Why Some Autograph Signings Never Get Posted on Our Website

If you follow Powers Sports Memorabilia on social media, you may have experienced this before.

You see us post photos or videos from a recent autograph signing and immediately think:

“Wait… when was this signing announced?”

You check the website.

You check your email.

You look through Instagram.

And you still cannot figure out how you missed it.

The answer might be simple.

The signing was never publicly announced.

While we would love to post every autograph signing on our website and social media, sometimes we simply are not allowed to.

These are often what we call VIP or private autograph signings.

There are several reasons why a signing may need to stay private, and many of them have nothing to do with trying to keep collectors out.

Here is what happens behind the scenes.

1. Some Signings Are Reserved for Our Insider Club

One reason you may not see a signing on our public website is because it is offered specifically to members of the Powers Insider Club.

We want there to be real value in being part of the group.

That can include access to certain autograph opportunities that are not offered publicly.

But the Insider Club is about more than just private signings.

It is also a place where collectors can connect, ask questions and talk about everything from autograph pens to authentication and what items they should get signed.

For collectors who participate in a lot of signings, having access to additional information and opportunities can be extremely helpful.

However, Insider-only signings are just one reason a signing may not appear publicly.

There are also situations where we aren't allowed to publicly promote the signing at all.

2. The Autograph Agent Wants to Limit Access

This is probably one of the biggest reasons a signing stays private.

Think about what happens when a major athlete's autograph signing becomes public.

Suddenly, autograph dealers and collectors everywhere want information.

Who is running the signing?

Can I send items?

What is the price?

Are inscriptions available?

What is the deadline?

How many items can I send?

Can my company participate?

Instead of managing a signing, the autograph agent may suddenly be answering questions from dozens of different dealers and vendors.

That can become a headache very quickly.

For some signings, the agent would much rather work with a small number of trusted vendors.

Instead of dealing with 50 different businesses, they might work with only three, four or five.

Those vendors collect the orders, organize the items and work directly with the agent.

It makes the entire signing much easier to manage.

There are fewer shipments.

There are fewer invoices.

There are fewer people asking questions.

And there are fewer opportunities for something to go wrong.

In those situations, publicly advertising the signing could defeat the entire purpose.

3. Some Athletes Don't Want Their Signing Prices Made Public

This is another reason that collectors might not expect.

Some athletes simply do not want their autograph signing prices posted publicly.

There can be many reasons for this.

The athlete may want the signing itself to remain private.

They may have relationships with other autograph companies, dealers or business partners.

Or they simply may not want everyone knowing what is being charged for their autograph.

Whatever the reason, if the athlete or autograph agent asks us not to publish the information, we respect that request.

Maintaining these relationships is extremely important.

Without those relationships, some autograph opportunities simply would not happen.

4. Sometimes the Agent Doesn't Want the Pricing Public Either

There is another interesting side to autograph pricing.

Sometimes it isn't necessarily the athlete who wants the pricing kept private.

It can be the autograph agent.

Imagine an athlete is being paid a certain amount per autograph.

The agent then has additional costs and sets the price charged to participating vendors.

If the athlete sees the final selling price, they may start asking questions.

They might think:

“If my autograph is being sold for that much, shouldn't I be getting paid more?”

That can create problems for the agent and potentially change the economics of future signings.

Because of situations like this, pricing can sometimes be considered private information between the companies involved.

That means we may be allowed to participate in the signing, but we cannot publicly advertise the details.

5. Sometimes We Can't Even Mention the Signing Online

Some private signings have even stricter rules.

We have been involved in situations where we were told that we could participate in the signing, but we could not promote it through the website, social media or email.

The only way we could contact customers was directly.

That could mean calling or texting collectors who we knew might be interested.

Why would a signing have rules that strict?

Usually, it comes back to keeping information about the signing from spreading.

Once something gets posted online, you lose control over where it goes.

Someone takes a screenshot.

Someone sends the link to another collector.

A dealer shares it with another dealer.

Before long, what was supposed to be a small private signing is being discussed everywhere.

Keeping the information offline helps the people running the signing control who participates.

6. Athlete and Agent Relationships Matter

The autograph business is heavily relationship-driven.

Athletes have relationships with agents.

Agents have relationships with autograph companies.

Athletes may also have existing agreements or relationships with other memorabilia companies and dealers.

That can make certain signings more complicated than collectors realize.

Sometimes the easiest solution is simply to keep the signing quiet.

The athlete signs the items.

The vendors receive their inventory.

The products become available afterward.

Collectors may then see the finished memorabilia and wonder:

“When did this signing happen?”

From the outside, it can look mysterious.

Behind the scenes, however, everyone involved may simply be following the rules established for that signing.

Why Don't We Just Post Every Signing?

From our perspective, we would usually love to.

The more collectors who know about a signing, the more opportunities we have to take orders.

But getting access to athletes is more important than promoting every signing publicly.

If an agent tells us:

“You can participate, but you cannot post this signing online,”

we are going to follow those instructions.

If an athlete wants pricing kept private, we respect that.

If a signing is limited to a small group of vendors, we aren't going to publish information that could create problems for the person organizing it.

These relationships take years to build.

Respecting the rules of each signing helps us maintain those relationships and hopefully continue bringing collectors unique autograph opportunities.

Are Private Signings Common?

Most autograph signings can still be promoted normally.

You will see them on our website, social media and other channels.

But there is a smaller group of signings that operate differently.

Interestingly, these can sometimes be the signings collectors are most surprised to discover afterward.

They may involve an athlete who doesn't sign very often or an opportunity that collectors weren't expecting.

That's why you occasionally see a signing recap from us and think:

“How did I miss this?”

You might not have missed anything.

The signing simply may never have been publicly available.

How Can You Hear About More Autograph Signings?

There is no single way to guarantee that you will hear about every signing because some opportunities simply cannot be publicly shared.

However, there are several ways to improve your chances.

Follow @PowersAutographs on Instagram, sign up for email and text notifications from Powers Sports Memorabilia, and use our athlete request form to let us know which athletes you want to see.

You can also join the Powers Insider Club, where we can share certain VIP autograph opportunities that aren't available through the regular website.

The more we know about the athletes collectors are looking for, the easier it is for us to notify interested customers when an opportunity becomes available.

The Bottom Line

If you see us posting memorabilia from an autograph signing that you never saw advertised, don't automatically assume you missed the announcement.

There is a good chance there wasn't an announcement.

Some signings are reserved for our Insider Club.

Some have extremely limited access.

Some athletes don't want their signing prices publicly available.

Some autograph agents don't want information about the signing circulating online.

And sometimes we are specifically instructed not to promote a signing through the website, email or social media.

We would love to tell collectors about every signing we participate in.

But maintaining strong relationships with athletes, agents and signing partners means respecting their rules.

And sometimes that means keeping a signing private until after it happens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why wasn't an autograph signing listed on your website?

Some autograph signings cannot be publicly advertised. The athlete or autograph agent may want to limit participation, keep pricing private or prevent information about the signing from spreading online.

What is a VIP autograph signing?

A VIP signing is an autograph opportunity that isn't necessarily available through our regular public website. Some may be offered through the Powers Insider Club, while others may have additional restrictions from the athlete or signing agent.

Why would an athlete want an autograph signing kept private?

There can be several reasons. An athlete may not want their autograph pricing made public, may have relationships with other companies or may simply prefer that the signing not be publicly promoted.

Why do autograph agents limit the number of vendors?

Working with a smaller number of vendors makes a signing easier to manage. Instead of communicating, shipping and billing with dozens of companies, the agent can work with a handful of trusted vendors.

Can Powers Sports Memorabilia announce every signing?

No. We promote signings whenever we are allowed to, but some opportunities come with specific restrictions about where and how they can be advertised.

How can I find out about upcoming autograph signings?

Follow Powers Sports Memorabilia on social media, sign up for email and text notifications, complete our athlete request form and consider joining the Powers Insider Club for access to additional opportunities.

Why do I sometimes see signing photos only after the signing is over?

In some cases, we were not allowed to publicly announce the signing beforehand. Once the signing is completed, we may be permitted to show the finished items or highlights from the event.

Are private autograph signings suspicious?

No. A private signing does not mean anything improper is happening. Often, privacy is simply part of the business arrangement between the athlete, autograph agent and participating vendors.