how much do you guys know about autographed memarabilia?

[b0ng]

Got an interesting football signed by a lot of the '91 team. What's best way to store that, and what's the estimated value? Has Moon, Munchak's and Matthews sigs and some others (Pinkett, Doc #29, Alm). I'll include pics, if anybody just wants to see.

[Joe Texan]

How much do you want for it. I got a friend that might be interested

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by Joe Texan

How much do you want for it. I got a friend that might be interested

The sentimental value is probably too much for me to honestly give a fair price that wouldn't be outrageous to other people, especially since I'm not totally sure what its condition would be considered in. Kinda thinking about keeping it as an heirloom more than anything. PM me if you want to discuss what your friend would be willing to pay for this piece.

[Joe Texan]

I will run it by him Bong, see what he says if interested I will let you know

[b0ng]

Moon's signature







Bruce Matthews





Alan Pinkett

EDIT: since the ball is deflated I'm thinking about sending the ball to thesportsdoctor.net and try to get the ball inflated/restored. Probably going to get it authenticated at a show after that is done. Good idea, bad idea?

[chicagotexan2]

I got a bottle of wine from Ditkas resturaunt signed by da coach. it was a gift from one of his former players. I'm keeping it, but I wonder what it would be worth.

[mokalus]

How much does it cost to get signatures authenticated? I'm assuming signatures without COAs are essentially worthless?

[astros44]

Originally Posted by mokalus

How much does it cost to get signatures authenticated? I'm assuming signatures without COAs are essentially worthless?

If you go through a third party, i.e. PSA/DNA or JSA, they are about $20-$30 each to authenticate, unless they are a HOFer, etc, in which case price can vary from there. Team signed items will have a lower authentication cost, maybe $75 for the whole item.

It's really only worth it if you have a high end signature on a high end item that you plan on reselling. Autographs obtained in person are usually sloppier than a sit down signing, and so few are worth getting authenticated anyway.

[mokalus]

Originally Posted by astros44

If you go through a third party, i.e. PSA/DNA or JSA, they are about $20-$30 each to authenticate, unless they are a HOFer, etc, in which case price can vary from there. Team signed items will have a lower authentication cost, maybe $75 for the whole item.

It's really only worth it if you have a high end signature on a high end item that you plan on reselling. Autographs obtained in person are usually sloppier than a sit down signing, and so few are worth getting authenticated anyway.

Good point. I'm thinking about obtaining a couple of autographed baseballs that I am 95% sure are real, but they don't have COAs. I figure since it's for my personal collection that I won't be selling anyway, I shouldn't really care. (I'm trading a watch that I haven't been able to sell.)

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by astros44

If you go through a third party, i.e. PSA/DNA or JSA, they are about $20-$30 each to authenticate, unless they are a HOFer, etc, in which case price can vary from there. Team signed items will have a lower authentication cost, maybe $75 for the whole item.

It's really only worth it if you have a high end signature on a high end item that you plan on reselling. Autographs obtained in person are usually sloppier than a sit down signing, and so few are worth getting authenticated anyway.

Well the ball has 4 HOF autos but the condition of the ball is deflated. However I also scored a mice Matthews Sig on a ball as well as a Bum Phillips ball and a Pastorini ball. I'm going to get those authd at a show in humble then ill probably sell the.

[Hardcore Texan]

I got a Mario Williams signed ball (football with white panels and Texans logo) with COA. Any idea how to find out what it's worth? I doubt I would sell it, just curious. It's in a display case in my man cave.

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by Hardcore Texan

I got a Mario Williams signed ball (football with white panels and Texans logo) with COA. Any idea how to find out what it's worth? I doubt I would sell it, just curious. It's in a display case in my man cave.

Check ebay for a rough rough estimate. Also Houston Craigslist might have a few people trying to sell something similar.

[Yankee_In_TX]

Being an autograph hound and attending a lot of shows the answer to 'what is it worth' is 'what is a dealer' or better yet 'what is an end user willing to pay for it.'

The autograph business is tough and not very profitable unless you really know what you're doing. You need to emgere yourself in it and learn, learn, learn.

But back on point, take it to a few different dealers in town and see what they would buy it from you for. It's probably 25-40% of what they would retail it for.

[Luv_ya_blue]

Been a hardcore collector for quite a number of years now and I've acquired a pretty substantial collection, so I've done some dabbling in the market.

Originally Posted by b0ng

Got an interesting football signed by a lot of the '91 team. What's best way to store that, and what's the estimated value? Has Moon, Munchak's and Matthews sigs and some others (Pinkett, Doc #29, Alm). I'll include pics, if anybody just wants to see.

May sound somewhat backward but you'd have a much more valuable situation if you had FOUR different balls with HOFers autographs. The fact that they're all on the same ball actually DEvalues the worth and marketability of the ball. You're very, very limited in your market. You're pretty much guaranteeing yourself that you're only going to sell it to an old Oilers fan (of which I am), rather than a Moon, Munchak or Matthews fan. I've passed on a lot of items because it had multiple autos on it, rather than a single.

Originally Posted by b0ng

The sentimental value is probably too much for me to honestly give a fair price that wouldn't be outrageous to other people, especially since I'm not totally sure what its condition would be considered in. Kinda thinking about keeping it as an heirloom more than anything. PM me if you want to discuss what your friend would be willing to pay for this piece.

Sentiment (while great as a collector) is devastating as a seller. Honest truth is you're probably better holding onto the ball and letting it become a conversation piece or just something you cherish because of all the memories. Looking at your pics, I'd say that if you listed the ball (inflated) on ebay and had some better pics of it, you'd be lucky to fetch $35-45 for the ball. I know that's not gonna feel good going down, and if the sun, moon and stars all line up and you get a good battle between a couple of hardcore Oilers fans...you may fetch as much as $75...but I don't see that happening. JMO of course.

Originally Posted by mokalus

How much does it cost to get signatures authenticated? I'm assuming signatures without COAs are essentially worthless?

Companies charge to authenticate each individual auto. The cost of authenticating the ball w/multiple autos would exceed the value of the item.

Originally Posted by Hardcore Texan

I got a Mario Williams signed ball (football with white panels and Texans logo) with COA. Any idea how to find out what it's worth? I doubt I would sell it, just curious. It's in a display case in my man cave.

Mario on an NFL ball would fetch more than on a Texans ball--for the same reason as listed above. A Bills fan is much less likely to buy an auto on a Texans ball than on an NFL ball. Gotta pretty much hope for a Texans fan that is still sad seeing Mario go and will hold onto HIM as a player rather than being a fan of him because he's on the Texans. I'd say probably worth $50 if you're lucky. Ebay has a small handful of Mario auto footballs and they're with COA and a BIN of $100. No takers.

Originally Posted by Yankee_In_TX

Being an autograph hound and attending a lot of shows the answer to 'what is it worth' is 'what is a dealer' or better yet 'what is an end user willing to pay for it.'

The autograph business is tough and not very profitable unless you really know what you're doing. You need to emgere yourself in it and learn, learn, learn.

But back on point, take it to a few different dealers in town and see what they would buy it from you for. It's probably 25-40% of what they would retail it for.

Good post.

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by Luv_ya_blue

May sound somewhat backward but you'd have a much more valuable situation if you had FOUR different balls with HOFers autographs. The fact that they're all on the same ball actually DEvalues the worth and marketability of the ball. You're very, very limited in your market. You're pretty much guaranteeing yourself that you're only going to sell it to an old Oilers fan (of which I am), rather than a Moon, Munchak or Matthews fan. I've passed on a lot of items because it had multiple autos on it, rather than a single.


Sentiment (while great as a collector) is devastating as a seller. Honest truth is you're probably better holding onto the ball and letting it become a conversation piece or just something you cherish because of all the memories. Looking at your pics, I'd say that if you listed the ball (inflated) on ebay and had some better pics of it, you'd be lucky to fetch $35-45 for the ball. I know that's not gonna feel good going down, and if the sun, moon and stars all line up and you get a good battle between a couple of hardcore Oilers fans...you may fetch as much as $75...but I don't see that happening. JMO of course.

Yeah after looking around at different places I'd probably settle on getting it re-inflated and then authenticated (which is probably as much or more than $75) and then passing it down. I know team signed balls are hard to sell due to having multiple sigs and most of them not being of the quality of a signature that the athlete was able to do while sitting down in the A/C and not right after practice.

It's not like I paid for the ball and I have to worry about flipping it for profit, I looked at it as a nice exercise in finding out more about the autograph industry.

Ebay is also a great place to look and see what autographs are going just on auction, but Craigslist (especially if you list in the home cities that the players signatures might originate from) seems to have more inflated prices.

BTW, In my adventures of finding out more about my balls (TWSS), I found that JSA is going to be at a convention in Humble doing auto authentications for about $10 per. I'm planning on taking my Bum football, Pastorini football, and a newly acquired Bruce Matthews ball to em to get authenticated. Could be a place for some of you other autograph guys may go to get the authenticity papers if that's what your after with your collection.

[NitroGSXR]

Originally Posted by b0ng

Yeah after looking around at different places I'd probably settle on getting it re-inflated and then authenticated (which is probably as much or more than $75) and then passing it down. I know team signed balls are hard to sell due to having multiple sigs and most of them not being of the quality of a signature that the athlete was able to do while sitting down in the A/C and not right after practice.

It's not like I paid for the ball and I have to worry about flipping it for profit, I looked at it as a nice exercise in finding out more about the autograph industry.

Ebay is also a great place to look and see what autographs are going just on auction, but Craigslist (especially if you list in the home cities that the players signatures might originate from) seems to have more inflated prices.

BTW, In my adventures of finding out more about my balls (TWSS), I found that JSA is going to be at a convention in Humble doing auto authentications for about $10 per. I'm planning on taking my Bum football, Pastorini football, and a newly acquired Bruce Matthews ball to em to get authenticated. Could be a place for some of you other autograph guys may go to get the authenticity papers if that's what your after with your collection.

LYB did a pretty good job. I would like to add that you should at least compare the signatures to one online before running to the authenticating company. If it looks real to YOU --then-- go spend the money it costs to get authenticated. JSA's a very very reputable authenticator. I'd take everything I had ten bucks each. That's a screaming deal as long as you can deal with the long lines. It's a convention so expect plenty of people.

[Texecutioner]

Originally Posted by b0ng

Yeah after looking around at different places I'd probably settle on getting it re-inflated and then authenticated (which is probably as much or more than $75) and then passing it down. I know team signed balls are hard to sell due to having multiple sigs and most of them not being of the quality of a signature that the athlete was able to do while sitting down in the A/C and not right after practice.

It's not like I paid for the ball and I have to worry about flipping it for profit, I looked at it as a nice exercise in finding out more about the autograph industry.

Ebay is also a great place to look and see what autographs are going just on auction, but Craigslist (especially if you list in the home cities that the players signatures might originate from) seems to have more inflated prices.

BTW, In my adventures of finding out more about my balls (TWSS), I found that JSA is going to be at a convention in Humble doing auto authentications for about $10 per. I'm planning on taking my Bum football, Pastorini football, and a newly acquired Bruce Matthews ball to em to get authenticated. Could be a place for some of you other autograph guys may go to get the authenticity papers if that's what your after with your collection.

When i was a kid I got to meet most of the Oakland A's team that went to those World Series. Had Ricky Henderson and Dennis Eckersley sign an official A's hat along with some other guys like Walt Weis and Carney Lansford.

Sad thing is that my mom somehow lost the hat in the garage or something. I still bring it up every now and then as it was very special thing to have considering how I met all of these guys in person to get the autographs.

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by NitroGSXR

LYB did a pretty good job. I would like to add that you should at least compare the signatures to one online before running to the authenticating company. If it looks real to YOU --then-- go spend the money it costs to get authenticated. JSA's a very very reputable authenticator. I'd take everything I had ten bucks each. That's a screaming deal as long as you can deal with the long lines. It's a convention so expect plenty of people.

I've compared the Matthews ball to my own Matthews signatures that I got signed by him personally and I feel it's worth the $10 bucks and the drive. Long lines don't bother me, I once waited in line for 10 hours just to get some Burger King when I was in Baghdad.