the reason why i started this guide is because i like to collect autographs. also what to collect may be confusing to some people.  go to a popular search engine and look up autograph collecting. there are a couple of websites that are helpful in you collection

you must like what to collect in terms of autographs. i like to collect autographs from todays popular stars from television and films. some celebrities are accomodating through the mail and other won't respond just because some of the celebrities are just so popular. like for example will smith, tom cruise and matt damon for example. if you like to collect autographs from television and films i would suggest going after some of the older stars instead of the younger stars. you will be surprised. also the magazine websites do have celebrity address where you can write to them for an autograph.

also there are conventions where you can attend that celebrities would be there signing. they may charge a small fee but would be worth your time going there to meet them. if conventions is not your style you might want to try at some of the major studio lots where filming of major tv shows and films take place. you might want to get creative when it comes to autograph collecting. airports are also a popular place to go to when trying to get an autograph you will be surprised who might be cutting through the airport or waiting for their next flight. i once waited in front of a major casino in my area because a planet hollywood opened up and got pictures and a few celebrity autographs out of that one.

the real questions is what kind of autographs should you collect. well it depends what field interests you. do you like sci fi, movies, a television show. maybe astronauts do something for you. stick to what you like in any field and you will be surprised. like i said i like collecting from tv and films because thats what interests me.

where to buy autographs is a big key question. you must go to an  organization is a reputable and highly dependable place to go to for autograph collecting and finding great dealers that sell autographs. trust me no one can be the all mighty powerful in all autgraph collecting, so stick to what you know and like and you will be happy.

also what kind of autographs to collect on what kind of items. should you collect photos of celebrities with their autographs on them or should it be sports jerseys, trading cards or memorabillia. it all depends on your budget and what spaces you have available. if you are on a limited budget go with collecting autographed photos cards and the like. if you have a great budget the go for jersey bats and anything that your hearts desire. also space can be a factor. if you collect football helmets then space would be a factor. if you collect photos binders would work perfectly. even today a lot of celebrities have their own websites. check there if they do autographs through the mail or if they are selling it through ebay for charity.

at a future time i will add some photos and autographed items to this page.

you will be surprised how many celebrities use checks to purchase items. if you go to a reputable dealer that deals with checks that were signed by the stars they have some really nice ones. a ty cobb check signed by him is few and far between. you best bet like i said is to go a good dealer that deals with celebrity checks. i would not try to go to the stores themselves to ask for those checks because of privacy issues but your best bet is going to a dealer.

fakes forgeries stamped secretaries oh my. please be on the lookout for all these items. you can tell that an autograph has been stamped because it is usually lighter in color. also presidents will use secretaries and autopens to autograph documents and photos. but detecting those fakes and forgeries are tough if you know what to look for. my advice is do not buy any authentic autograph from ebay. there are a few people on ebay that do sell authentic items but 99% are fakes and forged. there is a book that will show you what a persons autograph would look like if you were to look for an authentic autograph. so please do your homehwork when looking for that right item. there are lots of autograph dealers out there but research is the key when looking for the right one. also if someone is selling a poster of batman the dark knight try to avoid this because this is a fake. heath ledger never had a chance to sign any posters or much of anything before his death so please be on the lookout. and also if someone is selling multiple autograph of elvis presley or even marilyn monroe more than likely they are fakes as well because no one would have an abuntant amount because these two autgraphs are just hard to come buy. i hope this helps you out in your autograph collecting quest.

also collect what you like, if you start collecting all the way around it makes you look like a packrat hoarding things. also budget is also another factor as well. how much are you willing to spend on autographs. also how much time do you have. also if possible keep your hobby as a hobby. don't try to turn it into a business. trust me this will cause major problems long term. but there are some hobbies that could be turned into business. it all depends. autograph collecting is about having fun and looking for that particular gold mine or treasure of an autograph. happy collecting.

check your local auction house. there are people that are liquidating their assets or a death in the family and needs to sell their items. there you can find good deals on autographed items and memorabillia. you will be surprised what you will find there.

also read a lot of the entertainment magazines. keep up with trends and see what the stars are doing. you might get lucky and go to a premiere and get autographs from your favorite stars as well.

collecting memorabillia can be tricky. your best bet is contacting the studios that make the movies because the studios are the one dealing with props clothes and anything that deals with the movies. if someone is selling movie memorabillia, check with the person and ask questions. where did they purchase the item is it from the movie and so on. also check the movie or tv show out. was it actually there. and sometimes it is too good to be true it probably is. so please be careful.

another good items are autograph sports cards. you will be surprised what kinds of autograph sports cards are out there. a lot of them are signed by the celebrities themselves and a lot of them are signed by the sports stars as well.

professional grading. there are a couple of companies that actually grade the autographs and sportscards. you have to go to a popular search engine and look for a company that does this. what the compnay will do is that for a fee will grade and determine if the autograph is real or fake and what kind of a grade you will get for the item at hand. there are companies that do autographs, sportscards and non sportscards and even comic books.

also keep your hobby fun and enjoy it. stay within a budget and also determine how much room you have in your home or apartment. don't be a packrat and start collecting thing at random. find something that you like and enjoy it.

where to get that favorite in person autograph request. this first hot spot and it sounds corny is hanging around the airport. you will be surprised who will be traveling. celebrities are like the rest of the traveling world. they have to get to a film shoot or going home that sort of thing. they try to blend in and you will be surprised who you will find. some celebritites are great in person for an autograph and others are well you know......... anyway that is a good place to start your autograph collection. also another place is looking at restaurants. my best advice to you if you are an autograph collector is to wait until the celebrity is finished eating. most all do not liked to be interrupted while eating. i know you folks don't want to be disturbed while you are eating. so please if you see your favorite celeb wait until they are finished eating and then go for the hunt. also if you are a broadway person looking for that autograph here is the best way. you can wait by the exit and most of the time they will come out through that door and will sign. do not catch them on sundays because their only day off they have is monday and want to get out as soon as possible for rest. on tuesdays after the show is the best because they are more relaxed and more willing to sign you an autograph.

when you do encounter a celebrity be very polite to them. always thank them for an autograph. and if you don't get an autograph don't be discouraged there are other opportunities to get them. some celebrities are accomodating on multiple autographs while others only sign one or two because alot of the autograph hounds would get multiple autographs keep one and sell the rest. i do it for the sake of the hobby and not for profit.

how to store your autographs. this would greatly depend on what you are collecting. if you are collecting photos, postcards, signature cards you can get regular large ring binders with 8x10 plastic sheet holders. these you can get on ebay or any place that would sell sportscards. now if you collect jerseys you are better off having them framed. this can be expensive but it is worth the cost and resell value if you do decide to sell. this will work with photos as well. now if you have baseballs footballs basketballs and hockey pucks you can get a display case in those sizes. those are perfect so you can look at them anytime you want. also football helmets and mini helmets there are display cases for those items as well. like i said what is your budget and your space. you are limited to those items. framing posters are worth the cost if they are a one of a kind or if they are autographed. go to a specialist in framing such as poster and jerseys. make sure you go to someone that you trust or you know and does the framing well. the last thing you want is a jersey that is framed and someone dropped coffee all over it or spilled too much glue onto your favorite picture.

what are autographs worth. that depends. how rare are the autographs. did the celebrity sign much all. the big question is are they a major star that didn't sign much like marlon brando. or are they a star that likes to sign autographs for the people like matt damon and johnny depp. autograph habits of the major part of how much an autograph is worth. also there is a book called sanders price guide to autographs. they are the leading and foremost on price guids on autographs of most major celebrities in all fields and what they have done. also another major factor in autographs is where is the autograph on. for example an 8x10 autographed picture of sylvester stallone will be worth x amount of dollars, but if you have lets say a set of boxing gloves signed by him the value might be higher than the photo. you have to look and see and where the autographs are for value wise.

hot and hold. a lot of the celebritites autographs do run hot and cold in terms of  value wise. you really have to read up on a lot of celebrities as to what they are doing. a scandal maybe like o j simpson or something controversial like mel gibson. an item that seems to exceed expectations are letters signed. there are typed letters that are signed by celebrities and there are notes or letters written by the stars. even presidential letters. it depends on the content some letters are more valuable then others. for some reason since the inceptions of the standard and poors market the presidential typed letters and handwritten letters have exceeded the market in terms of value wise. protecting these items can be tricky. your best bet would be to frame that item in an acid free paper and keep it away from the light.

posters. there are a lot of posters out there. some of the posters of today can be collectibles if they are rare. a lot of those posters are folded or rolled and sent with the canister of film and sent to the theaters. you really have to research posters from the films to see the value of them. the one poster that i know of that is worth a million dollars and its called metropolis. if you ever stumble upon this one of a kind treasure you can do one of two things. you can hold on to this item and have it as a collector or you can sell this one of a kind poster.

here is an example of a celebrity that had a legendary status. marlon brando. he didn't sign much as a celebrity. he won multiple oscars for his work on the waterfront and the godfather. he was nominated eight times for his work. he won the bafta awards emmys and numerous other works. but in terms of him signing he just didn't sign much. when he was still alive his 8x10 autograph was worth between 800 and 1200 dollars. after his death the same 8x10 autograph is easily worth double that. another rare autograph to get is shoeless joe jackson he was illiterate and most of the time his wife signed for him or he signed with an x. a last know example of his autograph sold was for 23,000 dollars. another autograph that you will almost never find is the composer beethoven. 99% of all his signed works is in a museum so almost more than likely you will never find something like this one.

i have heard of collectors who collect signers from the declaration of independence. most all of the autographs are readily available except for one. button gwinnett. he was one of the first signers of the independence but rarely signed anything. the biggest item is the independece. not much is ever found on his autographs. his autograph is very hard to find and its worth at least a high five figures.

the value of an autograph greatly depends on the person and how rare the item is. for example. a single signed baseball is far more valuable than a multiple signed ball. it usually depends on who signs the ball. babe ruth for example. getting a signed baseball from babe ruth on the sweet spot is worth its price in gold. also having on that same ball as well lou gherig on that same ball may increase the value of the ball. the same goes for bats as well. also signed basketballs. a signed basketball from the lakers championship game with shaq and kobe and the team can command up to $10,000 if not more. like i said it depends where the autographs are and what the market calls for. also sports jerseys are very desirable as well. but only the single signed jerseys. if you have multiple signatures on a jersey just like the baseball the value won't be as valuable.

collecting memorabillia. the best place to collect movie memorabillia is directly from the movie lots themselves. most movie lots and tv lots will sell stuff from the show or the movie themselves. that is your best place to look for good items. you might want to check ebay that will be selling an item that you might like for the stars favorite charity.

guitars. this item is very hot right now. there are a lot of great superstars that play guitars. like for example aerosmith. having all of theirs on a guitar would be a great investment. also jimi hendrix. a last know guitar that sold that had his signature on the guitar and no one else's on it sold for at least $100,000. another great ones to get are the beatles.

autograph books. getting your favorite autograph from you favorite author is also a challenge. you can catch your favorite author on tour at bookstores. but there are others that are just plain difficult to get. like the author a catcher in the rye by j d sallinger. his autograph is near term impossible never signed much.

andrew wyeth is another one whos autograph was impossible to get. he always kept things with his name on it like envelopes and other items. expect to pay top dollar just for an 8x10 autograph photo.