Expert: Fabio Anderle - 6/18/2008

Question
I recently won a green and white basketball signed by the entire 2007/2008 Celtic's team.  I've seen prices in auctions as high as $2,800 prior to winnning the championship. - What's would be a fair market value now?

Answer
Hi Jay,

the day after the Celtics won the Finals is a little early to tell what would be fair market for an autographed basketball.
On the top of that, sports memorabilia acquire a significant value if the collector is a fan of the team: then he could end up paying a lot more than the item's value.
Another important aspect on your basketball's evaluation is its certificate of authenticity. Collectors put little value on autographed memorabilia that is sold without a certificate of authenticity. Since many companies have developed systems to prove authenticity of autographed memorabilia, and collectors generally seek out dealers that offer an authenticity guarantee, I suggest you contact one or more of those companies and probe them to see how much they could evaluate your basketball, and eventually what they could do to certificate your it.
I hope this helps



Fabio