Getting into baseball card collecting can be a fun hobby, and it can lead to you making some money. However, when you first get into card collecting, there is a learning curve on learning how to protect your cards and learning the value of your cards. If you are going to sell and want to get a fair price for your cards, you will need to make sure that you do your research.
Researching Market Values
The best way to price your card is to look at current market values. There are websites out there that will give you the value of your card depending on the condition that it is. There will be different price ranges that vary depending on the PSA rating of your card. Knowing your market values will help you to determine how much you should sell your card for. You will want to keep up with these market values as time goes on because values can change quickly in some cards.
Accessing the Condition of Your Cards
To determine the pricing of your cards, you will want to assess the condition of them. Look at each card and look for scratches, dents, torn corners, and anything else that can damage the value of the card. You can go onto the PSA website, where your card can be evaluated and graded to determine how much your car is worth. Once you submit your card, they will tell you what the grade is of your card and how much you might get out of that card. Make sure that you keep all this information with the card so that you can show any potential buyers the value of the card.
Choosing A Reputable Platform to Sell Cards
It is important that when pricing your card, you choose a reputable platform. There are many sites out there that allow you to list your trading cards. This includes sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. There are also many baseball card websites out there that are geared towards selling and trading. You will want to do your research on each one before you list it. Look at the fees that each website has. If there are ridiculous fees, you will lose money, no matter how much value you put into your card. You may also find that if you choose the wrong place, your card may not be seen. Do your research and find the best place to list your card.
Digital vs. In-Person Card Sales
The price that you list digitally vs. the in-person card sale value may vary. There are several different factors that make this true. When you sell online, you will have to do shipping costs and the cost of whatever packing material you use. So you will want to factor this into the price. When you meet in person, you do not have to worry about shipping costs or packing costs. It is important, though, if you are meeting in person, that you have a set value in mind and meet at a secure location to avoid scams and people trying to negotiate your price.
Trading vs. Selling
Some people choose to trade cards rather than sell them. This can be beneficial if you just want to get new cards in your collection and do not care about the money. You will still need to make sure that you find out the value of the card that you are trading, and you will also want to ensure that you find out the exact value of the card that you will be trading for. You can do your research online to be sure that the card is authentic and worth the value that the trader says it is. Doing your research will help to make sure that you are getting the right value for your card.
Selling One Card vs. Selling Entire Team of Cards / Collection of Cards
When it comes to value, sometimes an entire team of cards or a collection of cards will have far more value than just selling one card. Of course, that can be quite the opposite in many cases. If you want to sell an entire collection of cards, you will want to get the value of every single card and see what the collection of cards go for as well. You can easily find the values of these cards online and go from there. Make sure that you check the card condition before you list the collection for sale.
Other Factors That Can Affect Value
Here are a few other factors that may affect your card’s value:
• Print year. The print year that that the card has will affect the value. Those that were printed prewar will bring in much more value than cards that were printed after the 1980s.
• Error cards. If you have an error card, this can significantly increase the price you sell the card for. There are two main types of error cards out there. The corrected error card is where the error is corrected, and there are only a few of the error cards in existence. The other error cards are ones that were never corrected by the manufacturer.
• Position in the Set. It is also important to know what the position in the set sequence is to establish when it was printed along with the value.
• Variation in print. Variations are different designs that are established on the card. These can increase the value of your card significantly.
• Players. The players on your card will be a big decider on the price of your card. For example, if you have a Babe Ruth mint condition card, you can expect that you should set a very high price for this card. If you have a card that is of the Hall of Famers, the price will be significantly higher.
• Rarity. The rarer the card, the more valuable the card is. If you have an extremely rare card, you may get thousands or even more for it depending on who it is and how rare it actually is.
When it comes to pricing baseball cards, patience and research is key. You will want to make sure that you price your card for the right amount. If you struggle to find the value of the card, you can always talk to another collector or a collectible store in your area that can help you to determine the value of your card.
