Through-The-Mail (TTM) Autograph Collecting: Do's and Dont's, and how to succeed

Remember writing fan mail to your favorite celebs as a kid, hoping you might get a response?

Well, in the world of autograph collecting, Through-The-Mail (or TTM) autograph collecting gives you the opportunity to get autographed items for little-to-no cost apart from some small overhead for envelopes, postage and cards.

In this post I am going to give some tips, tell some stories, and hopefully help you decide if you want to try building a TTM collection.  

I have had exactly 152 TTM successes since I started collecting. That means I have received back, signed, 152 signed cards. Of those 152 cards, 18 are signatures of Hall-of-Famers in their respective sports or professions.

 

Pretty cool, huh?

 

 

Do's/Dont's and Setting Expectations

So, as I mentioned, I have had 152 TTM successes. How many TTM failures have I had? Cards returned to sender, cards I never saw again, cards that were returned to sender, cards I never saw again, cards that were returned unsigned? 

Roughly 80% of the cards I send for signatures never make it back signed.

As I will talk about more later, there are resources you can use to determine who "good" signers are so that you can lower that number, but if you want to take a chance on someone (which I will also touch on) you have to be prepared to not get your cards back.  

In addition, the mail is the mail. Cards may not make it to their destination, or they may get wrangled en route. You have very little control over that, and even if you send a card Priority Mail with tracking to a person, there is a chance it won't make the First-Class return trip back.

With that in mind, a few points regarding expectations:

DO send a letter of request. Hand written, polite, grateful for the opportunity, and compliment the subject.

DO send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return. They aren't going to buy an envelope and postage to get you your card.

DO make sure the card will look good with an autograph. Embossed/patterned cards don't work so well.

DO be patient. I have had cards gone for 2 weeks and cards gone for 2 years. You never know how often a player gets around to signing.

DO NOT send tons of cards to one person! Seriously, I can't emphasize this enough. Personally, I have never sent more than one card. Sending someone 5 cards says "I want to put these on eBay" which brings me to my next point...

DO NOT flip your TTM autographs on eBay. TTM is a hobby for your collection, not to make money. You won't like how little you get for them anyway.

DO NOT send a card you value. "Junk Wax" from the 80's and 90's are great for TTM autographs. Do not send a card that already has another signature on it in hopes of getting the second person to sign the card. You should go to a card show to get the second signer to sign it.

DO NOT expect to get a return.

Who Should I Send To?

So, the folks over at the Sports Card Forum have curated a database of TTM successes, failures, wait times, and addresses. If you see that someone has signed a lot of cards recently, it's a good sign (but not a guarantee) that you may be successful. 

But maybe your favorite person isn't on the list. Is it worth trying? In baseball, I have had success sending cards to spring training locations in March/April... in fact that's how I ended up with this card:

I sent this card to Cardinals trading camp.

 

Ultimately, if you send to an office, training camp, studio, or other location you think the subject might be, there is always a chance you will succeed. It's the cost of some stamps, envelopes, and your cards. Just be mindful that it is a gamble with your card.

What does a good TTM request look like?

It's quite simple. Hand write an envelope to the location you are sending the card (stadium, office, home, etc) and in the envelope place a card, self-addressed stamped envelope, and a letter of request. You should put it in a top loader for safe travels.

To avoid glossy cards getting smudged after signature you can take some of the shine off before sending by wiping the card down with Gold Bond.

TTM collecting is about patience. If you are polite, work hard, and are willing to sacrifice a card in the process, It might be a way for you to start your collection. 

I sent to this to the studio Regis (RIP) had been working out of at the time.