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to Episode 11
Page 1: Inbox
Street Cents suggests these FREE autograph web sites:
- http://www.star-collector.net
- http://jjautographs.com
- http://www.autographsuccess.com
- http://www.world-of-celebrities.com
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Inbox: Celebrity Contacts Web
Site
Emma Berry-Ashpole from Grimsby, Ontario, is on the hunt for a great
web site to get celebrity addresses, which she hopes will lead to
free autographs. She came across www.celebritycontacts.com but wasn't
sure if it was a legit site. Street Cents finds Emma the best celebrity
contacts database.
Viewer Letter
I've never had a real celebrity obsession. Sure, I swooned over Leonardo and I had a couple posters of the Spice Girls, but nothing truly obsessive.
I have to admit that when I saw a banner for www.contactanycelebrity.com advertising more than 15,000 celebrity addresses I was a little intrigued.
But seeing as you have to pay to be a member, there wasn't a lot more I could find out.
I wonder if paying the membership fee and writing the stars myself would be cheaper than buying an autographed photo.
A quick search brought up several similar websites. Some even provide e-mail addresses.
My mind has got to thinking about some really great birthday presents for family and friends... and maybe even a couple for myself.
Would you mind looking into these kinds of websites? How reliable are they?
Or would I be better off going to somewhere like eBay for an autograph?
Emma Berry-Ashpole
Grimsby, ON
Street Cents Response
Street Cents looked into contactanycelebrity.com. We found it is legit and they do give you real contact information. After signing up, we found addresses for all of the celebrities Emma was interested in.
They charge a membership fee of $9.99 US or about $13 Canadian a month. This fee gives you access to their web database.
Contact Any Celebrity says their information comes from trade magazines, industry contacts and a full-time staff making phone calls to agents.
They provide mailing addresses and the occasional phone number for agents and managers of celebrities. So don't count on getting Johnny Depp's home phone number or personal email address. Celebs usually get their agents to take care of fan mail.
On that note, if a web site charges to give you personal celebrity contact information, you may want to think twice about whether that's legitimate.
Contact Any Celebrity doesn't guarantee a response from the celebrities you contact. But they will give you 50 cents US for each returned envelope and extend your access to their database.
If you only want to check it out for a little while (as opposed to month after month) you could sign up, browse the database and quit within a day or two so the membership won't renew automatically at the end of the billing period.
You could just get addresses for FREE
A lot of people who put their autograph collections on the web also put the addresses where they got the autographs from. Check those out - it's free.
If you want a musician's autograph, you could always send a letter to the artist's record label. The record label is always on the back of the CD or on their artist's web site. From there, you could easily find the label's mailing address.
If your celeb has a web site, sign up as a fan. You never know what you may be entitled to. But beware, some fan sites make you to pay to be a member. Plus, they can often flood your e-mail account with junk mail. You may want to get a second e-mail account to handle the celeb SPAM.
eBay
eBay has a fair selection of celebrity autographed photos. But the thing with shopping online is you don't really know if what you're getting is authentic or fake.
Be prepared to spend anywhere from $10 US and up for celebrity autographs on eBay. Plus, you'll have to pay for shipping and handling.
Tips for getting Autographs
Street Cents checked out a bunch of autograph web sites. We came up with some tips we think will help you get an autograph from your idol:
1. Send a self-addressed envelope with “DO NOT BEND” marked somewhere on the envelope. You don't want the mail delivery person bending your beloved Ashton! And make sure your address is CORRECT!
2. You may want to include your own picture of the celebrity. Some celebs will send out what's called a pre-print autograph, meaning they signed an original, but the one you'll get is a copy. If you send your own, say from a magazine, you may get an original signature.
3. Include a couple of index cards! They may sign them as well.
4. Keep you letter short and sweet! Handwritten letters are more personal - that's if your handwriting is legible. If not, head for a computer.
5. If you want an autograph, ask for one. Don't beat around the bush!
6. Flatter your idol, but don't be a scary stalker! Tell them how much you love their work or how hyped you are about their upcoming movie or album. But keep your facts straight, i.e. “Christina, I loved your 'Slave 4 U' song” - WRONG!
7. Make sure to include YOUR address on the letter as well.
8. Be patient! If you get a reply, it won't happen over night.
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