what makes a baseball card valuable?

Answer 1

Desirability -- is the pictured player especially noteworthy, does he have a large fan base? Hall Of Famers are essentially platinum forever -- there will always be some diehard collectors who want the best of all time.

Condition -- the closer to perfect, the better.

Rarity -- is the card widely available, or are there only a few in existence? This connects closely with desirability, because there will always be some rare cards which almost no one is interested in collecting.

Cachet -- does the card have some additional high-profile aspect to it? There is one, famous Honus Wagner "T206" card, which not only is the finest example known, but was also for a time owned by Wayne Gretzky. That sort of additional narrative gives it a boost.

Visibility -- you could have the greatest Wagner card ever unearthed, but if no one has ever heard about it, it'd be tough to sell for record figures. So getting it in the spotlight only helps, as would authentication (professional grading services exist).

Bonus features -- is it autographed? Is the graph in good condition, unsmeared, unfaded? On-card ("player touched") or a sticker? Has it been authenticated? Here, again, HOFers play the biggest role, particularly the deceased ones, as the supplies of those autographs are now finite. Cards with swatches of game-used materials, particularly uniforms, can add to the value, but by now it really requires something special about the swatch, like a detailed piece of a patch or laundry tag (particularly the olde-tyme tags, where the players' names were stitched in).

Also, if an active player, how is he doing? Debut players who start setting the league on fire will see some of their cards quickly go nonlinear and irrational. A similar effect happens when a former player (and again, HOFers are the best for this effect) dies, especially if not expected, like Puckett a few years ago. Collectors AND non-collectors, drawn by the media coverage the deceased received, can storm the market and buy for crazy prices. If you're selling something at auction, the more bidders (or even just eyeballs), the better.

Finally, for active players, assaults on records or major milestones can drive a market frenzy. Biggio is heading for 3000 hits and Bonds, well, you've probably heard about what he's up to. Glavine is closing on 300 wins. The frenzy tends to peak just BEFORE the big event and trails off rather quickly after. Surprise events, like a no-hitter, obviously can only spike the market for that player immediately afterward.

Answer 2

There can be a lot of different reasons why a particular card is valuable: Maybe the card is old, and most of the copies of that card have been lost or destroyed. The card may just be wanted by a lot of people because the player on the card is a favorite, or a big star.

Sometimes one card may have an error on it and that error may only appear on a few copies of that card. Card companies sometimes print fewer copies of some sets of cards than others. They also print cards that are meant to be more valuable than others. Often, they will print a smaller amount of a card with an autograph on it, and then they will mix that card in with a regular set. What they want you to do is buy more packs of cards as you search for these premium cards, and since these particular cards are rare, that makes them worth more.

So what it boils down to is if a lot of people want the card, or there are not many copies of a card, it is usually valuable.

Answer 3

Baseball cards are BIG business. Collectors are absolutely insane about them. You might have some very valuable cards. The main ingredients to determine a cards value are age, subject, rarity of the card, and condition of the card. And signed cards automatically double the value of the card. I would advise you to be very careful when trying to sell these cards. I know there are all types of card clubs that publish price books for collectors. There has to be something on the internet. And by the way, the 'Tops bubble gum company', on the internet, is very active in the baseball card business. Try contacting them. They're a large company and very accommodating. I'm sure they can guide you in the right direction. Good Luck.

Answer 4

basically, demand. If other people want it and it is hard to get, the value goes up. Popularity of a player, low supply of the card are definitely key.

Answer 5

Demand for it
If it has a signature... this shoots the value way way up on some cards
condition of the card...
and WHO it is... lol