G-O, LET’S GO!...Shopping for vintage sports memorabilia, that is! It’s time to turn that stack of vintage baseball cards handed down to you by your father into a fun (and possibly lucrative) hobby.  But where should you begin?  Starting a new collection is tough for everyone.  As a new collector, you start out as an amateur shopper with a passion for something and before you know it, you are a full-blown expert at your trade!  And we all know that it’s not about the destination (or in this case maybe the end zone), but the journey that counts so lets get started!

*  Ask yourself:  Why am I collecting sports memorabilia?  Are you collecting with the intentions of selling your valued collection down the road?  Or is it because you are a lover of sports? It is a good idea to establish your intention before choosing what to collect.  If you are in it solely for the money, then you will only research items that are high in value or are expected to appreciate greatly in value over the coming years.  If you are a sports fanatic, do you love all sports or just 1 or 2 sports?  Is it a player that you admire or a whole team that you can’t get enough of?  In my opinion, you should always collect something because you are passionate about it.  The experience will be much more enjoyable for you and the collection will be something special you can pass down in your family for generations.  It is also more motivational to collect and maintain a collection if you love what you are doing.

*  Establish a theme for your collection.  Do you want to only collect baseball cards from a certain time period or team?  Is it only autographed items of award winners or hall of famers that you are interested in?  Narrowing down options for your collection allows you to be more focused on building a valuable and impressive collection.  It is also very important to focus on one category because it allows you to become an expert at what you collect.  There are tons of different types of sports memorabilia out there and it is a lot more fun to be an expert at one faction of the game and move on to something new later, then to just know a little bit about a lot of different things.  The more you learn, the more engaged in your hobby you will become as you build your collection.

*  It’s time for some research.  It’s good to start out knowing the general value of what you will be collecting, especially if you intend to sell it down the road.  You can use iTaggit’s ValueRange It tool to determine what the items are selling for in today’s market just by typing in the description and clicking “Go.”  If you do plan to sell the collection, think about what kind of collection will appeal to the most buyers. For example, you would probably appeal to a greater market if you collected memorabilia of gold medalists in a specific sport rather than just miscellaneous Olympics memorabilia.

*  Set up a budget and make yourself a wish list.  Collectibles whether they are sports memorabilia or vintage antiques can get pricy.  One thing you will learn as you star to really get into your collection is that you will suddenly find yourself having “I HAVE to have it” moments when you come across something that is just perfect for your collections.  It is time to exercise that self control!  I think that sometimes men aren’t as bad as us women when it comes to impulse purchases -until they comes across a signed Cal Ripken, Jr. jersey that’s just perfect to add to the Orioles-dedicated gameroom, complete with cases of signed game balls and bats!  We’re all guilty of it at some point!  Making a list of what you want to add to your collection, along with a budget of what you want to spend per month (or whatever works for you) is a good way to keep us on track.  Those signed jerseys won’t provide much shelter after we have spent our way to homelessness!    

*  Knowledge is power.  Get online or stop by the bookstore and grab some good reading about what you are collecting.  Study up on what makes your item valuable, or more importantly, what decreases the value of your item!  Learn about the grading systems and characteristics that would cause your items to fluctuate in value, such as rarity, condition, or events having to do with a player, etc.  Knowing all that you can about what you are collecting can help you to not be fooled into buying a replica and can also ensure that your collection holds its value over time.

*  Be trendy.  Stay on top of the latest trends in sports collecting.  Join message boards, sign up for newsletters on websites dedicated to collecting your items, and subscribe to memorabilia publications to stay current on all things sports-memorabilia related.  The more you learn about your trade the better and it is just as important to stay current!

*  Ladies and fellas’, start your shopping!  Shop online marketplaces such as ebay.com, craigslist.org, oodle.com, and the iTaggit classifieds to find rare items.  You can also find many websites dedicated to trading and purchasing only sports memorabilia.  Check your newspaper listings and local sports memorabilia stores.  Remember to always keep an eye out because you never know when you can find the perfect item!  Also, if it is autographs you collect, be sure to always have something on hand to be signed when you attend games.  Most players will hang around after games or practices to sign autographs and you never know if he or she could be the next big thing!  I followed Tiger Woods during a college match years ago and snagged his autograph not thinking much of it (other then my father telling me he’s going to be one to watch).  That turned out to be some good advice! Thank you Dad!

Good luck and have fun, sports fans!!

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