How to Buy and Sell Sports Memorabilia

In the past 25 years, the value of sports memorabilia has only gone up. Because of that, this collecting category offers some good investments. It can also quickly become a very costly hobby.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Collectors' magazines
• Appraisal

Buy

1. Pick a category to collect: Sports cards? Which sport? One team only? One player only? The options are endless.

2. Look in price guides such as Beckett, periodicals and Internet sources to find out what items sell for. Expect to spend thousands on Babe Ruth-signed baseballs and Derek Jeter bats.

3. Go to a sports memorabilia show to get a feel for the variety and quality of items for sale.

4. Get to know the owners of local baseball-card shops. They will have other memorabilia besides cards, and will also have contacts for national sources of sports collectibles.

5. Take in an auction. Some auction houses specialize in sports memorabilia; order one of their catalogs for an upcoming sale. Mail in a bid or hire a proxy if you can't be there in person. Of course, check out Internet auction sites like eBay.com.

6. Ask about the item's authenticity--proof of its provenance is essential to making a good investment. Buying from a reputable dealer will give you some level of assurance.

7. As with every collecting category, a lot of fakes circulate in the marketplace, including reprinted baseball cards and cardboard advertising-display pieces. There are businesses that specialize in authenticating sports memorabilia. You might want to get some off-the-cuff, free opinions from dealers first. You don't want to pay $200 to authenticate an object that's only worth $50.

Sell

8. Find someone qualified to give you an appraisal if you're not sure about the value of what you own. Start at a local sports-card shop, but don't stop there. You'll want more than one opinion, and you might have to pay for it. Collectors' magazines are filled with ads for authentication services.

9. Sell it yourself. If your collection doesn't contain any high-ticket items, you can try to sell them one at a time or in small lots on the Internet. A local dealer might be interested in your collection.

10. Take any really high-quality items among your sports collectibles to an auction house for the best return on your investment.

11. Bring any documentation you have to help you get the best price. If you have a Jerry Rice jersey, that's good; if you have a photo of Rice handing it to you after a game, that's better.

Tips & Warnings

• Prices vary from year to year and month to month on articles related to current players. The smart money is in retired players, who won't have any more scoring slumps or legal woes to affect their status. Hall of Famers are always a good investment.
• "Older is better" doesn't hold true in all collecting categories, but it's a good rule of thumb in sports memorabilia. Materials from the 1940s and 1950s are relatively rare and therefore more valuable.
• Baseball dominates the category, but all sports memorabilia are collectible, from tennis to auto racing, boxing to bowling.
• When selling sports memorabilia to a dealer, expect to get about half the wholesale price listed in popular price guides.

[mbelich]

on 8/11/2009 I have a 1993 Colorado Rockies Opening Day (first day team ever played) Plaque in its original box with accompanying book in clean condition. Would like to sell. Please contact at [e-mail]

[hammondjd1]

on 5/6/2009 i have george steinbrenners glasses he left in ihop,tampa fl. titanium handmade in japan,he and my late wife were good friends, plus i have all kinds of signed balls ect...email me if you wish,everything is for sale [e-mail]

[jutdogg]

on 5/5/2009 I HAVE 1936 PITTSBURGH PIRATES(FOOTBALL) TEAM PICS,AUTOGRAPHS,AUTOGRAPHED PROGRAMS,AND TEAM PHOTOS. ART ROONEY AND JOE BACH ARE THE COACHS. I ALSO HAVE A PHOTO FROM 1936 OF BILL SORTET SCORING HIS FIRST AND ONLY TOUCHDOWN. IF ANYONE HAS INFO ON HOW MUCH OR HOW TO SELL THESE ITEMS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO SELL THEM TO THE FAMILY OF SOMEONE ON THE TEAM. SO IF ANYONE KNOWS THE ROONEYS(LOL) TELL THEM HOW TO REACH ME. MY EMAIL IS [e-mail]

[mkarr315]

on 3/24/2009 i have a vince carter autographed game worn shoe (I also have his shooting sleeve autographed game worn) If anyone is interested e-mail me at [e-mail] - Also does anyone know where I can sell these items?

[ilovesports]

on 12/1/2008 I just found a great new site! http://www.powerscollectibles.com/ I know that they don't buy from the public, but they do have over 10K items with some pretty great holiday gift items.