Sports fans know how popular it is to collect sports memorabilia, and nothing excites them more than being able to get an autographed baseball, photo or other item from their favorite player. And for collectors, both big and small, collecting autographed sporting memorabilia is exciting and often quite valuable as well. However, over the years it has become frustrating with so many fraudulent, fly-by-night scam artists claiming to sell "authentic goods," only to find out later that they are fakes.

Unfortunately, it has become too easy for some unscrupulous people to sell sports related items as authentic memorabilia. Many people are simply unaware they are being taken to the cleaners. Obviously, you want to be able to shop and purchase your memorabilia from a reputable source, such as at a sports venue, in order to feel confident that what you are buying is of high quality and authentic. Yet if the dealer or individual is not able to show proof of authenticity, then just walk away.

The first thing to be aware of is that if it seems too good to be true, then it more than likely is. If someone is selling autographed memorabilia for a price that seems way too low or the prices are much lower than other items of comparable quality, then you need to be careful. Some people are lucky enough to find an individual or private seller who is really not aware that they have a valuable piece of signed memorabilia, but that does not happen very often.

The hardest area in which to spot fakes or forgeries is if you are collecting autographed sports collectibles, as many well known sports cards have been found to be fake. Be sure to do some research to see which ones are most at risk for being forgeries and the different ways you can try to tell the difference yourself.

If at all possible, try to examine the signature along side another one by the actual player. However, because an athlete gets asked for autograph signings all of the time and signs so quickly, there are likely to be some variations in the signatures. Try to deal with graded or authenticated collectibles and autographed sporting memorabilia as a way of avoiding fakes. There are many companies that specialize in authenticating autographs and are very good a telling which are the real deal from the phony baloney.

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