It’s easy to come up with a headline that will draw someone into a website or click through a spam email.
For an autograph collector, the phrase “the world’s largest autograph show” is a must-visit or at the very least worth having a look at. That’s what the guys at Autographica show seem to think.
So, I logged on to their website on www.autographica.co.uk where I’m told that I’ll be meeting Hollywood legends, astronauts & more. Great news for an autograph collector!
Now that they got me dying of curiosity to see who’ll be at the show, I can’t wait to see the guests.
As I scroll down their home page it takes me 2 secs to learn that curiosity killed the cat! Autographica’s guests are the likes of George Baker, Ray Lonnen and a few pilots who served during the Battle of Britain. I’d be happier to get an autograph from Samuel Wurzelbacher aka Joe-the-Plumber!
Where are the Hollywood legends? And the astronauts?
I feel deceived. But I decide to go deeper on this matter and wonder: who on earth falls into such things?
I used to say, collect whatever interests you. Whilst that might be true, a bit of good taste and common sense wouldn’t cause any harm, would it?
Whether autograph collecting is becoming bigger or not, I don’t know. But I do know that today’s autograph collector is increasingly demanding and technology savvy.
That means that autograph collecting has moved from flee markets to the virtual arena.
Today’s collector shops for an iPhone at Amazon and simultaneously browses the web for that signed photograph he’s been looking for.
Whilst at Amazon he’ll get an enjoyable customer experience, this technology-enabled collector would expect online autograph retailers to provide the same. After all this decade is rapidly coming to an end and internet businesses have been around for 20 years now.
Sadly, it hardly could be a more daunting experience.
Inaccurate information, potentially unreliable dealers and too many promises of authenticity, to name a few leave Joe-the-Collector confused.
And rightfully so. In this environment, Joe scrutinises the first few dealers he comes across. He looks for a dealer who’s knowledgeable, one that he feels he can trust, one whose home page gets his attention and teases him to read on, one that tells him more about his hobby… after all, autographs are Joe’s passion and he expects the same passion from who’s selling them to him.
For Joe’s disappointment such dealer can hardly be found.
Autograph retailers are used to information-limited clients but as an ever growing percent of the population gains access to the internet, where information is one click away such stereotype no longer exists.
Both in the real and in the virtual world, first impressions count (an awful lot), so why do autograph dealers insist in projecting an amateurish and unprofessional image of the business?
Sounds like a business opportunity to me…
Best,
PG
Hi PG
ReplyDeleteInteresting article, I have to say I agree with most of your comments.
The great irony is that the more professional dealer sites are over expensive.
Some of them as seen in the news last year, have a great looking site and sell fakes!
The stock is usually no better than the ones on the amateurish sites to which you refer.
I have been selling autographs online for over ten years and have to admit my site is nowhere near the quality of Frasers for instance!
However, you can buy genuine item from me at a third of their cost!
They go to the same auctions as I do to buy their stock, so should the autograph collector pay three times as much on a great looking site or go for a smaller site like mine?
I think most of us know the answer.
All the best with your blog
Tony