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Guide to Getting Started with Sports Memorabilia:Sports Memorabilia for Beginners - For many people, sports are more than just games; they are rivalries, exhilaration, excitement, heartache, and triumph all wrapped together and covered with a layer of sweat and dirt. Players become more than players to some of us, they become heroes - or simply good investments. Collecting sports memorabilia often starts with kids collecting baseball cards, hanging on to a ball they caught at a weekend baseball game, or a photo they managed to have a player sign; for a savvy collector, it can be the beginning of a great lifelong hobby and potential source of revenue. Depending on the memorabilia, the players, and the current market, items can be worth quite a bit of money. But they can be equally important as just: memorabilia. Something we've hung onto because we treasure the memories. Either way, collecting can be rewarding. How do you get started buying sports memorabilia? Good question: let's see.
Collecting Sports Memorabilia :To ensure that collecting sports memorabilia is very rewarding, whether financially or for your own pleasure, there are several things to keep in mind. Experts recommend that before you begin purchasing pieces, you should identify both your goal and your price range. For instance, I want to start a private collection because I love sports. I don't want to spend more than a few hundred dollars. Or, I'm investing and am willing to spend several thousand dollars. It also helps to narrow in on a specific sport, player, or type of memorabilia, like basketball jerseys or boxing gloves. All of this helps you navigate the wide, big world of memorabilia. You also want to spend some time learning about memorabilia fraud. Unfortunately, anyone can get a basketball jersey and scrawl Michael Jordan's signature on it. Of course, some frauds are far more sophisticated but you get the idea. As much as $500,000,000 is lost to memorabilia fraud each year, and about half of all autographed memorabilia is fraudulent. How can you protect yourself? Athletes sign with companies; they autograph their products solely. This is why some players will not sign autographs for fans. It's not because they don't want to, it's because they know that it muddies the memorabilia waters. And they're under contract. Take some time to look up the memorabilia retailers that players sign with (here are the big, reputable ones: Mounted Memories, Super Star Greetings, UDA [Upper Deck Authenticated], Tri-Star, Steiner Sports, MRAK Sports, and All-Star Lineup). You should also be able to find out how much they charge for their autographs. Information is the best defense against fraud. This may not matter if you're spending $1 for a sports card at a yard sale, but it certainly does if you're in the market for a Lou Gehrig card. By the way, only about 20 percent of Lou Gehrig memorabilia is authentic. Before you buy, also make sure to check current prices for the same type of items. This will give you a ballpark idea of what you should pay. This will fluctuate based on the market, so try to get the most accurate pricing. SportsMemorabilia has great information so you can learn more about fraud and protecting yourself (http://www.sportsmemorabilia.com/resources/sports-memorabilia-101.html). Also, it is helpful to go online and check out some collector forums. You can get some great advice and tips - as well as find out which vendors are not selling the real deal.
Most Popular Sports Memorabilia:Perhaps the most widely collected sports memorabilia is cards, and to narrow it further, baseball cards. The appeal was that they were cheap enough to buy, and there was the possibility that you'd get one that would be worth thousands of dollars one day. Collectors also seek out rarer, vintage high value baseball cards. Today, new packs can cost from $1 to $100, and a 1952 Mickey Mantle card from Topps in mint condition can cost up to $300,000. To determine which cards have value, take a look at current prices without the intention of buying. Do some research, check out which players have valuable cards (like Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, Jr., Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays). Keep tabs on who is hot today - but you may want to avoid players who have been caught up in the steroid scandal. Value for Roger Clemens cards, for example, dropped dramatically only just recently because of this. Football is also another sport in which people have an abiding interest. Investments in signed footballs, helmets, jerseys, etc., can be valuable, particularly if you have one from a notable player. A player to watch today, for instance, would be Peyton Manning. If you choose to buy a signed football, for instance, make sure you choose a supplier that has an impeccable reputation. To use Peyton Manning as an example again; say you wanted the football he signed on December 12, 2007 in Indianapolis, and you see it for a bit over $400 at SportsMemorabilia. You see that it has been authenticated by Radtke Sports, which stands behind its autographs. They go so far as to document their signings with photos. SportsMemorabilia will also provide a Certificate of Authentication. On top of that, if you should find out that your football is not authentic, you can return it for a full refund. Further, they have been in business for over 12 years (and no one has returned an item because of this issue), and if you Google the site, they review well. These are necessary steps to take so you don't end up with a football someone bought at Walmart, signed, and sold on eBay. And speaking of eBay, is that a good place to buy sports collectibles and memorabilia? It can be. Take a look at eBay's suggestions for buying (http://pages.ebay.com/sportsmemorabilia/buying_tips.html); remember to always check the vendor's ratings - if he has sold duds, consumers will be screaming, and you can see this on the customer feedback. Then follow the same steps as if you were buying from a store or online site. Educate yourself about the item you are looking at, see how much it should cost (and if the vendor is asking substantially less, that's a good indication of fraud), see who the player signs with, and other basic questions. It'll take a little time, but hopefully it'll save you a lot of money. eBay also has a buyer protection program, and if you're buying sports memorabilia, make sure to use PayPal. This is a more secure way to buy, so look into their fraud protection and money-back protection before you buy. You could read an entire encyclopedia set about sports memorabilia collecting. But it all boils down to you: What do you want? How much do you want to spend? How much should it cost? Who are you buying from? Is this a reputable source? What do others on your sports memorabilia forums say? Go join some forums, chat with other collectors, check out YouTube for how-to videos (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=collecting+sports+memorabilia&search_type=&aq=f) and learn as much as you can about the area you would like to focus on. Serious collecting requires some work, but even this can be very rewarding as well.
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