How do I "hunt" for memorabilia?

[TyrusRCobb]

I'm very new to collecting and I'm continuously blown away by the amazing items posted here. However, I'm a public school teacher in a state that does not pay teachers very well. As such, many items are and always will be out of my league. Still, I can't help but think that there are people in my area with great stuff tucked away. Columbia, SC is home to Capital City stadium which has hosted some form of organized baseball since it was completed in 1927. Unfortunately, the stadium was sold this year and will be demolished so that Wal-Mart can build yet another store. How should I go about searching for tucked away memorabilia? Newspaper ads? Craigslist? Clearly I'm clueless and would love to hear the advice of the forum's collected wisdom. Thanks guys.

[rjackson44]

Garage sales ,estate sales..be carefull with graiglist very carefull

[jgmp123]

best advice I can give is to check out local sales...It's tough and sometimes luck just needs to be on your side. In the autograph department, educate yourself because there is a WHOLE lot of crap out there.

eBay and the B/S/T forum are also great places. Don't be afraid to barter....

[TyrusRCobb]

Originally Posted by jgmp123

best advice I can give is to check out local sales...It's tough and sometimes luck just needs to be on your side. In the autograph department, educate yourself because there is a WHOLE lot of crap out there.

eBay and the B/S/T forum are also great places. Don't be afraid to barter....

Thanks for the advice. About the only thing I could barter with would be my charm as good looks have never been my strong suit.

[steve B]

Most of the expensive stuff will be really tough to find unless you get lucky. Even if you go to lots of estate sales.

But there's loads of cool inexpensive stuff out there.
Stadium postcards can sometimes be found in antique shops in the random postcard box -usually a dollar or two each.

Don't forget antique shows and auctions and other collectible shows.
I bought a cubs logo coffee cup that's restauraunt china, maybe from the team? It was only $2 at a bottle show from a seller who specialized in restauraunt china.
A box of ephemera at a local auction had a stack of maybe 10 blotters with the 1939 Tufts football schedule on them.
I've bought some nice covers at stamp shows, both the ones with Cachets from events like world series games and ones sent from minor league teams.

Look long enough and a few better things will turn up. Knowing what you're looking at and being willing to take a small chance will help, and that will come with experience.
The same local auction that had the ephemera with the Tufts schedules had a very poorly presented early 40's Braves warmup jacket. It's in bad condition, but a decent deal at $100.
And a batch of stereoviews at a photo show included a couple views of a non-baseball event held in Boston. But it was obviously held in one of the baseball parks. So a couple nice early images of a baseball park for I think $2 each.

None of those things are a particularly big deal, but they're all pretty interesting.
Collect stuff in general first, then when you find what you want to specialize in you'll have a good stack of things to trade or sell.

Steve B

[TyrusRCobb]

Originally Posted by steve B

Most of the expensive stuff will be really tough to find unless you get lucky. Even if you go to lots of estate sales.

But there's loads of cool inexpensive stuff out there.
Stadium postcards can sometimes be found in antique shops in the random postcard box -usually a dollar or two each.

Don't forget antique shows and auctions and other collectible shows.
I bought a cubs logo coffee cup that's restauraunt china, maybe from the team? It was only $2 at a bottle show from a seller who specialized in restauraunt china.
A box of ephemera at a local auction had a stack of maybe 10 blotters with the 1939 Tufts football schedule on them.
I've bought some nice covers at stamp shows, both the ones with Cachets from events like world series games and ones sent from minor league teams.

Look long enough and a few better things will turn up. Knowing what you're looking at and being willing to take a small chance will help, and that will come with experience.
The same local auction that had the ephemera with the Tufts schedules had a very poorly presented early 40's Braves warmup jacket. It's in bad condition, but a decent deal at $100.
And a batch of stereoviews at a photo show included a couple views of a non-baseball event held in Boston. But it was obviously held in one of the baseball parks. So a couple nice early images of a baseball park for I think $2 each.

None of those things are a particularly big deal, but they're all pretty interesting.
Collect stuff in general first, then when you find what you want to specialize in you'll have a good stack of things to trade or sell.

Steve B

Great advice, Steve. It's truly appreciated.

[clutch]

I track Craigslist and local auctions. I'm still amazed at some of the stuff people have stored away. This is not an easy task though. I check these things daily. You have to sift through ten tons of manure, but you eventually come across a diamond once in a while. When you find that diamond, jump on it as fast as you can. There are plenty of others out there doing the same thing and it's a race to the good stuff.

[drc]

I've seen interesting genuine items in antique stores. You could put an ad in the local newspaper.

[murphusa]

go to the stadium that is going to be town down and ask it you can go through every nook and cranny and see what comes up. Seats, turnstiles, signs anything you can get out of it cheeply is a terrific find

I have collected for 50 years since I was a kid. Just decide that you get up on Saturday and Sunday at 4 or 5 AM and go to sales, flea markets etc. You don't need much money, maybe $100 and look for stuff that is interesting.

Have an idea of what ypou are buying and don't go overboard.

Decide what you want to collect and have fun

[TyrusRCobb]

I want to thank all of you for your great advice. I'm a morning person any way and I'm looking forward to hitting the estate and yard sales this weekend. I'm also looking forward to researching Capital City stadium and the players that have taken that field since 1927. With that in mind, any info about the stadium and players is greatly appreciated. I'd like to thank John V. who was kind enough to tell me about 13 T210 cards featuring Columbia players. Again, thanks to all.
Adam