How To Sell Baseball Cards

Famous Baseball Card for Mickey Mantle

While going through some old junk that I had stored in my garage from an old boyfriend, I came across his treasured baseball card collection.  I know it was worth something as he still to this day asks me about it.  I couldn’t help wonder what it was worth so I called up my good friend Ted Hughes who I know was an authority on baseball card trading and I asked him what is the best way to find out what the cards were worth and how to sell them. Here’s what I learned.

Get yours hands on what is referred to as the Baseball Card Price Guide. It’s free!

Once you have the price guide catalog the baseball cards you have.  You can do this manually on paper or online using something like Microsoft Excel.  There are also online services that your keep a database of your cards and they will update the value of your cards on a monthly basis.

Evaluate the condition of each of your baseball cards and price them accordingly.   Keep in mind the value of the card may be dependent on what the card is worth to you and what the card is worth to a prospective buyer.

Protect the condition of your cards.  Keep them in individual sleeves or in a binder with protective pages.   Keep all your cards separate to reduce any damage. The value of your cards changes, so keep up with the current value.  Beckett’s online service can accomplish this, or subscribe to “Beckett” magazine or “Tuff Stuff” magazine for the latest pricing.

List your baseball cards for sale on eBay.  You will pay for eBay’s services but eBay is most likely the easiest place for the novice to sell their cards.  When selling on eBay, set your auction time for at least 1 week.  There are over 10,000 baseball cards currently listed for sale in eBay, so give your listing some time for collectors to find.

Schedule your action to end on a Sunday night.  For whatever reason, products for sale on eBay that’s listings end on Sunday night receive much better interest and late bidding. Be realistic about the sale prices you put on your cards.  It’s a fact that most baseball cards sold sell for less than 60% of the low end price on the Beckett price guide.  Keep in mind you pay a listing fee to eBay for putting them up for sale whether they get sold or not.  Don’t lose money putting your cards up for sale.

Once you make a sale of your baseball cards, take great care when shipping them to the new owner.  Put them in a high quality case, and wrap them in bubble wrap and put them in a box to protect them while shipping.  Don’t put them in an envelope and hope they get treated well by the Postal Service.  You may be sorely disappointed as will the new owner.