People are looking for authenticity when it comes to autographs and other celebrity collectibles and memorabilia. Regardless of the side of the game you are on, buyer or seller, you need to have a good working knowledge of the factors that contribute to the valuation of autographs and other celebrity items.

If you are a celebrity memorabilia investor, you may be keeping the items for the future to pass on to children or grandchildren. Whether this is the case or you want to sell them years down the road you will want to be sure that you are buying and accumulating quality authentic autographs.

For many people their love for autograph collecting began at an early age when they weren't even aware of the value of an item. Sometimes these people grow up to be some of the most prolific and sought after collectors and dealers in the industry because they have been involved for so long that they have learned a vast amount about the industry throughout their entire life.

One of the hardest things to do in the autograph collection industry is finding the time to meet the celebrities, TV personalities, and politicians who may or may not be running for office. Of course one of the most important factors that is used in the valuation of an autograph is that of supply and demand. This should be no surprise since this is one of the biggest factors in the valuation of anything. An item that is in short supply will bring more money that something that is not if other factors are equal. Sometimes even if the document is in poor condition it can still be valuable just because of the authenticity and rarity of signatures that are on it.

The autograph is also important as it needs to be legible and readable so that one does not need to imagine that it is truly the name that they think it is but that it truly is what it is supposed to be. It cannot be blurry or damaged by stains or it will be greatly reduced in value. With autograph valuations the signature itself is the single most important factor and they should be done in ink as well. Autographs done in pencil are not worth much, the earlier documents were done in pen and ink and the ones that are valuable today are ball point.

Ink has and always will be the medium of choice when it comes to autograph collecting because it is durable and long lasting and not subject to easy forgery as those signatures done in pencil. In addition, pencil writing tends to fade and blur with age so you can not keep it for long periods of time which is not beneficial in long term autograph collecting.