What I usually do is hand write a letter using one of those $1 notebooks from Wal*Mart. I usually make it a little under a page long. I tell a little about myself, too. :) Then I tell them what I like them from or why I like them. I don't usually decorate the envelope, though. Typed vs. handwritten doesn't seem to have affected my successes. I typed my early requests, but now I just write them out. It's easier for me to carry a notebook than to carry a computer. ;-)

Im new to collecting autographs. I sent out my first batch 2 months ago. i sent to 10 people, 3 retired baseball and 7 retired basketball. I got 2 baseball and 1 basketball back so far. the longest took 12 days and the shortest took 4. My letters have been hand written, about a page long, I tell them a little bit about myself (name, age, how long ive been collecting, favorite teams and players, etc...) then I decorate the envelope and make it really bright and colorful. I send a SASE and, of course, the card. Is there anything else I should/shouldnt put in my letter? What about when i write to current players, should the letter be shorter, or does it really matter because they probably wont read it anyway? Does decorating the envelope really help me get the card back? Someone told me that if the player has a big stack of mail they would probably be more likely to pick the decorated envelope. Is hand written better than typed? I think it looks like i put a lot more time into it, but does it really matter? Typed would be A LOT faster and I could send out a lot more in a day, but what I really want is for my card to get signed, so i will put as much effort into it as i need to. Thanks for answering my questions, and im new here and new to collecting so any tips or constructive criticism would be appreciated. :D