Costco Sells Sports Collectibles Signed by Superstars. Are They Worth the Price?

While almost everyone knows Costco is an excellent destination for bulk food items and budget-conscious shoppers, many people may not be aware that Costco also sells signed sports memorabilia on its website. And I was shocked at how much cheaper some items were.

I found some autographed collectibles that were discounted by thousands of dollars.

Here are five autographed collectibles I found on Costco's website that are far cheaper than the same listing on the Fanatics website, as well as some pros and cons of buying collectors' items from Costco.

Five discounted signed collectibles at Costco

I wanted to find out how much Costco members could save by buying sports memorabilia at the discount warehouse's website, and in some cases, the savings were up to $2,000. Here are five items that were significantly cheaper than the same items on the Fanatics website:

1. L.A. Lakers legends autographed basketball (Costco price $7,999): $2,000 discount compared to Fanatics website.

2. Lionel Messi autographed jersey (Costco price: $3,999): $950 discount.

3. Tom Brady autographed football helmet (Costco price: $2,199): $500 discount.

4. Derek Jeter autographed game used-baseball (Costco price $1,999): $500 discount.

5. Jack Nicklaus autographed photo (Costco price: $799): $200 discount.

Sports memorabilia collectors can clearly save money by buying some sports items on Costco rather than the Fanatics website directly. It's worth mentioning that I only compared these two websites, so it's possible you could find these items for cheaper on other collectors' websites.

Pros and cons of buying collectibles at Costco

Costco has built an excellent reputation for customer satisfaction, so collectors looking to make purchases through Costco should have confidence in the memorabilia Costco sells on its website. Here are a few pros and two cons I found when looking at collectors' items.

Pros of shopping for collectibles at Costco

• Price: Most of the collectible items I compared were cheaper at Costco than at Fanatics. However, some items could be cheaper or the same price on the Fanatics site, and I just didn't see them.

• Satisfaction guaranteed: On every collectible items page Costco had a section called "shop confidently" that said items sold on its website have a risk-free 100% satisfaction guarantee. I looked at the company's return policy and couldn't find any exceptions for collectible items.

• Authenticity: Some of the items I searched for on Costco said they were authenticated, and others didn't mention it. But the Fanatics site, which is the brand from which Costco collectibles are sold, says that it ensures all items are 100% authentic.

Cons of shopping for collectibles at Costco

• Search results: I found searching the site for specific items difficult. It was easier to start the search on Google and add "Costco" after the description to find some collectibles.

• Images: In some cases, Costco only had one image of the collectible, while the Fanatics site had two or more. For expensive collectibles, the more images you can view ahead of time, the better.

Note that I'm not an experienced sports memorabilia collector, but after a little comparison shopping, Costco appeared to have good deals on legitimate autographed collectibles. And with the company's commitment to customer satisfaction, shoppers can feel confident buying a collector's item at a lower price from Costco.

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Costco Sells Sports Collectibles Signed by Superstars. Are They Worth the Price? was originally published by The Motley Fool