March 29, 2024

Bucks: Valuing Baseball Memorabilia

Paul Sullivan, in his Wealth Matters column this week, writes about the market for baseball memorabilia. In the wake of Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, he was trying to understand the market for signed baseballs and bats, jerseys and photos. What sorts of items appreciate? And, he asked, how do you know if what you have is valuable?

It turns out that much of what is out there is not worth much, particularly if it has been signed by athletes have have played in the last 30 or 40 years, because there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of copies out there.

Scarcity, then, is the key.

Do you own any sports memorabilia? Did you buy it because you are a big fan of, say, Willie Mays? Or do you think that someday you will be able to sell that Mays-signed baseball at a profit?

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=b8a685963aab959b07eaf4899340b244