MLB Baseball Cards for Sale in Montreal – A Collector’s Guide
Montreal has a long and storied baseball history, being home to the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2004. While the Expos are no longer with us, the city remains passionate about America’s pastime. Baseball card collecting remains a cherished hobby for many Montreal residents young and old. Whether you’re looking to build your collection or sell some of your vintage cards, Montreal offers plenty of options. Here is an in-depth guide to finding MLB baseball cards for sale in and around the city.
Card Shops – The obvious first stop for any card collector is the local card shop. Montreal has a handful of dedicated card shops that cater specifically to sports card enthusiasts. Perhaps the most well-known is La Cache dans le Placard, located in Old Montreal. This small shop has been a fixture in the city for over 30 years, stocking new releases as well as maintaining an impressive inventory of vintage cards from the 1960s onwards. Another excellent option is Sport Cards Montréal in LaSalle, which focuses more on high-end cards and rare finds from across all sports. Both shops buy and sell cards daily, ensuring collectors have an avenue to build their collections.
Online Marketplaces – For those not able to make it into a physical shop, online marketplaces offer an abundance of baseball card options right at your fingertips. Sites like eBay, COMC (Collectors.com), and Mercari allow collectors around the world to list their duplicate cards for sale. While shipping times may be longer, with careful use of search filters you can still zero in on exactly the cards you’re looking for from Montreal-based sellers. Prominent users like LCSCollection showcase their high-end Montreal Expos inventory for serious collectors. With competitive pricing and authenticity guarantees, these sites provide a safe and convenient remote buying experience.
Card Shows – A few times a year Montreal plays host to major card shows that attract dealers and collectors from across Quebec and beyond. These events offer the chance to browse tables upon tables of cards under one roof, with literally thousands of options. Many of the city’s top shops will have a presence to showcase their highest-end inventory. Shows are a perfect opportunity to find those harder to locate cards you’ve been searching for. The largest annual show is held each February at the Olympic Stadium, while smaller summer shows are organized at Knights of Columbus halls. Admission generally ranges from $3-5, with ample free parking available.
Facebook Marketplace – While not as robust as the dedicated platforms, Facebook’s localized Marketplace has become a popular spot for collectors in Montreal to list cards they have duplicates of for sale. Browsing your area is easy, and interactions tend to be quick since most sellers prefer local meetups. With photos and detailed descriptions provided, Marketplace lets you glimpse collections from people in your very own neighborhood. Risks of dealing with unknown parties exist, but overall it’s a convenient way for collectors to move lower-value cards without shipping hassle or platform fees.
Consignment Stores – Unique from the dedicated card shops is Ian’s Sports Cards, a consignment store that takes cards from collectors hoping to sell from their personal collections. Cards are kept neatly stored in binders customers can flip through with sellers taking a small commission of any sales. It’s a low-pressure way to potentially find rare gems someone is quietly trying to move without setting up elsewhere. Ian’s keeps their percentage reasonable at 15%, with payment going directly to the original owner after a card sells.
Card Grading – While raw cards can be fun to collect, visually graded vintage and modern standouts can fetch big premiums. PSA and BGS are the top two card grading services collectibles dealers in Montreal utilize for highest authenticity assurance. Submitters receive guaranteed numbered slabs that help establish market value. While in-person submissions aren’t available locally, dealers like LCSCollection and Sport Cards Montréal offer group submission services multiple times a year, bundling collections together for cost savings. With care taken in joining group orders, the leading card grading options are accessible to Montreal collectors.
So whether you’re flipping through vintage binders at shows, hunting eBay listings late at night or stumbling on a Montreal Expos ’79 Red to add, MLB baseball cards remain very obtainable in the city that once proudly cheered on le beau joueurs. With friendly local shops, thriving online communities and organized events, collectors have all the tools needed to build memorable Montreal Expos collections for years to come.