JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Rob on February 4, 2007, 08:48 PM
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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?
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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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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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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.
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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 :-\
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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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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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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.
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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?
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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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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.
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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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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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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?
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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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;)A lot of people have asked me to draw him(Nolan Ryan) I have his rookiee card through till he retired card,I've got cards galore! I think the oldest one I have 1950 Ted Williams Topps.I got out of it when the card packs were getting too high :P I still collect Star Wars Cars though
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sports card collecting seems cyclical. if you want serious money for them, you may have to wait for them to become hot again.
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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 :-\
At least with comics, you have the stories and art...some are even worth rereading every so often.
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Card collecting, ugh! I never collected sports cards just non sports cards & they are worth crap. A few years I sold off back a complete set of Babylon 5 cards with the holo's & such for good coin but the rest of the series. :-\
Might be best just to go through them for the rarier ones & see what they go for. As for the rest, might have to pick your teeth or use them in your bike wheels like the Gretzky rookie card that many have done. :-X
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For those who are still familiar with the card collecting world, are any cards actually worth anything if they don't have grading these days? Like it was mentioned by others earlier, back when I was collecting (late 80s/early 90s), you could pick up a Beckett's to see what your card was worth - and I remember the "hot" lists of which cards were spiking in value. I was just wondering if individual cards are worth anything if they aren't graded these days, or if they are just worth significantly more if they are graded.
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I used to collect hockey and baseball cards (late 80's to early 90's). I managed to get a decent sized collection but now that I no longer want the cards, I was told I'd be farther off just torching my collection.
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I still collect baseball cards--or card, rather:
(http://www.baseballcardproject.com/Topps/R/1985/483.jpg)
At last count, I'm up to five-hundred six of them.
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Okay I'll bite. Any particular reason you have 506 Mike Smithson 1985 Topps cards?
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;) I have that one in fleer and donruss too! ;)
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Okay I'll bite. Any particular reason you have 506 Mike Smithson 1985 Topps cards?
If you must know, it's the one card from that year that I could never find. I bought pack after pack, and eventually case after case, and still never found #483. I passed up dozens upon dozens of what other people considered the "good" cards--the USA Olympic McGwires, the Goodens, the Mattinglys, the Pucketts, and I didn't give a ****, because they weren't Smithsons. It kept me from having a complete set of '85 Topps. Drove me crazy.
And so, to make up for that, I've spent the last twenty years buying up every last '85 Topps Smithson I've come across. And it's a sight to behold, my collection, if I do say so myself. But I think I'm gonna stop at 506.
Anyway, there you go.
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You serious Clark?
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You serious Clark?
As a heart attack, Eddie.
It may seem strange, but it's all about having what I couldn't have as a kid--a sentiment that I'm sure at least a few of us can relate to in this other hobby of ours. . .
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Honus card sells for $2.35 million (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/02/27/honus.wagner.ap/index.html?cnn=yes)
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I saw that on the news tonight and thought of this thread....
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God, if only I had all the money I spent on cards when I was a kid. Luckily, I made some good money back in the day as well. I'd set up a table at flea markets and clean up. Now i'm left with a good 50,000 commons collecting dust in my dad's attic and a bunch of sealed box sets. However, I do have some good ones safely stored but they're not worth squat since they're not graded though i've considered grading some just in case I do decide to sell. The card market is garbage thanks to grading. If I ever see that "Mr. Mint" guy, i'm going to kick him in the balls. Remember when that guy got into SW dealing and "unearthed" a huge stash of carded Vinyl Jawas???
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Anyone see anything (or things) strange, in this new 2007 Topps Derek Jeter card?
(http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/images/stories/jeter.jpg)
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Is that George Dubya and Babe?
Kevin
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Is that George Dubya and Babe?
Kevin
You got half right. It's Mickey Mantle in the dugout. I don't know who I hate more on that card, Bush or Jeter...
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I didn't put that up to spark any political comments, so let's leave that **** out of it, please. . .
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I didn't put that up to spark any political comments, so let's leave that **** out of it, please. . .
God Damn Jetter and his politics.
Anyhow, I didn't know that was Mickey.
Kevin
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God Damn Jetter and his politics.
I know!
Anyhow, I didn't know that was Mickey.
Kevin
Aren't you a Yankees fan? And you didn't know that was The Mick?
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God Damn Jetter and his politics.
I know!
Anyhow, I didn't know that was Mickey.
Kevin
Aren't you a Yankees fan? And you didn't know that was The Mick?
True story Matt--
My neighbor two houses over has a SHRINE for Mickey in his open garage. Cards, newspaper clippings, posters, a jersey, autographed baseball, on and on. I used to play Tag Football with his grandson in the local park, so many a-day was spent in that garage after the games. I should have been able to tell.
*sigh* :-[
Kevin
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I didn't put that up to spark any political comments, so let's leave that **** out of it, please. . .
I wasn't getting political, I can't stand politics enough to even bother talking about it. One can't verbalize who they like and dislike?
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One can't verbalize who they like and dislike?
I could be wrong (and I'm sure someone will tell me if I am), but I believe, around here, that any and all political comments, even ones as innocuous as yours, are better left unsaid.
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Man, what are the odds. GWB and Mickey Mantle at the same game...in the same photo.
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For anyone who was curious, I dumped the last of my baseball cards on a co-worker... for $20. We can't decide which one of us got the short end of that deal.
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;)A lot of people have asked me to draw him(Nolan Ryan) I have his rookiee card through till he retired card,I've got cards galore!
Cool, never got his rookie. I didn't get that high end of a collectible back then!! I don't I still could!! :P
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Well I got them from my baseball loving grandpa ;D even cards from the 50s'
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Oh that's so awesome!!! Keep a hold of that bad boy!! I want to eventually get all my cards signed, well as many as I can!!
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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
Although we aren't moving, we are in the process of going through everything in the house, and ditching what we don't need/reorganizing the rest. With the baby on the way, I know we'll need the room. Anyways, while digging out the closet in the basement I decided to finally take the time to go through my sports cards once and for all as well. I did basically what Scott talked about earlier in this thread, sorting out Hall of Famers, and putting the rest back in the box. I had a couple "complete sets" that I got as gifts at one time, and then filled another cardbox or two with some of the ones I wanted to keep. I thought I'd take the remaining to a sports card store, but after just looking through ebay at some of the prices of the rookie cards I have, I don't know that it would be worth it. Apparently, it has to be graded, or its basically worthless (unless its really old).
I'm starting to think about just pitching the rest, or giving them away to kiddos or something like Jeff mentioned at one point in this thread. Its amazing how things have changed with card collecting. I was really into it from around 88/89 to the early 90s, and then kind of fell off as there started being so many companies, so few cards per pack, and higher sticker prices. I found a couple old card wrappers in the boxes, and saw some packs with 12-15 cards for 50 to 55 cents. Those days are long gone. I haven't kept up on the card market much since I collected, but it seems like things are really different now. I even just did some quick searches on ebay, thinking it would be cool to pick up some rookie cards of some of my favorite players (Garnett and Nash were the two I searched for off the bat), and even those seem to be pretty cheap (again, unless graded). Plus, I don't even know which cards are the actual "rookie cards" anymore, and not some sort of "super duper rookie" type subset. I remember right when I was getting out they started putting out those other type of cards in the sets, like "big hitters", "high flyers", or "super scorers" type things. Its tough when you're just looking for a plain old, regular, rookie card :P
Edit: A funny side note, when digging through the sports card, I found a stack of cards from the 89 Batman movie. That brought back some memories. Its also funny looking through the sports cards (football, basketball, baseball) how many of the players my friends and I were after to get because they were so good, turned out to not amount to much more than a decent season or two.