Sending "thank you" gifts with autograph requests. Advised?

[shawnm]

Curious- I'm interested in getting several autographs from some older celebrities. I'm wondering, is it necessary or expected to send flowers or money along with the requests? For instance, Mrs. Olivia de Havilland and Louise Rainer and Lauren Bacall. I'm wondering if they'd expect something? I feel bad for just sending a letter and a picture and asking them to sign it, for free. That said, I'm new to this so maybe that's customary?

Thanks all. And out of curiousity, if you've mailed something extra in the request, put it below; I'm curious to see what you guys have sent and how it worked out for you...

Thanks!

[capmonte]

I've never sent a thank you gift with a request; I have sent a couple of thank you cards after the fact to celebs who went above and beyond what I asked for (for example, I sent 3 pictures to an actor; he signed those and sent 5 of his own) or if they wrote a note/letter along with the requested autographs.

[goswannies]

I usually send 2 of each thing (be it a trading card or photo) and say that the extras are for them to keep. They could use them for people who don't provide things to sign? Often they do keep the extras, although sometimes they just sign the lot and send them all back. I only send $ if I know they expect it. Occasionally I'll send a thank you gift if the celeb did something special ... often they do. But I don't think they expect it ... although I suspect they might appreciate it.

[usernamegoeshere]

I've never sent a gift (since I wonder if they'll actually see it or not!) but the most I've done is that I try sending currency/stamps for postage if I need to (like if I'm sending to another country)

I really have thought about sending "thank you" notes more often.