$200 for picture with Patrick Stewart?

[javasaurus]

I read a Sci-Fi convention group here on good'ol'LJ, and a recent post indicated that Patrick Stewart will be attending an upcoming con. If you want a picture with him, he'll charge you $200. WTH?

I have never understood the idea of charging for autographs. Maybe you could argue that it limits the length of the line, that only true fans would get the autograph if there was a fee involved, while those who only want to sell it on e-bay would abstain. So what you do is punish the loyal fanbase?

Feel free to ignore or discuss.

Comments

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

In this case, it may be trying to raise $ for a cause. I suspect that the con may be getting a cut as well (heck, it may be part of his TNG contract that they get a portion of such things ... esp. if he is in a Star Fleet uniform).

Also, the Con may not be paying an honorarium and this is how he recoups some cost.

Now charging $5 for an autographed picture I can sort of understand because it costs some $ to have the pictures printed (and shipped) and 5s are easier to deal with than the mix of dollars and cents it actually costs.

[dawntreader]

but you are actually buying the picture that comes with the autograph. if you bring your own stuff from home, you still pay for the autograph.

i don't know. i can see both sides and how it looks bad.

but so many people are going to take the autograph and sell it for way more than they paid. why should an actor sign away a thousand copies of stuff for free for a bunch of strangers to make big bucks off eBay?

[wilhelmina-d.livejournal.com]

I think it's just chintzy, but it may be a symptom of the actor not being paid a reasonable fee by the conference attenders and therefore needing to make up the difference. Also, I think that charging autographs actually encourages people who will "just sell it on ebay" rather than "real" fans. It's impossible to determine whether or not the "real" fans can afford $200 to get an autograph, especially after shelling out con fees and possibly hotel fees and maybe have a little left over for the dealer's room. Investors are probably more likely to be willing to make an up front investment as long as they think they can recoup their investment and a profit.

Plus, I think it's just rude to charge for an autograph. If you don't like doing them, don't do them.

[thewhitedragon.livejournal.com]

A lot of celebs, Stewart aside, often only have income from charging for autographs -- especially when they are 'classic actors' and aren't currently engaged in projects. Even if that isn't the reason, a vast majority of items *do* hit ebay and the actors are just taking their 'cut' from that sale.

You don't want to know how much I normally pay for autographs at the horror movie convention, but I can assure you that it's nowhere near that much. I think I paid $50 for George Romero and I think that was the highest. Hey, I needed his signature on Night of the Living Dead, right?

The average cost at the con I attend is about 10-20 bucks per person -- and because of that cost it tends to get me to make a choice on who I'm getting to sign stuff. On rare occassions, I'll catch one of the celebs at a good moment and they won't charge anything but those cases are few and far between. Often if you buy a DVD or poster directly from them, autograph is included and the prices are similar to what you'd pay in a video store for things.

In defense of the con I attend, the admission price is extremely affordable... unlike some of the other cons where you need to ante up your first born child to get in. And if Jean Luc showed up and asked $200 a photo, he'd be standing there all alone I can assure you.

[dawntreader]

i think $200 for an autograph or picture is ridiculous.

i think $50 is ridiculous.

$5 or $10 is somewhat reasonablish, but i still wouldn't buy a metric butt-ton of them.

but hey, people pay it so they charge it. most people are going to sell it on eBay anyway and get a hell of a lot more for it.

(this is also why in my house, we have separate bank accounts.) :)

[sparowe]

Yow. I mean, I agree with a lot of the points above... but even if there was a celeb (be it actor, singer, writer, whatever) that I wanted to pay for? I probably couldn't, because my budget after basic expenses is pretty small. 'Course, I may well be in the minority on that.