Sports Memorabilia

There is a TON of fraud in the sports memorabilia industry. A few years ago, the FBI put several forgers in jail -- however, frauds are still rampant today, especially on eBay. If you follow our advice you will dramatically lower your chances of getting fake memorabilia.

Sports Memorabilia is a great investment if you get the right items with the right authenticity. Stay tuned as we post articles that can help you create a profitable collection!

This blog was published around 2002 and has years of info on it. It is searchable and gives you a really good idea on how to spot fake memorabilia. If you learn how to find authentic sports memorabilia, then you can't be fooled by fakes.

I guess I should qualify that -- most sports memorabilia on eBay is fake. It is actually worse now than it was when the FBI put a several forgers in jail during Operation Bullpen.

eBay will rarely remove a seller from eBay even if there is proof the seller is selling fake autographs.

That doesn't mean all sports memorabilia is fake though -- look for memorabilia from reputable vendors who have been around for a long time. The company name on the certificate of authenticity plays a BIG role in your future resell value.

People are label lovers and they will pay more if the company who authenticates the item is well known. Memorabilia officially licensed by the NFL, NBA, or MLB is worth more than items that are not licensed. Always think about resell value when you are purchasing memorabilia. Even if you think you will never sell it (your kids might some day!).

People ask us all the time what their sports memorabilia is worth -- which is a tough question to answer since the value of sports memorabilia depends on several different factors.

• If you want to sell your items to a sports memorabilia dealer or shop owner, they are not going to pay you what your item is worth. remember, they have to resell your item so they will typically gives you less than what you would get yourself on eBay.

• If you can take a picture and write a description, you can try to sell your items on eBay. However sometimes it is better to sell your sports memorabilia through an established eBay seller.

• If you have rare sports memorabilia like game used jerseys or other rare pieces, you can put your items in high end auctions with big companies like Heritage, Lelands, and others.

Authenticity is a big deal in the sports memorabilia industry, and even the casual collector is trained to look for certificates of authenticity. So if you want to get the most money for your memorabilia, you need to get your item properly authenticated by a recognized company like PSA-DNA.

Otherwise, if you are not able to show any proof that your sports memorabilia is authentic, you are going to have a tough time getting the price you want.