What to do with a whole bunch of baseball cards

[bigal40]

I recently ended up with 3 chests full of baseball, basketball and hockey cards. I don't really know how to estimate how many cards there are but maybe 50k

They are mainly from the 80's with a few from the 70's and 90's.
Some are complete sets in order and all, some have been taken out and are in plastic cases, some are in unopened boxes, and one of the chests is full of cards that aren't really stacked, so it is a big mess.

What is the best way to sell these(in sets?, unopenned?) Are there anygood websites, or is ebay the best bet?

 

[meltdown75]

you have several options.

personally i would first go through the collection looking for cards of high value. it helps to know the big names in any particular sport you mentioned, but you can also probably distinguish high-value cards by the way they are stored, if the collector was serious.

you can grab a copy of Beckett price guide for any of the sports you mentioned. it's updated monthly and you can find them at Chapter's. I'd sell the high-end cards individually on ebay. it always helps to see what recent sales there have been on any particular card as well. IMO ebay is still where it's at for the sports card buying/selling market but there are also some very active online forums. I'm a member at sportscardforum.com and have found that to be a great resource. You can also find some buying/selling guides there if I recall correctly.

Of course you could also just throw the whole lot on eBay... or even Craigslist... but going through the collection to find the gems or at least distinguishing the high-value sets and selling them separately would be the best way to sell them off, IMHO

Good luck, I'd be curious to see how you make out! Feel free to send me any Edmonton Oiler rookie cards you may find

:beer:

 

[Schfifty Five]

The problem with selling baseball cards and sports cards in general is that you need to get the good cards professionally graded for them to be worth anything. It costs a decent amount of time and money per card to get them graded.

Usually it's worth it though if the card is in really mint condition.

I too have probably over 100K cards from collecting back in the late 80's -> 90's when I was younger. I have tons of cards that were worth a good chunk of coin back in the day and I so wish I sold them then.

 

[HomerSapien]

Buy some Beckett Magazines to determine the value. Then profit on ebay.

 

[bigal40]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll go pick up a price guide and start going through these things.

 

[Tooncesthedrivingcat]

Also do not expect to get book value for the cards.

 

[meltdown75]

let us know if you find anything super sweet!

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Tooncesthedrivingcat
Also do not expect to get book value for the cards.

QFT

and condition is very important as Schfifty mentioned.

edit: also note this popular card aficionado saying: a card is worth what someone will pay for it on eBay

 

[bigal40]

What about all of the unopenned packs? There are a bunch of random unopened packs, and about 8 unoppened boxes of packs. Should I open them up and see whats in them or are they worth more unopenned?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: bigal40
I recently ended up with 3 chests full of baseball, basketball and hockey cards. I don't really know how to estimate how many cards there are but maybe 50k

They are mainly from the 80's with a few from the 70's and 90's.
Some are complete sets in order and all, some have been taken out and are in plastic cases, some are in unopened boxes, and one of the chests is full of cards that aren't really stacked, so it is a big mess.

What is the best way to sell these(in sets?, unopenned?) Are there anygood websites, or is ebay the best bet?

get it appraised

hire someone for a couple of hundred $

8

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: bigal40
What about all of the unopenned packs? There are a bunch of random unopened packs, and about 8 unoppened boxes of packs. Should I open them up and see whats in them or are they worth more unopenned?

what sets are they?

 

[rezinn]

Obvious answer: If there is a rare card in the packs, they're worth more opened. If they all suck, will be worth more unopened.

 

[bigal40]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: bigal40
What about all of the unopenned packs? There are a bunch of random unopened packs, and about 8 unoppened boxes of packs. Should I open them up and see whats in them or are they worth more unopenned?

what sets are they?

The unopened ones are mainly 1986, 1987, and 1988 topps baseball

 

[FP]

I'll give you $1,000 for the entire chest.

 

[CrazyLazy]

Check the value of the cards online, don't trust price quotes of anyone trying to buy them off you. If they are worth something start detailed ebay auction and sell it all at once.

 

[IEC]

I need to do this with my own collection...

 

[Slew Foot]

Ok Ill admit it, Im a baseball card geek.

Most cards from about 1987-1995 are worth about 0. Cards were so overproduced back then that they carry very little value now. The only cards that have high value are rookie cards from good players in older sets (higher if they are professionally graded) or newer rookie cards that are numbered/autographed/or have jersey pieces on them. You can get an online beckett subscription for about $4, or pick up a beckett multisport edition for about $7, the online is better since it is more thorough, but you have to pay for each sport separately. Alternatively, you can just look for completed auctions on ebay to see what your card sells for.

Here my biggest recent sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...me=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=010

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Slew Foot
Ok Ill admit it, Im a baseball card geek.

Most cards from about 1987-1995 are worth about 0. Cards were so overproduced back then that they carry very little value now. The only cards that have high value are rookie cards from good players in older sets (higher if they are professionally graded) or newer rookie cards that are numbered/autographed/or have jersey pieces on them. You can get an online beckett subscription for about $4, or pick up a beckett multisport edition for about $7, the online is better since it is more thorough, but you have to pay for each sport separately. Alternatively, you can just look for completed auctions on ebay to see what your card sells for.

Here my biggest recent sale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...me=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=010

sweet card

I pulled his 05/06 UD Series 1 rookie out of a pack

one of my favourite pulls ever

Ovechkin pull - same set

That year kicked ass for rookie cards in the NHL

 

[rockyct]

As others have said, Beckett is pretty popular for pricing them but keep in mind that you'll only probably get 50% of Beckett value. Your best bet is to find the rookie cards and then get them graded if they are in good shape. Be very careful sorting through them. The slightest dinged corner will reduce its value. You could probably set the rest of the non-valuable cards as lots on Ebay but you aren't going to get much for them. You could set them by player, by team, by year, etc. If you have a good card but it's non going to get graded well (dinged corners, way out of aligned, smuges, etc) you could put it into one of those lots and mention that the lot includes <blank> rookie card.

 

[Verse914]

Originally posted by: Spartan Niner
I need to do this with my own collection...

Same here...most are from the 80s and 90s though...doesnt sound like theyll be worth it

Are sets worth more? I remember buying Tops full sets back in the day...