Collecting Autographed Sports Memorabilia

Does the sound of a bat slamming a ball out of the park make your heart go pitter pat? Do you thrill to the sight of a football arcing cleanly through the goalposts? Do you love everything about a sport or a particular player? Collecting autographed sports memorabilia may be just the hobby for you. If you’re just starting out in your collection of autographed sports memorabilia, these tips can help you amass a collection that’s interesting and potentially valuable.

 

Specialize

Many collectors make the mistake of being too general in their acquisitions. The most interesting and valuable collections are those that have a focus. You can choose to focus broadly and collect football memorabilia or hockey memorabilia, or you can focus your collection more finely. Instead of collecting baseball memorabilia, collect autographed baseballs, for example.

There’s another advantage to specializing in a particular sports memorabilia niche – knowledge. When you focus your attention on collecting one particular type of sport memorabilia, you’ll amass a great deal of knowledge about that particular niche. That allows you to spot items that other people might miss, and more importantly, to avoid getting taken in by fakes and frauds.

Choose High Quality Items

Better quality items will always be worth more money than the same item in poor condition. Given a choice, always choose high quality collectibles, sports memorabilia and sports autographs in good condition. An autographed sports poster in pristine condition will fetch far more than the same celebrity autographs on a creased poster.

Cultivate Reputable Dealers

There are dozens of dealers selling autographed sports memorabilia, both online and off. The single most important thing you can do for your collecting career is to cultivate a relationship with a reputable dealer of celebrity autographs and autographed sports memorabilia. Not only will you be able to trust the items you buy from that dealer, but he’ll keep you in mind. If you collect basketball memorabilia, for example, and he comes across an autographed game shirt worn by your favorite b-baller, he’ll drop you a line to give you first shot at it.

Miami Heat Champion Dwyane Wade with two 8x10" action photographs Authentically hand signed by Champions Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James

Trust But Verify

Celebrity autographs are among the most faked types of sports memorabilia on the market. Unless you’re an expert yourself, always have any autographed sports memorabilia authenticated by a reputable third-party appraiser.

Collecting autographed sports memorabilia can be a fun hobby that leads to a valuable collection. The more you know about the sport you’re collecting, the better are your chances of acquiring authentic, valuable pieces of sports memorabilia.