Baseball cards

Nat

My sons all came home for Christmas and my wife and I took it as an opportunity to see what big their old stuff they wanted.
We came across literally thousands of baseball and football cards- late 80s- early 2000s.
None of us have any interest in going through them. Is there a market for bulk lots like this? What does one do?

Par4QC

Nat What does one do?

Get in contact with a local collector. They'll probably offer up a few $$ for the lot of them. And yes, you may get 'screwed' but you and the boys do not want them anyway. Get rid of them.
Most are probably nothing more than 'spoke cards' anyway.😄

My son collects and has some very valuable 'graded' cards. But like coins and other things, a lot of these cards/coins/glass insulators/etc. are just worthless. Take what you can get and be happy they are gone.

braveheart

Nat
I had the same situation once. My father passed away and he had a large baseball card collection. Unless you have rookie cards or other specialty cards, the collection may be nice but not lucrative for you. I researched what I had and eventually sold them for little money to a person who wanted a hobby. I still have numerous Pete Rose and Nolan Ryan cards.
What Weirfan mentions in 1 is spot on. Most of what my Dad had was from that time period.

garyt1957

Somebody would give you literally pennies on the dollar for them in the hopes there's a couple valuable ones in there. Marketplace or the local sports card store would be the places to start.
However, I'd highly recommend going through them. Pull out all the stars first, and then go through the stars and see if you have any cards from their rookie years.
https://www.oldsportscards.com/most-valuable-1980s-baseball-cards/
https://ballcardgenius.com/best-of-decades/100-most-valuable-baseball-cards-from-the-90s/

Seems like it would be a fun trip down memory lane and maybe profitable. Are these cards in some type of protectors?

Weirfan

As a fairly avid collector in the day ( still have most) a couple of thoughts:

The late 80's and early 90's was a period when there was HUGE over saturation of the sports card market. There were like a dozen companies, mass producing cards and most were pumping out 2-3-4 different series of cards not to mention as many as 10 variations of some single cards which makes determining if you have anything of value tough
In todays market you could have a card worth $2500 dollars but unless you have it professionally graded by one of only 2 companies it will be worth pennies on the dollar. PSA is the main grading company. grading will cost anywhere from $20 to over $150 per card and can take as king as a month after it has been received.
There are literally tens of thousands of unopened cases of sports cards from the late 80's and 90's being stored out there. I have friends who bought cases and stashed them away in the hopes that some day there would be value. Problem is too many people thought the same.
There ARE , however , a few cards of potential value . My buddy and I used to go to all the shows and buy up as many 1989 Ken Griffey junior rookie cards as we could, initially we would pay 50 cents maybe , then $2, then in the end $20. My buddy literally had hundreds and me probably 50. We eventually sold them off for anywhere between $50 and $200 each. Some sold for 10's of thousands. Now they are worth anywhere from 50 cents to $50. If you have a PSA graded ,10 gem mint ........basically a unicorn , you might be sitting on something worth $2000....but far more likely it coats you more to have it graded than it will be appraised for.
The suggestion to speak to a REPUTABLE card dealer is prudent. Be prepared though that when you tell them the years of what you have, some might say no thanks as they probably get dozens of same calls every month.
My advice would be to look at the cards and hopefully they are sorted by year, sport. Look at the years you have then do a quick search for " most valuable " cards for that year. For 1989 baseball, you'll get Griffey, Sheffield, Sosa, Johnson ......pull those all aside and take them to a dealer and see if they are interested, keeping in mind they are in the business of making money so will offer 20-50% of the potential sale value ( if you are lucky)

For the ones with no value , which will be most.....find some kids and give them away. Inspent hours and hours as a kid reading the backs of sports cards

sdandrea1

I chewed the bubble gum and gave the cards away in the 60s. That's the extent of my input. Helpful?😎

garyt1957

sdandrea1 I chewed the bubble gum and gave t

60's cards is where the money's at, earlier too of course. I had some Topps '69 (I think) basketball cards and because they hadn't done any BB cards in years virtually everyone was a "rookie" card. Sold the Alcindor card for $400, lots of others for $50 plus.

Nat

Sadly very few of these have much value
I found someone who will give me a few $s for the lot. I’m fine by that. If he finds a gem good for him

sdandrea1

Nat Sadly very few of these have much value
I found someone who will give me a few $s for the lot. I’m fine by that. If he finds a gem good for him

👍🙏