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[Mr Reasonable]

It has personal value. I could probably get a lot of other cool artifacts for the same price, but one of the questions I'm having to ask myself is, "is this one $325 thing worth more to me than all the other things I could get for $325?"

Still debating that internally, but outside input on whether $325 is a fair price for this Seiyuu will help drive that decision.

I've thought about this, and I'd go as far as to say that if you're on the fence and can afford it, you may as well just do it. I slightly regret not going to a (free) meet and greet Miyamoto did when he was visiting the UK years ago. And I'd say it's better to regret wasting a bit of money (assuming it's not your mortgage payment) and having the experience than to regret not going and wondering what it might have been like. ...Assuming the money is truly disposable to you.

The worst that happens is that you waste some money on an underwhelming transactional experience, but you could hedge against that by planning to do some other things in the area, so it's just part of the day. Find out which restaurant is the best restaurant in the area or if there's something cultural to do in the evening, etc.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

people are paying for signatures nowadays?

Is it called a "con" because of all the con artists?

For years now. Those star wars conventions that are massively popular list these meetings as being one of the main attractions, so you pay to get in, then pay on top to meet Cyril Pontin who played Storm Trooper #4 in Lando's cloud city.

I always wonder if, as the names become more obscure and the actors get older and older if they're surprised when they get the call. "And they'll pay for that?! And I get £100 for each person!? ...And they only get 70 seconds?! And they know I'm not really in the film? You can't see my face. No, never met Harrison Ford. And you still want me? ...I am in, old boy. I am in.

...Edna, get the car out of the garage!"

 

[rubik's dude]

I always wonder if, as the names become more obscure and the actors get older and older if they're surprised when they get the call. "And they'll pay for that?! And I get £100 for each person!? ...And they only get 70 seconds?! And they know I'm not really in the film? You can't see my face. No, never met Harrison Ford. And you still want me? ...I am in, old boy. I am in.

...Edna, get the car out of the garage!"

This reminds me of a local con I went to where the guys from Aqua Teen Hunger Force were the guests.

Dana Snyder (Master Shake) literally gave us a free impromptu stand-up routine at his table when we went up for signatures, which was awesome. But the thing that I was reminded of was when Dave Willis (Meatwad/Carl) came over during the routine, after doing some signatures, and said in the Carl voice, "Those guys thought I was in Five Nights At Freddy's, hehe hehe, cha-ching!" (He wasn't.) It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen lol.

 

[nightmare-slain]

i'm so happy i didn't understand anything you said.

 

[rubik's dude]

i'm so happy i didn't understand anything you said.

There's still hope for you yet.

 

[s_mirage]

people are paying for signatures nowadays?

Is it called a "con" because of all the con artists?

Yeah, it's pretty much standard now AFAIK. I think this started happening when people selling signed items on ebay became a big thing. I guess the people doing the autographs starting figuring that they should make money off their signatures if other people were. Remember the famous "I'm warning you with peace and love" video Ringo Starr did when he stopped signing things people were sending him? That's why he was angry and stopped: he was finding items that he'd taken the time to sign for free being sold with big markups on ebay.

However, $325 dollars is completely taking the piss IMHO.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

In some circumstances, you might think 325 for a signature is pretty cheap:

AMERICAN EAGLE ELECTRIC GUITAR

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AMERICAN EAGLE ELECTRIC GUITAR – AUTOGRAPHED

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(sold out so you've missed your chance, btw.)

 

[jason10mm]

Talent signings have been a thing for a long time. At cons it was a way for these faded actors to earn a bit of scratch after their glory years. Guys like Gil Gerard lived off Buck Rodgers (he's still put there).

Now there are companies that "sign" these folks. You need a certain critical mass of b and c listers if you cant have a few a list headliners. Then the con wants a certain amount and type of talent to advertise to boost their ticket sales. There are "cons" now basically just for talent signings and meet n' greets. Panels, vendors, cosplay, gaming are somewhat secondary.

Definitely a big difference over the past decade or so. I had an author sign a very rare first printing to my name and he was like "are you sure, this edition goes for $800 online!" They definitely know about the resale market when asked for somewhat generic signings so I always try to get it as personal as possible though some artists just do their name and that's it.

 

[Mr1999]

people are paying for signatures nowadays?

Is it called a "con" because of all the con artists?

Not just signatures but photo ops as well. I have been to several of these cons, including New York Comic Con. I paid for an autograph and a photo op with Peter Weller at FanExpo because of how much of a fan of Robocop I am, but yes, money talks at these events. Honestly I don't know how much they're making but I'm assuming it's something worthwhile otherwise why would they do it, a lot of traveling involved, seeing people, must get boring after a while. I guess it pays the bills.

Oh yea, I remember the dude in front of us in line tried to get a selfie with Peter Weller, like from a distance, he made it known to him that he was not happy he did that. Same with Brent Spiner, some guy had his camera out near him and he wanted to make sure he was not recording or taking pictures, the guy was actually dissapointed because he came there to see him and that's the response he got, I don't think he was trying to take any pictures, he just had it out.

OP, that's really expensive for an auto, that's a price like Stallone would charge, I think thats even more expensive than a photo op with the main cast of Starship Troopers they had few months back. As for me, I don't think I will ever go to another con again unless they have someone like Keanu Reeves, which I highly doubt, and even if they did, it would sell out within minutes. Also stuff is way overpriced and people act like idiots when celebrities are near by, not to mention a good portion of these cons oversell their tickets so it makes for a crappy experience. No thanks!

 

[rubik's dude]

Talent signings have been a thing for a long time. At cons it was a way for these faded actors to earn a bit of scratch after their glory years. Guys like Gil Gerard lived off Buck Rodgers (he's still put there).

Tbh that's a huge reason why I get signatures. Your standard voice actors aren't really "celebrities," unless they're Nolan North or David Hayter or something.

Most VAs make their money from signings at cons. So if there's a VA I like from a show I grew up with, and I can get their signature for $40, which gives them some scratch and shows some appreciation for their work, then why not?

 

[jason10mm]

. Also stuff is way overpriced and people act like idiots when celebrities are near by, not to mention a good portion of these cons oversell their tickets so it makes for a crappy experience. No thanks!

Yeah, some cons have definitely degraded and the $$$ for the talent for photos and panels has ballooned. Used to be the celeb panel was mostly a marketing buy from the studio, hence all the a-listers in Hall H while everyone else was there just to make rent.

I feel kinda awkward getting film/celebs to just sign a photo or whatever. At least a painter or illustrator can sign their work. Kinda like getting a voice mail from Cameo or whatever. I'd rather just have a beer with a couple of them.

I do regret not making my pitch that I had a hall pass for a certain female celeb that was my childhood crush and she was pretty unattended at a con once. Would she have found it endearing or would I have been banned from the hotel?

We will never know