“To” or not to, that is the question

A surefire way to ruin the resale value of your autographs is to get your items personalized.

I do it as often as I can.

Why? Because I don’t view autographs as assets in an investment portfolio, but rather as supporting documents to a lifetime of memorable celebrity encounters. When Kevin Youkilis personalized all items at the Ray of Hope Foundation event in December, the dealers were steaming—I couldn’t have been happier. In my opinion, personalization (i.e. having autographs signed “To Matt”,) increases the sentimental value and uniqueness of your collection, while improving the overall autograph experience in several ways.

Alyssa Milano autographed 8x10 with inscription

Get a higher-quality signature
More than just getting more ink on your item, asking for a personalization may yield a more complete signature from a celebrity (New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul is known to do this). By inferring that you’re keeping the item for your own personal collection, you may avoid several tricks used to reduce the resale value of an item, such as signing in an undesirable place or hacking (i.e., using an abbreviated and/or intentionally sloppy signature).

Stand out from the crowd
Requesting a personalization is a way to identify yourself as a true fan while differentiating yourself from dealers, of whom many celebrities are growing increasing wary. It also puts a name to your face and forces a celeb out of auto-pilot when signing. It’s evidence they actually acknowledged you and there was an interaction, even if it was brief.

Get an interesting inscription
On several occasions, a request to personalize an item “To Matt” has resulted in a longer (and sometimes humorous) inscription. One of the most interesting: Sage Francis, one of my favorite hip-hop artists, wrote “SAGE (heart)’s MATT 4-EVA!” on an 8×10 picture of the two of us I had printed out.

Sage Francis autographed 8x10 with inscription (and an unfortunate paint pen malfunction)

Increase the personality of your collection
When admiring a friend’s autograph collection, the personalized items stand out. For the most part, I know there is a story to be told. With the others, however, there is a sense of uncertainty. Was it obtained in person or purchased? Traded for or won in a silent auction? To me, a signature by itself just isn’t as special.

With all this said, I don’t request a personalization every time. It usually depends on the environment and the item I’m getting signed. In large crowds it isn’t logistically sensible—or fair to fellow collectors—to shout out a time-consuming request when a celeb is trying to accommodate everyone as quickly as possible. Also, on non-flat items like baseballs or jerseys, a personalization, frankly, can just…look weird (you’ll know it when you see it).

But as a general rule, personalization is my preference, and as I flip through my autograph albums remembering each moment, those two small words (“To Matt”) make a big impact.

So, do you “To”?