How to Buy and Sell Sports Memorabilia

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.