Ive been somewhat on the hunt for a signed Arita charizard recently and stumbled upon a interesting post on a facebook page:
“Guest artist Mitsuhiro Arita will be attending Dallas Regional Championships! Mr. Arita is the artist for over 500 Pokémon cards including base set Charizard!! Mr. Arita will be signing autographs Saturday & Sunday (Jan. 27-28, 2018) at the event. Mr. Arita accepts cash ONLY ($5 for personalized signature; $10 signature only)”
from what ive been seeing a signed evolutions charizard with no sketch authenticated by PSA has been going for around $150
is it really worth a $100 markup on a card you can just do a little leg work for by going to an event, or have a friend get a card signed for you whom can go?
should/could/will this effect values of his signed cards? to my knowledge at least i haven’t seen a documented price he charges for a signature until now
Personally, I just don’t see the allure in signed Pokemon cards. I can appreciate the artwork on a card for what it is without needing the artist’s signature taking up a huge space. As opposed to a sports card, seeing a big signature on the front of a Pokemon card honestly is off-putting to me. I truly think autographed cards should be worth less. However, if the card is PLAYED, then I suppose it doesn’t really matter. But to have a Near Mint/Mint old WOTC card autographed makes zero sense to me. I’d rather just have the card as-is. It’s not like Arita’s signature is rare either. There are endless amounts of his autograph on Ebay, and apparently he’s pumping them out for $5 a piece if your post is accurate. I like Pokemon cards to escape the real world. A big signature on the front ruins that for me. Just my opinion, and I am pretty sure I am in the minority on this.
Yeah to me its all personal preference, its a smaller market but in collecting cards theirs hundreds of smaller markets compared to Pokemon as a whole. if that makes any sense. id honestly prefer taking an already graded card to a signing, and get a photo of them signing the PSA case as authentication.
Arita has (and will have even more) TONS of autos out there so the value is constantly going down. Be very careful not to over spend. It won’t be long before he starts peddling them for 5.00 on his own site or eBay;) I mean, who wouldn’t lol.
That being said, autograph collecting has been a fun and popular hobby forever so enjoy it. Keep in mind that the more difficult to get autos are normally at a premium.
Right now there isn’t really an established market for signed Pokemon cards. Just like other cards price varies based on which card is signed, quality of the signed card, authenticated signature or not, etc. etc.
While it sounds cliché, the best way to value signed cards is simply what people are willing to pay for it.
I honestly really like that he is signing cards for a low fee and I hope I get an opportunity to get some signed one day. If anyone is going to Dallas regionals I will gladly pay you to get cards signed for me! It’s not so much about their investment value and more about getting a card autographed by one of the most recognizable TCG artists. While there will always be a market aspect to Pokemon, I’d love it if people stopped caring exclusively about that for a second.
What I’d really like is if he did some kind of signed prints of his card artwork (I doubt he owns them, but still), I’d love to have posters of those ADV/PCG card files with his signature.
Since it’s not for investment I assume you’d want it personalized which is cheaper. I have a partial commitment to get some signed and will try for you. How exactly do you want your name?
No guarantee but I’ll try just for you. Nobody else though cause I can only get a couple for me.
Here’s how I add value in the sports field when is comes to signatures
Are they still alive?
Yes, add 15% . Is their signature hard to get? Yes, add 25% no, 0%
No, add 50%. Is their signature rare? Yes, add 50% no, add 15%
This is not taking into account personalization , usually that detracts from the value unless it’s a popular name like Bob, or if it was made out to a famous person.
Common name -10%, uncommon name -30%
Famous person +5-50%, depending on the person. In rare cases it can detract in value if made to a person with a bad stigma attached to them.
Ill sell you my signature for £1000, I will only do 10 exclusive autographs, personalize or just generic on a pokemon card. all the same card, same sig… only 10 in the world. A steal at £1000…limited run…get it graded! or authenticated. bargain!!! first 10 to pm me…we can discuss
I’d value his signature at about $50(my personal opinion). That’s what I’d pay as premium if I really wanted an item signed by him. I’ve seen people expect several hundreds in premium for a signed card by him which is usually in played condition too.
He should come to Canada some day. I’d give him Maple Syrup. I heard Japanese love it.
I’m hoping more artists like Fukuda/Nishida/Sugimori, etc start doing signings in the US. I do agree some prices are just too high, specially those CP6 Charizards. Will anyone be attending the Dallas Regional Championships?
I didn’t meet her actually. I sent the card to her gym in August of 2015 and got it back in August of this year lol. I assume she got so much fan mail that it just took a long time for her to get to mine.
I personally do enjoy getting my cards autographed. To me its a special experience and with Arita, I have always had a good time (had the opportunity of meeting him twice). What you think is worth always comes back to how much you are willing to pay. For example, collectors go with their favorite card, the most memorable ones from him, etc… but not everyone has the opportunity of doing it. I remember hearing how in Italy, the lines were hours long, in Florida I got lucky. Mine are all signed and sketched, they aren’t for sale and hope they never will be. You will always find a signed Evolutions Charizard but what about the other cards? Again, to me they add a nice touch to my collection and an awesome personal experience but to each their own lol.
It was based off this picture!