Would you get a signature on a MOC, do you think the signature should reduce the MOC's overall grade?

Wreck-It Ralph

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I saw a post in the items for sale section where a guy is selling a graded MOC 12 Back Kenner Stormtrooper with a signature on the card. The item has graded lower as a result of the signature, I presume the card subgrade is lower. In comic book grading you can get a comic signed and it will not effect the grade.

1. What do you think about Signatures on MOC?

2. Do you think a signature on a MOC should effect the grade or be ignored as it is in Comic Grading?
 
Signtures on MOCs are generally frowned upon. I would never do it.
It does devalue the figure, sometimes significantly. For example, Sean Crawford's signature on a carded Yak.

However, it'd be interesting to see the effect of a Ford signature on a standard Kenner Han Solo figure. I wonder what that would do?
 
This is a 12 Back Kenner Stormtrooper signed by Richard Bonehill below the signature it also says "Stormtrooper Blast Em" which isn't my cup of tea but I am sure some collectors would love it!
 
Nope, the vast majority of collectors prefer no signature on vintage.

Signatures on toys have been more successful on modern toys.
 
Why would you get someone to sign on a vintage MOC and ruin it forever?? If the signature is that important sign on the acrylic case so the MOC is not damage and if future owners want they can simply replace the case.
 
wrighty said:
Why would you get someone to sign on a vintage MOC and ruin it forever?? If the signature is that important sign on the acrylic case so the MOC is not damage and if future owners want they can simply replace the case.

Good point, it always surprised me how popular they are with comics because I feel if it wasn't there originally it's not meant to be there, I also think it spoils the visual display of the item!
 
I bought a Trilogo R2 pop-up saber with Kenny's signature on it - got it for £340 (I think, may have been much less) as a result - compared to £550-600 that people wanted for theirs. I'll take that any day. Barely get a loose one for £340 lol.

Mind you, this was just before Kenny died.
 
Comics may be different to toys but they still form part of the Pop Art Genre and signatures are prevalent within Comics both new and vintage. There is a X Men Volume 1 on eBay for £26000 with a signature on it, that comic is 1963. Grading is different with comics as the signature does not affect the grade of the comic. Personally I prefer both Comics and MOC's without signatures!
 
Personally, I regard any signature or writing on cards as simply defacing the card. I wouldn't do it, and wouldn't want to buy one which had it, but everyone is different. I personally also think that grading cards is an astonishing waste of time and money (paying someone else to tell you the condition of something you already own, before sealing it in perspex which, in the case of many cards, especially Tri-logos, massively increases the chances of the figure punching through the blister and hence becoming worth a tenth of what it was before it was imprisoned in plastic), but again, everyone is different. I'm sure to some collectors having the 'right' signature on a MOC is a highly desirable thing, just as an amazing (to me) number of collectors send their MOCs away to the AFA or UKG to have them encased in plastic prisons.

It takes all sorts, and neither view is right or wrong, but to answer the original question, transparently a signature both does and should reduce a MOC's overall grade, even if that signature in some instances (Alec Guinness anyone?) might massively increase the value. If AFA/UKG grading is to mean anything at all, it has to be consistent. They are judging how close to a perfect example your particular MOC happens to be. Since it didn't leave the factory with a load of Biro or felt-tip scrawl all over it, of course the grade will be reduced because of it.

As for comics (which I freely admit, I know very little about), if the signature in question is the 'right' one, e.g. Jack Kirby or Bob Kane, then just like having the 'right' Star Wars signature on a MOC (Guinness, Ford, Lucas, etc.), then the value may very well be increased. However, I don't doubt there will be many comic collectors that prefer to have their comics without signatures, just as most Vintage Star Wars collectors seem to prefer their MOCs unsigned.
 
I agree with the general opinion on this. However their are exceptions, I have my childhood Boba Fett cardback signed by Jeremy Bullock and I don't no why but it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time and still does now.

If the cardback had still been MOC from my childhood then would I still have got it signed? I really don't no. Either way it's something I'm would never sell so it's only important to me.
 
I bought some Pewter Statues years ago of Boba Fett, Vader, C3PO and R2D2. When I was buying the R2D2 they had 2 one with a Kenny Baker signature and one without I chose the one without the signature and I remember the lady that served me being shocked That I did not want the signed one.The signed one was actually more expensive so for her she clearly thought the signature added value and was a positive addition to the statue!
 
I would buy an autographed MOC but I wouldn't get one signed myself. I also wouldn't pay a premium for the signature, I'd actually try and get a better price
 
I could possibly live with a small signature on one card so long as it was cheap, but the "Stormtrooper Blast Em" would be a step too far for me!
 
Sig on a MOC is a big no no for me and most serious collectors. I have had the acrylic case signed before but never the MOC :!:
 
I'd never do it myself but if one came my way at a good price (due to everyone thinking it was wrecked) I'd happily buy it. It wouldn't be my first choice but I'd prefer a signature rather than a touch up.
 
I don't like signatures on cards, for me they are a complete no no. I just wouldn't buy a MOC that had been signed.
 
weasel said:
I don't like signatures on cards, for me they are a complete no no. I just wouldn't buy a MOC that had been signed.
Have you lost the football forum?? :lol:
 
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