Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Incomplete Inscriptions

As I have been reading articles on the internet the past few days I noticed a common theme among baseball columnists.  Records.  Columnists and experts are obsessed with records and love writing about them, whether it is Rivera’s 602 saves or Jeter’s 3000th hit, recently baseball has been flooded with articles on records and whose record is better or more unbreakable.  Records are a common inscription request amongst all collectors as it adds to the uniqueness of the item.  Over the years we have gotten some crazy inscription requests, but that’s for another time…

Every year we hold a few mail order signings where people can send in items to be signed by some of the athletes we work with, such as Cal Ripken Jr. and Joe Mauer.  Each signing we get several different inscription requests and without fail the same questions get asked.  “Which inscription is better for Cal to sign?  “2,131 consecutive games” or “2,632 consecutive games?”  I always answer it the same way.  What is the final record tally?  Is the record 2,131 consecutive games or is it 2,632 consecutive games?  Obviously the record is 2,632 and even though the record used to be 2,130 it isn’t anymore so we always say go with the full record.  There is one exception however; if you have a photograph or a piece of memorabilia from either of the 2,130 or 2,131 game then we recommend going with the partial record stat.

Think about it for another player.  Would you want a Hank Aaron inscription with 715 Home runs when he ended up with 755?  How about a Greg Maddux inscription with 330 wins when he finished with 355?  We see this with a lot of other companies and collectors where they get an inscription for an incomplete record.

As for players that are still current and playing baseball we NEVER recommend getting an inscription like “3x HR champion” or “only AL catcher to win a batting title” reason for this should seem pretty obvious, the minute that player wins another HR title or another AL catcher wins a batting title that item becomes extinct and the value is greatly diminished.

Moral of the story… put some thought into your inscription.  Is it something that makes sense?  Will it stand the test of time?

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Why does the value of my autographed item keep changing?

Collecting sports memorabilia is very different then collecting anything else.  Yes it shares similarities to other collectible items such as cars, records, wine, cigars, etc.  There are some key factors that help determine that value of the item.  The rarity of the item, condition and quality of player are key determining factors in establishing the value of an item, but that is where the similarities end for sports memorabilia and other hobbies.

I will preface this by saying that for everything there is always an exception to the rule and I am just generally speaking in regards to sports memorabilia.  There are several unique factors though that makes Sports Memorabilia such a different animal in regards to collecting.  First and foremost, you are collecting items autographed by a person who is still potentially creating new memorabilia, not a manufactured item.  They will never again be making another 1958 Corvette, so you know that the number of 1958 Corvettes will only diminish as time goes on making your item rarer.  Sports memorabilia on the other hand players are usually signing until they pass away.  So even though players like Yogi Berra, Brooks Robinson, Stan Musial, etc are no longer playing baseball, they are still easily accessible for autographs, meaning more of their autographs are out in the market.  Once a player passes away their value goes up because like that Corvette... there will no longer be anymore AUTHENTIC signatures by that player.  Take Sparky Anderson or John Mackey for example.  Immediately following their passing companies were getting swarmed and overselling their autographs because the demand became so high.

Another factor in determining the value of your item is the current opinion/how the player is playing.  Take a player like Matt Kemp.  In 2009 he won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award and he was looking like a sure fire All star for the next decade.  His value had never been higher.  Stores and online companies were selling out of his autograph and ordering more to keep with the demand.  Then the 2010 season came and he was unable to build off his previous year’s success and had a "down" year.  Critics questioned his ability among other things and he had a lot of negative press.  Those companies that stockpiled his autograph from the previous year were sitting on mounds of inventory they couldn't move, and were forced to sell them at cost or just above it.  In 2011 however Kemp is having another huge year and many are predicting that he may win the NL MVP, so once again his value is as high as ever and those stores that were selling his autograph at cost are now sold out again.  The same goes for retired players as well.  If a retired player does something post playing days to attract attention his collectability can either sky rocket or crash depending on the severity.

The last factor that makes this hobby different than others is that unlike collecting cars or other items, you do not want to use or play with your memorabilia.  Wearing an autographed jersey to a game or having a catch with a Babe Ruth baseball (yes Scotty Smalls I’m talking to you) is NOT a smart idea.  This makes collecting sports memorabilia similar to collecting things like wine or cigars because the minute you drink a bottle of wine or smoke a cigar… it loses all collectability since its gone!

Factors like the ones above make collecting and investing in sports memorabilia a risky one but a fun one that you can show off to your friends and everyone will enjoy!