How Do I Look Up the Value of My Baseball Cards?
As a sports card breaker for the last 5 years or so, this is one of the most common questions I get. There’s a little bit of art and science that goes into this, but I’m going to make it easy for you.
One of the biggest mistakes collectors make is thinking their cards are worth what they see on ebay or another card site. Anyone can ask for a million dollars for their collection, but asking price is completely different than sold price. Remember – your card is only worth what someone is willing to pay. I can’t state this enough. Whether you have football cards from the 1970’s, or baseball cards from the 1950’s, this axiom always holds true.
So how do you see what your sports cards are worth? The secret is to go on eBay, search for your card, but then filter by SOLD. This will show you what is the most recent price someone bought your card for. Using this technique answers the question, “What is someone willing to pay for my baseball card?” for example.
I have an easier way to do this! Use 130point.com and under their “Search eBay Sales” tab, you see they have a very easy form you can fill out that searches eBay sold data and quickly brings back the most recent comps (comps is a slang in the hobby for comparable sold price).
Once you see the range of sold prices your card has gone for recently, you can figure out what your card is worth. Remember, condition of your card is important. And if you card is raw (ungraded) versus graded, that can make a difference too. Take these factors into consideration when looking at comps.
So once you figure out what your sports card collection is worth, how do you sell it? Here’s a few ideas:
Local card shop (know that they are going to pay way under comps as they need to mark it up to resell)
eBay (know they are going to take upwards of 13% in fees)
Facebook groups – Groups like Gross Card Breaks is a great way to meet other collectors, make trades, and even negotiate a sale. Pro Tip: Always make sure you get others in the group to vouch for the seller or buyer since there is no rating system in the Facebook groups.
Flea markets – another great place to find sports card bargains and potentially sell your collection.
Hope that information helps. Finding sports card values is easy, but if you’ve never done it, you may find it intimidating to seek out the information needed. As always, feel free to reach out to us through Messenger here on our website, or even better, join our Facebook group today!