by Blah McBlah

Created on: February 26, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2012

You are surfing through eBay and you come across an autographed photo of your favorite baseball player at a very reasonable price. You use the "Buy it Now" option, pay for it and within a week you have a genuine autographed photo to display in you home or office. Or do you? Fraud is everywhere in the world of sports collectibles and it's difficult to sort out what is genuine and what is not. It is estimated that nearly 80% of autographs on eBay are fraudulent but by following a couple of simple rules you can greatly reduce the chances of being ripped off from fraudulent autograph sellers.

Is what you bought consistent for what it sells for from reputable dealers? For example, if Albert Pujols autographed photos sell for $300.00 retail can you really expect to pay only $50.00-$75.00 from a seller on eBay? Not too likely. There are a few exceptions as you can get a player during spring training or maybe at a charity event but for the most part, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is." Upon saying that look at what else the seller is selling. If he is selling something well below retail he would probably only have one item of a superstar like a Derek Jeter or Michael Jordan but if he has multiple items, beware. Also, feedback is not a good factor in determining whether or not an item is genuine. I have seen several fraudulent dealers on eBay who have great feedback and sadly it comes from uninformed buyers.

COA's are only as good as company or individual backing them. Anybody with a computer and printer can print a nice looking COA (Certificate of Authenticity) and say it's 100% genuine. TriStar Productions, Mounted Memories, Steiner Sports, Upper Deck Authenticated, Global Authentication, PSA/DNA and James Spence COA's are all nationally known and respected producers and authenticators of sports collectibles and if an item holds their COA it probably is authentic. There are other great companies out there that also offer COA's but not on a national level such as St. Louis Sports Collectors or a players company like Reggie Jackson's or Stan Musial's.

Learn a little bit about the player. Many athletes today sign exclusive agreements with one company or another. For example, Dan Marino signs for Mounted Memories and Tiger Woods signs for UDA. Keeping that in mind companies do lend there athletes to a different promotion from time to time.

A little bit of research goes a long way and can save you from the anger and disappointment (not to mention money) when and if you learn your item is a forgery. Certain websites like Prosportsmemorabilia.com can also give you comparable pricing and what certain athlete signatures look like. I hope you found this guide to be helpful and wish you the best of luck and much enjoyment in the world of sports autograph collecting.

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