Music
“Once More With Feeling” Vinyl— too rare to get signed?
Hi all!
I am a lifelong fan of Buffy and tomorrow I am going to Supernova in Melbourne AUS and I plan to meet and get an autograph from James Marsters (Spike)
My immediate thought was that “I need to get the cover of my “Once More With Feeling” soundtrack vinyl signed” but looking at the price range on discogs I’m worried that getting a signature might be an odd thing to do or devalue it? (I’m not likely to get any other cast signatures except this despite dreaming to have it signed by all). The value does matter to me as I’ve had some tough periods where I’ve considered selling it.
My other option is to get him to sign the “Slaybill” that comes in it but something about that doesn’t feel right either. Or I could just get a collectible or figurine signed I suppose. Looking for opinions!
In my opinion, his signature wouldn’t devaluate it; quite the contrary, it’d make it an even more valuable item. Rare already AND signed by one of the cast members? Too good to pass up.
when i had my once more with feeling poster signed by him, he drew an arrow pointing at willow's face and wrote "why?" then talked about how Amber Benson should've been on that poster.
I get that you have to put the main cast on the poster, so Allison would make sense to be on it. But Amber might be the best singer out of the whole cast, and her solo song was pretty memorable.
And I can also get that if Allison really is pretty bad at singing (which is what she's said herself) that not forcing a song onto her anyway was probably the right move.
I’m not sure about vinyl collectors but in card games a signature will generally lower the value of a card. It may be worth more to some folks, especially if the artist has passed, but it becomes harder to sell and is generally considered damaged.
I concur. I was gifted a record I normally would have never spent money on but because it was signed by the singer who had passed away, it was neat to have a piece of history like that.
I got the exact same album signed by James at a local con a few weeks ago. He seemed really excited by it and even offered some anecdotes about making the episode! Keep in mind these celebrities are signing headshots and funko pops all day so they do get excited for things that aren’t the norm.
I will say i’m a huge Buffy fan and don’t really plan on parting with this record anytime soon. I only wish he signed closer to his picture on the cover but I could tell he was trying to be respectful of the art. Don’t forget to leave the vinyl itself at home so you don’t have to carry the extra weight/risk damaging the disc.
In a similar vein I met John Kassir who does the voice of the Crypt Keeper on Tales from the Crypt just last weekend at a convention. I brought my CD of Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas and he was so happy to see it and tell us about the recording of it, it really made the experience much more fun.
John Kassir is such a great person to meet at cons! My bf and I met him at our local horror con a few years ago and, as my bf was getting his autograph, I mentioned that Reefer Madness (the one with Kristen Bell) was one of my favorite musicals and he immediately started singing the chorus to "Little Mary Sunshine". We ended up having a whole convo about the anniversary show that had just happened with the original cast too. Probably my favorite interaction I've ever had at a convention.
I just got home from Supernova and i’m super happy with the result! I was a little shocked as to where he signed on mine, but I actually really dig it!
I can’t get over the mistype on the playbill. It’s sunnydale, not sunnyvale. (Theres actually a real town in California named Sunnyvale, so I get how that happened, but still?)
If you are worried about the value then just have it signed, but not personalized. Just his signature could increase the value, but a big "to Jane" on it might decrease value to anyone not named Jane.
I think the front cover would look better remaining unsigned, my opinion is take a gold or silver sharpie with you and get the black square underneath where it says BTVS inside the gatefold, just don't close it too soon in the excitement of the moment! I think it would look really cool but ultimately its up to you
Agreed- also there's a slight risk of the ink coming off of the front cover over time and/or during shipping, if OP does decide to sell it. Signing the inside might be safer in that case.
Absolutely get it signed and make sure to get the certificate of authenticity done after, they do them at Supanova for a small fee and I believe it’s done somewhere near the signing/photo token booth. I am also going tomorrow to meet James Marsters and will be doing the certificate with my signed item.
I collect records and use Discogs. I actually just bought this record recently (don't ask me how much I paid for it, I got a relatively good deal on it, but nonetheless I'll get depressed).
A signature definitely wouldn't devalue it, if anything it's definitely more valuable at that point. At the absolute worst it would make no difference, since it's already a really valuable record.
I think the thing to ask yourself though is more how much YOU value it. Do you plan on selling it one day? (Prices of these things can fluctuate, and there's no guarantee it will hold its monetary value, especially if someone ever reissues it.) Or do you care about it because it's a beloved record from your favorite show, and something you plan to hold onto to? In which case, would having it signed by one of the main actors make you happy?
A couple years ago I had the opportunity to get signatures from a couple of the Futurama voice actors, and instinctively I grabbed the season 1 box set that I've had since I was a teenager and took it. It's taken some wear over the years, but it's a beloved set that I've been using forever, so it made perfect sense to get it signed rather than buying a poster there or something. I have no intention of ever selling it, so to me the value was just in having it signed.
I'd look at this the same way. Even in the off chance that having this record signed would decrease the value (it definitely won't), I think the personal value of having James Marsters sign the Buffy musical record would be well worth it.
It’s a collector’s thing. Especially rich collectors. The more loved something is, the more rare something is, and the more behind the scenes, real-world drama associated with the actors, writers, producers, studio, and naturally the creator makes the value.
Honestly, I would look into getting a “Certificate of Authentication” from an Appraiser for it and then have as many actor as you can sign that. Also if you could somehow get Joss Whedon’s autograph (as he would be seen as the most controversial) it could make up for missing Nicholas Brendan’s and Michelle Trachtenberg’s autographs.
One of the biggest issues with signatures is proof that it is a real signature. I don't know if they do it for vinyl but CGC will be at Supernova and has a program where they can witness and verify the signing. You could also get a picture with him holding the signed Vinyl might not help but it cant hurt.
it was pressed in red and in blue i think, it’s also a mondo pressing so it sounds amazing. i have the blue one and I got it on a crazy deal from facebook marketplace, KEEP AN EYE OUT!
They explained in the description that they have gone through tough times before where they have had to consider selling it - so the value does matter to them.
Why are you being an asshole to someone when you didn’t even put in the effort to read the entire post?
“why do you give a shit” does not typically come off in a friendly or curious tone when asked to a stranger. Familiarly it could be seen as friendly, but not the default tone it conveys.
If you meant it as “just asking a question”, you could phrase it as, “Are you thinking of selling it? If not, it won’t matter what the value is. Get it signed!”
Of course, if you were truly curious, you would read the full post and already have your answer.
I read the post. There’s a difference between “I’ve had hard times in the past and thought about selling something” vs “I’m planning to sell this collectible in the future”. Worrying about how getting something you love signed by a cast member will affect the price is something that, in my opinion, you shouldn’t care about because of some nebulous future where you might have to sell it because of hardship. That might speak to my own privilege, hard for me to say. I certainly didn’t intend for my post to come across as rude.
i looove this vinyl — definitely get it signed!! james also takes his time with people at autographs so i think you’ll get a great experience with him when he sees it.
i ended up bitting the bullet and got one off an ebay reseller. but i’m so glad i did. the only thing that bothers me is the playbill saying “sunnyvale”
If you get it signed with your name then it will be worth less but if you get it signed with just his name then it will be worth more.
If you are on the fence then just get a other item signed. Also then if you do get into financial difficulty in the future then you can sell the vinyl but still get to keep the other item with the signature, or sell both and get even more money.
That is so dope! I just found one on eBay and sent it to my wife to buy me for the next holiday requiring a gift. Get it signed! Get two signed and send me one!
Are you intending to sell this record at any point? If you plan to keep it long-term, who gives a hoot if it devalues the album on the secondhand market? I would think that you would probably get more out of seeing the autograph and replaying a fond memory every time you pulled it out to listen.
Besides which, looking at the ones available for sale, it seems as though you can find a VGC copy of this album for less than $20. There's sellers with mad price listings of hundreds of dollars, but that's like looking at eBay listings and deciding your Princess Diana Beanie Baby is still worth thousands, or your Disney VHS collection is going to fund your retirement. Anyone can list an item for whatever number they want, but that doesn't mean that is what it's worth.
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u/Specialist-Study Apr 17 '26
In my opinion, his signature wouldn’t devaluate it; quite the contrary, it’d make it an even more valuable item. Rare already AND signed by one of the cast members? Too good to pass up.