Questions for jersey collectors

thehallmark

Just received my first signed jersey in the mail today and I'm pretty sure I'm now completely screwed because I love it and my addict behavior has been triggered. Anyways...I have some questions for the experts...

Who are the COA companies to trust and which ones need to be avoided?

Is there a best company out there on the internet for framing or is it better to just find someone locally?

And then finally...what is the safest way to remove wrinkles before displaying?

Thanks in advance for the help!

totallyradd

First things first: Who'd ya get?! I love collecting jerseys and have 8-9 game used Brewers ones. The only jerseys I have displayed are non-gamer signed ones, (Favre, Yount, and Hoffman). The way I see it, knowing that there are tons of bootleg jerseys out there, it would be very difficult for me to purchase anything online unless it was through NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL.

In the Milwaukee area there is a company that has guys doing exclusive signings all the time for the Brewers, Packers, and Bucks. The store gets a buncha knock off jerseys signed and then sells them, so while the signatures are legit, the jerseys are completely fake. (The Brewers knockoff jerseys are super obvious, while the Packers jerseys look much buetter, but are still fakes).

Just be cautious before you make any purchases. Personally, it takes a very special player for me to want their jersey signed, so I'd rather wait for a good sale, buy the jersey knowing it was authentic, and hold onto it until I can get the auto in person. Mitchell and Ness runs good Black Friday sales, so you might wanna stock up then on a former player. As I'm sure you are aware there are tons of Mitchell and Ness knockoffs out there too.

As far as getting them framed and matted, it's not cheap. In Wisconsin there is a chain called Michael's. They probably exist all over, that's who I've gone through. The store almost always has a 40% off sale. It still comes out to $250 to get it done (depending on how much you have to pay for the sig, you can plan on spending at least $400).

However, I do know a guy that puts his in shadowboxes, and those cost much less. I however have not seen the display of them.

I hope some of this was helpful! Good luck!

esquiresports

COAs from MLB, UDA, PSA and Steiner, with holograms, are generally safe bets. JSA is in my opinion a little more dicey.

You can get a decent 30x40 shadow box at Michael's for about $110 after 40% off. Don't have a game worn jersey framed up. You don't want pins in it. Expect to pay around $300 for a professional framing job. You are usually better off purchasing an already framed copy on eBay.

Best way to remove wrinkles before displaying is to use a steamer. If you don't have a steamer, try hanging the jersey in the bathroom and cranking on the shower's hot water for about 20 minutes. Hopefully you can do something with the hot water do it doesn't just go to waste down the drain.