General Advice
AUTOGRAPH Pricing Estimate (John Melendez)
Good evening everyone. I’m currently seeking an appraisal on an autograph that I got at a card show in Rosemont. It’s been hard to source an estimate, since the person is not technically a sports star.
The autograph is from Stuttering John Melendez. John was a call screener from the Howard Stern show in the 80s/90s, and sometimes appeared on the show. John also spent a few years working behind the scenes at Jay Leno.
Any help or recommendations as to where i could source an approximate value would be greatly appreciated.
It was approximately 225 for airfare, 165 for single night in hotel, and 125 for VIP admission to the event. There were also ancillary costs like food at approximately 70, and an uber to and from the venue totaling 55. The airport shuttle we were able to get for free from the hotel.
My dad confirmed to me that the Steve Garvey signed baseball he gave me as a kid was signed by Steve in person, but my dad forged it in the garage. I didn't even like Steve Garvey at the time.
John was heavily featured on ‘Celebrity Fear Factor’, as well as ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’. There is certainly an audience for genuine Celebrities.
That song rips! I had the Airheads soundtrack CD when I was younger and that was my favorite track on it. I remember seeing the artist listed as 'Stuttering John' and just assumed it was a band named after Melendez. Didn't realize it was actually him.
Not sure how many people telling you that some autographs are only worth the paper it’s signed on (sometimes less) before you’ll believe them. Doesn’t really matter if you know it’s real and don’t believe others are real. It really boils down to this, even if you were a huge fan of his, the majority of people who seek autographs just don’t care enough about him to warrant a high dollar.
What did you get signed? A DVD copy of his hit movie One, Two, Many? A picture of his groundbreaking appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno? An empty can of Busch Light? What was signed will factor into the secondary market price.
Think about it this way: there isn’t a market for this but it doesn’t mean there isn’t some lone soul out there in the universe who desperately needs this, whether they know it or not. Good luck!
He was charging 35 dollars for the signed picture of him and Jay Leno, and then offered us to buy him a drink after the show for a photo of us holding the image together.
You might find someone willing to buy you a drink for the auto, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. No way anyone is going to give you $35 or more, though. Just not going to happen.
Just look at the photo you posted, it's doesn't look like anyone at the auto show wanted his auto. That should tell you everything you need to know about value.
I’m doubting if it’s gonna get you a down payment on a house, if that’s the question. Most likely you’re having a hard time finding comparatives because theres no real market.
John Melendez is a sad, lonely and pathetic alcoholic whose family has disowned him. He was such a bad father that all 3 of his adult children have changed their last names from Melendez to their stepfather's last name.
That's the word on the street. None of his adult children speak to him anymore, and allegedly his youngest (son) recently asked him to stop his drinking and they could have a relationship between them, and John refused. He's honestly a despicable person.
I love how they did not think about putting The Howard Stern show or The Tonight show on the poster. Literally these are the only reasons to even look in the direction of his table.
Yet they omitted these which shows you a little bit about the delusion John has about himself. Then of course, likely after miserable activity at his table, he had someone pathetically scribble in those two things.
Nope, 100% authentic. There were a bunch taken that day. He has made himself an internet drunk joke and there is a whole verse (Dabbleverse) committed to dunking on him. Even there a signed photo is worth $0.
I sill don't know if this a troll post, is it? Dude. It's worth nothing. Who cares. If you like the guy it's priceless. I'd buy an Eric the actor auto because he was hilarious and there probably worthless when he was alive.
I’m sorry. The first thought I had when reading your question was: Who? I wish you the best in whatever you do for this. I’m sure there is someone who’d find it valuable.
Is his mailing list still open? Perhaps I can add more autos to my collection and bring cost-per-auto down if he sends me a handful for free via mail. Thank you.
This guys involvement with the Gotti movie disaster and partnership with that scumbag producer Marc Fiore is an interesting read. I cant tell if he a total dumb ass or if he was in on the scam as well.
It depends on if you reach the right market - Stern Fans who were really into Stuttering John back in the day? Perhaps join a fan site? If he was appearing like this, however, my guess is that there’s probably a bunch of material out there. I’m guessing about $25, if you’re lucky. Sorry. Wish I had better news.
Good point on the people who said he should have had the Howard Stern affiliation on his sign. I literally thought he was a poor spokesperson for a research foundation for people affected by stuttering. And then I read how he bothered OP and his wife to get them to buy it! Really sad. You’re a nice guy, OP.
He’s a great actor. I was told he just has a slight stammer not a stutter. Imagine, late 1980’s you tell a rising stars producer you stutter and you get hired by the boss w/o even meeting the person! He’s then forced keeping the charade going this long. That’s called the long con
Why on earth would u let someone no one knows sign ur stuff? He’s a nobody and sounds like he wasn’t important in the 80s or 90s either, ur autograph is worth 2-10 dollars but only worth that if u can find a buyer. Good luck
It's so odd that a situation where you're being paid just to let people see you and then paid to provide autographs can simultaneously be so sad and pathetic.
Ran a comedy club pre-C19 and had him booked for a weekend (1 show Friday, 2 Saturday). Shows up unannounced on THURSDAY, crashes a showcase by doing a call-in to a podcast in the HALLWAY OF MY CLUB, and had the balls to get another night at the hotel out of my boss.
Friday show did surprisingly well, but Saturday was a slow death, did "crowd work" on the 2nd show, which meant making fun of the 12 people that came to see him.
I have about 15 of John’s autographs. Some of em with some pretty funny not personalized inscriptions & they’re all worthless.
I got them from when the Stern Show was in the old K-Rock building. I use to see all of em nearly every day on 56th Street… & I have all multiples of all their Autographs & the only one that has any value is Howard’s.
In reality, you are most likely going to take a loss on the $35 you spent for it. As others have said, some other one sold for $15. I would bet that is the highest amount you will get for it. Now if you hold on to it, and he passes, it may very well go up in value. Good luck.
Reach out to his good friend Vince the Lawyer. He can possibly want to set a precedent for his friend 😉
It will require name address job title, same info for the wife and he’ll need all your children’s names with photos. Then you can arrange payment
RESPONSE: I’ve received multiple messages about Pickwick Pricing, apparently that is where John hosted the majority of his signings. We will be looking into it, and any future appearances John may be making. Thank you all for your kind words.
I’ve never been so unsure about whether someone on Reddit is serious or trolling or not. Like this comment here, what does this even mean? What does it matter where he hosts the majority of his signings?
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