NFT: Advice on selling sports cards

A lot of money in it. Ironically enough, I’m leaving it all in the coming weeks. Sick of it. The prices, the attitudes, the bullshit, honestly. Grading is a good idea, depending on value of the card and the final grade. Selling can be tricky. Different avenues. Legal and not so much. eBay fees and PayPal fees. Etc

I’d be more than happy to talk to you offline about the hobby, if you care to hear.

just started his own card "grading" company after retiring from 20+ years military service.

I'm not a card collector, but it seams one can make a living off of grading cards these days?

In comment 15262733 Kev in Cali said:

Quote:

just started his own card "grading" company after retiring from 20+ years military service. I'm not a card collector, but it seams one can make a living off of grading cards these days?

HGA? Is that your buddy?

and 90's was the junk wax era. not a ton of value.

unless you're talking Michael Jordan Fleer rookie or Kobe rookies or Jerry Rice, Joe Montana it's probably not worth grading. grading can cost $20 per card and take months.

grading can hurt if you don't get a high grade so sometimes selling them "raw" or ungraded is to your benefit.

but it's probably better to sell as a collection than grade and sell as individuals unless you want the hassle.

In comment 15262740 pjcas18 said:

Quote:

and 90's was the junk wax era. not a ton of value. unless you're talking Michael Jordan Fleer rookie or Kobe rookies or Jerry Rice, Joe Montana it's probably not worth grading. grading can cost $20 per card and take months. grading can hurt if you don't get a high grade so sometimes selling them "raw" or ungraded is to your benefit. but it's probably better to sell as a collection than grade and sell as individuals unless you want the hassle.

I have a 1991 Dave Krieg card that has been stuck to the back of the desk in my living room at my parents house since ... 1991.

Jealous yet?

Plus some Giants football cards. In great condition (stored in a "locker".

I've never looked into what they are worth.

Any website that give a general value or just check on eBay?

In comment 15262737 Saos1n said:

Quote:

In comment 15262733 Kev in Cali said: Quote: just started his own card "grading" company after retiring from 20+ years military service. I'm not a card collector, but it seams one can make a living off of grading cards these days? HGA? Is that your buddy?

No...I have no idea who or what HGA is.

In comment 15262763 Kev in Cali said:

Quote:

In comment 15262737 Saos1n said: Quote: In comment 15262733 Kev in Cali said: Quote: just started his own card "grading" company after retiring from 20+ years military service. I'm not a card collector, but it seams one can make a living off of grading cards these days? HGA? Is that your buddy? No...I have no idea who or what HGA is.

New card grading company that just started a few months back. They use a computer software to grade cards, for a more consistent grading process as well as newer slabs that look much better, albeit modern, as opposed to PSA and BGS’s standard slabs

In comment 15262721 Saos1n said:

Quote:

A lot of money in it. Ironically enough, I’m leaving it all in the coming weeks. Sick of it. The prices, the attitudes, the bullshit, honestly. Grading is a good idea, depending on value of the card and the final grade. Selling can be tricky. Different avenues. Legal and not so much. eBay fees and PayPal fees. Etc I’d be more than happy to talk to you offline about the hobby, if you care to hear.

Appreciate the info and the offer to discuss more. I’ll send you an email this week.

The value of sports cards has exploded. I just sold a 1977 set for a sick amount.

If you have questions, post them here

don't sell. This won't be the last "great economy" and won't be the last time cards are sold at a premium. As others have said, unless you have the rarest of the rare (which is doubtful in the decades you've mentioned), you'll get eaten alive in grading and selling costs.

have been putting this off for years. I have boxes & boxes of baseball cards from the 1960s that were given to me by my brother's friends in the late 70s. I would love to get rid of the clutter, but do I spend time selling the seemingly valuable cards--Pete Rose rookie, Hank Aaron, All-Star cards--one by one on the popular auction site, or do I sell them as 1 lot and (likely) get completely hosed?

I had them all graded a number of years ago by PSA/DNA and, grading by them seems to bring the highest prices and draw the most interest. Pricing for some cards has gone through the roof, but I am seeing some waning over the last few weeks and, as one poster here who is getting out in the upcoming weeks because of all the bullshit, I completely concur. An example of crazy price swings. On PSA/DNA grade site, a 1948 Bowman Stan Musial PSA 8 is valued at 8,800. dollars. I sold one last month, same grade for 19,000 on EBAY. It's kind of surreal, pricing wise, but I see the bubble bursting. Also, if your cards aren't graded by PSA or Becketts you're wasting your time. Very few people are going to pay good money for ungraded cards. Too much subjectivity in grading and authenticity.

right now, the grading companies are so swamped with items to grade that it is almost a year before your cards will be graded and returned to you. It seems as though, believe it or not, the Pokeman cards (and others) are being sent in in droves for grading and it has completely overwhelmed the grading industry.

In comment 15262757 Route 9 said:

Quote:

In comment 15262740 pjcas18 said: Quote: and 90's was the junk wax era. not a ton of value. unless you're talking Michael Jordan Fleer rookie or Kobe rookies or Jerry Rice, Joe Montana it's probably not worth grading. grading can cost $20 per card and take months. grading can hurt if you don't get a high grade so sometimes selling them "raw" or ungraded is to your benefit. but it's probably better to sell as a collection than grade and sell as individuals unless you want the hassle. I have a 1991 Dave Krieg card that has been stuck to the back of the desk in my living room at my parents house since ... 1991. Jealous yet?

very. I had Jose Canseco's 1986 Donruss rookie card when it was the holy grail of sports cards. Now? not so much. You would have a tough time finding someone to pay for the shipping on that card today.

But the '91 Krieg, even stuck to a desk, that's rare.

childhood that I collected. I'm 43 years old so mine are mostly 80's to mid 90's. Have lot's Canseco, Barry Sanders etc. But hearing that was a Wax era scares me! Hope there worth something. I don't have anything to rare but some great guy's in my era. I didn't have any clue on how to go about selling or getting graded. So this has been a fun thread for me. Thanks

In comment 15262817 rmc3981 said:

Quote:

Also, if your cards aren't graded by PSA or Becketts you're wasting your time. Very few people are going to pay good money for ungraded cards. Too much subjectivity in grading and authenticity.

I don't understand the whole "professionally graded" thing. If I post clear, close-up photos of my 60-year-old cards on the popular auction site, the prospective buyers will be unable to determine for themselves if the cards are creased or dog-eared?

And it boggles my mind how much money people will spend and the crazy ways they sell cards now.

A lot of times they do "box breaks" where you pay for a team and they break like 50 packs of cards and you get that team.

Or to sell cards if you join a facebook group you can "line it"

so you have a card you want $100 for and no one will buy it for a $100 you can raffle off 10 spots for $10 and you will get people who will pay for the raffle spot--could try that way.


But yes, I have a lot of late 80's/90's and unless you have rare rookie cards they are not worth as much as you would hope

If you have rare young Kobe cards that is a good market right now

In comment 15262826 GruningsOnTheHill said:

Quote:

In comment 15262817 rmc3981 said: Quote: Also, if your cards aren't graded by PSA or Becketts you're wasting your time. Very few people are going to pay good money for ungraded cards. Too much subjectivity in grading and authenticity. I don't understand the whole "professionally graded" thing. If I post clear, close-up photos of my 60-year-old cards on the popular auction site, the prospective buyers will be unable to determine for themselves if the cards are creased or dog-eared?

graded cards, mean an unbiased 3rd party, who does this for a living - first of all authenticates it's authentic (a lot of fakes especially in vintage) and then also vouches for the quality. Many things like surface wear, some creases, pin holes, gum stains, even corner wear don't show up well on pictures so grading is reliable.

but with the backlog at PSA - the #1 in the business and Beckett, others have spring up diluting the quality.

My point was on most grading scales (1 - 10 or pristine) if you don't get a 9 or 10 maybe for some cards an 8, the card won't sell for much of a premium unless it's vintage.

Plus you need to consider the cost of grading (at least $20 per card) so, if your Derek Jeter Score Rookie card grades a 5, you're likely not even selling it for the cost of the grading.

Depending on the "best" cards in your collection is why I said you might be better off selling as a collection - people buy that way all the time, you would make more breaking it up, and maybe even grading a couple of the cards but that's a lot of work and a hassle that may not be worth it.

Would it have to be like Chrome Refractors et. or are his regular rookie cards worth anything?

In comment 15262834 Koldegaard said:

Quote:

Would it have to be like Chrome Refractors et. or are his regular rookie cards worth anything?

Almost all his cards are worth something (like Jordan), but all his rookies are selling well right now.

I put in my bicycle spokes so it vaguely sounded like a motorcycle? It looks like crap but its nostalgic value is through the roof.

I had a few of those... I guess I still do? Sort of like the precursor to NFTs. I’ll have to check my account at lunch. Maybe I’m rich!

it will cool down. I buy and sell on ebay just as a hobby.
Its fun and yes you can make some decent money as well.
80s and 90s unfortunately aren't as sought after, unless of course you have the major star rookies etc.

got me to go dig out my cards from my parents house which I haven't looked at since the mid 90s. I haven't looked through them all I just counted my Jordan's that I have separated out when I was a kid and I have over 400 just of Jordan obviously he was my favorite player so I tried to get as many cards as possible of him, never could get a rookie card though. It's fun going through them all brings me back.

and also unless they're graded and in a really good condition, the market will determine their value for you, in my experience. I put all of my good stuff on eBay a year or two ago and it actually sold pretty quickly, but the values are considerably less than they were during the hey day of the late 80s and early 90s. Less than half the value, in fact.

While the market has heated up more recently, your buyer market are guys in their 40s/50s soaking up the nostalgia with their excess expendable cash. So I'm not sure holding onto your collection will earn more money in the future as we age out. Probably a segment of younger guys born in the 80s are participating too, but I'd think not as large a group.

In comment 15262834 Koldegaard said:

Quote:

Would it have to be like Chrome Refractors et. or are his regular rookie cards worth anything?

Seems like rookies, numbered cards, autos, and jersey cards are fetching the highest prices.

In comment 15262827 Jesse B said:

Quote:

And it boggles my mind how much money people will spend and the crazy ways they sell cards now. A lot of times they do "box breaks" where you pay for a team and they break like 50 packs of cards and you get that team. Or to sell cards if you join a facebook group you can "line it" so you have a card you want $100 for and no one will buy it for a $100 you can raffle off 10 spots for $10 and you will get people who will pay for the raffle spot--could try that way. But yes, I have a lot of late 80's/90's and unless you have rare rookie cards they are not worth as much as you would hope

I've just gotten back into collecting, just as a hobby - and at the moment just Giants cards. The box breaks are fun, particularly on the 2020 stuff - because the giants are cheap, since they didn't have any great rookies. I do 1 or 2 a week, and you can pick up some cool stuff, particularly on the multiple box breaks. If you can get in on 2018-19 breaks, you're looking at Barkley and Jones rookies. Otherwise I bought one last night for like $4, it most Panini Select, Prizm & Chronicles and I wont a couple of numbered Barkley's, and a RON DAYNE auto out of #99. Not worth shit, but a cool card.

Good luck to all you selling. Just being able to buy boxes / packs through retailers / on-line is insane. Plus the market on '80s and '90s stuff, unless super rare and graded, is tough.

In comment 15262850 Joeguido said:

Quote:

got me to go dig out my cards from my parents house which I haven't looked at since the mid 90s. I haven't looked through them all I just counted my Jordan's that I have separated out when I was a kid and I have over 400 just of Jordan obviously he was my favorite player so I tried to get as many cards as possible of him, never could get a rookie card though. It's fun going through them all brings me back.

Jordan is a hobby unicorn. No real scandals, no PEDs, nothing.

This card is about as common as could be, and now on ebay, ungraded, sells for $15-$20 regularly.

(picture from an ebay listing that sold for $35 recently).



Jordan, Kobe, Jeter, Griffey Jr - the hobby kings of the non-vintage era and their cards (rookies or autographed cards for Jeter and Griffey - almost all for Kobe and Jordan are selling for a premium and I don't see the bottom ever totally bottomming out for them.

Where the market could bottom out is the rookie/young players still playing.

The prices for example for Jasson Dominguez cards or Jarred Kelenic cards are ridiculous - as are cards for Acuna, Soto, Tatis, Luis Robert in baseball, in football Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Tua, etc. in hoops, Lamelo and Zion, all these young players can flame out tomorrow and while supply isn't in the 10 million range like the junk wax era even a low supply won't help low demand.

anyway, just my 2c

added Lebron to the hobby greats - he is up there too, but he's more in the Trout era than the Jordan, Jeter, Griffey, Jr and LeBron's career while not over has done enough that when it is over it's basically bullet proof in terms of card value.

Dolphins, Bengals.. even the Eagles, is insane. Hundreds for mostly base rookies. Forget about the high-end box breaks.

I do have to say, if any of you guys just collect for fun - check out some of the high-end lines (National Treasures, Illusions, Flawless, etc.). There are some beautiful ungraded cards you can pick up for not a lot of money on ebay. They re-release a lot of popular 80's and 90's giants players with memorabilia and autos - Simms, Bavaro, LT, Harry Carson, Hampton, OJ Anderson.

In comment 15262894 pjcas18 said:

Quote:

In comment 15262850 Joeguido said: Quote: got me to go dig out my cards from my parents house which I haven't looked at since the mid 90s. I haven't looked through them all I just counted my Jordan's that I have separated out when I was a kid and I have over 400 just of Jordan obviously he was my favorite player so I tried to get as many cards as possible of him, never could get a rookie card though. It's fun going through them all brings me back. Jordan is a hobby unicorn. No real scandals, no PEDs, nothing. This card is about as common as could be, and now on ebay, ungraded, sells for $15-$20 regularly. (picture from an ebay listing that sold for $35 recently). Jordan, Kobe, Jeter, Griffey Jr - the hobby kings of the non-vintage era and their cards (rookies or autographed cards for Jeter and Griffey - almost all for Kobe and Jordan are selling for a premium and I don't see the bottom ever totally bottomming out for them. Where the market could bottom out is the rookie/young players still playing. The prices for example for Jasson Dominguez cards or Jarred Kelenic cards are ridiculous - as are cards for Acuna, Soto, Tatis, Luis Robert in baseball, in football Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Tua, etc. in hoops, Lamelo and Zion, all these young players can flame out tomorrow and while supply isn't in the 10 million range like the junk wax era even a low supply won't help low demand. anyway, just my 2c

I have that and a lot of other Jordans. Mostly 90s s, so not worth much

Thanks for the replies on the Kobe stuff. I will bring the collection on my next trip to the US.

I have a card with him numbered to 20 (8/20 I think)

I've got some Mantle, Maris, and Whitey Ford cards that were passed down to me. I have no idea how to sell them fairly.

In comment 15263347 Csonka said:

Quote:

I've got some Mantle, Maris, and Whitey Ford cards that were passed down to me. I have no idea how to sell them fairly.

look on ebay, you can always search for the card "1960 Topps Maris" and then look by sold listings and you can see condition of your card, and find a good comparison.

I'd do that first before you can into a local card shop.

would be interested in your vintage card collection.

In comment 15263382 pjcas18 said:

Quote:

In comment 15263347 Csonka said: Quote: I've got some Mantle, Maris, and Whitey Ford cards that were passed down to me. I have no idea how to sell them fairly. look on ebay, you can always search for the card "1960 Topps Maris" and then look by sold listings and you can see condition of your card, and find a good comparison. I'd do that first before you can into a local card shop.

^ best place to start
A couple things to add

It's a lot more difficult to get a 10 grade on a card than most think. That is why they sell for so much.

If you want to sell your cards online you should have them graded by a reputable grading service PSA, Beckett (BVG/BGS) or SGC, but it is a very difficult time to get cards graded. PSA will get you the most money, but they can't keep up with the demand and essentially shut down for a clue months. You can still get high end cards graded but it will cost you like $300. Beckett is chugging along with long turnaround times and SGC is price gouging. This has opened the door more card graders to enter the scene. The problem is they are not reputable and people don't trust them. There are a lot of fake cards/ altered cards or reprints out there. Anyone can slap a case on a card and grade it but what you are paying for with the big three is authentication and their reputation (while not always stellar) is light years ahead of some of the others

Having said all that a new company to look out for is https://www.csgcards.com/. Their parent company CCG is a leader in authenticating coins, comic books, non sports cards, money etc. They are also guaranteeing against fakes and over grade. They grade on a half point scale like Beckett.

Pay attention to hot Cards, those mentioned above and Shaq. Tennis Cards are hot as well. Check out the 2003 netpro Serena and Federer cards sell for. Some wrestling cards are going for a lot. Also you can run over light on fire and chew on a Gretzky rookie, but if one of the big three companies can authenticate it you can get at least $700 for it.

Buying raw cards can be tough; There are a lot of fakes and reprints out there, which also makes selling raw cards tough.
Sorry for the long post
Good luck

Sorry to bring back an old post, but it took me a while to find this. It's a little old, but gives anyone looking to buy or sell some cards an idea on the different grading companies out there.
SPORTS CARD GRADING GRAVEYARD - ( New Window )