Problems with Facilitators

[Pirate]

It basically comes down to if you're offering extra services for a fee, darn well have contingency plans in place when it doesn't happen and make sure the customer has options before the issue arises.

 

Wait, I shouldn't let common sense get in the way of a stupid thread.

[comix4fun]

These responses are comedy and the very reason I do most things myself. Just exercise some social skills instead of dropping down a stack of books and I'm sure a pen or marker change doesn't become life or death

 

 

Well, yeah...I think some are meant to be comedy.

 

Having repped artists, and facilitated and witnessed for years, I can tell you that good social skills do no guarantee that a creator will comply or even register that you made the request.

 

Some creators are just as socially challenged as their fans.

[5ive]

These responses are comedy and the very reason I do most things myself. Just exercise some social skills instead of dropping down a stack of books and I'm sure a pen or marker change doesn't become life or death

 

 

Well, yeah...I think some are meant to be comedy.

 

Having repped artists, and facilitated and witnessed for years, I can tell you that good social skills do no guarantee that a creator will comply or even register that you made the request.

 

Some creators are just as socially challenged as their fans.

 

Very true but before anything were all just people who need to know how to communicate. Say Hi, introduce yourself, let them know you represent fans who couldn't make it out to the show, offer payment for any extra request you may have (color request), and thank them for their time.

[N/A]

These responses are comedy and the very reason I do most things myself. Just exercise some social skills instead of dropping down a stack of books and I'm sure a pen or marker change doesn't become life or death

 

 

Well, yeah...I think some are meant to be comedy.

 

Having repped artists, and facilitated and witnessed for years, I can tell you that good social skills do no guarantee that a creator will comply or even register that you made the request.

 

Some creators are just as socially challenged as their fans.

 

Very true but before anything were all just people who need to know how to communicate. Say Hi, introduce yourself, let them know you represent fans who couldn't make it out to the show, offer payment for any extra request you may have (color request), and thank them for their time.

 

If only it were always that easy.

[Jeffro.]

So if the option is to have the book signed in the "wrong" colour or not have it signed at all then what is the preference?

 

Would you buy the Amazing Spider-man 9/11 issue that's all black that's signed in black markero n the cover (not the logo)? If I can't see a sig, there's no point in getting it.

 

It's been hell laying in a supply that are still usable but I only get stuff signed using these. I accept nothing less

 

[N/A]

 

That's gonna be a premium.

[Steve_Paulus]

Any issues you have with a facilitator should be forwarded to Mike Balent at CGC

 

+1

 

I also have to point out that while I am sure all of us try our best to get sigs done in the colors a client wants, complaining about a sig color is one of the fastest ways to not get your books done. (unless of course the facilitator is charging you an extra fee for a certain color)

 

I cant speak for other guys, nor do I know who your facilitator was, but I know I try my best to meet the color needs everyone has but mistakes do happen. How sure are you this is something they are doing on purpose rather than a simple mistake?

 

I've had creators and celebs, miss the start of a new color stack and sign one or two books in black still before we caught it. Ive also had books get shuffled up before and a couple silvers end up in the black stack and blacks in the silver stack.

 

I agree with Doug,

 

I also have to say that while sometimes the facilitator is at fault, many times the creator in question signs with what ever pen is in hand at the time and there is little or nothing that can be done.

 

last year I had several books signed with the wrong color.... all of them were CGC facilitated, with the exception of two signed by Stan Lee.... have to say that I do not blame anyone for these... Stan is signing a ton of books and if he misses a switch from silver to black... we cannot really blame him can we?

 

Here is another example, last year at NYCC I stood in line for Anthony Daniels, I had 3 books for him to sign for a client. When I gave him the books he examined each one and then proceeded to berate me for "My color choice", My client wanted them signed with a blue marker (Which I brought with me). Mr. Daniels was not impressed when I told him that I was getting them signed "For a Friend", his direct quote was..."Tell your friend, he has NO artistic vision"... Then he said... I'll sign one in blue the other in black and you be the judge. When I politely pointed out that I paid for the signatures, and I should be able to get them in the color my friend wants... Mr. Daniels told me that he "Does not have to sign them, and was willing to give back the money... " So either I "Throw down" and start a argument or give way and let the actor have his win...

 

My client received a one blue signature and two black ones... I told Mr. Daniels that he was absolutely correct in the color choice, black was better.... I was in the other hall by the time I realized that Daniels kept my blue sharpie.

 

I sent a text to my client, re-telling the events. He was ok with it.

 

I have to say that there is risk evolved with every transaction.... But the facilitators do their best... the good ones do anyway.

 

So I guess if you want a special color signature, and it is that important to ya, get the book signed yourself....

 

 

[seanfingh]

Any issues you have with a facilitator should be forwarded to Mike Balent at CGC

 

+1

 

I also have to point out that while I am sure all of us try our best to get sigs done in the colors a client wants, complaining about a sig color is one of the fastest ways to not get your books done. (unless of course the facilitator is charging you an extra fee for a certain color)

 

I cant speak for other guys, nor do I know who your facilitator was, but I know I try my best to meet the color needs everyone has but mistakes do happen. How sure are you this is something they are doing on purpose rather than a simple mistake?

 

I've had creators and celebs, miss the start of a new color stack and sign one or two books in black still before we caught it. Ive also had books get shuffled up before and a couple silvers end up in the black stack and blacks in the silver stack.

 

I agree with Doug,

 

I also have to say that while sometimes the facilitator is at fault, many times the creator in question signs with what ever pen is in hand at the time and there is little or nothing that can be done.

 

last year I had several books signed with the wrong color.... all of them were CGC facilitated, with the exception of two signed by Stan Lee.... have to say that I do not blame anyone for these... Stan is signing a ton of books and if he misses a switch from silver to black... we cannot really blame him can we?

 

Here is another example, last year at NYCC I stood in line for Anthony Daniels, I had 3 books for him to sign for a client. When I gave him the books he examined each one and then proceeded to berate me for "My color choice", My client wanted them signed with a blue marker (Which I brought with me). Mr. Daniels was not impressed when I told him that I was getting them signed "For a Friend", his direct quote was..."Tell your friend, he has NO artistic vision"... Then he said... I'll sign one in blue the other in black and you be the judge. When I politely pointed out that I paid for the signatures, and I should be able to get them in the color my friend wants... Mr. Daniels told me that he "Does not have to sign them, and was willing to give back the money... " So either I "Throw down" and start a argument or give way and let the actor have his win...

 

My client received a one blue signature and two black ones... I told Mr. Daniels that he was absolutely correct in the color choice, black was better.... I was in the other hall by the time I realized that Daniels kept my blue sharpie.

 

I sent a text to my client, re-telling the events. He was ok with it.

 

I have to say that there is risk evolved with every transaction.... But the facilitators do their best... the good ones do anyway.

 

So I guess if you want a special color signature, and it is that important to ya, get the book signed yourself....

 

 

Anthony Daniels berated me when I told him that I didn't want to get my picture taken with him. I had just dealt with Ron Perlman's line for about an hour and had some booth books and some books for Richie. I was really pretty tired, and he cursed me for a fool or something similar when I told him I just wanted the autographs.

[revat]

I think this is a good reminder thread for facilitators AND customers to get all plans and contingencies and fees (and/or potential refunds) ironed out EXPLICTLY ahead of time so there's no confusion later.

[5ive]

Anthony Daniels seems to have a rep for being a . There's actually a Facebook page for his horror stories

[Steve_Paulus]

Any issues you have with a facilitator should be forwarded to Mike Balent at CGC

 

+1

 

I also have to point out that while I am sure all of us try our best to get sigs done in the colors a client wants, complaining about a sig color is one of the fastest ways to not get your books done. (unless of course the facilitator is charging you an extra fee for a certain color)

 

I cant speak for other guys, nor do I know who your facilitator was, but I know I try my best to meet the color needs everyone has but mistakes do happen. How sure are you this is something they are doing on purpose rather than a simple mistake?

 

I've had creators and celebs, miss the start of a new color stack and sign one or two books in black still before we caught it. Ive also had books get shuffled up before and a couple silvers end up in the black stack and blacks in the silver stack.

 

I agree with Doug,

 

I also have to say that while sometimes the facilitator is at fault, many times the creator in question signs with what ever pen is in hand at the time and there is little or nothing that can be done.

 

last year I had several books signed with the wrong color.... all of them were CGC facilitated, with the exception of two signed by Stan Lee.... have to say that I do not blame anyone for these... Stan is signing a ton of books and if he misses a switch from silver to black... we cannot really blame him can we?

 

Here is another example, last year at NYCC I stood in line for Anthony Daniels, I had 3 books for him to sign for a client. When I gave him the books he examined each one and then proceeded to berate me for "My color choice", My client wanted them signed with a blue marker (Which I brought with me). Mr. Daniels was not impressed when I told him that I was getting them signed "For a Friend", his direct quote was..."Tell your friend, he has NO artistic vision"... Then he said... I'll sign one in blue the other in black and you be the judge. When I politely pointed out that I paid for the signatures, and I should be able to get them in the color my friend wants... Mr. Daniels told me that he "Does not have to sign them, and was willing to give back the money... " So either I "Throw down" and start a argument or give way and let the actor have his win...

 

My client received a one blue signature and two black ones... I told Mr. Daniels that he was absolutely correct in the color choice, black was better.... I was in the other hall by the time I realized that Daniels kept my blue sharpie.

 

I sent a text to my client, re-telling the events. He was ok with it.

 

I have to say that there is risk evolved with every transaction.... But the facilitators do their best... the good ones do anyway.

 

So I guess if you want a special color signature, and it is that important to ya, get the book signed yourself....

 

 

Anthony Daniels berated me when I told him that I didn't want to get my picture taken with him. I had just dealt with Ron Perlman's line for about an hour and had some booth books and some books for Richie. I was really pretty tired, and he cursed me for a fool or something similar when I told him I just wanted the autographs.

 

Wait...C3P0 cursed you for a fool....

 

you should have flipped him off while making beeping noises....

 

we should start a club or something, or at the very least... tell the boys at the 501st Legion, to go repo his cooper

[Goldeneye]

Anthony Daniels seems to have a rep for being a . There's actually a Facebook page for his horror stories

Hmm the only people I have ran into problems with so far is Lou Ferrigno makes up the price he is going to charge for each item as to what he feels the item will sell for after he signs it tried to charge me $100 bucks for signing my complete box set of Incredible Hulk, Billy Dee Williams falls in the same category, and as far as writers and artists I have only really had a problem with Rob Liefeld paid for a sketch and said I wanted Cable and then he says no your getting Deadpool I don't draw Cable.

[Psithyrus]

I have requested silver (if possible) a few times, just because I thought it would look better where I had the window, and I think there's only been once when it wasn't done. I wasn't too worried about it, because I didn't pay extra, and black usually still stands out on those books (white backgrounds with a single character).

 

Usually, I just leave it to the person signing it to decide. I gave no request for Amanda Conner, and she signed my book in blue. I'm happy she did that, because it looks sweet! I love that book (thanks, Doug!).

 

If I paid, I may be a little grouchy about it, just like I would be about anything like that, but I'd just take whatever business I had elsewhere, if I could. I don't NEED books signed (I like them, though), so, at the end of the day, there's that. . .

 

I do appreciate that there are people that can do that for me, and are willing, even if I do pay them for it. I haven't had any issues with facilitators. Honestly, I have anxiety in crowds (claustrophobia), and hate, hate, hate lines.

[Psithyrus]

Anthony Daniels seems to have a rep for being a . There's actually a Facebook page for his horror stories

Hmm the only people I have ran into problems with so far is Lou Ferrigno makes up the price he is going to charge for each item as to what he feels the item will sell for after he signs it tried to charge me $100 bucks for signing my complete box set of Incredible Hulk, Billy Dee Williams falls in the same category, and as far as writers and artists I have only really had a problem with Rob Liefeld paid for a sketch and said I wanted Cable and then he says no your getting Deadpool I don't draw Cable.

 

"Can you make it Deadpool in a flawless Cable disguise?"

 

 

[revat]

Anthony Daniels seems to have a rep for being a . There's actually a Facebook page for his horror stories

Hmm the only people I have ran into problems with so far is Lou Ferrigno makes up the price he is going to charge for each item as to what he feels the item will sell for after he signs it tried to charge me $100 bucks for signing my complete box set of Incredible Hulk, Billy Dee Williams falls in the same category, and as far as writers and artists I have only really had a problem with Rob Liefeld paid for a sketch and said I wanted Cable and then he says no your getting Deadpool I don't draw Cable.

 

"Can you make it Deadpool in a flawless Cable disguise?"

 

 

or any of the characters from youngblood, but with a star-eye thingy

[HCE]

This is my only real problem with you facilitators so far.

 

[Steve_Paulus]

This is my only real problem with you facilitators so far.

 

 

WOW,

It seems like you had a real bad experence with facilitators in the past.. I'm truly sorry!

 

I hope your next experence is a good one!

[HCE]

Steve: Sorry, I see now that my post can be misinterpreted. I am personally not unhappy with the facilitators on this board. Quite the opposite, I'm very grateful for the opportunities they've given me. The silly Fry meme was just meant to illustrate the fact that I happily give them my business. A lot. Dscott is practically garninshing my wages at this point...

[udflyerman]

 

Here is another example, last year at NYCC I stood in line for Anthony Daniels, I had 3 books for him to sign for a client. When I gave him the books he examined each one and then proceeded to berate me for "My color choice", My client wanted them signed with a blue marker (Which I brought with me). Mr. Daniels was not impressed when I told him that I was getting them signed "For a Friend", his direct quote was..."Tell your friend, he has NO artistic vision"... Then he said... I'll sign one in blue the other in black and you be the judge. When I politely pointed out that I paid for the signatures, and I should be able to get them in the color my friend wants... Mr. Daniels told me that he "Does not have to sign them, and was willing to give back the money... " So either I "Throw down" and start a argument or give way and let the actor have his win...

 

My client received a one blue signature and two black ones... I told Mr. Daniels that he was absolutely correct in the color choice, black was better.... I was in the other hall by the time I realized that Daniels kept my blue sharpie.

 

I sent a text to my client, re-telling the events. He was ok with it.

 

I have to say that there is risk evolved with every transaction.... But the facilitators do their best... the good ones do anyway.

 

So I guess if you want a special color signature, and it is that important to ya, get the book signed yourself....

 

 

Anthony Daniels berated me when I told him that I didn't want to get my picture taken with him. I had just dealt with Ron Perlman's line for about an hour and had some booth books and some books for Richie. I was really pretty tired, and he cursed me for a fool or something similar when I told him I just wanted the autographs.

 

Wait...C3P0 cursed you for a fool....

 

you should have flipped him off while making beeping noises....

 

we should start a club or something, or at the very least... tell the boys at the 501st Legion, to go repo his cooper

 

Or you could just tell Anthony Daniels how accomodating Kenny Baker was on marker choice when you last saw him...

[DrewCollins]

A few names were mentioned

 

Neal Adams - sig would always be as requested. Neal takes his time and honours requests. There is rarely a line since he signs all day, every day.

 

Jim Lee - Jim picks his colours. He takes his time and tends to treat sigs like sketches. If you got a different colour then Jim may have chosen it.

 

Stan Lee - he is a signing machine. Plain and simple. He signs thousand and thousands of books and is 91. Anyone with any experience getting Stan to sign multiple books knows you have to be right on top of it. He will sign over other sigs, on the plastic with whichever sharpie he is holding at the time. You can blame who you like but in this case just be thankful Stan makes so many appearances. He could just as easily say "forget it" or have a strict limit. Nobody saying "but I pay Stan" is worth listening to. He is 91, does not need the money and is awesome.

 

All of the threads like this are simple to answer. It's all communication. Communicate your expectations. If your expectations are not met then ask why. If you don't like the answer then move on.

 

Many facilitators offer many colours. If you paid for a colour and communicated then you should get it.

 

Also just an FYI - there are many options for facilitating but many have a blacklist of troublesome submitters they won't deal with. I realize you just want advice so I will advise you that you likely are being blacklisted by a few who read this.

 

blacklisted?? for what ? asking for advice? troublesome? how? for asking for advice? If they want to blacklist me for now reason then I wouldn't have wanted to work with them anyway....