subject: Wealthy Treasure Sports Memorabilia And Signed Sports Memorabilia Online [print this page] Remember when sports memorabilia was something your granddad bought home from a football match? A signed ticket, a commemorative programme even an unsigned object, like a piece of turf or a used goalkeepers glove. Items that were collected for the love of the sport, to immortalise a particular match or moment in the mind of the spectator: items (both signed sports memorabilia and unsigned sports memorabilia) that only collected value after years sitting on the mantel.
These days, the internet is making finding and owning pieces of genuine sports memorabilia a lot easier. We no longer have to rely on the fact that our grandfather did, or did not, attend the first ever UEFA Cup final (where Tottenham historically beat Wolves in what is still the only European final ever contested by two English teams): the internet lets us look for items of sports memorabilia that have already passed the test of time, and buy them already knowing that their place in sporting history is assured.
The modern fan isnt looking for history or value, so much as a souvenir of some kind of allegiance. Sports memorabilia purchased online is often (outside of the realms of the gear of the hyper-famous, like Maradonas boot or Muhammed Alis glove) bought to cement a persons allegiance with a team or competitor in the same way that fans of particular bands wear badges or t-shirts, and buy limited edition albums with special packaging.
It isnt just historic pieces of sports memorabilia that were after, though. Many collectors (of signed sports memorabilia in particular) are looking for items attached to current sports men and women autographed photos or pieces of signed kit. And though those sports men and women in a way guarantee the value of their signature (if they werent famous, we probably wouldnt want the item), theres no way of knowing how historic contemporary bits of sports memorabilia will become.
Online retail of sports memorabilia achieves its greatest success when these kinds of sales are reckoned. Reputable sites like Autographs Store grant fans guaranteed access to both product and authenticity the two holy grails of the signed sports memorabilia collector.
Where else does one go to get sports memorabilia? Schlepping to football grounds, for example, expressly to buy a signed photo of David James, seems a little excessive (particularly when you consider that signed photos of David James may not be available when you get there). Shopping for sports memorabilia online means a person can identify what they want and then go looking for it, rather than looking blindly and ending up with something to make do. Quality, in sports memorabilia as in everything else, is an issue why settle for okay, when you can have great?
Quality is particularly pressing when you look at signed sports memorabilia. Given that our imaginary collector of sports memorabilia has identified what they want: how can they tell if its genuine? Answer they cant. Unless they go to a reputable online store where all the sports memorabilia is guaranteed authentic.
Online guarantees are subject to far stricter legal interrogation than real world guarantees which makes shopping for signed sports memorabilia online far safer than doing so in the real world.
The internet has made life easier for the shopper in so many ways weve pretty much forgotten what things used to be like. Where questions of authenticity and provenance rear their little heads, its offering guarantees and availability that collectors of sports memorabilia have simply never had before.
