Nice autograph by Roger Clemens himself. Thank you Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Autographed Baseball Value - What Determines It?
It seems every week I am asked by our sports memorabilia customers, what determines an autographed baseballs value? Here are 10 important factors.
1.) The Athlete. Generally, the more popular the athlete, the higher the selling price. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Albert Pujols are generally going to sell for more than Eric Hosmer and Lance Berkman.
2.) Accomplishments. If an athlete has won a World Series title, MVP or ROY award, or was just inducted into the Hall of Fame, that will increase the price.
3.) Certificate of Authenticity (COA). A PSA/DNA, JSA, or Major League Baseball authentication holds a ton of weight in the industry and collector’s are willing to pay more for items with their COA. What is JSA and PSA?
4.) World Series or MLB Ball. An autographed World Series baseball by a player on a winning team will always be worth more than their autograph on a regular MLB ball. Take for example this Pedro Martinez signed 2004 World Series Baseball. Pedro was a key player, their best pitcher and 2004 was such a special year for the Red Sox (1st title since trading Babe Ruth). One other thing to consider is Rawlings stops making the World Series baseballs 3 years after, so a 2004 baseball was last produced in 2007.
Pedro Martinez Signed 2004 World Series Baseball
5.) Inscriptions. A baseball with a special inscription written by the player, such as 2013 MVP, or 2013 ROY, or 2013 WS CHAMPS always adds a ton of value to the baseball. On the opposite side, an inscription such as “To Matt,” will devalue the baseball.
6.) Quality. A smudged signature or brown spotting will always decrease its value. Or if an inscription is misspelled. All MLB balls should be signed on the sweet spot, or if a World Series ball under the WS logo. LEARN MORE about where to get a baseball signed.
7.) Supply and demand. I remember right after David Ortiz won the 2013 WS MVP award, his signed baseballs were very hard to come by and the ones you did find were generally 30-40% higher than normal. Mariano Rivera is another great example. When he retired, his story was all over the news, fans could not get enough of Mariano. He would do a signing every 4 weeks or so, but product always sold out right away. The supply was there, but the demand was much higher. As a result, companies increased his price to take advantage of the favorable market.
8.) Timing. Buying a players autograph right after a major accomplishment (WS Championship, MVP award, HOF induction) is always going to increase the price of their autograph simply because the emotions are high from collectors and fans. They want a piece of the action and something to remember the moment by.
9.) Dead or Alive. Obviously, when a player dies his autograph increases. Enough said.
10.) What an Athlete/Company Charges. It is no secret, athletes get paid for their autograph. What they get paid is mostly a secret. Athletes such as Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera get paid top dollar. They are paid per autograph and more for premium items such as jerseys. Baseballs are typically on the lower end of cost. The more the athlete gets paid, the more the cost is past down to the sports memorabilia consumer. Also, consider working with internet companies like us, where our overhead is much less and we can afford to sell items for less.
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Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.9 / 5 from 4928 reviews.
Nice autograph by Cal Ripken Jr. Thank you Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Nice autograph. Thank you Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
I've had this card since the age of 12. Never had the opportunity until now to get his RC signed. Thanks Matt for making this happen!!
Once again, Matt and his team delivered a smooth, professional experience in obtaining a Dustin Pedroia autograph (with authentication) to a book already containing a number of Red Sox greats’ signatures. I recommend Powers Spirts Memorabilia highly.
Great experience. Card was just as described. Excited to have this added to the collection.
Frank Thomas 1990 Topps Signed Baseball Rookie Card #414B Auto Graded Beckett 10
The COA was placed exactly where I wanted it and it turned out great. Always an easy experience.
An excellent experience with the team. The ball turned out perfectly. Easy to ship the ball in and it returned after signing without an issue.
Great place to do business with. Thank you!
Fernando Tatis Jr 2019 Topps Baseball Rookie Card RC #410 Graded PSA 9 MINT
😍 such a nice autograph! Thank you!
Thank you for another awesome autograph!
Mr. Powers delivered on my request for this Cal Ripken jr. autograph. It was a nice size clean and perfect signature better than I expected. Mr. Powers team is quick to respond with any concerns you may have and keeps you posted on your item. I will absolutely be getting more signatures through them to finish my collection. I highly recommend Powers Sports to anyone that has any doubts. I use to do send ins with Steiner sports until he sold, to me Powers picked up where they left off and I couldnt be happier. Thank you
Great experience as usual! I’ll definitely be getting more autographs in the future!!
As good as it gets
Smooth transaction
The process was smooth and easy as always.
Awesome!
The color match ink auto looks great! Thanks!
A fantastic addition to the set. Bosh's autograph really pops on this one. Thanks!
This might be the only autograph of this card that has his whole auto on it. Great addition to the collection!
This came back amazing! The autograph was very clean! Thanks!
This completes my set of sketch cards. It's been fun doing this.
This was just the COA. Thanks!
It's awesome to get this one back! Another added to the Collection.
Great job by Powers Sports once again! They were able to secure a great signature from Andy Reid on my trading card, using the exact type pen and the exact location that I requested. Accuracy and quality are their top priority!
I submitted 2 cards to get them signed by Patrick Ewing himself. Thanks Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Nice addition of Barry Bonds to my PC!
Great card and great place to do business with. Thank you!
Ronald Acuna Jr 2018 Topps Living Baseball Rookie Card RC #19 Graded PSA 10
Loved it all.
Great experience as usual, highly recommend Powers
Great job by Matt and his team as usual
Matt and his team did it again. Highly recommend Powers to anyone looking for high end autographs
Matt and his team always do their best for their clients. Couldn’t be happier
Awesome experience as usual, I love my Jagr autograph!
Awesome experience as usual!
Great experience! I had never gotten any autographs through a signing like this before and I had a number of questions. Someone called me right back & couldn’t have been nicer. The customer service was outstanding every step of the way & I couldn’t be happier with the Reggie Jackson autographed ticket.
Nice to have a trading card signed by Wade Boggs in his Yankees uniform. Thanks Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Nice to have my Rookie Card signed by Manny Ramirez himself. Thanks Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Nice to have an autograph from Dr. J himself. Thanks Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Another exceptional autograph experience with Powers! Thanks again!
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I have a World Series baseball Rawlings signed by frank Thomas what is the value of that
May 02, 2023
I’m very curious to find out how much a signed Rawlings World Series baseball by Frank Thomas is worth I wanna know the maximum I can get for it he is a Hall of Famer