Nice autograph by Roger Clemens himself. Thank you Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Investing in Autographed Sports Memorabilia
A common question I am often asked is related to investing in autographed sports memorabilia. What items should you buy? What player? What sport? Is this even a good idea? I’ll cover specific items that hold their value below, and check out our guide on choosing what to collect if you’re still figuring out which direction to take your collection.
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I would advise against using sports memorabilia as an investment. The industry takes a few years to understand the market, what tends to go up or down in value. Sports memorabilia, does go up in value, but not nearly as consistent as a good growth stock mutual fund would over time. It is much more reliable to invest in the stock market than sports memorabilia for that reason. With that being said, I know many of you like to buy autographs for the potential resale value down the road. So, if I were in your shoes and had a few bucks to spend and wait on a few autographs to go up in value, what would I buy? Please note, this list isn’t going to cover everything. There are many different types of items you can buy. I am just going to focus on a few that seem to be the most popular. Also, for the purposes of this topic, I will just focus on baseball. Of course, football, basketball, and hockey are also highly collectible items as well.
- Game used items. This is a no-brainer as an item used by an athlete tends to hold its value and can be extremely rare, depending on the item. Items from a specific game can also increase in value very quickley. Game used items that are autographed and inscribed the date of use will also add value.
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Which athletes should you get? I definitely would focus on stars, Hall of Famers, perennial all-stars, etc.. As much as you may like the short stop for the Kansas City Royals, 90% of collectors probably have no idea who he is. So focus on the bigger names.
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Vintage autographs, especially autographed baseballs. Guys like Babe Ruth, Roger Maris. Very rare guys like Thurman Munson, Roberto Clemente, etc… These can be very expensive for obvious reasons, but these are the guys every collector wants to get their hands on. There will always be a high demand for them. Of course, make sure you get an item that is certed by PSA, JSA, or Beckett.
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Baseball cards. I know this is an odd topic as most baseball cards (post 1980) are not worth crap. Some of the 1970 ones and prior do have a higher value. Yes, some of the current ones like those Ohtani cards were going for a pretty penny. But for consistently going up in value, some of the earlier baseball cards pre 1980s can be decent investments.
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Buy rookies. This can be hit or miss of course. But, if you can find a rookie like Mike Trout or Aaron Judge, for example that commands a high price now (but wasn’t before), those can shoot up quickly in value. Also, you will have the added value of it being a rookie year signed piece, which of course will never be a flooded market as they are only signed during one year.
- What would I stay away from? Autographed photos seem to not hold as much valuable as some of the premium items (jerseys, bats, etc). I wouldn’t get run of the mill items either. For example, a Mike Trout signed baseball might be cool, but those are everywhere. A Mike Trout game-used item, now you have something cool and hard to find. I definitely wouldn’t invest in any custom or non-licensed jerseys either.
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Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.9 / 5 from 4932 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.
Another perfect autograph on my 3000 hit baseball. Always a great experience! Thanks again.
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.
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Carlos Navallez
May 13, 2022
I have an autographed jersey from Roger Stambach. What do you think it’s worth?