As much as I want there are emails for autograph requests, I want them to be kept sercet.
I received some successes by email, but I feel they are actually VERY kind to have respond that, so I didn't post/share the email.
Unless the email is for request, like SFM emails, it's totally fine to be shared in my opinion. Sometimes I wish those "bad signing" stars do SFM, so at least I can get something from them!

I find this hobby is rewarding because you never know what the results are and with people spamming emails, it will deteriorate kind agents from answering real fans' requests.

[quote="No.1 Grapher"]***SHAMBLER***

HI

COULD YOU GIVE ME THE ADDRESS YOU USED FOR THE BABYSHAMBLES

VIA PM OR ANYTHING

CHEERS

JAMES[/quote]


Sorry my friend, I used a private home address that one of the bandmember's gave me. That's why I didn't post any of my Babyshambles successes on this forum (or anywhere else) and can't share the address - out of respect for them trusting me.

***SHAMBLER***

HI

COULD YOU GIVE ME THE ADDRESS YOU USED FOR THE BABYSHAMBLES

VIA PM OR ANYTHING

CHEERS

JAMES

Agreed. If the address is set up specifically for emailing a star with an autograph request then it is fine, because that's what it is for, the trouble is, people email agents etc., who deal with a truckload of other emails anyway, and they are very unlikely to respond to autograph requests, especially when someone puts it up on a public site and they get spammed - they simply won't.

I'm old-fashioned and believe in the courtesy of a hand-written letter, and that's what I will always do, but how others choose to do things is up to them. If you can get yourselves a genuine success via email, then that's great, but some stars won't sign through the mail for any reason, email or otherwise, so that's a tough one. I only write to people whose work I admire. Many of the stars I have collected from in earlier years are now dead and I feel very lucky that I managed to get authentic autographs from them. I would never sell any of my autographs, no matter what the price.

Yes, Shambler, a lot of the big names from the 60s were far more 'fan friendly' than the modern star, and that was fantastic, very good for the fans and for the image of the group etc. It's a pity more of them aren't like it today, but things have changed mightily, for many reasons. I have spoken to a handful of female celebs whom I've met in person and they have all, without exception, said that fan mail scares them and so do some fans, because of the whole 'stalker' issue, which seems to be becomming a bigger and bigger problem. Two of them told me that they used to read all of their mail and answer as much as they could, but now, they have a secretary do the whole thing, which is sad, but it's a natural fear to have, particularly for those with kids.

I only post one out of every 10 or so successes on here because of the worry of an address being abused if the person happens to be a big name. As I have seen in other posts, If I am asked by the celebrity or agent not to divulge the address used, then those successes are never put up here or any any website as I would hate to abuse something I had been given in confidence. If I use an address I FOUND on here, then, of course, I will post the success, as that is only fair to everyone else, but if I get a success wiith a private address, I don't even post it or mention it at all as that seems unfair to people who can't find an address. I'm fortunate to have 2 cousins who work in the US as actors and also a former school friend, which has helped quite a bit in earlier years when collecting signatures which were almost impossible to get.

I think sites like this are very useful and helpful for collectors and I wish you all well in your continued search.

[color=#004080]Irish Eyes[/color]

[quote="Andy316"]Bottom line is, unless its 110% clear that an email address has been specifically set up to request autographs, then it shouldnt be posted/shared/used.[/quote]

I agree. For two of my best successes, I got them through a management email addy I stumbled upon by chance. I decided not to post the email address up in feedback as I knew it would be very annoying for the lady who kindly helped me to have to deal with spammers, just wanting an autograph for the sake of it. However, if that address were set up for autograph request purposes, I would've shared it. I guess my point is, where there is an email address available and I'm a real fan of the person, I'll use it to save postage, because I see nothing wrong with that. If email addresses were posted up for Miley Cyrus, Will Smith, Paris Hilton, whatever - I wouldn't even think about using it because I know I don't like them, and their auto's would mean nothing to me!

[quote="Shambler"]There is NOTHING rude about requesting an autograph through email if it is set up for that facility. [/quote]

This I agree with 110%.

The problem is, the majority of email addresses used/posted on here are not actually "autograph request email addresses", and therein lies the problem.

If the email is specifically designed for autograph requests, then thats great, fans (or dealers, or non-fans who just want an auto) can request as much as they want until it goes overboard and they stop taking requests and start asking for SASEs.

When the email is actually an agent's email (etc) and someone tries it on the off chance, they might get lucky, fair enough. BUT when this is then posted/shared, the email gets abused. A few may get lucky, but when 100s of people do it, its wrong.

Imagine if you were a star's agent, you got one or two emails every few months asking for the star's autograph, its no big deal. The successes get posted online, the email is shared, then suddenly the agent is receiving 100s of email a week. This is email abuse, and I guarantee it would REALLY annoy you if you were the agent.

Bottom line is, unless its 110% clear that an email address has been specifically set up to request autographs, then it shouldnt be posted/shared/used.

[quote]Yes, I've said a lot, but I'm a serious collector, just as a few others are on here[/quote]

I'm a serious collector and true admirer of the people I write to too, thank you very much ;) and a lot of users on this board are not 9 years old or something, so we do not need to be addressed in that way.


I love using both email and snail mail to correspond with celebs. When you are on a tight budget, email is very convenient - IRC's and international stamps are hard to come by for me. There is NOTHING rude about requesting an autograph through email if it is set up for that facility. I don't mind the celebs paying postage as I do a lot to support their careers in many ways, and I feel some gratitude is due for the fact that I'm such a loyal fan? Or should I not be given a toss about? Just expected to pay up, pay up, because they're high and mighty and I'm not?! Not in my view.


In the 70's my mother was a massive fan of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. She sent each band a letter only once, and from then on they sent her numerous packages over the years without her even asking - signed photographs, limited edition vinyls, newsletters, buttons, you name it. THEY paid the postage. That's what you do for your fans, cos they spend more on you than you ever will on them. When I tell my mother I'm expected to pay return postage and send photos for the celebs I write to, she is shocked, because that wasn't the case 'back in the day'. It shouldn't be the case now either.

That's my opinion and I stand by it, I don't expect anyone to agree with it however.

First of all, I am completely against posting e-mail-addresses on here, no matter if you have 500 or 1,000,000 posts. And it is really annoying when you get asked for addresses via PM all the time, e.g. by people who only registered that day.

As it was stated by some people before me: if you are a fan, you will likely pay the money and if you can't get your hands on stamps or IRCs then you can find them! It all needs a little effort.

dgangel and Irish_Eyes, I agree with you both completely.

How can we expect authentic replies from celebrities, if we can't extend them the same courtesy? And why's it so much of an issue to pay for return postage, we want the autograph and celebrities are more likely to reply if we make it easier for them to do so. Look, I'm not being argumentative or anything, I just think that handwriting a letter, posting it and including return postage is the way to go.

[quote="Shambler"][quote="dgangel"]It cost's us at least around $2 for one request. Imagine how many emails they would get, plus the cost of photo's to send out. It all adds up, and it's not cheap.[/quote] We should know, because we're the ones paying! They can do what a lot of celebs do and keep a list where there is a limit to one per person. [/quote]

So we should. We're the ones who want autographs, why shouldn't we pay? How can a celebrity, regardless of how much they earn, be expected to pay to have photographs printed AND postage? :? And what does a limit do? If it's an email address that's being spammed so they limit replies to one photograph per person, what's to stop people creating more email addresses through hotmail and yahoo? :neutral: I don't know. That's just what I think.

Cheers,

Madame_Malfoy

Good grief! If a person is a true fan of a celebrity, and they can afford to got to the movies, buy posters and soundtracks and DVDs etc., then SURELY they can obviously afford a stamp and envelope and should do the celebrity the courtesy of a personally written letter if they expect a personal reply!

From here in Australia, the TOTAL cost of stamps, envelopes and an International Reply Coupon is $4.80. To go to the cinema, buy popcorn and drinks etc. is WAY more than that!

I have been collecting aqutographs through the mail since before most of you were born and in the 'old days', we had to physically go to a library, trawl through huge books and international telephone directories in order to send a letter to someone whose work we admired. THAT took time and effort, and we ALWAYS wrote hand-written letters. Long before the days of internet and email, I received close to 200 PERSONALISED successes in this way and, most of the time, a hand-written short note from the celebrity as well, thanking me for taking the time to write, because they knew the amount of effort it would have taken to find the correct addess etc. in the first place!

To email someone and ask for their autograph is rude. VERY rude, even if they DO have that facility available. A personal letter is much nicer, more professional and more likely to get a response. I have the collection to prove it! The issue of celebrities paying for postage seems to have escaped some people. Do you have ANY idea how much it would cost them if they were to pay for a response to EVERY letter they received? Of course most of them aren't 'poor', but, if you receive 10,00 per week (as Sarah Michelle Gellar did in the second season of 'Buffy',) then any earnings not given to the tax man would be wiped out in postage. Celebrities cannot claim the cost of having photos printed or sending out mail as a tax deduction and, as I said, if we own computers, have the net and can go to cinemas etc., then we can pay for a stamp to send a letter, simple as that!

A lot of people on this site seem to feel that the celebrities 'owe' them something? Well, they entertain us, so they give us plenty! We do not OWN them, so the least we can do is cover their postage, given that, mostly, they provide photos, unless we send our own.

As for providing email addresses for people who have more than 500 posts, most people (not all) who DO have more than that simply write 'Nice success' or something like that, simply tp get their post count up, which is wrong. If you want an autograph, then do it properly, and if at first, you don't succeed, try another star or buy fakes from Ebay, as there are PLENTY to be purchased if you are stupid enough to do so. I can think of two VERY big Australian names who refuse to even consider requests via email as they have been spammed by this site and others, and it becomes a joke. Email addresses should not be posted here as they get spammed by people who would write to Daffy Duck if they thought they could get his autograph! A SERIOUS collector, and one who is a true fan of a celebrity WILL go the extra mile and do it the right way - there never used to BE any other way, and I never heard any complaints.

If you spam a celebrity, we all lose. Sometimes we won't have a success via an agent or venue, but that's just how it is. British stars are by far the best signers overall, and THEY certainly appreciate a hand-written letter (although a small handful DO use the email system) but, on the whole, if you send an email, you will almost always just get a pre-print, and if you send a real letter, you just might get lucky.

Yes, I've said a lot, but I'm a serious collector, just as a few others are on here, and the whole purpose of having such a fun hobby is to put some effort into it.

[color=#004040]Irish Eyes[/color]