I'm not an autograph person myself, but as far as an investment I would agree with the others.
As a hobbyist I say that my collection is exactly that ....... my collection, and the money aspect of it means nothing to me.
As a realist (because this stuff does cost money) I see it more as a "really cool savings account" if anything.
I honestly don't see the market for baseball cards falling off anytime soon. Worst case scenario is I hold on to a $1000 card for 5-10-20 years and then sell it off for the same amount that I paid for it originally..... no different than burying $1000 in the back yard and digging it up 5-10-20 years later ..... except that I got to enjoy it for that 5-10-20 years
But as far as getting a substantial dividend off of your investment, collectibles is probably not the way to go.