Pricing Baseball Cards | Buying and Selling Autographed Baseball Cards

Buying and Selling Autographed Baseball Cards

A concern for most collectors of autographs is authenticity. With recent news stories about more than 65% of autographs on the market may be forgeries and the many scams being used how can collectors protect themselves from fraud? This page will discuss how you can protect yourself from criminals and scammers so you dont throw away your hard earned money.

Use a third party company for autograph authentication. But consider the source. Their are many companies that are willing to give you a letter of authenticity that they personally have made on their home computer. Unfortunately not all authenticators make the right assessment for one reason (experience maybe) or another. Some companies that have been around Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA/DNA) and GMA Grading Services (GMA) are widely recognized throughout the industry. James Spence is also a well known Autograph Authenticator and has opened up his own company as well (JSA). They have experienced staffs and guarantee their services. This is one of the safest ways to insure you have an authentic autograph.

Second, for modern autograph collectors consider only purchasing manufacturer certified autograph cards and memorabilia. These usually have a hologram from the manufacturer and along with a guarantee. These manufactures contract with the players and obtain the proper licenses to produce the cards. While it is possible to produce fake copies of these cards it is much more difficult and at this point rare. For high value cards it is still advisable to have them authenticated by JSA, PSA or GMA.

Make sure you shop around on ebay for the best available prices and to research what the autograph you are looking for is currently worth. Ebay will give you a nice range of what the autograph card or ball is going for. Just look at the previously ended auctions that have sold and average 3 or more ofthem to get an idea. Make sure you compare apples and apples. Some autographs are graded so try not to compare a ball graded an 8 with a ball graded a 10.

Sisit: GMA Grading