How come my sports collection is not worth more?
by Michael Osacky
Possessing a vintage baseball card or sports
collection doesn’t entitle somebody to significant amounts of
money. Listed below are 10 top reasons why your baseball cards
and/or sports memorabilia collection might not be worth top
dollar.
1. The baseball cards you have are all
of “common” players and not the Stars (Mantle, DiMaggio, etc.)
The “stars” and “Hall of Fame members” command a much higher
price tag.
2. Your baseball cards look like they have sharp
corners, but upon measuring each card, it becomes clear that
the cards were trimmed (A process used to make trading cards
have sharp corners). This is tampering. Buyers don’t like to
purchase restored/trimmed cards. They want to buy cards that
have the same dimensions as when they left the factory a number
of years ago.
3. Personalized autographs command less value than
non-personalized autographs. A personalized autograph is less
valuable when it comes time to resell the item. A baseball
signed by Mickey Mantle personalized to “Bart Smithers” might
carry a very high sentimental value to you because you met Mr.
Mantle and he signed it for you. To meet an athlete in person,
let alone a guy in the Hall of Fame like Mickey Mantle is an
experience you will never forget. This is a memory that you
will share with your friends and grandchildren forever. I have
had the opportunity to meet a lot of professional athletes and
each one has a different story. However, unless you can find
another Bart Smithers who wants to buy this ball, you might
find it hard to resell it. Mr. John Smith doesn’t want to have
a Bart Smithers signed baseball. If Mr. Mantle would have just
signed his name on the sweet spot, your baseball would command
a higher resale value. Nobody wants to display an autographed
baseball on their bookshelf or fireplace that doesn’t have
their name on it. When Mr. John Smith decides to resell the
baseball at a later date, he will have the same problem as you
had. People deduct value because of the personalization.
4. Your signed Babe Ruth baseball has 6 other signatures
on it. Babe Ruth is one of the greatest signatures to obtain.
Everybody would like to have a Babe Ruth autograph. However,
most of them do not want a Babe Ruth autograph with several
other autographs on the same baseball. Some people might think
that the baseball should be worth more because it has more
signatures. This is false. There is not much demand for this
type of item. Therefore, your item will still sell, but for a
much lower price.
5. Keep your autographs in a cool, dry area. Exposure to
sun and other harsh climates can do damage to the signatures.
Sunlight can yellow the baseball. Putting your baseball in a
ball cube is probably a good idea if you want to protect it
from fingerprints, etc. However, do NOT apply shellac to any of
the signatures. For those of you who do not know, shellac is a
substance used to preserve the signatures on a baseball from
ever going away. The idea being, if I apply a coat of shellac
to the signatures on the baseball, they will never go away.
This form of preservation used to be very popular. Nowadays, it
is a sure way to decrease the value of your collectibles.
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