How Much Do Baseball Cards Sell For

Reggie Jackson Topps Rc #260 Dmitri Young Collection

$1 million

Heritage Auctions sold a 1969 Reggie Jackson Topps RC #260 Dmitri Young Collection for over one million dollars in 2021.

With a Gem Mint 10 grading, this card has the highest rating possible and Reggie Jackson’s legacy makes the card even more legendary.

Jackson earned the nickname “Mr. October” for his performance in World Series games, according to Britannica.

In 1973, 1975 and 1980, Jackson had the most home runs in the league. He went on to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.

Selling Your Sports Cards To All Vintage Cards

All Vintage Cards has been dealing in sports since the early 1980’s and we are one of the most reputable and trusted buyers in the hobby. While I encourage all sellers to shop around when selling a valuable card collection, I can promise that our offer will more often than not be near the top of the list.

Baseball Cards Worth Money: Most Valuable Baseball Cards List

Baseball cards are a memory for all those who love baseball. Do you remember the excitement a child feels when he finds his favorite card for the first time?

The original purpose of baseball cards was to promote cigarette packs. Gradually, it became popular, and many people considered collecting it as a hobby. Are baseball cards worth money? If you still have Hall of Fame or rookie cards, find them now. Their value can be up to six or seven cash figures.

This article by Scott Fujita will help you better understand why these sports cards are valuable and point out the most valuable baseball card.

Baseball cards may offer a massive fortune for their owners

Contents

Recommended Reading: Under Armour Utility Baseball Backpack

How Do I Find Out How Much My Baseball Cards Are Worth

Stop me when this sounds familiar:

You collected cards in the 90s when you were a kid, and then decided that it was time to stop. Now, youre seeing a lot of chatter about how the sports cards market is booming, and youre wondering if that baseball card collection sitting in your parents attic is going to pay for your next house.

Sound about right? That was more or less my story

So where do you begin with looking up value?

In order to find out how much baseball cards are worth, youll first need to sort them. Put the ones that have no chance of having value off to the side. The rest, youll want to look up individually on sites like 130point, PWCC, or eBay.

I know looking up cards one by one can be tedious, but your other solution is to sell your entire collection at 30 cents on the dollar.

So lets help you figure out how much your baseball cards are worth!

Are Baseball Cards Still Worth Money

There most certainly is a very healthy market today for baseball and all sports cards. In fact, due to the widespread availability of fast internet access and various marketplaces, there has never been a more established and liquid market than the one that exists today.

Cards can be sold quite easily and for near full value, depending on the demand for the card in question. The advent of grading companies and their associated population reports has made it so easy for collectors to get an idea of what sort of supply exists for any particular card.

Recommended Reading: How To Coach Little League Baseball

Finding Value In Your Worthless Cards

Not all hope is lost for those of you who have boxes and boxes of cards that aren’t worth any money. You may not be able to cash in and take that vacation you were hoping for or even buy a textbook for your daughter’s first semester at college, but some value can be found.

Several sets from the late 1980s and early 1990s are still very attractive sets. Okay, maybe not the hideous yellow of 1991 Fleer Baseball. But early Upper Deck sets are gorgeous. Rather than lamenting on false hopes, take out your cards and look through them. Admire the photography, the designs and player accomplishments. If you were a hardcore investor, this might have even passed you by 20 years ago in the rush to keep the cards in mint condition.

You may choose to get rid of some of the cards and only keep your favorite teams or players. Even then, who needs a brick of 1990 Upper Deck Kevin Maas cards? One will probably do.

And if you do take your cards from this era to be appraised, don’t get mad at the guy behind the counter when he breaks it to you that the sports card values are worthless. Chances are, he’s probably got a basement filled with them too.

Is Beckett Or Psa Better

Firstly, PSA is a bit more expensive and it takes longer for them to grade your cards. However, their graded cards usually sell better and for more than BGS cards. On the other hand, BGS is faster and less expensive and has a more complex grading system. Their cases and labels are often preferred to PSAs.

Also Check: Ole Miss Baseball Jersey Powder Blue

Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle Rookie Card

• Price: $700,000 .

Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle Rookie Card

Mickey Mantle is on this list again after his 1952 Topps cards.

Many collectors are excited about this rookie card, thanks to its beautiful graphics. The image of Mantle ready with a bat in his hand is very enthusiastic.

Unfortunately, the quality of these cards is not so impressive.

Owning this rookie card with a high number of PSA will bring you a large amount of money.

List Of Highest Prices Paid

This list of items As of August 20,2021 is ordered by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value in millions of United States dollars in 2021.

This list includes only the highest price paid for a given card and does not include separate entries for individual copies of the same card or multiple sales prices for the same copy of a card. Thus, for example, the T206 Honus Wagner is represented on this list by one particular card’s 2021 sale and does not include the same card’s 2012 sale for $1.2 million or the Jumbo Wagner and its $3.12 million sale price.

Cards are evaluated by third-party services, most often Professional Sports Authenticator , Beckett Grading Services and Sportscard Guaranty , and given a grade on a ten-point scale based on condition.

The images below do not necessarily represent the individual specimen sold but are representative of the given cards.

You May Like: Men’s Mid Molded Baseball Cleats

Not In A Hurry Looking For Max Return

Alright, so youre still going to go through your cards like you do in the above example, but youre going to look up much more of them.

Basically anything that you might even think has a possibility of selling for a couple of dollars gets set aside.

The main difference here is that anything that might be worth something in the future gets put back into storage to get checked on in 10-20 years. Just remember youre saving players that will be rememberedIm talking your Ken Griffeys, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwires, Derek Jeters, A-Rodsthose kind of all-timers. Second tier guys get forgotten decades down the road.

Best Places To Buy Baseball Cards

• Garage and Estate Sales Garage and estate sales that sell baseball cards usually dont know their value and sell for cheap.
• eBay You can find a good deal on baseball cards in bulk, but these sell quickly.
• Second-Hand Stores Look inside binders and books for forgotten cards.
• Craigslist Listings You can often find bulk card sales, be wary of any high-value cards selling for cheap.
• Facebook Marketplace Thus is a mixed bag but can get competitive, so try to get into listings early.

If youre buying at a garage or estate sale, avoid being obvious about the value or interest youre placing on these cards.

If you react strongly and let people know that youre extremely interested in the cards, the sellers may back out of the deal and try to see what they can do with them instead.

Talking too much, and showing too much interest in them, could lead to them perceiving more value and wanting more money for them.

You May Like: Topps Baseball 2021 Series 1

Should I Have My Sports Cards Professionally Graded

Many people looking to sell their collections are told that getting their cards professionally graded makes them more valuable. While this is sometimes true for rare and expensive cards, sending a bunch of mid-grade common cards to PSA is not worth the expense. With the expensive shipping and insurance fees the cost is routinely $14 – $17 per common card, and much more for stars. At Deans Cards, we do not usually advise getting a card graded unless it is old, in great condition, or a star card . We often see people that inherited collections spend far more on grading fees than the collection is actually worth. The key is knowing which cards to submit for grading. Dean says that if a card has a high value it’s because of the card, not the graded case it’s in! Usually, the safer and more profitable move is to sell your cards ungraded.

For more information, check out this page dedicated entirely to this topic:Should I Get My Baseball Cards Graded by PSA?

Best Places To Sell Baseball Cards Online

Wondering, where to sell baseball cards online? Gone are the days when you needed to get in touch with an avid baseball card collector to sell your baseball cards, but its easy to sell baseball cards online and offline.

Selling baseball cards online can be a bit overwhelming, given the myriad options to choose from. But here are 15 verified places that buy baseball cards online and dont scrimp on the price.

Don’t Miss: Under Armour Youth Baseball Socks

Prices Depend On Condition

The hardest part about placing a value on a sports card, especially older ones, is determining a card’s condition, or grade. Since most cards were originally bought and handled by kids, a very low percentage of the cards remain in high-quality condition. Most of the cards from my childhood collection would be graded FAIR, GOOD, or VERY GOOD at best, which is only 1.5, 2, and 3 on the 10-point grading scale! Sports cards in these conditions typically sell for 5% to 25% of the same card in pristine condition.

There are dozens of minor details that go into evaluating the condition of vintage sports cards. Grading takes years to perfect, but learn more by checking out this page: Deans Cards Guide to Grading Vintage Baseball Cards.

Basing your expectations on the prices of similar sports cards listed online is tricky due to varying grading standards among collectors. Most cards listed on eBay are “graded” by the seller, and the experience of eBay sellers ranges widely from amateur to expert. We find that cards listed on eBay are often over graded by two or three grades! Even Professionally graded cards vary greatlyfrom card-to-card based on when they were graded and who submitted them for grading.

Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps #311 Psa 9

This Mickey Mantle card sold for $5.2 million in 2021, in large part due to its high-quality rating and its rarity its assumed to be one of only 6 remaining versions of the card in the world. Mickey Mantle is a name known even to people outside the baseball world. He was considered the best switch hitter ever to play in Major League Baseball, and his career lasted from 1951 until injuries slowed his progress in 1968. By the time he left the big leagues he had racked up 536 home runs. Rookie cards are often the most valuable cards belonging to any given player, especially a household name. But this 1952 Topps card is actually more valuable than Mantles rookie card, a 1951 Bowman, because of the story of its production. Topps boss Sy Berger left the printing presses running in 1952, leading to a stockpile of more cards than he could sell that summer. In 1960, Berger dumped 500 cases of those overprinted cards including the Mantle #311 into the Hudson River.

Also Check: What Is Runline In Baseball Betting

Jackie Robinson Topps #312

$960,000

In May 2021, the PSA website reported that a collector paid $960,000 for a 1952 Jackie Robinson Topps #312.

With a PSA Mint 9 grading, this card is in near-perfect condition. A PSA NM-MT 8 card goes for only $192,000 well within everyone’s price range, right?

In addition to his impressive stats, Jackie Robinson made history as the first Black player to join the major leagues. He faced abuse and discrimination throughout his career, but it didn’t stop him from racking up multiple awards, 1,518 hits and a .311 batting average.

The MLB retired his number “42” in 1997.

Selling Baseball Cards For Quick And Easy Cash

Selling baseball cards is an easy way to make money on the side.

Now that you know how to sell baseball cards, you can apply what you learned to similar vintage sports card collections plus other collectibles, sports memorabilia, and vintage items.

For example, if you have a box of old basketball cards, football cards, or hockey cards, follow the same guidelines above to see if you can profit off your stash.

We hope youre able to find some hidden gems in your collection and make top dollar for your cards.

If youre interested in selling other items online, make sure to check out our guide to selling tech gear and selling anything else you can think of online.

Brett Helling is the founder of Gigworker.com. He has been a rideshare driver since early 2012, having completed hundreds of trips for companies including Uber, Lyft, and Postmates.

Since that time, he has expanded his knowledge into the Gigworker site, as well as writing the book Gigworker: Independent Work and the State of the Gig Economy Paperback, .

You May Like: Fantasy Baseball Who To Start

The Four Eras Of Baseball Cards

Baseball cards are generally classified into four eras. Although the exact definitions of these eras may vary from expert to expert, you will find the Deans Cards parameters consistent with almost any other source of knowledge. Since the year of a card heavily influences value, cards from certain eras are treated differently and you should adjust your expectations for financial return accordingly. Click on these links to read more about the era, or eras, in which your cards fall.

Deans Cards does not buy cards newer than 1980. However, some hold value. To read more, please click the link above.

Is It Better To Sell Baseball Cards In Bulk

If you spend enough time buying and selling sports cards, youll find yourself with a massive catalog of cards you dont want or cant turn a profit on.

These cards are often thought of as worth next to nothing and arent even worth the paper theyre printed on.

Is bulk selling a good deal? The average card dealer that sells bulk lots of cards does it for a mark-up, and doesnt list all of the cards in the lot.

This ensures they can get away with sneaking in lower-value cards to get rid of them at some sort of profit.

If you sell in bulk: dig through your cards thoroughly. Never sell cards that are worth more than a dollar within a bulk sale, and avoid selling any cards you havent researched within a bulk sale.

Although you may like that you can get a quick sale, you could be leaving tons of money on the table.

You May Like: Places That Buy Old Baseball Cards

Mickey Mantle Topps #82

$450,000

The PSA Mint 9 1953 Mickey Mantle Topps #82 sells for $450,000, according to the PSA website.

PSA Mint 9 cards are hard to find most of these cards have lower ratings because they have chips, defects and off-centered images.

At the end of his career, Mickey Mantle’s stats included 2,415 hits and 536 home runs.

Mantle was so beloved that the New York Yankees wore black armbands in the season after his death. Mantle was inducted into the The Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

Baseball Card Grading Guide

Grading baseball cards is crucial to knowing what the actual value is.

The order of grades from best to worst are:

• MintCondition A card in absolutely perfect condition
• Near Mint A card that is nearly perfect
• Excellent Surface gloss might have a slight fade, corners might be slightly rounded
• Very Good Wear apparent, rounded borders, some small creasing
• Good A lot of wear and use, including creases
• Fair/Poor Heavy wear and damage, for collecting only

Higher graded cards are worth more.

For a real deep dive into grading, check out this article.

Recommended Reading: Youth 11.25 Baseball Glove

How To Sell Baseball Cards On Ebay

eBay is one of the first online marketplaces, and is still the second-largest online marketplace in the United States, making it a great choice to sell your baseball cards.

One of the noteworthy features of eBay is that sellers can reach prospective buyers from across the world, and baseball cards are a hot item to sell on the platform.

You can list your baseball cards for free on eBay but will have to pay a $.35 insertion fee after 250 listings. If your baseball cards sell, eBay keeps a portion of the sale, which is roughly 12.9 percent of the final sale price.

After your item sells, and eBay collects its fee, you will receive your payments in your linked checking account.