Autographed records are always going to be difficult to value. More often than not the signatures are fake, signed by fans or by a designated Fan Club person (this happened with the Beatles where staff members had the task of signing for each artist as the demand for fan club merchandise was vast, ironically Ringo Star could sign for each Beatle!) Also artist's signatures change over the years and are therefore can be very hard to authenticate, providence is the key, and having some proof that the signature is real is pretty vital. If you had a record personally signed by your hero when you were at the gig is amazing, but very hard for the person that bought it from you to prove.. Another big problem is signed records being sold that are simply the Autographs printed directly onto the vinyl or sleeves from scanned original!
So having established the diffidently as to whether a signature is legit' it comes to value. It has to be said that the biggest value is to the owner especially if the artist has written a dedication. The problem with a dedication it makes the signature personal, best signed records are the artists name only. Rather disappointingly value is going to depend on artist and how much you want to believe its correct, so expect to pay £500 plus for Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bowie all the big artists (be aware that the more a signature is worth the more likely it is to be a forgery). An autographed album by Taylor Swift is worth about £150 to £250.
It is very important to get a certificate of authenticity which can significantly increase the value of the signature, making it a wise investment for collectors. Even these can of dubious provenience but better than nothing.
To sum up, if you are an avid collector of signed albums or memorabilia buy within your budget and do not expect value to go up as you will have a hard time proving the signatures are real when you come to sell.
The album pictured by The Duke Spirit was a pre signed copy on the day of release.
Happy collecting
Chris
Better On Vinyl