The late 1980s and early 1990s was the peak of the baseball card market, known as the “junk wax era”, when billions of cards were produced and distributed. While most cards from this era hold very little monetary value today, there are still some ways you can make a few dollars off your old cardboard collections.
The first step is to go through your boxes or binders of cards and sort them by player and year. Make stacks for rookie cards, stars, and any others that might have recognizable names from that era. Then, do some online research to see if any carry a premium price due to scarce print runs, autographs, or special parallels. Sites like SportsCardPrices.net can give you a general sense of current average market values for individual cards.
Don’t get too excited though – most common Junk Wax era cards are worth just pennies. The mass production killed their scarcity and drove prices into the dirt. Still, there may be a few diamonds in the rough. Rookie cards for emerging stars like Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, or Chipper Jones could fetch $5-20 depending on condition. Super rare promo or error variants could be worth significantly more.
Once you’ve identified any higher end individual cards, it’s time to start listing them for sale online. eBay is generally the best marketplace for trading sports cards due to its large buyer base. Take high quality photos showcasing the front and back of each premium card. Be sure to accurately represent any flaws in the scans. Then, research “sold” listings of similar cards to determine a fair starting price. You may opt for a fixed price or auction format depending on rarity and demand.
When describing your listings, include as many relevant search keywords as possible like player name, team, set, and year to maximize visibility. Ship cards safely in a rigid toploader inside a penny sleeve, then packaged between two sturdy pieces of cardboard for protection in a bubble mailer or box. That way they’ll arrive in the condition sold. Offer combined shipping discounts on multiple purchases too.
The bulk of your Junk Wax cards though will only appeal to theme collectors or those looking to fill out sets at bargain rates. To sell these efficiently, your best options are group lots on eBay, or listing them with online trading card companies that specialize in bulk transactions.
On eBay, assemble common cards by year, team or set into themed lots of 50-100 pieces. Again, focus on complete descriptions and keyword optimization. Pricing is a balance – high enough to be worth your while but low enough to entice buyers cleaning out their collections. $10-50 per lot depending on size is reasonable.
Websites like COMC.com (Cardboard Connection) and TCDB.com let you list thousands of cards at once, paying you periodically based on completed sales. They handle all shipping and customer service. A small listing fee applies but it’s extremely hands-off and can move bulk lots much faster than individually selling on eBay.
With some sorting, research and creative marketing, there’s still an opportunity to put those old boxes of baseball cards to work for you financially. With the nostalgia factor and rising prices in the industry overall, someone will want what you have, no matter how intrinsically “junky” the wax era material may be. It just takes the right buyer and a little effort on your part to find them. So get cracking – there could be cash in those cardboards!
