" stands for "through the mail" autographs. It is a cheap and exciting way to receive autographs from sports players and/or celebrities.

Q: Sounds fun! How do I start?
A: Well, the first thing you have to do is select a purpose to your collection. For example, you could send out an entire set of sports cards or to a certain team. Or even retired players from you favorite team. Typically, the more requests you send out, the more successes you will receive.

Q: Well, I am a huge fan of the Pirates, would it be a good idea to send to current AND retired players? Also, is there people I shouldn't send to?
A: Absolutely! I have seen plenty TTM collections from current and retired players of the same team. And as far as who you shouldn't send to, most high profile-big named stars won't sign. And some big named retired players will sign but do charge a fee.

Q: Yeah, that makes sense. Where do I send the requests to and where do I find the addresses?
A: Typically when you send to a current player, you should only send in care of their corresponding stadium address. You can get the stadium address off of the team's website. For retired players, you would normally send to their home. You can get retired players addresses from pay-sites like www.startiger.com and www.sportscollectors.net.

Q: Great. So what do I need to get started?
A: First of all, you need an item for the player to sign, like a baseball card. Next thing you need is a size 10 envelope and a size 6 3/4 envelope. You can buy these in bulk at Wal-Mart. Next thing you need is 3X5 index cards to write the request letter on. And finally, you will need stamps.

Q: Baseball card, check. Two sizes of envelopes, check. 3X5 index card, check. Stamps, check. Okay, I have all the items and addresses, how do I get these sent out?
A: On the bigger envelope, you write the player's name and address. It should look like this:

Player's Name
C/O Team Name
Stadium Name
Street Address
City, State and Zip Code

Next you put your name and address in the return part of the envelope. Make sure you put the stamp on the envelope. Now on the smaller envelope, address it to yourself. And don't forget the stamp on this envelope either. Next thing is the letter to the player. Always start your letter with "Mr.", here is an example of what I write:

Dear Mr. Player,
I am a big fan of yours. I admire the way you play the game. If you have time, could you please sign my card and send it back? Thanks for your time and good luck in the future!
Sincerely,
Me

Now you put your item to be signed, the index card with the letter and the self addressed stamped envelope inside the bigger envelope. Seal the bigger envelope and drop it off in the mail box. Now watch the successes come piling in!

Q: It's that easy?! Wow. Anything else I should do?
A: Yes, it's that easy. If you like to keep stats and success rates, create a word document with the players you sent requests to, the date you sent out, the date you received your success and how many total days it took. This is also a good way to keep track of players you already sent to so you don't send duplicate requests.

Other Tips:

#1: Don't send cards that are extremely rare and valuable. It's not always a guarantee you will get it back, even with decent signers.

#2: Don't send cards that are too glossy. The ink usually smears and makes the autograph illegible. If you do want to send a glossy card, rub it down with a pink pencil eraser first. This will help reduce smearing.

#3: Your letters should never be too long. Odds are the player doesn't have time to read it so make your letters short and sweet.

#4: This is extremely important. If the post office is raising the postage rates soon, put the additional postage amount on your smaller envelope. For instance, if it's March and the post office is raising the postage rates in May from 0.39 cents to 0.41 cents, send the smaller envelope with an additional two cent stamp on it. Reason for this is you never know when the player will send back and it's possible that they will send back after the rates have already increased. This prevents any issues with the post office not returning your success.

#5: If you do receive a success from a very popular player, sometimes they are "ghost-signed". This means the player had someone else sign the card. Although there is no way to prevent this, it's a good idea to compare the signature with certified autograph cards. One thing to remember though is a player's signature won't be the same every time and their signatures do evolve over time. So if you do get a success that looks different than the player's certified autograph, it may just be real. If you want to know 100% sure if it's a legitimate signature, there are authentication services that will advise you if it is real or not. They will also encase the card for you to prevent any long term damage.

#6: If you would like your card inscribed with something, most retired players and low profile minor leaguers would be more than happy to. Most current major leaguers probably won't have time to read your letter, let alone know that you requested an inscription.

#7: Donations. Some players will sign your card for a donation fee. This can be current players AND retired players. If you want a signature from a player who signs for a fee, it is best to send a check. Most donations go to a specific charity, so when you send the donation, you are contributing to a good cause. One tip for this would be to write and highlight, "Donation Enclosed" on the bigger envelope. Reason for this is the player will see that and know there is a donation instead of sifting through hundreds of requests.

#8: Last tip is to BE PATIENT! I have gotten requests as quick as four days and as long as three years. You never know when some great success will be sitting in the mailbox for you. Good luck!



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