Are sticker autographs good for the hobby?
Autograph card inserts have been around for many years now and have become a favorite in the hobby. Who doesn't like pulling an autograph of a great player? Collectors are a passionate bunch, and there's been a simmering debate going back and forth as to whether sticker autographs are as valuable and worthy of collecting as on-card autographs.
Let's look first at some of the positives - one problem that sticker autos were initially meant to overcome were the dreaded redemption cards being pulled out of packs. No-one wants to have to send off for an wait what could be months for their auto card to arrive. One way the card companies benefit is by having the flexibility to determine which product releases would be best served with specific autographs - just apply the sticker to the card and you're in business.
Another issue is that as the hobby has expanded globally and athletes from all over the world are signing, having hundreds or thousands of cards signed creates a big logistical problem - it's much easier to provide a sheet of stickers that can be signed easily anytime and anywhere and mailed or handed back to the card company at a later date.
On the other hand, stickers for the most part look less "premium", to put it nicely. Many collectors want to have and hold a card that their hero touched and signed as well - there's simply no personal connection with sticker autographs. There's also the concern that over time the stickers will start to peel off of the card. Scroll through eBay and it's very easy to find any number of sticker autos where the signature is clearly incomplete - this doesn't happen with on-card autographs. Overall quality control is a concern - there are unfortunately many instances where not all of the autograph is included on the sticker.
Going forward, it's reasonable to expect that the card companies are going to react to growing criticism and attempt to include more on-card autographs. This might indeed lead to the more frequent redemptions, but at this point, it's hard to imagine that the complaints would be as loud as they used to be.
Brian Hough became a fan of the hobby by opening packs of 1986 Donruss and 1987 Topps baseball with his dad and little brother. He has been writing about the collectibles industry for years, initially as a price guide editor for Tuff Stuff Magazine, which was a monthly sports magazine focused on sports cards and collectibles, particularly known for its price guides and checklists, that initially launched in April 1984.