Celebrities charge for autographs at conventions

Most celebrities who appear at conventions charge for their signature. Depending on the caliber of the celebrity, it could be as low as $5 - $10 or as high as $100 or more. Some celebrities are paid to be there by the convention, but most only get their expenses paid, (airline fees, hotel room, etc.). Some of the bigger celebrities get a guarantee from the convention. If they don't make "x" amount selling their autographs, the convention pays them the balance up to their guarantee amount.

If you don't want to pay for their signature, you can still go to the convention and talk to the celebrities for only the convention's admission price. Some shows have a Q & A with the celebrities, some celebrities walk around the convention, (usually in the dealer's room where they can shop for their own collectibles), and some will just talk to you while they sign autographs for other people. It's all up the individual celebrities, and what they want to do for their fans.

I don't pay for autographs, but I have had some great conversations with many celebrities at conventions over the years. Some are very nice, but some of them have let their celebrity status go to their head, and you might not like them much after you meet them.

About taking pictures with your phone, do NOT do it without the celebrity's permission. Many shows have a security staff that will force you to erase the pictures from your phone if they catch you. Some conventions charge for photos with the celebrities, however many celebrities will let you take pictures with them if you ask them nicely. Again, it just depends on the individual celebrity.

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OPEN FLOOR.

Ummm... ASSAULT.

Like GBG said, your ticket will allow you into the Q&A panels, which is usually the main draw for most people going to see a celebrity at a convention, as that's where you get your money's worth. Otherwise you're just paying a large cover charge to shop around the convention floor for collectibles you can most likely just buy online anyway.

I know some people who are involved with organizing a local convention. The guests have their airfare, accommodations, and meals provided by the convention, with ticket sales covering that as well as the costs for hosting the convention (renting a large venue for the entire weekend is not cheap) and advertising. While it's true that the celebrities owe their fame to their fans, they also have to make a living, so selling autographs and charging money for pictures has become the norm. You'll see it at any convention you go to, so I don't really think it's fair to get upset at this particular convention or its guests over it.

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An autograph is a valuable, and the problem is that many people who acquire them turn them around for a profit. In a way it's like a rehoming fee for people who need to find their pet a new home. It's insurance that the person on the receiving end is legit.*This is not the entire reasoning behind charging, but it's one of the reasons it has become the norm.

The best reason I've seen to attend conventions is to buy things you can't get anywhere else. A lot of independent artists sell limited print artbooks that way.

Personally I don't see the point in paying £10 to talk to someone.

You're not just paying to talk to them. You're paying for the entire convention experience. If it's a good convention, they will have Q & A with the celebrities, panels about all kinds of interesting subjects, contests (costume contests, trivia contests, etc., sometimes with prizes), auctions for semi-rare collectibles, a dealers' room, movies (in a room full of fans who have probably seen these movies hundreds of times), trailers of upcoming movies, and much more. You'll get out of it what you put into it. The more you do, the more fun you'll have.

Plus many of these celebrities have some fascinating stories to tell, so when they're talking, you should listen to them. I've been going to conventions for over 30 years, and some of my favorite memories from these conventions are just listening to some of the celebrities' stories. I don't think I've ever bought an autograph at a convention, but as a dealer at these shows, I've traded some merchandise for some autographs.

I'm not bothered about any of that though, I was only bothered about autographs.

Charging for an autograph?
I guess these actors who get paid between £5m-£20m a movie, and £1m+ for turning up to a convention are just skint and need the cash otherwise they wouldn't do it.
Poor actors, never getting paid enough to buy a loaf of bread. Such a shame.

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Actors that get paid that Rodent aren't turning up to conventions, other than the majors like Comic con.

Frankly people paying to meet a celebrity is a bit sad, they are just people who through a combination of luck/hard work/right look have made it big in entertainment, take away the glitz and glamour and they are going home to play call of duty in their joggers like everyone else. I despise the celebrity culture nowadays, how the Kardashian family have millions just because Kim is a painted whore, these reality shows shouldn't be able to exist but dumb women lap them up and provide the viewing figures.

That being said I'm sure attending Comic con would be fun, I just wouldn't be forking over cash to meet or get a signed bit of paper from a high profile actor.

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Well, Dalek in the OP said Sylvester McCoy was charging for an autograph... the dude has been acting since the 70s and is worth about £10m... he charges £15 for a sig.


Back in 2015, there was an article about Sigourney Weaver and Michael J Fox charging £400 each... they're worth £80m a piece.
"I'm worth £80m... I think I'll charge £500 for a signature"
It's greed... pure and simple.


Ok, sure... the fans will probably get themselves on Ebay and get a couple hundred quid... but let's face it, fans aren't worth £80m and live in mansions.

That's bad by Sigourney Weaver and M.J.Fox if true. I'm not convinced Sylvester McCoy is worth that though, if he has a net worth it's probably tied up in property, so attending convention's for him is his yearly salary or pension if you like, he might get £20,000 per year or something for attending all in so that pays for his life. There's this assumption that because you are a celebrity you are rich but many are not at all. Mostly conventions seem to be full of actors who no longer get roles anymore, so like Sylvester it's like their pension, but if megastars are charging £400+ then that's bad, but not as bad as being stupid enough to pay it in the first place. Fool and their money I guess.

The big actors in current comic book movies are probably contractually obliged to attend Comic-con or any other big conventions

Ok this is the Star, not the best paper for facts... but, here's the article http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/4...omic-con-stars


Stallone was doing it as well in 2013, charging £400 for his scribble.

This.

And I also agree with Rodent, somebody said that those autographs get flipped online for a profit. Yeah, sure, okay, but who do you think is buying them? Superfans, most of the time.

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There are some people I'd pay money for a chance to speak to.

If you have a problem with celebs who charge money for their autographs, then don't buy their autographs and by all means don't attend conventions. Personally, I don't have a problem with it.

Men watch that garbage, too.

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My eyes are bleeding, rattus. What gutter did you pull that rag out from, champ?

One of my nephews went to an arnold S con and con is right. He was working for a lrge fitness company and was sent by his boss to take notes (the talk was supposed to be about youth and fitness) and get a photo with the big guy, so they bought him a ViP membership thingy. Arnie's speech was all self promotion, and when nephew got up to have his photo taken and have a chat he was told what every other vip paying guest was told
dont touch him
dont talk to him
and no product placement so get your shirt off.

And that only cost several thousand dollars.

Total rip off but too be fair, he probably didnt determine the cost. The organisers of the con would have I would think. And it was sold out so you know, too much money and not enough sense. I love Arnie but I wouldnt pay 10 bucks for an autograph let alone 10,000 to hear him talk about himself, make the tremendous effort to scrawl his name, and grunt. Just not my thing.

Sure they do but what % of the audience would be straight men? less than 10%? Maybe less than 20%?

And that's relevant how?

By all means have a moan and don't buy the autograph, but why shouldn't they get money for it if they want? No one's being forced to buy them, are they?

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