One interesting thing about selling memorabilia is that I am constantly communicating with people who have different reasons for building a collection. Some of them collect items to resell them immediately, some of them collect items to hold on to them until the price raises, and some buy them simply to enjoy them.
While none of these uses is right, and none is wrong, there are different benefits, responsibilities, and uses for each.

I'd like to take a little time to discuss these different methods of collecting for those of you who are thinking about getting into the collector's market. For starters, regardless of which method you prefer, it is essential to do a little bit of research regarding authenticity. For more information on that, take a look at my other guides, search google, or search more guides written on ebay. That is the first step, and it is without a doubt the most important. It can be compared to researching before buying a pet to avoid complications which arise once it calls your home its own.

Be patient with this process, and once you are confident in your knowledge decide on your purpose. If you want to collect items and resell them immediately, it would be a good idea to get an idea of what is hot at specific times of the year or month. For example, summer is a time when the NHL is in the off-season. This means that interest in the sport will go down, and so, too, will the asking price of many products. With that in mind, someone might keep an eye on the various transactions taking place in the NHL and try to predict which players or teams will perform better than they did the previous year. It's just like the stock market, and for those who predict correctly, the price of their items will increase significantly.

The same goes for treating memorabilia as an investment, only on a larger scale. Instead of looking at the upcoming season or next couple of games, try to spot a few players while they are still blooming. In fact, this works all around the board; for hockey, basketball, soccer, football, baseball, and even acting. It's at this time that the price of their autograph will be the lowest, and if they live up to the hype then you will have their items as the price of them skyrockets. Just get their early, and like property value, it can only go up from there (for the most part).

One of the major differences separating short term reselling and investing is that a long term collector can start building collections which complement each other. For example, every time a limited edition comes out for a certain player, try getting your hands on the same number consistently for each product. Doing this will greatly increase the value of that collection. For example, a limited edition jersey, photo, and puck all with the limited edition number 10 in the series can be sold for a great amount. Many people will also try to get their hands on one of each item made for a certain player throughout an entire season. This way, at the end of that season the collection can be sold as the "2008 Season Collection" for example.

Lastly there is collecting for the sake of enjoying an item. Think of this as the item's final destination, and at the heart of this collector is his means of display. Dedicate, for example, an entire wall to one team or player, or one area of a collection to sticks, one to pucks, one to jerseys, etc. Compare this to designing a house and trying to obey the laws of Feng Shui. It's a great feeling to design a collection to one's heart's content, and many people consider their collection the crown jewel of their assets. In my days I have seen some extremely impressive collections, and every time I visit a collector's house or office I can never leave without receiving a tour of the memorabilia. It's simply a stunning thing to see a collection which has been going on for so many years, and this is a hobby that can go on forever. It may seem like everyone else has a much bigger start, but every collection starts somewhere, and in no time you can be that person giving the tours to all of your envious friends, family members, or clients.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to message me with any comments, questions, or adjustments you would like to see addressed.