Advice wanted on writing to Football Clubs

[rainbow-rising-records]

Hi guys, I'm new to autograph collecting. I've found buying photos to be expensive and can't afford to buy stamps all the time. This has led me to ask the following questions:

1) If i'm going to collect football autographs, which is an interest, should I send a request to each player, or one request per team?

2)If i send it to the team, who do I address it to? I don't want to trouble the manager, but don't know the names of the relevant people?

3) Should I send anything or will they send their own photos? I've got hundreds of 'match attax' spare that I doubt I'll be able to get rid of, so if i can get them signed it will better than printing photos.

4) Will they sign what I send them or will a secretary just send out PPs?

5) is it really worth it? The cost of two stamps and two envelopes is the best part of a pound. Obviously for my favourite players I dont care about the cost. Some players will go down in history and be remembered so will gain value. (Won't they?)

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not interested in resale value, this is eBay after all. For this reason, I'll be sending to players I feel have potential to be collectable in the future, i.e. proven goalscorers for big clubs, cup winners, members of international teams.

Thanks, Jay.

[Anonymous]

address it to the player you want not the team, and send your own things as its a higher success rate with not everyone having pics to send out. also not everyone signs some send out secetary autographs which are fake and some send pp's teams like arsenal, everton, tottenham and liverpool are well know for this. also not every player from every team replies.

[rcsmg1]

It can be very hit and miss,as Matt says,some will sign and some won't.I've been getting football cards signed for over 30 years and have probably lost a fair few cards over that time from non replies.

Whilst some may be worth more in time,most of us collect as a hobby rather than to make a profit but it can be a great hobby when you start getting your replies.

It's better to send to one player at a time,and if you check out some of the previous topics it'll give you an idea of who to try next season.

Good luck.

[obree]

Good luck and don't forget to post your replies .

[wheel-lose]

yes,as said previously,address it to the player in time you willl learn who sends out pps and secs,and thus will be able to avoid losing out in this way,,also do research on the web,its surprising what info you can pick up from it,,i collect film /tv,so not clued up on footy ttm replies,but i would say that more that probably 90 per cent of footy replies are authentic,a higher percentage in my opinion than film/tv 🙂 pick a few targets to strart off with mate,and post probably 5 on here you wish to write too,i am sure you will be contacted and helped by fellow members,please post any results ,,,,and good luck

-- Edited by wheel-lose at 06/15/2011 10:03 PM BST

[rainbow-rising-records]

Thanks for the advice everybody. When do people think i should send out? at the beginning of season or pre-season training in about 4 weeks?

i might just stick with my team, Aston Villa. I would be getting them for myself rather than profit. Also England senior squad regulars. (On England/World Cup Match Attax)

and one more question, Are they likely to sign cards from different clubs? (ie if i sent Darren Bent a Sunderland card while he's at Villa, would he likely sign it or are they contracted to only sign their current clubs stuff?)

Thanks again, Jay

[loobyloo6]

For the price of 2 stamps and a couple of envelopes and your time...it's priceless..Worth every penny Jay.

Some fantastic replies from footballers old and new over the past 2/3 years.

Give it a go....some awesome collections been gotten on this forum since we began.

[matty2702]

Hi mate. Some good questions. I started out collecting football autographs about 3 years ago and started with the Match Attax. Some clubs (Wolves, Wigan, West Ham) don't sign Match Attax as they say they are too small and could get lost in transit to the players. You say that you are going to concentrate on Aston Villa. I've found Villa to be very poor TTM. They rarely sign items sent in and I only saw a handful of replies from Villa players and management on this forum last season. As people have already said, have a look through the forum threads for players who sign and start by sending 5 or 6 and waiting for them to come back. This can be a really rewarding hobby, but remember that some items you will never see again. That's the risk you take with TTM. However, the rewards definately outweigh the risks. Let us know how you get on.

[Anonymous]

another thing about the cards, I wouldnt advise sending different teams like you mentioned with bent as sometimes players are funny about it I've seen it all before especially when ive been collecting in person so its best to stick to the club there currently at...bellamy is a good example of this only signs stuff related to the club he's at same with alot of other players too