I am on a kick lately selling a bunch of stuff that I have laying around in my basement. So far it has been a pretty successful exercise. Now I am getting down to a bunch of stuff that I either inherited or received a long time ago before things really had to be vetted and authenticated by one of the big services if you wanted to turn around and be sure you were selling a legit item. I don't honestly have that much stuff but it appears to be pretty expensive to get this stuff authenticated and I need to determine if it is worth it to get authenticated to turn around and sell it for a profit. Has anyone gone through this process before and if so, who do you recommend using. I think PSA/DNA is the leader in the industry and there is also Beckett and another place called James Spence Authentication. Very confident my Ted Williams team signed balls are legit. I have an early Roger Maris team signed ball from before he was with the Yankees that I'm confident is legit. These items are more expensive because there are multiple names on them and they charge you for it. I also have a Michael Jordan signed Bulls Hat that has never been worn and kept in the dark for over 20 years. I got it from my ex mother in law but I know it was purchased at a card store in the mall back in the day. It looks totally legit based on signatures I have seen but I just have to know the truth and if it is real I would like to turn around and sell it for some decent money if I can. Any light anyone could shed on this would be really helpful. I've probably asked years back but now I am ready to liquidate. Also I am open to selling this stuff to anyone here that might be interested.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I went to a sports card store today after having a back and forth over e-mail with the owner. He was able to take a few pics of some of my items and authenticate most of them that way with an expert. The good news is I was able to sell a number of my items and walked out of there with $350 cash. The bad news is that he told me that they were 99% sure the Jordan hat was fake and the Ted Williams balls appeared to be signed by someone in the clubhouse and not Williams himself. I didn't really ask how they knew that but I wasn't totally surprised. He said the balls were real and likely most of the other signatures were real but not Teddy Ballgame. I wasn't out a thing as the balls my grandfather had found at a garage sale decades ago and gave them to me. Another one he gave me had a Roger Maris signature on a team signed ball and that is the one I got over $200 for. Thankful I took a much closer look at the ball a few years back and did a bit of detective work to figure out it was from the late 60s when Maris played for the Kansas City A's. I never would have recognized his signature. The Jordan hat was a gift back in the mid-90s from my ex mother in law so I was really out nothing there, other than all the effort I had spent over the last 25 years trying to keep the hat nice and out of the sunlight. Overall I am glad I didn't hold onto these things any longer and expect some kind of nice payday from them. I didn't toss them out yet on the off chance these guys were wrong but at this point they seem worthless. The certificate of authenticity on the Jordan hat was signed by a guy that I am attempting to connect with on LinkedIn. He is still around the Chicago area as a photographer so I would like to get his take on the Jordan hat and whether it is fake or not. Guy at the store said it if was real it could be worth $1500 so I am willing to do a little bit more digging with minimal effort.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I often wonder what my most prized sports thing is worth.

I have a Super Bowl XX football (Literally the ball they used in the game. Not a game ball, but a ball that was what they used. You know, with the Super Bowl XX logo) signed by about 35 of the 53 man 1985 Bears.

All of the starters on the team except for two. Jim McMahon and Willie Gault. So the entire defense.

Me and my Dad used to go around to get autographs. Back in the day these guys would appear at grocery stores and car dealerships. Those businesses would pay for them to come. No charge to those who waited in line. Not that way today. Now it's all at conventions and you have to pay 50 bucks at least. Depending on the status of the player.

All of these autographs on this ball, we never paid a dime to have any of them sign it.

My best memory was getting Walter Payton's autograph. I remember him tickling me in my stomach before he signed it.

I don't want to sell it. I want to keep it and pass it and pass it on to my nephews. I'm not having kids. Watch, once they get it, they'll sell it. But that's fine.

Just curious what I could get.

Not sure, but if you admit to being a pussy I will give you $200.

I have a game used SB XX ball given to me by Gary Fencik.

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@audioidkid

I have a few Jordan rookie cards I have thought about getting graded but not sure. I’ve heard from some that grading actually makes it less desirable. Not necessarily worth less but a smaller market makes things harder to sell. I guess the theory is that there is a larger demand and more bidding for ungraded items and pricing can actually go over a graded card value.
I really have no fucking idea.

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Mulli is Howard Stern in his prime compared to Haugh.

I’m just glad I didn’t pay big money to get the stuff authenticated through a service. I was like $150 for each ball and the same for the hat. I could have been out $500 for nothing.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

2 out of 3,379 users have Superbowl XX balls... Multiply that rate against the Chicagoland population and that is about 5,623 people that have a ball that was used in Superbowl XX.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas