Your Guide to Buying Autographs

While 90% of my collection consists of signatures I have acquired in-person or through the mail, I am not opposed to buying autographs as well. Obviously, for a collector of vintage historical autographs, this is basically the only route to take.

I have been fortunate enough to get autographs from some of my favorite celebrities, but there are others where access is limited, or the opportunity to this point hasn't presented itself.

Buying autographs from trusted and reputable sources has become much easier since the internet. What hasn't?? That being said, there are still many forgeries in the market.

According to the FBI, industry experts estimate over one-half of autographs for the most popular athletes and celebrities to be forged.

Below are sources for autographs that are trusted by industry experts and casual collectors:

eBay Autographs and Sports Memorabilia

You Never Know What Autographs for Sale You Will Find...

I also like to collect autographs of players that I played against in high school (still a few left!), and from home teams from sellers who auction sports memorabilia online.

The advantage to this is when I do find something, the autograph price is usually fairly reasonable since many of the people are not household names, but are valuable autographs to me.

The key to buying eBay autographs is both the reputation of the seller and the item's authenticity. A good feedback score is important, but authentication of the item is critical.

Research top sellers in the categories you are interested in. Look for independent autograph authentication from third-party autograph authenticators, or from popular manufacturers of sports memorabilia that provide excellent original authentication with holograms and lifetime guarantees.

There are plenty of reputable sources and autograph dealers online, you just need to know who you are dealing with.

eBay allows you to search by different categories - for instance, autographs (original), preprint/reprint items. You need to be careful when reading descriptions of how they describe the item and whether the signature is an authentic original autograph or a preprint.

While we're on that subject - there are many auctions that offer "reprint" or "preprint" autographed pictures. Keep in mind these are obviously not authentic, and merely copies of the original signed photo.

The purists will argue, but depending on the quality of the reproduction, these items can add to your collection at a significantly lower price or investment (however you want to look at it).

While a Michael Jordan autograph may be the cornerstone piece of a dream autograph collection, it comes with a significant price. A preprint autograph allows the casual collector the ability to display a coveted "autograph" at a fraction of the cost!

But how do you find authentic autographs without getting burned? You need to know the basics. For instance ,many unscrupulous sellers will say that something is an "authentic preprint signature" - what does that mean?! I guess they are trying to say the signature is a copy of an original autograph, but don't be fooled.

The sames rules apply when buying autographs on eBay as other situations. Authenticity of the autograph and the seller's reputation are crucial. Research the seller's feedback and look for any negative feedback.

That being said, just because somebody has all positive feedback, fast shipping, etc. doesn't mean they sell authentic items when they auction sports memorabilia! Look for authentication from PSA/DNA, James Spence, among others.

A Babe Ruth autograph boldly signed in a modern-day Sharpie marker with an asking price of $10, for example, is probably one sports memorabilia auction you want to stay away from!

Baseball Card Shops

Besides selling baseball cards and other trading cards, baseball card shops can be an excellent source for authentic sports autographs and signed pro sports memorabilia.

I have found them to be particularly great for signed baseball cards that are produced for and pulled from baseball card packs.



While I prefer to collect autographed baseballs and signed jerseys, game used and autographed baseball cards from resources such as Topps or Upper Deck are hard to beat when it comes to quality and authenticity.

Baseball Card and Sports Memorabilia Shows

Ok, so there are a couple shows coming up but nobody that particularly interests you? That's alright, because besides the celebrity and athlete appearances these shows provide, there are dozens of autograph and memorabilia dealers there selling items you will be interested in.

Sports Memorabilia Stores

Return from Buying Autographs to Autograph Collecting



Return from Buying Autographs to Collecting Autographs