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I know alot of people talk about quitting this hobby because of costs and not getting much back and i cant blame them... I will never completely stop this hobby but i have cut back on what i send out because of an overall poor return rate,i get lots of cool autos back but i also dont get alot back and its not only expensive for photos,envelopes and postage but its mentally hard to keep motivated sometimes. I just got a RTS from britney spears vv and i find that recently it is getting harder to get vv autos than it was even 2 years ago and im not sure why but more and more venues seem to be refusing mail now or maybe its the artists dont want to deal with it but its a fact. I dont know if its because of so many dealers or maybe alot more people are writing letters these days so they get too much. I have a theory personally i think that its because it seems lately alot of new people have been getting into the hobby and people seem to be calling and emailing venues all the time asking them if they pass on mail which in my opinion just annoys them and probably is the reason they stop taking mail....Just too many people in the hobby now i think and its made venues close the door to the mail flooding in... I have my best luck with "less famous" actors and smaller venues and productions so i will stick with those for now...

I've been sending to lesser known actors as they seem to be glad to get recognition and will sign gladly. It makes the hobby more fun than sending to bigger names and getting nothing. I haven't been getting much back either, but I've also slowed in sending things out. A lot of my list is people in your neck of the woods, and I need to restock my Canadian stamps. Not sure if I can order at Canada Post online from down here.

And they cancelled Eureka!! Damn them!

I also help the kids with their Spongebob collection, and that's kinda fun too. We're going to the LA Wizard World comicon in Sept. Let me know if there is anyone you'd like me to get there.

StevenQ wrote:I've been sending to lesser known actors as they seem to be glad to get recognition and will sign gladly. It makes the hobby more fun than sending to bigger names and getting nothing. I haven't been getting much back either, but I've also slowed in sending things out. A lot of my list is people in your neck of the woods, and I need to restock my Canadian stamps. Not sure if I can order at Canada Post online from down here.

And they cancelled Eureka!! **** them!

I also help the kids with their Spongebob collection, and that's kinda fun too. We're going to the LA Wizard World comicon in Sept. Let me know if there is anyone you'd like me to get there.

Yeah eureka was cancelled,I have most of the eureka autos because they film the mainstreet parts of the show about 10 minutes from my house.I will have to check the set out one last time before filming ends soon. I even got to shake joe mortons hand lol

StevenQ wrote:I've been sending to lesser known actors as they seem to be glad to get recognition and will sign gladly. It makes the hobby more fun than sending to bigger names and getting nothing.

I agree, I find it so much more rewarding knowing that the actor for instance might actually have read your letter as well. And you are more likely to get something like a 'thank you' note back when you write to slightly less famous people. But then I suppose it is a lot to do with why each person has gone into autograph collecting. For me it's so much about the actual writing of the letters and the communication whereas I know some people collect autographs in the same way that you might collect stamps and obviously that's when bigger names matter much more.

For me I try to keep this more of a hobby than an obsession. My family ribs me about collecting actors who are guest roles on my favorite shows, but that's the way I want to do it. And I've received some nice responses back from them. One actor even requested 2 copies of the shots I sent him so he could send them to his mother, who'd never seen him as that character.

yeah i also think this hobby is getting harder. i think it coast to much money for irc and then they do not even used them so there goes $2.00 for nothing. i stop sending them. i also think it is not fair when people who sent after get there photo back and u do not get a thing.

It is annoying when someone gets a reply, when they sent after you and you are still waiting. It's the nature of the hobby though, the mail can work in both weird and wonderful ways.

I know I was annoyed when Angela Lansbury sent me a PP when she has signed for many others- I have tried one more time though, fingers crossed as I won't waste more stamps for a third attempt.

I certainly think hard about US requests now, I am not getting many back and the stamps may be cheaper than IRC's but not having much money, still expensive to me, especially as UK postage is a rip-off and very expensive Costs £1.10 to send an airmail letter up to 20g ($1.80). With photo & SASE it never comes near the previous price band (10g).

I'm much less likely to chance someone who hasn't signed in a while and more likely to stick to known signers now.

That happens to most of us, when someone gets a success who sent after you. Makes you wonder if yours was just stuck in a round file. I'll only send to someone twice as well, then I'll just accept I'm never getting one from that person.
As for IRC's, USPS doesn't even deal with them anymore, so if you've sent them, that could be the problem.

I haven't noticed anything with my own requests, though to be fair, I've never been a fan of the Britneys and Gagas. I'm basically with Sofia here, I've always been in this for the fanmail and not for the mass collecting of autographs. I can see why the latter would feel a problem though.

StevenQ wrote:A lot of my list is people in your neck of the woods, and I need to restock my Canadian stamps. Not sure if I can order at Canada Post online from down here.

Unless something changed recently, Canada Post still ships to the US.

kimmylee wrote:It is annoying when someone gets a reply, when they sent after you and you are still waiting. It's the nature of the hobby though, the mail can work in both weird and wonderful ways.

Some people work from the top of the pile in would seem, and the postal service has their own issues.

StevenQ wrote:As for IRC's, USPS doesn't even deal with them anymore, so if you've sent them, that could be the problem.

USPS still sells and honors IRCs.

I brought IRCs at the US post office on August 19 so I know that they still sell IRCs. Now some branches don't sell them so that might've been the source of the wrong belief.