The Simple Collectibles App That Could Change the Hobby

This article is about an app that doesn't exist but should. It's an app for anyone who's ever bumped into a celeb unexpectedly, lined up for autographs at a card show, or just wanted some fun souvenirs of a great Little League season.

Here's how it works. Imagine for a second that you just got your picture taken with Shohei Ohtani. God only knows how you managed that, but let's go with it for the moment...

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Shohei Ohtani #大谷翔平 with a fan

© vamily pic.twitter.com/SUgjquVXhG
— shobae 大谷翔平 ¹⁷ Ohtani Shohei ¹⁷ 🐶 (@shoheisaveus) July 26, 2021

Now what's the one thing that would make the photo even cooler? Yep, an autograph! Of course, that's ridiculous. It's not like you're going to ask Sho-Time to take a Sharpie to your smartphone (even if some of us would)! And that's where the app comes in.

Rather than taking the photo with your phone's generic camera app, you'd use the (somehow still non-existent) Instant Auto app that does all of the following:

Embeds the full functionality of your phone's camera
Allows for immediate on-screen signatures by stylus or finger
Includes multiple "pens" for convenient preselection

Obviously there's no guarantee Shohei sticks around the three extra seconds it would take him to emblazon his signature across your photo, but what if he does?! Granted, this isn't an auto you could flip for much on eBay, if at all, but it sure makes for an amazing keepsake. And if you wish that Sharpie black signature were gold instead? No problem, just use the app to "re-ink" the auto after the fact. If Shohei accidentally signs right over his face? That's also an easy fix with the app's "move it" features.

So the app is already a big win for those chance celeb encounters all fans dream about, but what about on the card show circuit? Yep, it's a big win there too. After dropping $60 to take a pic with their favorite player, who wouldn't pay the $40 add-on to get that digital signature added with the Instant Auto app?

Montreal Expos legend Steve Rogers meets "Collectibles on SI" writer Jason Schwartz at baseball research convention — When Montreal Expos legend Steve Rogers met "Collectibles on SI" writer Jason Schwartz at a recent baseball research convention, he did not ask for an autograph, but what if he did! | Jason A. Schwartz

And finally, since the Little League World Series is in full gear, who knows which of your teammates will someday go on to make the Show? Why not play it safe, snap a pic (selfie or otherwise), and nab that signature while you can still afford it!

Future big leaguers? — Ryan Fennell, left, dad Declan Fennell, and Frankie Fasoli III, during a welcome home party for the Braintree Little Leaguers (New England region) at Hollingsworth Park on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. | Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Admittedly, an idea like this is sure to bring out the haters. "Why would anyone want a DIGITAL autograph?" they'd ask. Fair, but weren't dudes spending millions of dollars during the pandemic on digital "NFT" artwork, which seems even sillier by comparison? "Wouldn't a finger auto be messy and illegible?" Um, okay, but have you seen the "real" autos on trading cards today?

Let's face it. This app rules, except for just one small thing. Nobody's made it yet. So what are you waiting for?!