The View Autograph segment

Let's be honest though. How bad is the hobby hurting? Of the last 20
people I went for autographs across New England including NY, I was able to
get autographs from all of them, and they were all top bands and
celebrities. Granted, some took 2 attempts with them denying the first
shot, but in the end, they are all signing. I'm sure it's the same scenario
with TTM. I also know who's in general not signing so I don't bother trying
to waste my time changing their minds. Let's say you have 20 B list
celebrities. Of the 20, 15 are regular signers. I'm sure in 6 months, that
number will be very close to the same. Some may stop signing, others may
start. There will always be the Bob Dylan's and Marlon Brandos who just
about never do it, and there will also be the Willie Nelsons who are super
nice one month, not doing it the next month, and then back to super nice a
few months later. Some like Madonna you have to get in person, while others
like Lauren Bacall supposedly is easier TTM if that is truly authentic. I'm
skeptical on this one as she really can be foul in person.

As for the old 'ebay factor, Ebay is a joke now, forcing some sellers to
use the flawed "PSA/DNA" organization for autograph authentication, and all
the GOOD dealers have long left and did their own websites. So there's no
where near as many in-person dealers as there once was, leaving forgeries to
run even more rampant there. That and the fact that ebay is aka FEEbay and
even some of their top 1% sellers of products have left due to ebay's poor
choice of direction. Anyone who buys Paypal after their pathetic start with
sites like paypalsucks.com needs to be questioned. eBay has done both good
and bad for the hobby. Bad was obvious, lots of stars shouted it out, but
the good is that good dealers started to compete, and this is why we offer
our proof photos, our unique holograms on our items, our exact time of day
the item was signed put on a quality COA, and even video proof. Also the
variety of items being signed today has expanded. You can now get items
that were never heard of due to the competition, but again, now you are left
to find quality websites with ebay's poor management, but this isn't that
hard to do with simple research and education in the hobby. I've seen some
great dealers mentioned here, but also know of at least two mentioned here
that I'd stay far and clear from.

--
Michael Kasmar
www.AutographPros.com
Accredited Better Business Bureau Member
Universal Autograph Collectors Club Registered Dealer #237

"Have you joined our website emailer yet? If not, go now to
http://www.autographpros.com/newsletter.php and sign up. We have many
exciting things to come there including exclusive sales and discounts, gifts
and free prize give-aways, and updates to our in-person adventures with the
stars."
"Gummby3" wrote in message
. net...
Please don't take my post as a slight to every dealer. There are some
very legit and helpful dealers, such as yourself, but there are also that
percentage that hurt the hobby. The scenario I presented is that of the
damaging dealers. In the case of TTM, the celeb has the option of
tossing/RTSing the unsolicited mail away without even opening it as they
would with any other junk mail. That is less intrusive than having items
thrust in their faces. :-) Yes, there are the TTM addict fans too. The
ones that have to have an autograph just to have it, AKA the autograph
hound looking for another bone. I do agree that those personalized
autographs that pop up for sale can, and do, sting more than the 10 other
generically signed pictures would. This is especially true if we're
dealing with a "flash in the pan" actor. That just proves that the "fan"
was simply after the buck instead of the autograph. This is also true for
older, established celebs. A prime example is Shirley Temple-Black. She
used to be a great TTM signer, but the generic response now is that she
does not like finding her personalized autographs on Ebay and that she
does not have the staff to handle requests just for that result. That has
been my main hope, with Star Collector, to help educate TTM collectors in
the proper way of collecting. I know for a fact that my work has
influenced many people from the emails that I receive. I'm definitely not
deluded into thinking that my site has been warped by those literally
going down the list of each name and sending a request simply because they
are on the page. My hope is that they are in the minority. :-)

There are good and bad influences on both sides of the fence. It is a
shame that both are hurting the hobby...

--


Mike
Gummby3
-= Star Collector =-
www.star-collector.net


"AutographPros.com" wrote in message
. ..
Yeah, and let's not forget about the TTM collectors that ruin it as well.
WHAT, TTM COLLECTORS RUIN IT dare I say!?!?! Yes, not a week goes by
that you can't see a has-been TTM collector peddling his duplicates or
left-over collection on ebay. As I stated once before, I am willing to
bet at least 90% of all reading this will have their items sold some time
in the future. Maybe not all, but a majority. Generally every month you
can see that famous Jim Carrey Spank You Very Much signed TTM preprint or
whatever that fugazi is. A lot of times when a celebrity sees that photo
they gave freely TTM signed "TO BOB" pop up on ebay, I'm sure that's
caused some resentment. There are also many TTM and in-person collectors
who are just 'addicted' to autographs. You know the type. The ones with
3 binders full of photos, somehow justifying because they bought that
celebrities dvd that they are entitled to consider themselves a big fan.
Truth is, if you have more than say 10 autographs in your 'collection',
it's a bit much, and could certainly qualify you for having contributed
to the downfall of autographs of any number of celebrities. If you are
one who pulls addresses off the net, think about how you would feel if
all of a sudden someone posted your address on ebay, and said that hey,
mail this guy and he'll give you a free $1 bill. How would it feel to
have your home flooded with these requests? Yes, celebrities should
expect mail requests and in person requests, but the fact is some just
get burdened and overwhelmed by it.

Here are my estimated statistics for a contribution to a downfall of
autographs:

dealers 20%
TTM collectors and in-person collecting addicts 15%
celebrities who don't appreciate the fact that they have 3 houses, 10
cars, and bank accounts that add up to all of ours combined who are
brainwashed by agents who really have their hand in their pocket and
think that anyone who sells their autograph for $50 is somehow having an
affect on their life 30%
Celebrities who are just burnt out of signing for any number of other
reasons, some legitimate like Steven Tyler saying he's only signing
guitars for Aids charities to increase the revenue for them 25%
fans who are obnoxious 10%


Even with these stats, the truth is, all it takes is persistence and some
research and you can meet everyone you wanted, and that should be enough.
Hell, when Eric Clapton let me hold his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
induction award rather than sign an autograph, it was damn well good
enough for me, and I sell autographs for a living. But even still in
today's times, everyone is signing in just about every scenario. In the
end, it needs to be asked, where is this autograph going to end up? In a
binder for you to keep forever? If that's the case, then you need to ask
yourself, am I truly one of this celebrities biggest fans? If the answer
is no, then when a dealer hawks the item on the net and it ends up with a
mom buying it for their son as he is truly a huge fan, wouldn't that end
result outweigh a dusty binder. I personally respect every aspect of the
autograph hobby. TTM collectors, those hoarders, those fanatics who are
truly fans, and all dealers. I've never downed any TTM collectors here,
nor have I ever downed any legitimate dealer. I've helped fans get
autographs, dealers get autographs, and TTM members as well. My only
disrespect to the hobby are the forgers, and this is where the time needs
to be spent. It's a plague.

i love seeing the "thrust in their face" defense. no one thrusts
anything in anyone's faces...it just never happened. it gets kind of
dicey when the celebrity starts signing though.
and i love the "large stack of photos" defense....because the celebs
can decide to sign only one or whatever...but i've also see celebs,
even with a swarm of people around, make sure to sign that whole stack
of photos before they move on to something else...

sure, there are celebs that hate that their stuff shows up on
ebay...and it's a logical concern...but celebs don't sign their mail
either...not stars anyway. the volume of mail is horrific...they even
make fun of it on entourage (keeping photo request money and only
answering to girls who send in hottie pics) and that guy is a c level
celebrity at best (that fact was made fun of too when a prospective
investor in a film told them that he had no idea who vince is unless
he's rolling around in his aquaman suit). so if it's made fun of on
the tv, i'm pretty sure that it's the norm (prevailing sentiment is
that it's been going on for a long time)...

but i'm not here to rip that...but i'm just trying to say that it's a
little of both...you want to use those defenses, that's fine...but
don't put it on the dealers as MOST people collecting ttm are dealers
too. i see more TTM autographs on ebay than i see real autographs. the
celebs don't worry about forgeries in the slightest (sure, there are a
few who take action, but the most part, they don't care)..and in fact,
their people see so much material signed by their clients, they
believe it all to be real. so they think there is far more on ebay
than there is...
and then they tell them that EVERYONE with photos is a dealer...the
agents and all are the one who put the kabosh on everything anyway.
the publicists who don't want to sit there and watch their client sign
for a half an hour, pull them away with the "we gotta go" thing, but
they just want to go home and get their job over with...and these
people REALLY have their hands in the celebs pocket...
no offense, but a dealer is not taking any money away from the
celeb...not in any way. sorry. not a dealer who gets their stuff ttm,
not a dealer who gets them in the street.
so don't go blaming dealers...
m

who were the 2 you'd stay clear from michael?

strickler sports?
autographczar?
(he recently got booted from ebay)
m

On Dec 18, 1:25�pm, barefoot wrote:
who were the 2 you'd stay clear from michael?

strickler sports?
autographczar?
(he recently got booted from ebay)
m

BareButtMike, you are such a fraud. You have no problem lying on
these boards and hope people buy into it. BTW, continue to tell
people you're part owner of StarBrite Autographs and Autograph
Magazine. Did Steve tell you he and I conversed? He told me you just
sell items to him occasionally and that's it. Don't believe me...I've
got the email. Also, AutographCzar is back on eBay and he received an
apology as well.

You can continue to post crap about my business as much as you both
wish, but the bottomline is this....you're a fraud, a liar and
dishonest. You're nothing but an internet bully that doesn't have the
guts to go toe to toe with honest business people. Just another piece
of white trash from Arizona that lives with Mom and Dad and thinks
they are hot s**t in LA...pathetic.

NOTE: Mike Kasmer...a warning. Post derogatory messages about me or
any other UACC member and I'll file charges with the UACC Ethics
Committee so fast your head will spin.

Strickler--I hate to say this but I know for a fact barefoot is part
owner of Starbrite. So now I do not believe your posts. I too have
talked with Steve and Trish from Autograph Collector and both
confirmed this. As to part owner of the magazine I have never asked,
but I will also say that Autographczar is a FORGER. He sold over 50
Britney Spears autographs in a year. I doubt she even signed 50
autographs in 2 years total. I do not have any knowledge on you so I
will not make any comment there, but hey lets not post BS on here.

stricker...
do you just LIE???
you haven't spoken to steve...i asked him as soon as i saw this..
just make up whatever you want...
YOU ARE A FORGER...and i DARE YOU to sue me...but you never will,
because you know that i'm right...you're just hoping i will shut up.
i'm going to post everything i can and put you out of business...so
get your suing hat on...because i will bad mouth you as much as
possible...
please please please...try and sue me...if i'm not lying, it's not
slander.
you don't have one real autograph on your website...your autograph
colector's daily is just a ruse to arouse the suckers. but i know the
truth...you've NEVER sold a real autograph..
better start getting prepared to make a whole lot of returns.
m

Well, if Barefoot is part owner; that's easy to solve... let him
produce his tax documents where he agrees as part owner, to be paying
the state taxes on his hauls. but then again who cares. Just use
judgment when buying and make people aware of the fact. Once a bad
reputation influences people's minds, the partnership would naturally
dissolve if the one is good and the other bad. If both bad, then
they'll just stay and nothing you can do about it except make people
aware of what you know. But make sure you got proof first.

If the magazine is employing him in any fashion, that's a refection of
the magazine (his writing is atrocious). That alone (forget any
potential lies, boasts, or wrong info) is enough NOT to let him in on
it. Unless he's a backer. I don't see a backer living at home
still.... a backer means you have money. If you have money, you don't
live at home. If they employ or use him in any fashion, same thing
applies.... they'll get dragged down (aren't they already in the
toilet anyway?). certainly they aren't equivalent to a Popular
Mechanics, Time or Cosmo magazine so that says something all by
itself. Your greatness depends on a couple things. 1) Quality
advertisers 2) quality articles/info that will entice people to buy.
You don't NEED small time autograph stores for advertisements in the
same magazine. You can have cars, perfume or any major manufacturer.
Oh though there is some reason why major companies won't advertise in
magazines; circulation is not good because quality lacks. Remember
Hugh Hefner? A good idea that made lots of subscribers write checks
which in turn impressed advertisers to invest.....

No offense but I too have heard negative things about Autograph czar.
Though I won't go slamming them because in order to do such a thing,
I'd have to have MAJOR proof.


On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:58:27 -0800, "Terry Springer"
wrote:

Thanks for the info Barefoot!

wrote in message
...
Strickler--I hate to say this but I know for a fact barefoot is part
owner of Starbrite. So now I do not believe your posts. I too have
talked with Steve and Trish from Autograph Collector and both
confirmed this. As to part owner of the magazine I have never asked,
but I will also say that Autographczar is a FORGER. He sold over 50
Britney Spears autographs in a year. I doubt she even signed 50
autographs in 2 years total. I do not have any knowledge on you so I
will not make any comment there, but hey lets not post BS on here.

i have NOTHING to do with the magazine...just the autograph
company...and you can call steve and ask him...lou strickler did not
do this...he's just lying to lie...but it's perfectly acceptable to
call the magazine, talk to steve and ask my involvement in starbrite
if you'd like, that's not a problem for me. strikler just didn't do
it...
he thinks i'm on his tail, ripping him on his website...i'm not, but
i'm going to start doing just that. because now he's gotten involved
in my business and begun lying...
other than that, i don't mind...my business is an open book...
i don't have mulit signed harry potter items in all different markers.
EVERYTHING STRICKLER DOES IS A LIE.
m

Hi Lon,

Thanks for your frank email. Starbrite is owned by Autograph Media,
which also owns the magazine. Mike was in partnership with us on
Starbrite but he's just one of our suppliers now. Mike hasn't said
word one to me about you. What did he say and where? And why do you
call him racist? I'm not in the loop on all the chatter.

Thanks,

Steve



From: ]
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 11:42 AM
To:
Cc:
Subject: Information Forwarded

Hi Trish...thanks for forwarding the information. I read over the
text and I was actually about to call you back to place some
advertising when I realized that your magazine is co-owned by
Starbrite Autographs and associated with that lying SOB Mike Aring.
That's really a shame. It must make it harder for you to sell
advertising when people realize that Aring is associated with your
company.

It's a bit ironic that Autograph Magazine would want me to advertise
with them when Mike Aring consistently states to people in this hobby
that I am a fraud and sell forgeries. You don't believe me? Ask
him...he'll tell you.

Well, anyway, thanks for the consideration. Maybe when someone there
wises up that throws that racist and pathetic jerk back on the
streets,then I may consider advertising with you.


Sincerely,


Lon Strickler

How can anybody sue you? You haven't got anything to sue for. BTW,
you need to tread lightly the next time you meet up with Chris or
anybody else from the east coast....and you know what I mean.