What Is The Best Way To Sell Baseball Cards
There is no right or wrong way to sell baseball cards, especially if you are doing so recreationally and for fun. However, there are a few ways to sell baseball cards that will help improve your chances of not only making the sale, but doing so at your asking price.
How Do I Find Baseball Card Buyers In My Area
I’ve never done it, but some collectors will sell cards at a Pawn Shop. I recommend against this unless you’re in a desperate situation.
Collectors would be better served by visiting a local card shop if there’s one nearby. Due to the resurgence of the hobby, there are more physical card shops where you can sell your old sports cards.
for ‘baseball card shops near me’ or ‘baseball card appraisal near me’ and Google will populate local listings with reviews of any local card stores in the area.
Some of the big auction houses can be an excellent way to go for higher-end items.
Which Baseball Cards Are Worth Selling
As with any collectible item, baseball cards that are rare and in better condition tend to fetch higher prices.
If youre looking to make some money, you should focus on selling cards that are in near-mint or better condition and of a higher value.
For example, sets from the 1920s or 1930s, rookie cards of popular players, and autographed cards are all likely to be worth more than a common card from the same era.
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How Can You Determine The Value Of Your Baseball Cards
To determine the value of both modern cards and pre-war cards, you can refer to the Beckett price guide, which provides the latest pricing information for sports cards.
You can also do your own research by looking up the cards on eBay or other online marketplaces and comparing current prices to those listed in the Beckett price guide.
Additionally, grading services can help you determine the value of your cards by providing an objective assessment of their condition.
Flea And Farmer’s Markets Draw A Wide Range Of People Collecting Or Buying Gifts
Flea markets and farmer’s markets aren’t just for homemade arts and crafts, they’re also a place where you can sell baseball cards locally. For a small fee, you can set up a table or booth to display your cards for interested customers. Maybe pick up some kettle corn, too. That’s always worth it.
FleaMarketMalls.com manages a database of flea markets and swap meets across the country, along with contact information so you can get more info.
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Sell Your Vintage Sports Cards For Cash
However, selling your vintage baseball, football, basketball or hockey cards through those who specialize in buying is one way to go and there are several options to do that online.
You can reach our partners at BaseballCardBuyer.com Inc., through the form directly below. Please fill out the form completely and describe what you have and someone will respond.
IMPORTANT: Generally, they are interested in purchasingonly quality vintage cards although high value modern era cards will be considered. Please describe what you have as thoroughly as you can.
Should I Get My Cards Graded Before Selling Them
A graded card is nearly always worth more than a ‘raw’ card that is ungraded.
Before sending your cards to a third party grader, you must evaluate the potential increase in value after grading the card.
If the costs to grade outweigh the increase in value, it is not worth grading.
This raw ungraded Dr J rookie which I would estimate in VG 3 conditon sold for $220 on eBay.
This PSA VG 3 Dr J Rookie sold for $400 on eBay, a $175 premium to a very comparable raw version.
Bare minimum grading costs now run from $25 to $50 at the cheapest levels.
And cheaper levels of service tend to take much longer than expedited, higher priced grading tiers.
If you want to sell your collection quickly, grading your cards might not be in your best interest.
A card worth $50 that might see a $25 bump after grading is not worth the hassle of grading due to the costs involved.
If it’s worth $150 or more, it’s probably worth grading, but I’d probably use a bulk submission to get a discount on the grading price.
For premium, high priced cards, the costs to grade will be much higher, but the increased premium from grading will be well worth it.
I will note that a majority of collectors today only buy graded cards, thus a graded card is much easier to sell than a raw counterpart.
I’m usually only in a rush to send my cards off to the grading companies unless I want an immediate opinion on authentication.
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Are Baseball Cards Still Worth Money
Whether you have old cards or modern cards, rare cards, or common cards, theres a good chance that your collection is worth something.
Of course, the amount your cards are worth will depend on many factors.
One important factor in determining card values is a set’s production totals.
For this reason, most baseball, hockey, and football cards produced during the Junk Era of the 1980s and 1990s are practically worthless. Think guys like Bo Jackson, Frank Thomas, even Barry Bonds.
Although, some basketball cards from the 1980s have a better chance of being worth money, especially Michael Jordan rookie cards.
Vintage cards remain red hot across all sports. For example, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card has trounced the returns of the stock market in recent years.
Historic values of the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card which has outpaced returns of the S& P 500.
Check out our Most Valuable Cards guides below for the most expensive cards in each sport
Where To Sell Baseball Cards For Cash
When it comes to selling baseball cards for cash, or any type of sports card for that matter, its important to know where to find serious buyers so you dont waste your time and actually get offers.
Thankfully, there are plenty of online marketplaces where you can start out. And if those fail, theres also local selling options that you can use to get paid in cash.
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Tips For Selling Your Baseball Cards
Now that you know some of the best places to sell baseball cards and how to value your collection, here are a few final tips to make the process a bit easier:
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Where Can I Sell Baseball Cards Near Me
Okay, so perhaps you dont want to sell your cards online. Maybe you would prefer to sell your baseball cards locally?
When you sell in person, you can often get cash on the spot, and you dont have to worry about shipping your cards anywhere!
If you want to know, who buys baseball cards near me? then give these places a try.
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How To Spot Fakes In Your Baseball Card Collection
In the baseball card market, theres no shortage of counterfeit cards, and the last thing you want to do is try and sell them or pay money to get them appraised.
The first thing to remember is that each set of baseball cards is unique, meaning that the color and stock of each issue thats exclusive to that set.
Adding to this, you can use a black light to expose older fakes because older fakes do not fluoresce under black light, but modern fakes do.
On that note, its worth mentioning that modern fakes cant mimic the high-quality printing of authentic baseball cards. So, if you take a magnifying glass over a card, and notice dots produced by a modern printer, the card is probably a fake.
An easy way to detect a counterfeit card is by taking a closer look at the measurements, especially early tobacco cards. Counterfeit tobacco cards are often bigger or smaller than real cards.
And then there are counterfeit baseball cards that never existed, to begin with. These types of counterfeits are a bit challenging to verify, but you can do a quick search on the internet to check baseball cards youre not familiar with.
Tips For Selling Your Sports Cards
Now that you know what places buy sports cards, here are some selling tips you can keep in mind!
- Focus On Research: If you have valuable sports cards, you really need to do your research so you have an accurate idea of how much your cards are truly worth.
- Consider Selling Time: Selling on markets like eBay or at auctions helps you get the best price. But this also requires more time versus selling sports cards to companies like Beckett or Dave & Adams, so consider the trade-off between time and value.
- Get Appraisals: For rare sports cards or anything autographed, you should consider getting an actual appraisal so you know the value and authenticity of your cards.
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What Are The Most Valuable Baseball Cards
Before we get started on the list, I just wanted to discuss the value of baseball cards.
These are the top 5 most valuable baseball cards:
For more of the most valuable baseball cards, check out this list from OldSportsCards.com.
Best Places To Sell Baseball Cards Online And Near You
The global sports trading card market was estimated to be valued at nearly $14 billion USD in 2019 alone. It is projected that the trading card industry is not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon, with a projected market value of more than a staggering $98 billion by 2027.
If you are an avid collector of baseball cards or if you have stumbled upon a potentially valuable collection, knowing the best places to sell baseball cards, both online and near you, can help you to save time while maximizing your efforts as well as the return on your investment.
Lets see exactly how to get started with making money in this way.
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Local Card Show As A Dealer
Another option for selling your cards at a card show is to set up shop on the other side of the table.
For a small fee, you typically get access to an eight-foot table where you can spread out your cards and make them available to all the patrons milling through the show. That gives you more eyeballs ogling your actual, live cards than you can find through just about any other method on this list.
When you set up at a show, you get to set your asking prices, too, and you can decide just how low youre willing to go for any given card.
And if you dont sell your cards? Or not as many as you want?
Just pack them up and try again at a later show. Or with one of the other methods here.
But, while setting up at a card show has lots of advantages, there are drawbacks, too:
- You have to pay for your table.
- You have to prep your cards for sale sort them, put them in holders, price them.
- You have to drive to the show .
- You have to sit at the show all day.
- You have to handle money , which can be fun AND stressful.
- You have to account for sales tax if you dont have a dealer sales tax number, and there may be some promoters who wont allow you to set up without one.
Youre absorbing the dealer costs yourself with this method of selling your baseball cards, the price you pay for calling all the shots.
Player Popularity And Card Rarity
Player popularity will affect how much a card is worth.
The hall of famers from every era may bring high price tags when selling.
Everybody wants a piece of history, especially if its a legendary players rookie card.
However, sometimes players who are less common may also be worth a lot.
This could be due to card misprints or limited runs.
You can encounter corrected errors, uncorrected errors, print variations, or cards that were printed far fewer times than their counterparts.
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The Baseball Cards Market In 2023
According to ReportLinker, the global sports trading card market is expected to grow by about $6.71 billion between 2022 and 2026.
This growth is being driven by vintage sports cards. For example, on August 27, 2022, an SGC 9.5 Mint+ 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card was sold for $12.6 million, which is the largest amount ever paid for sports memorabilia or a sports-related item.
Its also the first time any sports card has sold for eight figures. And on August 18, 2022, a PSA 9 Mint 1954 Hank Aaron rookie card was sold for $720,000, which was 36% higher than the previous one sold for less than a year prior.
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Top Tips For Successfully Selling Baseball Cards
Whether youre selling modern baseball cards or vintage cards, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to maximize your profits. Here are a few tips for successfully selling baseball cards:
- Have realistic expectations. When it comes to selling baseball cards, its important to have realistic expectations. Cards can range in value from a few dollars up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Its important to understand the market and set realistic prices for your cards.
- Know your buyer. Before you start selling, you should spend some time getting to know your buyer. Who are they? What do they collect? Knowing who youre selling to will help you better assess the value of your cards and set the right prices.
- Research prices. Before you list a card for sale, do some research to make sure youre getting the most money possible. Look at recent sales of similar cards and compare prices to get an idea of what your card is worth.
- Research grading services. Grading services can help increase the value of your cards by providing an objective assessment of the condition of your card. Research different grading services to find one that best fits your needs.
- Be patient. Selling baseball cards is a process, and it can take some time to find the right buyers. Dont give up if you dont get any offers right away, and be patient while waiting to sell your cards.
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What Are The Most Valuable Baseball Cards Ever Sold
The price of any baseball card directly depends on its rarity, condition, and collectors value. You may have seen some cards fetching exorbitant prices while some cards sell for a mere dollar or so.
But there are several such baseball cards exist that can even fetch a million dollars. And five of the priciest baseball cards ever sold are as follows.
| Rank | |
| Ty Cobb Tobacco | $1,100,000 |
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Should I Sell My Sports Cards Myself On Ebay
Many people wonder why they shouldnt sell their cards themselves on eBay, and the answer is quite simple: its not nearly as easy as you might imagine. Many of the card sellers on eBay are actual professionals, or at least part-time, who have dedicated years to mastering the online marketplace. A few years ago, Dean made a list of the 21 steps Deans Cards takes to buy and sell a single baseball card. Our procedures have changed since then, but this list provides a good idea for the large workload of selling cards online.
Selling your cards on eBay can bring you a higher return through diligent work, but this is not always the case. First-time sellers on eBay are not able to get a large return as it takes years to slowly build up enough credibility and feedback to sell for top prices. Even experienced amateur eBay sellers cannot sell for the prices that Deans Cards can. Also, keep in mind that our revenues because of the added value of convenience, selection, security and customer service that we can provide with our professional staff and award-winning website. Dean’s Cards has an 8,500 square foot office, an inventory of over one million cards, and a website running numerous custom-made and technologically advanced programs. Our tough grading, quality insurance, and great service make this worthwhile, but its taken Dean decades to perfect the process.
For more information, check out this page dedicated entirely to this topic:Selling Your Baseball Cards on eBay
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