Author Topic: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?  (Read 6359 times)

Offline Rob

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Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« on: February 4, 2007, 08:48 PM »
Over the holiday I brought home what was left of my baseball card collection from when I was little.  I had the idea of selling it but it looks like almost NOTHING sells for any amount of money on eBay.

So, my question is - is there any market whatsoever for this stuff, and where would you take Baseball cards if you were trying to sell them?


Offline Deanna Rash

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #1 on: February 4, 2007, 09:05 PM »
Baseball card shop would be your best bet.There are some on the internet as well that will probably buy cards in sets it really depends on what you have.I still have mine 800,000 of them,but I really have some old,old cards that my grandfather left me,and every once in a while somebody will ask me to draw so-in-so.I'll probably keep them.Sorry if I got off tack,but try the shops or internet shops.
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Offline BillCable

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #2 on: February 4, 2007, 09:17 PM »
They're only worth something if they're dead mint and graded.  As bad as AFA has been for Vintage Star Wars, grading has been 1000 times worse for trading cards.
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Offline Rob

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #3 on: February 4, 2007, 10:25 PM »
Most of mine are mint - but none of them are graded.  They're all 15 to 20 years old at this point, in the same hard cases they were in when I put them in there as a kid.  Nothing too fancy - Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey rookies, crap like that.

It's only 100 or so cards (sold off the thousands and thousands of commons for $200 years ago).

I want to be rid of them - but I don't really want to throw them away.

I'm guessing I'd be lucky to get $20 for all of it if I take them to a card shop, but that's the way I'm leaning right now - I'd rather have $20 and them out of my house than to have them just taking up space.  And to think way back when the book value on these was probably 500 times what I can actually get for them now.

Offline Scott

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #4 on: February 4, 2007, 10:25 PM »
When I moved a couple of years ago I threw away almost 20,000 commons.  I went through every single one of them and took out any potential hall of famers and everything else went to the recycling center.  So much money wasted...I wonder if I could have went to College on that :-\

Offline Morgbug

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #5 on: February 4, 2007, 10:50 PM »
When I moved a couple of years ago I threw away almost 20,000 commons.  I went through every single one of them and took out any potential hall of famers and everything else went to the recycling center.  So much money wasted...I wonder if I could have went to College on that :-\

Yes.  In my case it was comic books.  About 8-9 years, $20 a week or more, so minimum $1000 a year.  Nearly 10K down the tubes. 

Same deal for them.  An occasional one will pull some coin (Amazing Spiderman #300) without being graded, but otherwise you're better off aiming for a quarter a piece at a garage sale :-\
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Offline iFett

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #6 on: February 5, 2007, 12:01 AM »
Ya, I've got about 15,000 cards from my childhood - along with most of the original Garbage Pail Kids.  I was tempted to pull them from storage and sell them all, but after looking at Ebay prices...it's just not worth the time or effort. 

I remember getting the Beckett's mag every month or so and I was so excited to see how much my cards were going for.  Remember the football/baseball Bo Jackson card?  That's when I was in to baseball collecting big time.  Oh, and I have tons of Griffey rookies.  What the hell ever happend to that guy?  I dropped out of the sports world around the same time I stopped collecting the cards.
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Offline Brian

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #7 on: February 5, 2007, 09:41 AM »
Timely topic for me, as I'm in much the same situation.  I used to be big into collecting baseball/football/basketball cards, particularly in the late elementary/junior high timeframe, but haven't bought any cards outside of a few Star Wars ones for years.  We've been trying to clear out things out of the house (particularly now with a baby on the way), and I've been thinking about trying to sell off the majority of my card collection too - just keeping a shoebox full or something of some and getting rid of the rest.  I did sell off a few boxes at a garage sale a few years ago, but still have a ton in rubbermaids in our basement closet.  I never look at them, and at this point just want to be rid of them too, but I just can't bring myself to just throw them away.  But, from the sounds of things, I might be better off just doing that.  Nothing is "graded" for me either, I miss those days of looking at what our cards were worth in Beckett's as well - back before all the AFA nonsense.  Heck, I can remember when we used to be able to get packs of cards for 50 cents, and there was more than 5 cards in there :).  So I guess it basically sounds like if they aren't graded, I just as well toss them as well?  All that money wasted over those years, silly.

Offline Rob

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #8 on: February 5, 2007, 09:44 AM »
I'd rather GIVE mine to someone who gives a crap than throw them out...

I think I'm going to find a card shop and if someone wants to give me $10 for the lot, they can have em.

Unless any of you guys want the Shaq rookie cards that I thought would be worth $200 each as a 13 year old for $0.99...   :-[


I wonder what Beckett would say about the value of these cards that no one is interested in... you think it would say they're wort all kinds of coin?
« Last Edit: February 5, 2007, 09:44 AM by Rob »

Offline Jeff

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #9 on: February 5, 2007, 11:47 AM »
So I guess it basically sounds like if they aren't graded, I just as well toss them as well?

Don't just throw them away!   There are people who are interested in old cards, even if they are not graded - they are called "little kids".


Here's what I did with a TON of my old baseball/football/hockey commons.

Step 1:  Sort out all the cards you want to keep.  (I ended up keeping one of every card that I had.  I figured that my boys might like to have them some day.  I know I had fun looking through my dad's old stuff).

Step 2:  Shuffle all the extra/excess/duplicate cards.  Place 15-25 cards into those small "snack size" ziploc baggies. 

Step 3:  Now give away all those small baggies!  One option is Halloween (in addition to or in place of candy).  Another option is your local elementary school - teachers can use them as incentives for kids who do well and the younger kids (like 1st graders) LOVE cards.  I've learned that for most little boys, it makes no difference what/who the cards are they are just excited to get something for doing well in school.


There you go.  Maybe those kids will throw them away, maybe they'll keep them.  You never really know.  Either way, you are free of them.  Much easier than dealing with eBay and you don't spend any gas driving from shop to shop trying to find someone to buy them.   ;)
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Offline tonphanan

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #10 on: February 5, 2007, 06:37 PM »
I collected until 60% of my collection was stolen :'(. I quit right after that. Besides most card packs now can cost in upwards of $5 or more and you only get 4 cards to a pack. I remember when 1.25 was high but I atleast got 12 to a pack.
« Last Edit: February 5, 2007, 06:37 PM by tonphanan »
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Offline Roton7

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #11 on: February 6, 2007, 06:25 PM »
Well, my 50-year-old uncle still does... and he's got millions and millions of them (that's not being sarcastic at ALL).
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Offline BillCable

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #12 on: February 6, 2007, 08:01 PM »
You could always take 5 or 6 of them and get them graded, just to test the waters.  If you have 200 desirables and they grade well, you could end up making some money.  I really don't follow that hobby at all, but it might be worth your time and effort to give it a shot.
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Offline ruiner

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #13 on: February 7, 2007, 09:16 AM »
It's too bad what's happened to sports cards.  I collected too in the nineties and remember the trick to see if there was a B&W Bo Jackson in the pack.. ;)

I was looking up complete sealed sets on ebay and there were going for $5.00... :-\

Do they even make baseball cards anymore?



Offline Lady Jaye

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Re: Does ANYONE collect Baseball cards anymore?
« Reply #14 on: February 7, 2007, 10:12 AM »
Yea they do. You can find them at Target, right where the current hot cards are, Yugi Oh!!

I too got called into the Sports Card Hobby! I think it's a natural progression for those of us who collected action figures as kids, got into comics, and then Sports Cards! I still h ave mine back home, about 3 large boxes, and a couple of sets, but not as many as some of you guys! I do have a pretty nice collection of autographs, and am thinking instead of selling the cards off, just try to get the rest autographed!!

Since Nolan Ryan was my hero, I have a very large collection of his cards!! About 4 autographs as well. Since he's in Round Rock, I may just try to have em all signed eventually!

I think my best card is the Jerry Rice rookie.
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