If you have started a baseball card collection and you want to get into selling those cards, there are several things that you will want to learn about assessing the value of your cards. If you do not learn about how to price your cards and just set any price, you may be losing money and not selling your cards for nowhere near enough.
Researching Your Cards
When you start your baseball collection hobby, it is a good idea to thoroughly investigate all of your cards. You can do this by going online and looking up the card. You can learn all about the player, the card’s history, and any other information. This can help to ensure that you are well informed about all the cards in your collection. It would help if you created a file where you have information on each card that you have. When you get ready to sell the card, you can access this information to ensure that you are pricing your cards correctly.
Determining the Print Year
One of the first things that you should do is to determine when they were printed. The very first baseball cards were printed in the late 1800s. Large batches started rolling out in the 1900s. Typically, cards that are from the 1960s and older hold the most value.
To find out what year your card was printed, look at the back of the card. Pay attention to the last year that is printed. For example, if you have a card that has statistics from 1964 and earlier, you can expect that the card was printed in 1965. You can also look at the back corner of the card where the copyright is.
Finding the Manufacturer
Even when cards are printed in the same year, if they were printed by a different manufacturer, this can affect the value of the card. To find the manufacturer of the card, look at the back of the card, and you should see the copyright. The copyright will have the company name. For example, if the copyright is T.C.G., that stands for Topps Chewing Gum.
Determining the Rarity of A Card
Another thing that will greatly affect the value of your baseball cards is how rare the cards are. If the card is easily found, it will not be worth much. However, if there were only a certain number of prints done of the card, you can find yourself having a very valuable baseball card. To determine if your card is rare, you can look online to see if the information about the card is listed.
Determining Player Popularity
Player popularity is another big thing in determining the value of the card. If you have a card with a very popular player like Babe Ruth, that card is going to be valued at a much higher rate. If you are not sure if the player was very popular, a quick online search can help to determine if the player was popular.
Evaluating the Condition of Your Cards
One of the most important things when it comes to pricing your baseball cards is the condition of the card. Cards that are in mint condition will bring in a lot of money, while cards that are in poor condition will not. Now there are exceptions to the rule where a poorly conditioned card will fetch a good amount of money, but this is rare. To determine the condition of your card, look it over well. Look for blemishes, torn corners, bent corners, discoloration, and any fading.
It is a good idea to have your card graded if you think that you have a card with a good amount of value. The Professional Sports Authentication company or PSA are the grading experts when it comes to baseball cards. They grade cards from one which is the poorest of conditions to ten which is gem mint, the most excellent conditions. Having your cards professionally graded can help to ensure that you get the right price for your cards. This is especially true if you believe that you have a truly rare card that could be worth a great deal of money.
If you plan to sell some of your baseball cards, finding out the accurate price for your card is imperative to make sure that you know what they are worth. Once you figure out the pricing, you will be able to list your cards for sale. You can do so at many different online sites, just make sure that you do your research before listing the card on any site to avoid scams.
