Ive done this for awhile now - had some great success with it
As it takes awhile to list players, ill just list the teams ive had luck with.
Penrith Panthers
St. George Dragons
Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights
West Tigers
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Gold Coast Titans
North Queensland Cowboys
Obviously it depends on the players you send to as well
However, from my experiences, Sharks dont seem to respond at all (sent to afew different players - some top players and some lower level players) without any luck at all. Also ive had limited luck with Manly (1 player responded from about 6 i sent to). Didnt have much luck with the eels or bulldogs either - however i only sent out 1 or 2 requests to these clubs.
Regarding past players, ive collected autos from Royce Simmons, Greg Alexander, Tim Sheens, Ryan Girdler and probably more i cant remember at the moment.
I never send them sharpies/pens to sign with - in most cases they sign in black anyway - however it is always a risk as ive had players sign in silver,gold and even a ball point pen (dissapointing) as it didnt come out well.
Really depends on how many you send though, if you only send the odd few - losing a few sharpies probably wont matter so much
Its really a thrill to get autos in the mail like this
never know when your going to have one in the mail box!
Brplat