Baseball Cards???

Question

My husband has a HUGE collection of baseball cards, like 80,000, and he wants to sell them in one big lump sum, but we have no idea how or where to look. They are all from the early 90's and have been kept in good condition. There's some other sports, and some college cards too, but mostly baseball. From what we figured they are worth quite a bit of money, but we just don't klnow where to turn. Can anyone help us??

Answer 1

80,000 IS a lot of a cards -- if you don't own a store!

You have a myriad of options, and it all depends on your motivation for keeping them -- AND, your husband's original purpose in buying and collecting them.

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A PROFIT?

This will be the most time consuming choice. But, if 25% of the cards are valuable, it will be worth your time.

(a) Make an inventory. This is going to take weeks, if you spend 1-2 hours a day. But you have to set a foundation.

If your husband doesn't already have the cards in boxes or binders, you will need to grab a stack of cards, and slowly begin to categorize them.

I'd simplify them by (1) Year of release (which you'll find on the back of the card as a (c) copyright date, and (2) Name of manufacturer (e.g. Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Ultra, Stadium Club, Collector's Choice, et al.)

You'll have to go to a hobby store and buy the white slats of cardboard which fold up into rectangles. They come in different sizes -- I'd choose a large size, at least one that holds 330 cards.

After you complete each box, mark the date and manufacturer name. Put your boxes in bins or, if you have space, in a large empty space of "that" room.

(b) Now -- you'll need to price your cards. Buy an online price guide, like Beckett. That way you can not only assess WHAT you have, but HOW MANY of each.

Either you'll have to go back into the boxes and list what you have, or list what you have before you placed them into the box.

(c) When you add up your collection, then you know what they're worth. Obviously, if you're selling them in lump form, you'll give a discount to the buyer.

CHALLENGE:

Not every buyer wants to buy the common, ordinary card of a "nobody". Not unless they're completing a set. To entice them, you'll have to offer your lump with a few enticing deals.

Example -- "For sale: 1992 Score baseball cards. 125 assorted cards, some duplicates. Includes bonus cards: _____, _____, etc. OR, you might throw in free shipping, which isn't the best idea, but it depends on how badly you're trying to unload this collection and get on with your life.

IF YOU WANT TO JUST DUMP YOUR CARDS:

You'll have to be willing to take a loss in the value of the cards. For example, if your 1994 Topps Cards added up equal $125, you'll sell them for $45, with shipping and handling added.

SET GOALS:

If you're determined to sell these, then don't start until you're truly prepared to go for it. Be willing to accept a few losses, and learn from the experience.

REALITY CHECK:

As I re-read your summary, I'm reminded these were not the very best years for baseball cards. If your husband is 90% certain there's nothing valuable in most of the cards, you have 3 options:

(a) Find a hobby store owner who's willing to take them all off your hands. A large store with plenty of help is constantly putting together sets. Don't appear desperate when you approach them, or make them sound like you're dumping unwanted stuff/

Tell them how important these cards were to you (after all, the hobby store's life IS cards, you know -- and turning a profit). These cards are important to you, and you'd like to find a home for them.

If you're not interested in a big profit, ask the store owner what is the best deal he can do for you. Don't haggle over a few dollars. After all, 80,000 cards will be removed from your life!

(b) Ask the hobby store owner, or do a google search, and see which charities take cards. Hospital charities, or orphanges, for example, distribute cards. You can donate them, and make them a tax-write off.

You can also donate them to a thrift store for the same tax purposes.

(c) Unload them on eBay in one large sale, or several. If the entire collection is worth $500-$1000 for example (assuming they're not great cards), offer them as a "BUY IT NOW" option of $149, and whatever the shipping and handling costs are.

You could also sell them with a starting bid of $34.99, plus shipping and handling, and hope there's a bidding war. Be honest in your description, but make sure you list the valuable cards, for sure!

DON'T THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU SHOULD BE GETTING:

If the ultimate goal is to unload the collection, you'll have to assume you won't get anything close to what you paid for them.

Answer 2

Hey Philly:

I own a comic book store in Toronto and I deal a lot with non and sport cards.

First off, the fact that they arre abseball cards does not give us any info. We need to know who made the cards: Opee Chee, Donruss, UD. etc.

But what you can do is pick up a Tuff Stuff or a Becketts and start looking up the cards. Given the time frame, I do not suspect that you are going to have many gems.

You can also check all the cards and look for rookies. Then go on e-Bay and look up that card.

80K really is not a lot of cards. I realize that it is a lot of work to see what they are but you need to do some footwork to see if they are worth anything.

TFTP

Answer 3

If I were you I'd start with buying a comprehensive Beckett price guide to find out the value of these cards. I used to be into collecting baseball cards big time myself, and I know it would also help to find a fellow collector to inform you what kind of market there is for these cards, what players are selling well, what players are not, etc.

Answer 4

keep them...how will your kids or your grandkids know about baseball without those awesome cheat sheets?

Answer 5

go to ebay