A Guide to Collectible Sports Memorabilia
Written by DanAnderson   
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Collecting items is just a hobby to some and a way to make money for others, yet the type of collectible sports memorabilia that you collect is strictly up to you. Some choose to collect items from an entire team while others like to amass sport memorabilia from one particular player.
by DanAnderson


People enjoy collectible sports memorabilia for many different reasons; it may be just a hobby or it may be a way to make extra money. The type of items collected varies as well, as some enjoy getting items from a whole team or event and others want to collect autographed collectibles strictly from their favorite player.

The sports memorabilia industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. With this increase in both profitability and popularity, a rising number of forgeries are also being offered. Fake autographed photos and sports cards have undeniably appeared to flood the market and the trend doesn't show any signs of stopping. The increase in the quantity of people who shop for sports memorabilia on the internet has also increased the number of forgeries being offered. Anybody has the capability of setting up an account on auction websites where they can anonymously sell to unsuspecting customers, especially people who collect merely as a hobby.

There is no way to know the exact number of forgeries that have been sold, but most experts agree that well over half of the collectible sports memorabilia available on the market are indeed knock-offs. Some believe that up to 90% of the items that are said to be authentic memorabilia are actually forgeries. If you look at it this way, assuming that the market is worth approximately one billion dollars a year, then anywhere from five to nine hundred million of that is monetary gain from fake items.

One thing that can be done to endeavor to lower the number of fake sales is to increase public awareness, thus making it harder for the fraudulent sales to rise. Naturally there are a lot of honest and bona fide companies that sell genuine sports memorabilia, but the industry continues to be swamped with some very top quality fakes that make it difficult for legitimate companies to compete. And so this fake activity continues to deceive a lot of unsuspecting people each year.

Witnessing the athlete signing his name on a baseball, for example, is the only 100%, without a doubt, absolute way to know that you are getting an authentic piece of collectible sports memorabilia; however, there are some things that you can be aware of that may help you avoid becoming a victim of fraud. Never accept a photocopy of a certificate of authenticity, as they are very easy to alter. When looking at a certificate, make sure that the language appears correct and that the name, phone number and address of the person who authenticated the item is clearly written.

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