Hobbies And Interests

How to Determine Old Baseball Card Values

Some people collect baseball cards for the fun of it. But others participate in the hobby as a way of making money. Their hope is to find those baseball cards in packs or through trades that are worth a lot of money. Pricing baseball cards is not an exact science. It is based on what the market will pay for a card at any time, similar to how stocks are priced on the stock market. There are methods for a collector to find out how much his older baseball cards are worth, through a variety of resources.

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the year and company that produced your baseball card. Older baseball cards were produced the year after the season the player played. Look at the last season on the player's stats that he played on the back of the card and add one year. That is the year of the baseball card. At the bottom of the card on the back, there will be the name of the company that produced it.

    • 2

      Obtain a copy of the Beckett baseball guide. You can find this either in a print version, or online at Beckett.com. Make sure you have the most recent hard copy if you are using that version, as it is printed on a monthly basis. Look up the price in the book or online. This price is for a mint card, which is a card that is in perfect condition, with square photos, no stains on the card from bubble gum or dirt, no bends in the card, and a photo that is perfectly centered.

    • 3

      Determine the condition of your card. If your card is slightly worn with corners that are not perfectly square, deduct 10 percent from the book value for a mint condition card. If the corners are rounded or there are stains on the card, this makes the card fair condition and should have 25 percent reduced from the book value. Finally, if the card has bends, tears or other damage, your card will be worth, at the most, 50 percent of its book value in Beckett.

    • 4

      Check online at auction websites such as Ebay.com and Craigslist.com. Beckett's baseball guide can give you an idea of the price your card is worth, but the market will tell you the true value. Your card is only worth as much as the interested buyers will pay for it. Search on these websites for cards of the same player and year as your card to find out what it is selling for.

    • 5

      Attend baseball card shows for additional information, or visit your local sports card store. Look for people selling the same card you want to sell. If you can not find anyone selling the same card that you are selling, you can offer it to people and see what type of offer they make for the card. Remember to check Beckett and Ebay ahead of time to determine if you are getting a fair offer.


https://www.htfbw.com © Hobbies And Interests