The sports-collectibles industry, an $800 million annual hobby of cards, autographs, memorabilia and more, is in its hot season, anchored by the 27th annual National Sports Collectors Convention (Wednesday through Sunday in Anaheim). “The National is the Super Bowl of card shows,” said Steve Gold, owner of AU Sports, a sports-collectibles store in Skokie.
The National features a who’s who from the sports world, more than 50 superstars signing autographs for a fee, such as Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Bo Jackson, Bart Starr, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Duke Snider, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, Rod Carew and Brandi Chastain.
To help the collector in all of us, here are five tips to help protect your hobby (in no particular order):
Make sure autographs of current players that are not obtained in person have a hologram of authenticity, even if that means paying more for the autograph. “A hologram on the item itself will be almost required if the item is going to be worth very much on the secondary market years from now,” said Rocky Landsverk, editorial director of Sports Collectors Digest.
Use only the known, respected, established card-grading companies. “There have been dozens of ghost companies created to put bad cards into plastic holders,” Landsverk said.
Autographs need to be stored under UV-protective glass, so they don’t fade from sunlight. “For framed items, pay the extra money for good UV glass. If you don’t, you will watch the ink on your valuable item disappear in a matter of years,” Landsverk said.
Baseballs should be signed in blue ballpoint pen, not Sharpie. And make sure the signature is on the sweet spot of the ball.
Do not buy valuable game-worn or game-used bats or jerseys, perhaps something over $200, unless the item comes with a third-party authentication. Especially bats. A $50 game-used bat from a backup player isn’t worth authentication.
