Should I Sell My Old Baseball Cards? A Comprehensive Guide to Determine the Value

If you have a box of old baseball cards stashed away in your attic, parents’ basement, or childhood bedroom, you may be wondering – what are these cards worth now and should I sell my old baseball cards? There are a few key factors you need to consider when determining the value and best course of action regarding your vintage baseball card collection. This comprehensive guide will walk through everything you need to know to make an informed decision about potentially selling your cards.

Do an Inventory and Condition Assessment

The very first step is to do a complete inventory and condition assessment of each individual card in your collection. Carefully go through every card and make notes on notable players, year of the card, the sport featured on the front, and most importantly, the condition. Baseball card condition is extremely important when determining value. Take time to examine each card front and back for issues like creases, corners that are bumped or folded over, scratches or nicks on the surface of the card. Also note things like if it has been written on. Assign each card a condition grade on a scale of Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Near Mint, or Mint. This information will be crucial when researching values.

Research Recent Sales and Price Trends

Now that you have a detailed inventory and condition assessment of your cards, it’s time to start researching recently sold prices of similar cards to yours. The best way is to search on eBay using advanced search filters like completion date (sold listings only from the past year), card year, player, and condition. You can also search on pricing guide websites like PSA SMR Price Guides to see historical average sale prices for your cards in the designated condition grades. Take note of common auction endings prices and trends. Also research if certain players, teams, or years hold higher value than others which can potentially increase or decrease your card’s worth.

Consider Getting Valuable Cards Professionally Graded

For any cards in your collection that appear to be in Excellent or better condition based on your assessment, it may be worth considering getting them professionally graded and encapsulated by a reputable third party authenticating company like PSA, SGC, or BGS. Professional grading significantly increases value potential as it provides a verifiable impartial condition assessment. The grading process does have costs involved for the actual grading service as well as shipping costs. Only cards deemed rare and valuable enough to potentially warrant the grading expense should be considered. Vintage common cards are usually not worth paying to grade.

Determine Which Cards Are Worth Selling Individually

Now you will have a good idea which cards in your collection have a good chance to sell for $20 or more based on your research. These are the cards worthwhile to individually list on eBay or another marketplace like Sportscardforum.com. Take high resolution photos of the front and back of each valuable card including any identifying markers and listing all relevant details like the player, year, team, and condition. You can list individually or in targeted group lots. Set reasonable auction end dates and start prices based on recent comparable sales. Provide detailed photos and descriptions to attract buyers. Selling individually allows you to maximize profits on your rarest and most valuable cards.

Consider Selling the Rest as Vintage Lots

Any cards in your collection that research shows would realistically sell for under $20 individually are better suited to sell as part of a large vintage lot. These bulk common cards still hold value but it’s not cost effective to sell each one separately. For these cards, you have a couple options – either bundle them by team, year, or player and sell targeted vintage lots or assemble a mixed “junk wax era” lot containing hundreds of common cards from the 1980s-90s boom period. Again, take detailed photos and be up front about the contents. Market these bulk lots at fair discounted prices to attract collectors looking to fill out sets or collections on a budget. The goal is to liquidate these cards efficiently.

Decide if You Want to Sell to a Local Card Shop

A final option is to take your entire collection to a local brick and mortar card/sport memorabilia shop to get an offer. Card shops are looking to purchase collections wholesale to resell cards individually or in their store and at shows/conventions. Understand that a local shop will likely only offer you 30-60% of estimated retail value because they have business overhead and need to make a profit when reselling. Selling to a shop is often the easiest way to liquidate an entire collection quickly with less effort. It just may not maximize your potential profit versus sorting and listing valuable cards individually online and selling bulk cards in targeted lots as described above.

Consider Taxes When Selling For a Profit

As with any assets you sell for profit, be aware of potential tax implications when disposing of your baseball card collection. In the United States, if your total sales from cards exceeds $600 in a calendar year, you are required to report the net profit on your taxes. For collections worth under $600 sold as a hobby, taxes typically do not apply. But for sizable collections sold for thousands in profit, consult with a tax professional to understand how to properly report capital gains or income from the sale. Having records of your original purchase costs and recent sales receipts will be useful for the IRS. Factoring potential taxes into your decisions can impact your optimal liquidation strategy.

There is real potential value in old baseball card collections gathering dust in attics and basements nationwide. But realizing that value requires taking the time to fully understand what you have, do thorough research to establish fair market prices, and selecting the savviest strategy to liquidate ranging from individually selling high-value cards to unloading common cards in targeted lots or wholesale to a card shop. Following this guide should provide collectors with all the information needed to make an informed choice on whether to They must weigh in factors like effort, profit maximization, and tax implications to determine if selling their vintage baseball cards is worthwhile or if it is better to retain their cards as a nostalgic collection. With care and strategic planning, there is money to potentially be made from childhood memories and cardboard treasures of past summers at the ballpark.