How do you start your collection?
Looking to start or expand your sports memorabilia collection? There are a few things for you to consider – from budget to storage. Keep reading to find all you need to know about maintaining your collection, as well as Plexico’s variety of baseball, cricket, football & rugby display stands.
The sports memorabilia industry is expanding rapidly across the world, worth $5.4 billion per year in the US. While it can be a great investment and potential profit-maker, it’s a fun hobby, too!
You should, first, establish which sports/teams you’d like to focus on. If you have a more defined goal, it’ll be easier to narrow down the pool of collectables to find exactly what you’re looking for. If you’re a fan of hockey, you should establish whether you’re collecting generalised hockey memorabilia or items from a particular hockey team. Figure out whether you’re looking for specific jerseys, helmets, pucks, or hockey sticks – is there a particular player you like? Once you’ve figured out exactly what you’re looking for, you can start your search!
Sports memorabilia ideas
If you’re unsure what to collect, you could check out various sports memorabilia forums to get some inspiration. This way, you’ll work out what you want to collect and, who knows, you might even make friends with some like-minded people along the way. Here are some ideas of what you could collect:
- Sports trading cards
- Helmets
- Hats/caps
- Bats/sticks
- Balls/pucks
- Jerseys/shirts
- Signed photos
- Other miscellaneous memorabilia
Set yourself a budget
It’s a good idea to set yourself a budget for any hobby, especially one that mostly involves purchasing items. Hobbies are supposed to be fun and lighthearted – so don’t go broke over it. You don’t want your hobby to negatively impact your finances and cause you unnecessary stress, so setting a budget is vital. You might come across an item which seems too good to be true, but don’t be too eager. You’ll need to understand which items are worth spending money on and which can wait if it’s slightly out of your budget. If there’s something you really want, but it’s out of your price range, you can focus on saving money to go towards it.
Research
Alongside your search for memorabilia, it’s a good idea to spend some time doing research. This way, you’ll be able to work out the average price range for certain items and understand whether something is worth the money. This will help with your budget – making sure you don’t overpay for any items.
As well as this, you’ll learn what seems legitimate and what isn’t. The odds are, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Forgeries and scams are common in the memorabilia industry, so it’s good to be clued up on this.
Make sure it’s legitimate
Authenticity is vital when it comes to sports memorabilia. A lot of items are easy to fake, especially game-used items. This is because there aren’t a lot of reputable sources to authenticate them.
It’s common for high-value items to have dual authentication from several reliable companies. It’s a good idea to look for these authenticity sources to make sure the memorabilia is legitimate before you waste your money. Most reliable memorabilia sellers will automatically provide this authentication – it’s good practice to do so. So you should definitely question it if this authentication isn’t available.
Protect your collection
So, you’ve bought your memorabilia and your collection is growing. Now it’s time to preserve it as best as you can. Of course, you’ll likely want to display your favourite items, but it’s important to do this safely. You don’t want your items to lose value or become tarnished, so here are some top tips for keeping your memorabilia safe:
- Temperature control. Ambient temperature is ideal, but humidity is something to avoid.
- UV Protection. Clear displays such as plexiglass can stop your memorabilia from becoming faded.
- Keep them away from dust. This can be done by keeping them in enclosed boxes or with regular cleaning.
Baseball, cricket, football & rugby display stands
Ready to start displaying your sports memorabilia collection? Plexico has you covered! Our baseball, cricket, football & rugby display stands are perfect for showcasing your memorabilia.
Check out our options on our online store to find your perfect storage or display solution. We have clear acrylic options to highlight your items, safely displaying them on floor stands or hanging from wall-mounted stands.