How to Choose Autographed Sports Memorabilia

Collecting autographed sports memorabilia is nothing new – kids have always hung around outside baseball and football stadiums hoping to grab an autograph from one of their sports heroes. What is new is the burgeoning marketplace for sports memorabilia of all types and the industry that has grown up to churn out autographed sports jerseys, autographed game balls and other types of collectible sports memorabilia. Because the value for autographed memorabilia from all sports is so high, there are also a growing number of fakes and scams out there. How do you know that the sports memorabilia you buy is genuine? These tips on buying authentic autographed sports memorabilia can help you make sure you spend your money wisely.

Collecting for Love or for Money?

Before you start collecting, decide whether you’re collecting for love or for money. You can, of course, collect for both, but your primary reason for collecting memorabilia will help you establish a strategy for choosing and buying your items. In either case, establish a spending threshold for specific items to avoid going too far over budget.

Theme Your Buying

When you choose a theme for your collection of autographed sports memorabilia, you’re serving a few different purposes. First, you automatically make your entire collection more valuable. A focused collection of basketball memorabilia, for example, will be far easier to sell – and for more money – than a scattered collection that covers many different sports. In addition, you’re making it easier to spot fakes because you’ll be gaining specialized knowledge in the particular area of sports memorabilia you choose to collect. If you focus on Super Bowl football memorabilia, it will be much harder for someone to slip a fake autographed game ball past you because you know the kinds of authenticating details to look for. Finally, you’ll be establishing ongoing relationships with reputable dealers and collectors. That network can bring unique items to your attention or make it easier for you to sell items if and when you decide to thin your collection of autographed sports memorabilia.

Create a Wish List

Some collectors of memorabilia simply buy items when something strikes their fancy. That kind of impulse or panic buying can be dangerous to your collection. When you create a wish list of autographed sports memorabilia items, you can research each item, keep your eye out for it and know whether or not it’s a good deal at the price. And to make it even sweeter, there’s nothing quite so satisfying as finally filling out your collection with that last item.

Collecting autographed sports memorabilia can be a fun and very lucrative hobby. Just remember that the more you know about the sports and autographs you collect, the better your collection will be.