Easiest set for obtaining autographs?
jmlabonner
Posts: 325 ✭✭✭
Hello everyone! I have a quick question. My oldest son and I are wanting to build a complete set with autographs, Topps, Donruss, Fleer etc. Can anyone give me their opinion on which set would be the easiest to obtain autographs for via TTMs, Card shows, Signings etc.? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thank y'all in advance!
John
John
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Luke
1989 Hoops BB - Signed
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John
<< <i>If you're considering football, I am 2 signed cards short of completing the 1987 Topps set. I'd say about 50% was obtained TTM with the rest being through shows, private signings and trade/purchases. Good luck with whatever set you choose! I had a blast putting mine together.
Luke >>
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
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John
<< <i>Consider a hockey set from that era for TTM. You're likely to get a much better response rate.
Nick >>
<< <i>1988 Maxx Racing is the best and they all sign TTM. Unlike the other sports no one in Racing charges for an auto. Even Richard Petty will sign 2 cards TTM for free! Some have passed but signed copies pop up on eBay. It's the 1986 Fleer Basketball set of racing. >>
I second hockey, so I hope you and your son have some interest in the sport
The 1989 Topps Hockey set is what I'd recommend building. It's a great set and only has 198 cards, so it'll be a little easier to complete compared to sets twice the size.
I've been working on an all PSA 10 1989 Topps Hockey set from scratch and have probably near 100 complete sets. If you'd like one for TTMs feel free to PM me and I'll happily send you guys one and cover the shipping as well.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jason
I also started the '82 Donruss set and have about 2/3 - 3/4 of it complete. However, I also purchased quite a few already signed. You can pick up many of these very cheap. I'd guess that I have greater than a 50% success with the TTMs on this set.
Before you choose a hockey set, your son and you may want to consider the postage cost. I would guess that many of the players live in Canada. If that is the case, your postage costs will be more than double.
When you decide what set(s) you are going to do, post here and let us know. If I have any from those sets I would be more than happy to send a few "gifts" to your son to get him started.
REMEMBER: Forever stamps are a TTMers best friend!!!!
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
Mike
1987 Topps Baseball is a complete beast. Very rare Rickey Wright will cost you a LOT of money. And he does not sign them anymore.
1981 Topps Baseball Win Remmerswaal is very very difficult. He is unable to sign and signed very little when he was healthy. A very rare auto.
1988 Score is a pretty good one and the cards look great signed.
Also, learn who the forgers are. There are a few out there who are masters at forging autos on cards.
<< <i>Whatever you do, do NOT buy from two sellers on Ebay that forge common cards. The names are samsobo and lock-em-up-bob >>
+1000
Supposedly, he has considered signing 5 or 10 for charity. As far as I know, it has not happened.
Best recommendation is a sweet spot of something mid 80's that doesn't have an ton of deceased guys and also contains mostly guys that don't get anal about signing autographs because people sell them for $3.89 on eBay.
Finally, subscribe to the Harvey Meiselman list for the sport that you choose. The $20-30 that you'll spend will be invaluable and prevent you from asking for an address on a message board every 3 days.
Good luck.
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John
John
<< <i>Curious - why won't Garvey sign the 82 Fleer? >>
If you ask him, he wont give a straight answer so no one really knows. It's pretty odd because the same exact picture is on a Topps Fan Favorites card and he will sign that one with no issues.
<< <i>Curious - why won't Garvey sign the 82 Fleer? >>
There are weird situations like that. Kelly Gruber of all people, won't sign his 1990 Leaf card but otherwise he's a great signer (and gorgeous autograph).
I'm a little late to the party, but if you are going to work on any of those sets you pictured, I'd suggest either of the Upper Deck sets. UD cards look great signed and that era, a lot of the signatures are still mostly readable. They also take ink very well.
One other thing that no one mentioned, is how available are the cards on the secondary market. The 1992 Fleer set you chose wasn't hugely popular but the Upper Decks back in the day (I used to do a lot of in-person back then were the preferred card for us to get signed over the plethora of other issues of the time. Also the photography was top notch.
Just so you know what you are getting into, my sets of choice were, 1990 Leaf, 1992 Fleer Ultra, and 1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey. I have been working on these since they came out, although I will admit I've only half-heartedly worked on completion as I simply cannot afford to finish them through private signings and paying for the deceased guys I still need. I'm at 80% on the Leaf, 70% on the Ultra, and 90% on the UD Hockey.
PS. I noticed you mentioned you were a vet. Thank you for your service to our country.
Some might disagree with me, but when you write your TTM letters, you should mention this fact and that also mention your son. I believe that it will increase your chances of success. Even sending a small picture might not be a bad idea to add a personal touch. I know a couple of ex-MLBers, and neither had much of a career, but both mentioned they get repeated requests from the same people, often for the same cards. I checked one guy out and he's a big time online seller of autographed cards, I couldn't find anything on the other name, but this can get obsessive, so I suggested to the other ex-player that they guy just might be obsessive about getting every card he has signed.
I asked them about the amount of requests they get and both said they get 5-10 letters a week. One is pretty good about answering, says he reads all the letters. The other does not do TTMs at all, and says he doesn't even open most of the letters, but then again he's wildly successful (real estate) and pretty busy. So if you don't get some responses, even after repeated attempts don't take it personally.
Good luck on your project, you'll have a LOT of fun checking the mail every day.
John
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.