Other Collectibles

Autographs. They are great collectibles, and at prices to suit every budget, but expect to pay more for greats of the game and deceased players.

Footballs, baseballs, jerseys, hockey sticks & pucks, basketballs, 8x10's, cut signatures, the list goes on and on.

The FBI did an investigation several years ago into autographs & memorabilia, and the results made collectors very upset. The FBI concluded that up to 70% of the material was fake. Jaws dropped everywhere but some good came out of it, as professional authentication services arose. The top three of such services are PSA/DNA, Upper Deck Authenticated, and GAI (Global Authentication, Inc.). If you want to buy an autographed item, I would highly recommend one of these services. Their Certificates of Authenticity are top-notch and usually come with a specific number and/or Hologram.

Personal horror story: When I was doing card shows in Southern California years ago, a new one popped up in Orange County. It was a monthly show and was held in a huge warehouse-type building. The show promoter had the first six tables the people saw as they walked into the show. It was his show, so I guess he had the right. Anyway, after I set up my table, I noticed that there were some autographed items for sale at the promoter's tables. They were cheap, came with a COA, and I figured that I could make a profit by reselling them at future shows. So over the next few months I did sell the autographed items at a good profit at several other shows. But then I read in the paper that the Orange County promoter that I bought the items from was indicted on fraud charges, that his cousin Louie was in the back room signing baseballs as 'Ted Williams' and other greats. I was sick about it but there wasn't much I could do. So my advice to everyone that's interested in autographed items is to go with a legit company.

Have fun out there, but be careful...

In The Begining There Was.....Tobacco?

Early baseball cards were put inside packs of cicarettes and skinny cigars as premiums, an incentive to buy the product. So I guess it was the adult version of kids finding the prize in a box of Cracker Jack. Even CJ got in on it in 1914 & 1915 when small cards were the prize. The tobacco cards of 1887 & 1888 were the beginning of the popularity of cards but not the actual beginning. There were a couple of cards produced in 1800-that's right 1800- that depicted, oddly enough, women enjoying some kind of 'ball' game. A few cards of ballplaying were produced up until the 1860's when more cards were made. In 1869 Peck & Snyder made a couple of cards showing the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The Cincy ballclub were true professionals, going around the country beating the crap out of everybody.

The beginning of the game of baseball itself is somewhat cloaked in mystery. No, Abner Doubleday did not invent the game. But he sure promoted the heck out of it and made it very popular. There are photos that show Civil War troops having a game of baseball, circa 1864, but the game goes back further than that. There are articles and a few illustrations describing the game in 1839 publications. Back then it was sort of a hybrid, a mix of crickett and baseball. Somewhere along the way Americans decided on a third 'War' of sorts against the British and tossed out ("Yer outta here!) the weird crickett rules, evolving into the game that we know today.

Have fun collecting!

More eBay Advice

eBay Sellers live and die by their Feedback but there are exceptions. Some, and only just some eBay Sellers reach a point in their Positive Feedback Rating whereby they really don't care if a buyer gives them Negative Feedback. That's because if their Feedback is in the thousands, a Negative or two won't really hurt them. As long as the Seller can maintain at least 98% Positive then they can still be in the good graces of eBay's hierarchy. Before you even bid, do yourself a favor and read the Feedback comments for the Seller. If you have to go back more than 15-20 pages in order to see a Negative, then you're probably safe.

Have fun out there!

Don't Get Ripped Off on eBay

Today's subject is buying, or winning auctions on eBay, and some advice on how not to get taken by dishonest dealers or eBay Sellers. Let me say first that the vast majority of eBay Sellers are pretty honest, but there are more than a few really slick bunco artists out there. To some of you that have been disappointed with your sportscard auction "win", then this should help. How many times have you seen a title somewhat like this: TOPPS 1964 MICKEY MANTLE *sharp!* BV $500!!! - along with a low starting bid, such as .99cents? Well, as you can see, especially if you are a Yankee fan, Mantle collector, or want to complete your Hall of Fame collection, you would be drawn to this auction. If you're a novice at collecting and are just looking for a gift for your spouse or friend that loves baseball cards, this might look good, too. If the Seller has provided a scanned picture of the card, take a close look. Because when the title or description says "BV $500" they are referring to the "Book Value" or Beckett Price Guide value of that particular card. What they don't tell you is that the Book Value refers to the value of the card in Near Mint condition. So if you can see some wear on the corners, or a crease, or ink blotches on the card, or even a miscut (badly off-center), then the card is nowhere near Near Mint.

Another way some eBay Sellers rip you off is by giving a skimpy or vague description of the card, or worse, outright lies. In the description they might say something like this: "Wow! This card looks fantastic! I'm not a professional grader, I'm just selling some cards from my uncle's estate, but this card is of Mickey Mantle. I think he's in the Hall of Fame. Not sure what to start the bidding at but let's make it .99cents! There are even statistics on the back." Buyer beware.

Still another way that eBay Sellers rip people off (not just cards) is with "Shipping & Handling. With baseball cards, overcharging for S/H is easy to do. I speak from experience because I've sold cards since 1989, after collecting them for 45 years+. I offer cards up for auction, and what do I charge for shipping? Nothing! Because putting a card in a top-loader and sticking it in an envelope costs me .58 cents postage. I'm sure most of you out there have seen eBay Sellers charging something like $2.50 per card for shipping, and a "bargain rate" of something like .50 cents for each additional card. It spells R-I-P-O-F-F.

It's too bad that there are people like that out in eBayland, but there are. However, with the right advice and some help from people like me, you too can enjoy "America's Hobby" of collecting sportscards.

Have fun out there!