Are autograph cards like this one
A good investment or are these kind of like Franklin Mint or Precious Moments stuff in that they’re sold as “collectable” but no one actually cares about them?
As a general rule, they’re a horrible investment. Just look at all the other card auctions in that category. Almost all of them are going <$10. Even sports cards which come in sealed packages and have certificates of authenticity usually don’t have much value except to a few hardcore fanatics.
As a rule I find most things made to be collectible or an investment aren’t. I would put these firmly in that category.
If everyone thinks it is a good investment, then it’s not. If nobody says so, then it is.
As someone who belongs to the Museum of Radio and Television, I can tell you that at the annual Paley events, these autograph hounds bring tons of junk with them and get the stars to sign everything they have, making a nuisance of themselves, and then pitch the stuff on eBay. So yes, the stuff is often authentic, but unless the person is known to never sign autographs and/or has something really newsworthy happen to them, such as dying in an unusual way (hello Anton Yelchin autograph holders), the autographs aren’t worth anything.
In my experience, the stuff that brings the money in is older and are often group autographs from classic movies done on an actual key prop from the movie. For example, Hollywoodshow.com does autograph events several time a year and are often themed with the cast of an entire TV show or movie. The autographs aren’t cheap, but the actors will sign just about anything you bring. My wife and I occasionally go to these and it is a sure bet that if anyone associated with the movie “Jaws” shows up at one, there is this one guy who has one of the original yellow barrels used to spear the shark and he consistently hauls that thing to the event on a dolly. He has almost the entire cast, including inconsequential characters. I’d bet he’s spent upwards of $5,000 collecting all those signatures, especially big wigs like Speilberg, Dreyfus, and getting folks like Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider before they died. One day when that collector dies, his kids will throw it up on eBay and get $500. So yeah, not much of an investment. You’d be better off buying collections of baseball cards and comic books at a Goodwill hoping for a rare card in the group.