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What’s a signature worth?16463

I award you no points… stanley_1883 private msg quote post Address this user
General question, for signed books, how would you go about quantifying a signatures value? Understandably different individuals warrant different numbers but is there a rule of thumb? 2 identical books, both graded the same for arguments sake, I would think the signed book is valued higher…
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Collector Josh7945 private msg quote post Address this user
It depends on a lot of factors. Quality of the signature (faint ink ones suck). Who it is and the signatures. The signees relation to the book. Some people care about the color of your ink, but I think that’s absurd.
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
@stanley_1883 I don't think there is a general answer that can cover this. But for sake of discussion I will try to create a formula that could apply to living artists:

A) what would it cost you to get a witnessed signature on the identical book? Let's go with $40 for signing fee and re-slabbing.
B) on a scale of 1 to 10, how hard will it be for you to personally obtain that signature? Let's go with a "2" for "fairly easy".
C) How meaningful would it be to have a signature that you got personally by meeting the artist vs. buying a signed slab? Let's go with $30 as the personal value.

So, A times B...minus C: $40x2= $80, minus $30 equals $50.

In many cases with living creators if you can buy a signed and slabbed copy for $50 more than the unsigned slabbed copy, that would be comparable to the net cost of doing it yourself. But many of us value the personal experience of meeting the creator at more than $30, so a $50 premium could be high in those cases.
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" . " Davethebrave private msg quote post Address this user
Added variable is ending up with the same grade post-sig.

Handling books is what damages them. The more handling and more steps in a process out of my direct control = more opportunities for damage.

A signed and already graded book removes that uncertainty.

On a personal level, I would value a sig that I got myself highest. But that is sentiment and won’t translate to any market value…
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I’m sure whatever it was you got me was perfect. PhantomEwan private msg quote post Address this user
My 2 cents would be that there are many collectors that don’t want autographs on the cover of their books. There are some comics I will not buy if they are signed on the cover (like X-men 94). Autographed books have a smaller market. Personally I like signed books, and signature placement is important to me. I want it to either be on the splash page and ideally photographed, or on the cover in a place that doesn’t detract from the cover art. As far as the actual value I think EbayMafia did a good job of calculating out an actual value.
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Collector cyrano0521 private msg quote post Address this user
Depends entirely on cost to get signed. I don’t include cost of witness or verification, that’s cost of doing business, just like getting a book slabbed.
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