After procrastinating for a year on getting Miggyβs signature, I finally got it done. Another awesome addition to the rookie case. Thanks, Matt!
Make Tom Brady $$, Discover the EASIEST Way To Make MONEY Selling Autographs (hint, it's easy)
Today's we are going to talk about a pretty fun topic, and overall this whole thing should be quite informative as well. So if you're a collector, or even more importantly, a collector that likes to sell autographed items, this is for you!
I'm going to take you all through myΒ step-by-step process of how to easily make money selling autographs. Now, to be clear, I say easy because it's easy to understand, but it isn't always so easy to execute. Big picture, we are basically just looking to buy unauthenticated, autographed items, get them authenticated, and then sell them for a profit. See? It definitely sounds simple enough.
Jumping in at step #1: Start with cheap autographs!
I know, I know. You want to be playing with the big boys right from the beginning by getting that big Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant item and making millions on day one. You can certainly give that a try, but I wouldn't suggest it. Start small. There are so many cheaper and easily affordable items out there that over a little bit of time, you can almost guarantee yourself that you'll make money.
Related to the last point is #2: Buy guys that will sell.
This doesn't mean you should just go buy any unauthenticated items though! You still gotta be smart about it, so look up some recognizable players that do well in the industry. For instance here in Kansas City, Salvador Perez or Eric Hosmer are big names that are recognizable and make sense. You can get some unathenticated autographs from them for like $25 and turn those around for a bit of profit.
Plus, the glory of starting with the smaller names is you are less likely to run into fakes. You don't want to be that person that spends thousands on a Michael Jordan item to find out it's fake, because you WILL NOT be getting that money back.
You can check out the All-Star list for the various leagues throughout the years if you need some ideas of athletes to buy. Fanatics and the sports leagues also consistently publish information about the best selling jerseys as well. So there are tons of ways to figure out who is on the higher performance end in the various sports.
Already half way through the list, we're at #3: Purchase player items that are cheap unauthenticated, but higher in value once authenticated.
Now that just makes sense right? Here's an example to help really make sense out of this. Looking at Mariano Rivera, everyone knows who he is, a former Yankees player, his authenticated baseballs go for around $300. So, if you can get that ball, unauthenticated, for say, $175, you are already off to a good start. Pay another $15 for the COA, and your into the ball for $190. Sure, once you get it sold you'll lost a little profit on shipping and other fees, but still, if you sell for around $300, that is some appreciable profit!
Onto #4: Buy items that sell.
If players matter, you can bet the item matters too. For example, people do like full sized helmets, but when you're just starting out here, it just doesn't make sense. Those helmets are huge and take up a lot of inventory space. You want items that are small so you can have a supply to constantly work with!
That brings us to baseballs, jerseys, and signed photos. Be careful though, a lot of these unauthenticated items will probably come from "Chasers", guys that go to games to get items signed, and a lot of the time these guys will get cheap jerseys from China signed, which definitely don't have the value of an actual MLB jersey for instance.Β
Lastly, #5: Bulk authenticate your items.
Again, this is a pretty sensible point. It just makes more sense for your wallet and profits if you can get bulk discounts by sending in at least 20 autographed items for authentication at once. Even if it's just a few dollars, that money will add up quickly, so take advantage of whatever deals you can fine!
Who are you bulk sending to? Well, the big choices are JSA, PSA, or Beckett. You can send to them yourself in bulk, find them at trade shows and whatnot, or even use submission groups. These are all great ways to get loads of autographs authenticated cheaply and quickly.
I personally use JSA for the majority of my stuff. They are quick at a 2 - 3 week turnaround, affordable, and just have great customer service. I almost never have issues with them, and if I do they are real quick to get them resolved. That's what you want. You don't want to be sitting on these items for months. You're looking to buy, authenticate, sell. In and out almost as fast as you can go.
So you've followed the 5 steps, now what?
NOW IT'S TIME TO SELL!
So figure out what kinds of online marketplaces you want to use. There are tons of them, eBay of course being a pretty huge example. Just don't forget, you need to sell these items for more than just what you bought them for. Account for all your expenses.
That means the cost of the item, the autograph, authentication, services fees, shipping costs, YOUR TIME! These are all important. Do not sell yourself short on these, because everyone else is accounting for them, so you need to be as well.
There you go, that's what I've got for you today.
ο»ΏI hope this information can help you get started or improve your selling process. Like I said in the beginning, the concept is really rather simple, and that's important, but it is still a fair amount of work, so just stick with it and I'm sure you'll see some results eventually.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.9 / 5 from 4968 reviews.
Thanks to Power Sports Memorabilia and to Dennis Rodman for the cool auto....
The autographs turned out better than I could have imagined. Was a pleasant experience from sending to receiving back the items. You have a customer for life.
Nice big autograph!
Great autograph on this giant 2XL jersey
Power Sports was very helpful. They will answer any questions throughout the process of getting your Autograph. And they packed very well when they ship it back to you.
Another great looking signature added to my team signed helmet. It is great to get notifications throughout the process and using UPS is great to protect my items.
Nice autograph signed by former NY Mets great. Thanks Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
Amazing customer service
Very straight forward process and the item lived up to expectations!
Iβve been holding on to this hat forever!! Finally got the opportunity to get it signed NBA legend Alex English.. Courtesy of Powers Sports!
Everything went smooth from ordering the autograph to receiving my item promptly and Natalie was very helpful and responsive with the questions I had.
Again, PSM did a great job!
Nice autograph by Roger Clemens himself. Thank you Matt Powers and his team for this signing event.
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 greatsβ 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
π 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! Iβll 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!
The COA wasn't close to where I asked for it to be placed. I'm not sure how this was missed but it was a bummer when I saw that.
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!
Your Cart
Your cart is empty.