topic Re: some questions from a beginner in Autograph Collectors - TTM Group Forum

some questions from a beginner

ifish73 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:35:08 GMT

I am new to TTM and was going to start collecting Dr. Who actor/actresses autographs.

Planning on sending index cards out and later framing them with a photo. Don't really like signed photos, you lose the autograph on darker areas. Is there a specific type of index card I should use? Had heard that some people don't like to autograph on plain index cards. I would prefer that they are not personalized because it is for myself and my son.

Lastly looking for options for purhasing UK postage so I can already have it included on the return envelope. Tried e-mailing Royal Mail directly but it never went through.

Thanks for any help,

Ian

Re: some questions from a beginner

robboh2006 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:54:37 GMT

just add a stamped addressed envelope in with your cards and letter.

Re: some questions from a beginner

ifish73 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:57:24 GMT

The problem is that I live in the United States and I am sending to the UK so I need to somehow purchase Royal Mail postage. I cannot do that over here.

Re: some questions from a beginner

thehornets — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:32:09 GMT

Hi. Please contact me through forum or eBay messaging, and I would be glad to trade UK stamps for USA stamps. I will see if I have any spare index cards of Who people I can send at the same time.

Who people are very good signers, and most will have no problem signing plain white index cards. You will get some dedications from some. They love talking about their work on the show. I have hundreds of letters from people who have appeared in Who.

Re: some questions from a beginner

ifish73 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:37:02 GMT

Thanks for the help. Sent you a message!

Re: some questions from a beginner

loobyloo6 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:42:21 GMT

Nice one Nigel. And welcome to the TTM forum Ian.

Re: some questions from a beginner

film4watcher — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:21:08 GMT

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your Doctor Who project. Nigel has had some fantastic replies from the cast.

Re: some questions from a beginner

kimbub16 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:53:07 GMT

welcome, nigels your man for dr who

Re: some questions from a beginner

0779swan — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:27:31 GMT

Hi, Ian welcome to the forum good luck with your project. Nice one Nigel 🙂

Re: some questions from a beginner

rcsmg1 — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:53:54 GMT

Welcome to the forum Ian and good luck with the Doctor Who autographs

Re: some questions from a beginner

ifish73 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:35:53 GMT

Here are a few more questions:

How formal of a letter do you write to the person?

I was going to type my letters because of how terrible my handwriting is. Is this too impersonal? Could it hurt my chances of getting a reply?

How many do you send out at once? I was going to send out ten and then send one out for each one I get back.

Re: some questions from a beginner

thehornets — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:48:20 GMT

I have terrible handwriting also. However, I prefer to handwrite my letters as I think you are giving something personal to the person you are requesting autographs from. I have experimented with typed letters, and not seen any difference in the level of replies, so at the end of the day it is what you feel most comfortable with. Either way, you should get replies.

Content is fairly simple. Start with a simple opening. I always begin with -

"I hope this letter finds you well."

After this, I then talk about what I like about them or their work or anything else that caught my interest and prompted me to write.

I then ask for the items I have enclosed to be autographed, and mention I have included a postage paid reply envelope. Sometimes I use this as an opportunity to talk about the item(s) I want autographed as well.

Then I sign off.

My sending patterns depend purely on how much time I have to write letters, and put the requests together. This normally means 4 to 5 requests each week, sometimes more, sometimes less. I never plan to send a set number of requests. The letter writing is part of the fun for me, so I like to do this in a relaxed manner, and not force it through to meet a self set deadline or limit.

Re: some questions from a beginner

bunting0_1 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:42:05 GMT

Hi Ian and welcome.

Nigel says it all, top man!

Good luck in your collecting, I received a lovely personalised reply fron Karen Gillan recently.

Sean.