The Giants made quick work of the Atlanta Falcons yesterday. To celebrate, we thought we would share a few of the cool Giants items available through Keepio. Now that their season is still going, it may not hurt to pick up another shirt or hat or hey, why not even a yard gnome?
As the improbable Broncos continue their success, we thought we’d share some of the cool Broncos memorabilia you can find on Keepio.
We’ve been scouring through your posts looking for some really cool vintage items and thought we’d share a few of our favorites with you. What are some of your favorites from the site?
John Snider's 2009 Makers Mark Keeneland collection bottle
Here at Keepio, we’ve come to recognize John Snider’s name as being synonymous with posting great items. Among our favorites of his are the commemorative Makers Mark bottles in his collection.
What makes his bottles extra special is that the majority of them were originally purchased to support the charitable partnership between Makers Mark, the University of Kentucky and Keeneland racing facility. Continue reading
This guy's movie and game collection is ready to take over the room.
Ask any collector what his or her biggest problem is with managing a collection and one of the top three answers you’ll get is lack of space. As you add to your collection, the ability to display every piece you own gets more and more difficult. But on Keepio, you’ve got an unlimited amount of space to display your stuff. Continue reading
Leif Ashby's Domo-Kun Mug on Keepio
Yesterday, I wrote about how great it is to find people with common interests on Keepio. People you can share your collections with. Today, I want to talk about one of the reasons that it can be so awesome to make those connections: Discussion.
Say you meet someone who loves to collect coffee mugs just as much as you do. Now, there are a billion coffee mugs out there, but if you ask me, there are only a select few reeeaaalllyyyy worth collecting. Once you join the coffee muggerlovers group, you’ll find other folks who share your love of a great mug. You’ll probably also find a couple examples of mugs you’ve never seen, but absolutely have to have. Continue reading
One of the hottest collectibles of 2011: Back to the Future Hot Wheels
Action figures. Sports memorabilia. Baseball cards. Cartoon art. Heck, even Makers Mark bottles. What do all of these things have in common? People collect them. And those who do, do so with great passion. They’ll tell you that it’s not always easy to find someone with the same passion. Until now, finding someone who enjoyed and appreciated your collection was a hit or miss prospect involving online forums or a chance meeting.
The problem is that forums can be intimidating to the uninitiated. And chance meetings, well, who can bank on that. So more often than not, avid collectors of niche items end up with shelves of really cool stuff and nobody to share it with.
Keepio solves all of these problems and more. For starters, simply displaying your items on your profile opens up the possibility of discussion with thousands of fellow Keepio users. But this past year, we’ve launched features that have brought us closer to the world of collectors. For example, we now offer a plugin for forum managers that elevates the user experience and allows for easier sharing of comments, pictures and the exchange of items within the member base. Also, we’ve integrated the ability to share our group dynamic across Facebook, combining our aesthetic and niche appeal with the massive reach of Facebook – which creates more opportunities for your group to be discovered, joined and enjoyed by others.
As we move toward 2012, we’ll be continuing to deepen our relationship with collectors of all interests. In the meantime, why not add some of your most treasured items to your Keepio profile and take another look around to find the people who are already onboard and share your love of the same memorabilia and collectibles.
One of the many items available at this year's Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Auction
This past Saturday, the eighth annual Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory auction featured some pretty amazing memorabilia. There were baseballs signed by Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, a pair of Mike Schmidt’s Nike turf shoes, autographed bats, vintage caps and jerseys.
The biggest ticket item was a program from the 1903 World Series, which was the first modern playing of the Series. The teams playing for the title that year were the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates. There are a handful of programs still around from the Boston games, but one two from the Pittsburgh home stand – and the one sold during this auction was from Pittsburgh.
The auction materials listed the price of the program at $50,000-100,000. It eventually sold to an anonymous bidder on the phone for $210,000. As Jeremy Kraft, director of acquisitions and authentication for Hunt Auctions, said, “This was basically the only opportunity to acquire this item.”
Also, in attendance that night was none other than Johnny Bench and the proceeds from the sale of two of his jerseys benefitted the Johnny Bench Scholarship Fund.
This seems like a great event, and an even better off-season baseball opportunity to enjoy everything that’s truly special about the game. Maybe we’ll see you there next year.
Autographed Ben Roethlisberger helmet
Most of us get into collecting the things we do because it starts out as a fun hobby. But it doesn’t take long before a hobby turns into a serious pastime and then maybe even a small business.
No matter what level of interest you have in your collection, there are a few things that are always important to keep in mind. But the biggest of all of them is that you must educate yourself about your memorabilia and some of the terms used by other collectors.
What’s Memorabilia and what’s a collectible?
Often, people will use these terms as if they are the same, but they’re not. For sports memorabilia and collectibles, cards, photos, jerseys, or other sports equipment that has been signed by an athlete are considered memorabilia once the signature has been authenticated by a reputable dealer. Sports items that are unsigned or that have been signed, but not authenticated, are considered to be collectibles.
Limited Edition vs. Limited Production
Do you know the difference? Limited edition means that an item is one of a kind, or at least one of very few. Limited production means that an item was only made for a short period of time, though as many of them as possible were made during that time. Why does it matter? A one of a kind item is obviously more rare than an item that was mass produced, and that absolutely affects value.
Certificate of Authenticity
We all know what a certificate of authenticity is, but I’ve included it here in this list simply to say that just because a dealer shows you a certificate of authenticity doesn’t mean that it’s legit. A good dealer will encourage you to take your time with a purchase. He or she will understand your desire to research an item if you’re not quite sure. A dealer who may not be trustworthy will push you to spend your money right then. But beware, because if you do, you may not be getting what you paid for, and you may never be able to resell it for the same price.
We’ll keep adding tips for getting the most out of your sports memorabilia and collectibles. We’ll also be looking more closely at items from different teams. So if you have any favorite items of your own that you’re especially proud of, feel free to share them on your profile.
Future set of Storage Wars?
Back in the summer, we started to look at the reasons why people collect the things that they do. It used to be out of necessity, but as people advance beyond simply hunting and gathering tactics for survival, it has become more of a hobby or pastime.
This USA Today article takes that discussion further to include the popularity of reality shows like Storage Wars, Antiques Roadshow and others. There’s no doubt that these shows have made auctions, collectibles, and even the pawn industry cool again – well, in the case of the pawn industry, for the first time maybe.
But it’s not just pawn stores that are poised to take advantage of this resurgence of interest in all things old. Take a look at some of these growth statistics from eBay from the 3rd quarter of 2011:
As new users join the thousands of folks already sharing, buying, selling, trading, and collecting on Keepio, we’re also in a great spot to take advantage of this trend as well. While eBay and Craigslist provide a known marketplace for all of these items, more and more people are discovering the extra benefits of Keepio such as trust, our groups and discussions. In fact, new groups are being added every day based on collectibles and memorabilia, and if you don’t see the group you’re looking for – you can start it with one click!
