Need Advice on Selling an Autograph the Right Way

Brianruns10

Hi All,

I'm an avid sportscard collector (my specialty being '52 Topps), but I'm faced with something new which I could use your experienced advice. My dad collects as well, and in his files recently he rediscovered an old Vince Lombardi autograph he got way back in the day. It was signed in person. Given what a Lombardi auto sells for, and that we're really more into baseball memorabilia than football, he's interested in selling it.

What I need to know is, what should we do to do this right, to ensure a rock solid sales presentation on ebay or wherever, so buyers know what they're getting. For starters, I've already advised him to write down everything he remembers about the circumstances surrounding how he originally got the auto, so we can establish a provenance. But a piece of paper is nothing more than that, so is is advised to get the letter notarized?

And as far as certification and COAs, I'm aware of a lot of agencies that do this, and not all are created equal. Who do you advise I seek out for this service?

The long short of it is, what all do I need to sell this autograph properly, leaving no doubt in the mind of the buyer that what I'm offering is authentic?

Thanks a lot!

BR

Ironmanfan

<< <i>If it's legitimate, you should have PSA authenticate it to maximize the return. Anything a seller says is just a nice story, whether true or not. Besides, you're not going to get much action on a piece that isn't authenticated. >>



agree; with either a PSA/DNA or JSA certification, you could sell it on eBay yourself and do quite well (you'll more than recoup your authentication fees).

IMF

Dpeck100

This is a tough call in my opinion without any real information on what you have signed. From your statement I am guessing a piece of paper.

There is an extremely broad range of prices for his autograph.

If you check EBAY you will see that the item as it should be is quite important to the price paid for one of his signatures.

This is from the SMR.

Lombardi, Vince [coach]* Shop 1971 350 UNK 1000 750 IMP 1250 UNK 5000

As I stated before it would appear to me that you have some type of loose leaf paper or index card. The stated value is $350 and I found this recent piece sold on EBAY.

$300


The cost for a Vince Lombardi item to be authenticated is $75.


PSA Pricing


Unless you have a very unique item signed I might consider listing it without authentication and see what you get. Use a Buy It Now with best offer option. You will end up spending at least $100 in total for the authentication with shipping and if it is indeed a piece of paper there is clearly a limit to what the market will bare. If it is a more unique item that could command a much greater price then naturally sending it in would be the choice. I get the feeling you think the signature is worth in the thousands and for that to be true it would need to be a special piece and in that case must be authenticated to maximize the selling price.

Good luck however you choose to proceed.

mikeschmidt

Sometimes if you consign high value autographs to auction houses, they'll cover the authentication fee as part of the consignment process.

MooseDog

Your father's provenance is good, but it won't sway anyone from buying one way or another. It won't increase or decrease the value. Almost every forgery sold on eBay come with a similar story. This is one thing people seem to forget when it comes to autographs. As with cards where you "buy the card, not the holder" it is the same with autographs. Buy the autograph, not the certification. People who collect autographs seriously can spot good ones.

Here are my thoughts.

It would be easier to render opinions if you posted a picture.

1) In regards to authenticators PSA would be first choice. I should say I have a bias against JSA for certain business practices I can't discuss yet. I sell autographs and find that PSA/DNA certified autographs tend to be easier to sell.

2) How the autograph looks is important. If it is on a 3x5 index card and is perfect in every way (every letter visible) it will sell for more than it it is a "rushed" signature on a piece of paper. Nice autograph on a nice picture even better. In a case like this you might take a chance on PSA. If it is on the back of a program or scrap of paper not so interesting. I wouldn't pay 25% of the value of the autograph just to get a PSA/DNA opinion. I call this the PSA "tax".

3) Lombardi's autograph is not super rare. The value is in his status and legend.

4) If you go the eBay route the best strategy without paying for authentication would be to do as list at a high fixed price with Best Offer. Unless your item is really spectacular you're probably looking at a $300-400 value. Decide what you would take and list for $499. Set an automatic decline for offers below what you'll take as you'll get dozens of low ball offers. Getting the quick opinion wouldn't be a bad idea.

5) An auction house is probably not a good choice. High buyers premiums will keep the bidding down unless the piece is spectacular, then after commissions and (some charge authentication fees) you're going to be disappointed with what you get in the end.

6) Above all, offer a full refund if anyone submits to PSA or JSA and it doesn't pass. Those people who sell autographs with no returns have no business selling autographs.

blee1

If you are going to submit it to PSA, you can wait till raiderguy10(Derrick) hopefully does another submission this spring. That should keep your costs under $20