HOW YOU CAN MAKE BIG MONEY IN SPORTS MEMORABILIA

The popularity of sports trading cards and memorabilia has never

been greater than it is today.  Collection of such items is not

limited to youngsters, either.  Adults have discovered trading

cards as a lucrative investment field.  Prestigious auction houses

in New York dedicate entire sales to antique baseball cards.

Autographs, bats and balls, team clothing, ticket stubs and game

programs are bought and sold by sports fans worldwide.  You can

cash in on the growing interest in sports collectibles by opening

your own sports memorabilia shop or mail order operation.

You can choose to open a retail facility in your city, or you may

decide to operate a mail order business specializing in sports

keepsakes.  Both can be established for a small investment and run

for minimal costs.  If you choose to open a retail outlet, you will

need an adequate supply of stock to draw customers into your store.

If your stock is slow in the beginning, offer to sell merchandise

on consignment.  You will display a customer's item in your

showcase, handle the sale and pocket a pre-arranged percentage of

the amount.  The advantages of a mail order operation are many.

You can begin as a trading club with a monthly or bi-monthly

newsletter, featuring the items other members have for sale or

trade.  Once you have personally gathered a large number of items

to serve as a stock supply for your business, you can branch out

and begin a retail outlet.

Establishing a retail outlet can be relatively simple.  Find a

small, inexpensive location in a neighborhood strip mall.  You

don't need a lot of interior amenities either.  Several glass

showcases can serve as your sales counter and display area.  Place

some shelves on the wall behind your counter to display larger

items.  Framed pictures or plaques featuring autographed items that

you have for sale can be hung on the walls around the room.  Other

counters or table space can feature collecting supplies such as

binders, card cases, storage boxes, pages for holding cards, etc.

Sports posters can fill up any bare spots on your wall.

Contact a local magazine distributor and arrange to have a wide

assortment of sports magazines and newspapers for sale in your

shop.  Include magazines featuring sports news as well as those

that pertain to collecting trading cards and keepsakes.  The

magazine distributor will also be able to put you in contact with

the publishers of pricing guides for sports memorabilia.  These

price books will sell especially well, because they are updated on

an annual basis and will create repeat purchases by customers.

If your city has a minor or major league team, check with the front office

about having one or more players visit your store for

special autograph sessions.  Fans can come and have the players

autograph their cards, programs, etc., or they can purchase some of these

items to be autographed from you at a special discounted

price.  While folks are in the store to get their autographs, they

will have the opportunity to browse through your stock, make some

purchases, and get to know you better.  While many teams charge for these

special appearances by players, you should be able to recoup your expenses

through the added sales the event will generate.  Also, having an

opportunity to become acquainted with your customers and their likes and

dislikes will serve you well further down the road.

Getting employees to work in your shop will not be difficult.

Teenagers are wild about sports collectibles and would be willing

to work for minimum wage.  Of course, you will want to have at

least one adult on duty at all times to handle any problems that

might arise.  This type of job is also a great second job for many

adults.  Many collectors would enjoy part-time work of this sort

simply because it will pay for time spent with their hobby.  Don't

worry about getting help.  You'll be swamped with folks applying

for work in your store.

As mentioned above, you will want to serve as a consignment shop

for folks looking to sell valuable items from their own

collections.  Have a sales contract written up that specifies that

you are taking the described merchandise on consignment for 60

days, ad that the seller will receive X amount for the sale of the

item.  Of that sale price, you will subtract 25 percent for

negotiating the sale.  If the item does not sell within the

allotted time, the seller will have the option of removing it from

your store or lowering the asking price.  You should be able to

greatly increase your available offers and make a good profit from

consignment sales.

Place an advertisement in your city newspaper or local shoppers'

guide informing readers of your location and that you take

merchandise on consignment.  Your ad might look something like

this:

===============================================

Sports World

Trading Cards and Sports Memorabilia

We buy and sell all kinds of sports keepsakes:

* trading cards

* autographs

* balls

* uniforms

* Baseball * Football

* Basketball * Hockey

* Golf * Tennis

Complete Sports Newsstand--Magazines, Books

Consignments Welcome

3227 N. Hamilton Ave., next to the county courthouse

657-6545

===============================================

Keep your ad simple.  Don't overload it by telling everything about

your store.  Simply include enough to let the reader know that you

have a shop that offers materials in which he will be interested.

Also, remember that your ad should be simple enough to attract

teenagers as well as adults.  Younger collectors will see your ad

and prompt their parents to take them to your store.  Allow the

reader to come by and check out your offers for himself.  Once he

gets to the store, then you can determine where his interests lie

and what items in your stock will appeal to his desires.  Your ad

is designed to capture interest--not close the sale.

If you choose not to start out from a retail facility, but opt

instead to sell through the mail, there are a few things to keep in

mind.  Decide first how you will market collectibles by mail--will

you sell exclusively from  your own collection, or will you serve

as a clearing house to bring buyer and seller together by mail?  If

you plan to sell only your own materials, you will need to develop

a catalog listing of what you're offering.  Divide it by sport and

item type.  List all the trading cards, autographs and other

collectibles under separate headings.  Briefly describe each item.

You may want to develop a code for describing the condition of the

materials to include the description:  M=Mint Condition;

E=Excellent; VG=Very Good; G=Good; F=Fair.  Cards can be listed by

player name, year of issue, company issuing the card and condition

with the price out to the side.  If a card also carries a player's

autograph,  include that information as well.  A typical

description might read:

     Ruben Sierra, 1991, Topps, M..................$12.00

     Ruben Sierra, 1991, Topps, E, w/autograph.....$18.00

If you don't have a large enough collection of your own, start a

trading card and collectibles newsletter.  While you will want to

include two or three short columns describing recent trends in

collecting sports items, price trends or forthcoming collectors

items soon to be made available, the main feature of your

newsletter will be the trader's section.  Much like a shoppers'

tabloid, your newsletter will include classified ads from folks

selling their own items or seeking others who are selling items

they want to buy.  You charge a small price per word, line or ad to

include the listing in your newsletter.  Readers will contact each

other directly.  You will make your profit from subscriptions, your

personal sales of memorabilia offered in the newsletter, and the

sale of classified advertising and any display ads that readers may

wish to place in your newsletter.

You can establish a reader base by advertising on local bulletin

boars, in school newspapers, or a small notice placed in the

classified section of national sports or trading card magazines.

Your ad might read:

Free issue "Sports Memorabilia

Newsletter."  Brings buyers and

sellers together.  Latest news.  SASE

to:  Collectors, Box 11000, Anytown,

USA 10001

Along with the first free issue of your newsletter, include a

subscription coupon and instructions on how to place a classified

ad.  You will also want to leave a stack at each of the retail

trading card outlets, at the neighborhood newsstand, and in

convenience stores that sell trading cards.  The ads in the first

issue can be placed free of charge by friends and acquaintances

with material to sell.  Offer to let a retail memorabilia store

place a display ad in the first issue for free.  The response to

their ad will encourage them to buy an ad in a future issue.  The

important thing is to fill up your first issue, making it look

attractive and professional.

Your newsletter can be easily typed up on your personal computer.

Many software packages are available with templates (sample

layouts) of newsletters of two to eight pages.  Simply choose a

format you like and type your information into the existing

columns.  You can even plug in your own graphics for a professional

touch.  If you don't have access to a laser printer, visit a local

print shop and have your newsletter printed out on a laser.  The

quality will be excellent and will only cost around $2 per page

printed.

Published bi-monthly in a 4-page format, you can have 1,000 copies

of your newsletter printed up for about $80.  Charge $15 per

classified ad or $75 for a one-third column display ad.  If you

feature 2 pages of classified ads, 3 columns wide with 10 ads per

column, you'll have space for 90 ads bringing in $900.  Add to this

$150 income from two display ads placed elsewhere in the

newsletter, and you have generated a total of $1,050.  Plan to

leave 200 copies at various locations in town and mail the

remainder to prospective subscribers.  The first issue will be

mailed to prospects in the self-addressed, stamped envelope they

provided in reply to your ad.  However, subsequent issues will be

mailed at your expense through paid subscriptions.  Mailing 800

copies via Third Class would cost $160.  Your gross profit per

issue will be approximately $810.  This doesn't include any sales

generated by your own advertising.

Selling sports memorabilia can be highly profitable.  A trading

card purchased for pennies can bring profits thousands of times the

original cost.  More than ever before, youngsters and adults alike

are collecting sports keepsakes.  You can grab a share of this

lucrative market and parley your position into a profitable part-

or full-time income.  The decision is yours.  Step into the

batter's box and take a swing at success, knocking one out of the

park!  Good Luck!

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