Baseball cards can hold sentimental value even if they are not worth much in monetary terms. Many people who have cards from their childhood collection may want to keep them just for nostalgia. Displaying cards from the past in a binder, scrapbook or framed can allow you to enjoy the memories they bring up. Even common cards can spark recollections of collecting as a kid or following favorite players.
If you have a very large collection of cards that are all common and not worth individually selling, one option is to bulk sell the entire lot. You won’t get a high price but it avoids having to individually price each single card. Sites like eBay allow you to sell entire collections at once listed by the box, long box, binder, etc. Just describe generally what players and years are included to give buyers an idea without having to inventory each card. You may get $20-50 for a few thousand cards this way depending on the overall quality and era represented.
Donating baseball cards to schools, libraries or youth sports organizations is another environmentally-friendly option. Kids are often fascinated by old cards and enjoying looking through them to learn about players, uniforms and stadiums from the past. Cards that have no sale value individually can still have educational use value. Just be sure to get a receipt for a tax deduction if donating a large lot. Schools may even display some cards in classroom cases or clubhouse areas for students to enjoy.
If you have doubles of common cards, a fun craft idea is to decoupage them onto wooden frames, mirrors, coasters or trinket boxes. The vivid images transfer well to different surfaces and make one-of-a-kind decorative items. You can group cards by team, player last names starting with a certain letter as a theme. This repurposes multiples that hold no resale value into attractive displays for your home or to give as gifts.
Rather than throwing cards straight into the recycling bin, consider organizing a baseball card drive and fundraiser for a local Little League, youth baseball or softball organization. Ask them to spread the word you are collecting donations of unwanted cards. Make it fun by having kids sort by team, year or player positions as they are dropped off. Then re-sell the entire collection bulk on eBay with proceeds benefiting new uniforms, equipment or field improvements. Even donations of commons cards add up and can raise several hundred dollars for youth sports through a group collection effort.
If a collection contains some cards in very worn, damaged or incomplete condition, recycling is always an environmentally-friendly option. Carefully break or cut cards to remove any remnants of the plastic coating which contains PVC that does not fully breakdown in landfills over time. This prevents chemicals from leeching into the soil and groundwater systems. Paper components of cards from the 1900s-1980s can be recycled like any other paper products through your municipal system. Taking the time to properly discard cards extends their lifespan usefulness even after they no longer hold monetary resale value individually.
Old baseball cards that are common and essentially worthless financially still have many reuse and repurposing options if you get creative. Donating, displaying, crafting with or fundraising sales can allow these nostalgic memorabilia from the past to still bring enjoyment to new generations of fans even without monetary worth on their own. The memories and history cards represent is valued by both collectors and casual fans alike.
