As I browse EBay, it is quite sad to see how many signed items there are for sale on there these days. Most of them if you look closer arent even real. They are either copied printouts of the real thing or are just out and out fakes. To me, this takes all the fun out of collecting. To me collecting autographs isnt about monetary value, it is about personal and sentimental value.

I started collecting 23 years ago. I was watching Blue Peter and I wondered to myself if it would be possible to get signed pictures of the team. So I wrote my letter and popped it in the post, then a couple of weeks later my SAE came back packed with pictures and lots of other bits and pieces. From then I was hooked. I wrote off to all my favourite TV shows and quickly filled up 1, 2 even 3 photo albums.

To make TTM (Through the mail) collecting the most fun, you should only write to stars you like and admire. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your hobby.

1) Keep your letter short. If your handwriting isnt the best then it is perfectly acceptable to type it out but always sign your name in person at the end.

2) Always send an SAE (Stamped Addressed envelope) this saves the celeb time in replying to you as they can just sign your picture, seal it up and send it away.

3) Try to send your own picture so that the item will be unique to you and also you will know that the subject has taken the time to sit down and sign it especially for you and not just thrown a ready done one in there.

4) Dont take liberties. I think it is OK to ask for a couple of photos to be signed but not a whole wad of them.

5) Dont tell your life story in your letter, just a paragraph about what you like best about the person you are writing to will do.

6) Dont forget to keep track of the dates that you sent your letters. This will give you an idea of how long it had taken to reply. Dont worry if it takes a few months, the more popular the Celebrity, the longer it will take. Just be patient.

There are lots of resources online for finding addresses for celebs. Some sites have a subscription to join but if you look hard enough you will find many addresses for free. Most of the time you can write to stars through the TV Company that they are working for but there are lots of resources out there for Agents and managers addresses. Also for Sports stars you can write to them through their sports club. You will find that most big sports clubs/TV companies/Agents are geared up for receiving fan mail and have a procedure for dealing with it.

A couple of sites to get you started http://ukautographs.proboards59.com/ http://www.stefansautographs.ch/01.Actresses.htm/

So get writing and have fun with itThere is no stopping you now!!