Perhaps the most important thing that you need to know when you collect signed memorabilia is whether or not the piece that you are considering is authentic, as many people have no idea how to determine the real deal from a clever replica. Of course the only absolutely certain way to know if your autographed sporting collectibles is authentic is if you actually saw the athlete sign it.

First and foremost, if there is no written certificate of authenticity associated with the signed baseball, football, jersey or sports card memorabilia etc., then you should probably not buy it and move on to another vendor. There are many reputable companies that authenticate all types of collectibles and memorabilia, including sports related collectibles. A few of these include Upper Deck, Tri Star and Steiner Sports; as they actually have contracts with the athletes to come in to their place of business and autograph items.

There is a company called Online COA that does third party authentications, and they do not buy or sell any type of autographed sports memorabilia. Their one consideration is to authenticate and certify items that they have personally witnessed being signed by athletes. So if you purchase a signed sports memorabilia item that was certified by this company, then you have paid for an authentic item.

Another thing to look for when collecting autographed sports collectibles is whether or not the company that is selling the items offers a money back guarantee. In other words, if you purchase an item and later determine that it is not authentic, then the company or individual should be willing to guarantee a money back policy.

If you are online at an auction site like www.ebay.com and you see certain autographed sporting collectibles that you have been looking for at a really low price, then you may want to skip over it. The people who deal with authentic memorabilia know exactly what they have and will normally price it accordingly, not way below the norm. Often times when you see a really good deal you need to keep the adage "buyer beware" in mind, as there is a good chance that the under-priced item is actually a fake. Do some research and find out what specific items sell for before you mistakenly spend your money on phony goods.