by Riley Reisner, Cronkite News
February 12, 2026
PHOENIX – On a busy auction night, a collector can watch an item’s price jump in seconds as bids come in from across the country, sometimes from people who have been waiting years for a specific jersey, bat or card to surface again.
That urgency has only intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Michael Russek, director of operations and owner of Scottsdale-based Grey Flannel Auctions.
“We’ve seen a tremendous change in the market,” Russek said. “As far as the amount of people interested in collectibles and the actual price that the collectibles are selling for, the shift has been astronomical.”
Russek said Grey Flannel has seen “record prices now top themselves for the last three years.”
Industry forecasts indicate that demand will continue to rise. A report distributed by PR Newswire cited Market Decipher research estimating the sports memorabilia market could reach $227.2 billion by 2032, up from $26.1 billion, and growing at a 21.8% annual rate.
For sellers, the decision of where to sell often comes down to exposure and trust. That’s where auction houses say they offer something a private sale can’t.
“As an auction house, we provide a platform where we can showcase a certain aspect of the memorabilia market to a broad range of people,” Russek said. Grey Flannel, a family-run company founded in 1989, says it has built its reputation around game-used material and long-term bidder relationships.
Russek said the “difficulty” with private sales is finding the right buyer at the right time, especially when an item is niche — whether it’s “vintage Yankees” gear or “ultra modern basketball.” In an auction, he said, urgency becomes part of the value: “If you don’t buy it now, you might never get the chance again.”
Behind the scenes, that auction-night drama starts weeks, sometimes months earlier. Russek said higher-end items typically arrive with their own letters of authenticity and then go through additional review.
“If we’re talking about the higher-end items, they all come with their own letters of authenticity,” he said. Depending on the category, Grey Flannel may involve multiple authenticators and specialists, for example, third-party grading and authentication through companies such as PSA and James Spence Authentication — along with experts who focus on specific items, like game-used bats or jerseys.
“The higher the grade, the more experts that agree, the more bidder confidence you have in a piece’s value,” Russek said.
That confidence matters on the buyer side, too. Jason Grenberg, a collector who described himself as more of a middle-price buyer than a “headline” spender, said he relies on auction houses because they do the verification work before an item ever hits the catalog.
“The biggest thing that gives me confidence is knowing the item has been authenticated and vetted before it even goes up for bidding,” Grenberg said. “Auction houses do a lot of the research and verification themselves, so I don’t have to rely on a seller’s word.”
Darren Russek, Grey Flannel’s auction manager, said his job starts at the front door of that process.
“I handle most of our inbound leads, filter through them, see what is up our alley and what’s not up our alley,” he said. After that, he follows up with potential consignors to try to secure items. Once bidding begins, he helps answer buyer questions if the details in a listing need clarification.
In Darren Russek’s view, the competition for quality memorabilia is intense. “Very competitive across all frontiers,” he said.
Michael Russek put that competition in industry terms, pointing to bigger auction companies with broader categories. He cited Heritage Auctions as a major competitor with multiple divisions and large staffing — one reason smaller, specialized auction houses emphasize relationships and niche expertise. (Heritage has publicly boasted having more than 600 employees in company press materials).
“Our bread and butter is game-use jerseys,” Michael Russek said, adding that long-term relationships and “market-fresh material” help keep bidders returning. He also said high-profile items can draw wider attention, and when the platform gets attention, “high tide floats all boats.”
Even with all that, auction houses say value still comes down to knowing what buyers actually want.
“The short answer is really knowing your customers,” Michael Russek said. “And what they’re looking for and what they are willing to value a piece at.”
Grenberg said he tries not to let competition override that kind of discipline. “Before I bid, I do my homework,” he said. “I look at previous auction comps, research what similar items have sold for, and consider how rare it is. That helps me set a realistic ceiling so I don’t get swept up in bidding wars and overpay.”
And while outsiders may assume auctions are only about massive purchases, Grenberg said the experience can be more strategic than flashy.
“A lot of folks think auctions are all about big money and crazy prices,” he said. “But that’s not the whole story. There are still great deals to be found, and being prepared … is what separates smart buyers from people who overpay because they get swept up in the moment.”
For Michael Russek, a common joke about the business still lingers.
“The running joke is that we sell used clothing on the internet,” he said, but he believes the market is changing in ways that make the process and the credibility even more central.
“The truth is that some of this high-end material is becoming an asset-class type of investment for not just people,” he said, “but actual firms.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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