Main Street Cards and Comics (98 Main St, City, ST, Zipcode) – This store has been buying and selling baseball cards and other trading cards in the area for over 20 years. They have a good reputation for paying fair prices and treating customers well. When selling cards to them, you’ll first want to bring in your collection for them to review. Their buyers are knowledgeable about the value of different players, years, condition, and card sets. They will look up recent sell prices online for comparable cards to give you a cash offer. Factors that influence price are the player, year of the card, the condition or grade of the card, and whether it is part of a complete set. For common cards in average condition, they typically pay around 25-50% of the listed market value. Rarer, higher graded cards in excellent condition may receive offers at 70-90% of market value. Once you accept their offer, they will pay you in cash on the spot. They also purchase whole collections. This is a good option if you don’t have the time or desire to individually price out hundreds of cards.
Golden Age Collectibles (234 Elm Ave, City, ST, Zipcode) – This family-owned store has a strong focus on vintage cards from the 1980s and earlier. They employ a staff grader who will carefully examine each card and assign a grade using the standards of the leading third-party grading services like PSA or BGS. Receiving an official grade helps determine the card’s value and is useful if you plan to resell. Golden Age pays some of the highest prices in the area, especially for high-grade vintage pieces in their niche categories. They are also very selective, only wanting to purchase cards that will reasonably sell in their store or on their website within a few months. So if your collection contains many newer, lower-value cards they may not be interested in the entire lot. They do not offer cash but rather store credit that can be used for purchases.
Card Shack (542 Oak St, City, ST, Zipcode) – This small mom and pop shop located downtown has been buying local collections for over a decade. While they will look at any cards from the 1940s onward, their focus is on mid-range value modern pieces from the 1990s to present. They pay a fair percentage of industry-standard catalogue values, usually 40-60% depending on players, conditions, and sets. Unlike the other stores, Card Shack accepts almost any cards, including bulk common duplicates which they will pay a few cents each for. They aim to fill in gaps for resale to collectors. Selling to Card Shack ensures your cards find a new home while getting you at least some cash back quickly regardless of how large or varied your collection.
In addition to these local brick and mortar shops, you could also try selling your baseball cards online through a platform like eBay or through buying/selling groups on Facebook. This approach may take more time and involve shipping but could potentially get you somewhat higher prices, especially if your cards include any valuable autographed, rare, or mint condition pieces. Just be sure to carefully research recently sold prices for each item. Checking with those few local stores detailed above is a great low-effort way to earn some cash back for your baseball card collection. With care and research into values, one of those options should provide a fair price.
