The cllct team is constantly getting texts, emails and DMs asking for help valuing, storing and selling collectibles. In our cllct mailbag, we'll be answering questions from readers — not only to help them, but also to provide a resource for the broader community.
Today's mailbag question comes from Eric Goodman, who sent a DM on Twitter asking about the value of two signed Sports Illustrated magazines. One was Michael Jordan's first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1983 and the other was his first appearance as an NBA player in December 1984 ("A Star is Born").
Both magazines are wonderful collector's items, but it's the addition of Michael Jordan's signature on each which really piques my interest.
Some more information from Goodman: His mother got them signed for him in the early 1980s at the Berto Center in Deerfield, Illinois, where both she and the Bulls worked out. Both magazines have remained in a Ziploc bag in a milk crate ever since. Neither have ever been authenticated.
There are three questions to be answered when looking at pieces like these: Condition, variant and authenticity.
Condition: Based on the photos, the magazines look to be in middling condition. To maximize value at auction, a typical collector should not only send the magazines in for grading at CGC, but also consider having them pressed beforehand.
We'd recommend typically sending to someone such as CGC Sports Illustrated on Twitter, who presses magazines for collectors before sending in for authentication. This can remove "waves" and other imperfections in the magazine that would otherwise harm the grade.
Though, for autographed copies, that's likely a different story. It doesn't seem a necessity to have a condition grade assigned by CGC as the autograph is more important.
One of the larger sales of an autographed magazine — an MJ-signed "A Star is Born" issue — sold at Heritage for $8,700 in February 2024 at Heritage. Beckett graded this autograph a 10 (no condition grade for the magazine).
Variant: With respect to variant, the difference between a subscription copy (mailed directly to the magazine subscriber) and a newsstand copy (about ten times rarer) can represent a significant difference in price. In this case, both are subscription issues, as indicated by the mailing labels present on the covers.
Authenticity: However, the dominant factor in this case is going to be the authenticity of the autographs. The collector is going to want to have this reviewed by a third-party authenticator such as JSA or Beckett to provide a letter of authenticity as a piece of supplementary documentation, or, in the case of Beckett, a full encapsulation.
An ungraded copy of the 1983 cover, signed by both Jordan and Sam Perkins, sold for $4,560 at Heritage. Its condition appears to be similar if slightly-better than this collector's example. However, the mixing of the two signatures make this a less desirable copy from an autograph standpoint.
Here's where things get interesting: In the lot description for the Jordan UNC cover mentioned above, Heritage writes: "We have sold the cover only signed, but never the complete issue."
It's also important to note that this sale came before the rise in prices of high-dollar magazines, namely the watershed $126,000 sale of Jordan's "A Star is Born" Sports Illustrated (CGC 9.8) in August 2023.
A private sale of a copy also signed by Jordan, was sold for around $7,000 at the 2023 National, sources told cllct.
If we're looking at the recent comp of the Beckett 10 "A Star is Born" issue and the scarce examples of comparable sales of signed UNC copies, this collector should be able to get somewhere in the ballpark of $20,000.
TLDR Advice:
Get your copies slabbed and authenticated by Beckett with an auto grade (or just an authenticity opinion). I think the slab is the way to go in this market as collectors will be able to display it next to their other CGC-slabbed non-autographed magazines. Know your audience.
Find the right auction house. Heritage has proven itself the leader in this regard. Venue matters a ton and can be the difference between thousands of dollars.
This collector is looking at a combined $20,000 in my estimation, though it's always worth reminding oneself when dealing with exceedingly rare pieces like these: You can't trust comps the same way one would for a highly liquid card.
The low sales-frequency and extremely limited appearance in public auction has the chance to spark a bidding war between two collectors who decide this represents a "buy or never see again" opportunity.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct. You can follow him on X at @Will__Stern.