When we were kids, we were collecting cards of our favourite soccer players and teams or of any other famous athlete in order to make a large collection or exchange them with our friends. Collecting and investing in sports memorabilia is becoming trendy among investors who acknowledge it as a new alternative investment asset. Investors know that sports memorabilia don’t lose value so easy as other more traditional assets and they are ideal for portfolio diversification. In this article, we will explore the vast world of sports memorabilia.
In today’s sports memorabilia market, price appreciation is a reality that can’t be ignored, particularly for products priced at $1,000 or more, market participants say. Just as stocks, bonds and other properties have grown in value since the last recession ended in 2009, so have memorabilia from sports. According to a Washington Post Journal report published on December 2019 “numerous factors explain the price run-up for sports memorabilia over the past decade, experts say, including the wealth of baby boomers, the entrance of millennials into the market and growing interest from foreigners. Demand for cards and game-used items, such as balls and jerseys, is particularly intense. Of all the sports, the market is generally strongest for baseball items.”
Market analysts suggest that the price appreciation is destined to continue as long as the economy is getting stronger. They add however that there are no guarantees as with any type of investment. Overpriced items or even fake ones are waiting for careless buyers to make sellers happy. Investors who want to be a part of the sports memorabilia market should conduct thorough research in order to find exactly what they are looking for and always reasonably priced.
Experts are stressing that baby boomers are leading the market’s rise. Anita Heriot, chief executive of Pall Mall Art Advisors, which assists clients with buying and selling all kinds of memorabilia, including sports items told WSJ reporters that “baby boomers are the foundation of the market because of the wealth they’ve amassed as a group during their careers. They have huge buying power and nostalgia for sports memorabilia, such as baseball cards and jerseys of their favourite players. Many millennials and members of Generation Z with the money to start collections, especially men, are turning to sports memorabilia because they’re more familiar with sports than they are with art. That makes it more digestible as a passion and hobby.”
Whether you are a fan of sports or not, sports memorabilia is a market on the rise which could hide many profit opportunities. All you have to do is conduct your own research or find trusted advisors and market experts that can guide you, thus avoiding any wrong moves.