How and Where to Sell Baseball Cards

The process for selling baseball cards is similar to the process for selling Pokémon cards or any other type of sought-after collectible. Briefly, you need to identify and appraise them, then find the right buyer.

Here’s how to get the most value for your cards.

1. Identify your cards

To get an idea of how much your cards are worth, you first have to identify exactly what cards you own.

You need to determine four key things about them:

Era

Baseball cards are generally divided into the following three eras:

• Pre-War: These are cards that were printed before the early 1940s
• Vintage: Printed between 1942 and 1979
• Modern: Printed in 1980 or later

Note that these eras aren’t precisely defined. For instance, some experts place the cutoff between “pre-war” and “vintage” cards in 1942, whereas others place it in 1945. That said, in most cases, older cards are worth more than newer ones.

To figure out which era each card is from, you need to know which year it was printed in. The easiest way to find this is to check the statistics listed on the back of your card.

Pay attention to the last year you see, as the card will typically have been printed in the following year. For instance, if the card lists 1955, 1956, and 1957, then you can assume it was printed in 1958.

If your card doesn’t list the player statistics by year, conduct an online search of the player’s name and the card number to find out the year it was printed (e.g., type “Roger Maris #226” into Google). Be sure to check the image results to confirm you’re identifying the right card. You can usually find the card number on the top right or top left corner of the back of the card

Brand

The top companies in the baseball card market own the Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) licenses, which grant them the rights to print logos and images that smaller, lesser-known companies cannot. This usually makes their cards more valuable.

The most prominent companies in the baseball card industry (both past and present) include:

• Topps
• Fanatics
• Allen & Ginter
• Bowman
• Panini
• Upper Deck
• Fleer

Check the back of your card for the copyright, which will indicate the card’s brand. For example, you may see “©T.C.G. PRTD. IN U.S.A.” on the back of a card printed by Topps (“TCG” stands for “Topps Chewing Gum,” the company’s former name).

Set

In addition to the year and brand of your cards, buyers will also want to know which “set” they belong to. A set is a group of cards that were published by the same company around the same time. Some sets are worth more than others.

A card’s set won’t necessarily be printed on it, so the easiest way to find this out is to search for the card on Google.

Bear in mind that some sets are further split into multiple series. If that’s the case, note down both the sets and series of your cards. Once you’ve identified which set and series your cards belong to, search online to see their estimated value.

Type and rarity

As with other types of collectibles, the rarer your card is, the more valuable it’ll be. These types of cards are often worth more than ordinary base cards:

• Star cards: Unlike common cards that feature non-star players, star cards feature players who were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame or other star players.
• Rookie cards: A rookie card is the very first card that was printed for a particular player. Rookie cards of Hall of Famers are some of the most sought-after.
• Autographed cards: A player’s signature on a card will usually increase its value, although this depends on the rarity of the signature.
• Memorabilia cards: These cards each contain a piece of a collectible, such as a jersey, cap, bat, or baseball.
• Short-printed cards: When there were fewer copies of a card printed, it’ll usually be more valuable.
• Parallels: These cards feature special numbering, coloring, or other visual elements, added to an ordinary base card’s design.
• Variations: Variations feature a different image of the player than the ordinary base cards.

2. Determine the condition of your cards

A card’s condition is crucial to its value. For a card to be in mint condition, it can’t have any scratches, stains, marks, or bends, and the corners should be sharp, just like on a brand-new card.

To sell a card for its full value, you’ll need to get it graded by a reputable organization. The biggest names in this space are:

• Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA)
• Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC)
• Beckett Grading Services (BGS)

These companies will check your card’s authenticity and assess its condition. Having your card graded will often increase its value, especially if it’s a rare card.

However, you shouldn’t rush to get all of your cards graded. Depending on the value of your card and the turnaround time you request, grading a card can cost anywhere between $25 and $600. The grading costs will exceed the prices of many of your common cards.

Before having a card professionally appraised, ask yourself if the grading and shipping costs are worth it. Generally, it’s not necessary to grade common cards that feature ordinary players.

3. Decide which cards you actually want to sell

Once you’ve identified your cards and assessed their condition, you should have a good sense of how much your collection is worth. A quick and easy way to find out how much other people are charging is to check the latest final sale price of the cards in your collection on eBay.

At this point, you can decide which cards you’d like to sell. You may choose to keep some of your cards around, either for sentimental reasons or because they just aren’t valuable enough to make selling them worth your time and energy.

Be aware that there’s no guarantee that your cards will increase in value over time, so you should think twice before holding on to a card solely for that reason.

4. Pick the best place to sell your cards

After you decide which cards you’re ready to part ways with, it’s time to figure out where you want to sell them. We’ll dive into three of the most common ways to sell baseball cards below.

Card dealers

Many collectors have started to trade their cards online in recent years, resulting in a drop in the number of brick-and-mortar card dealers. However, there are still some of them around, and visiting a dealer in person is one of the easiest and quickest ways to sell your cards.

When you negotiate with card dealers, be careful. Some may refuse to pay you big bucks for your vintage cards, claiming they mainly target clients who buy newer cards. Others may try to convince you to accept their low offers. It’s important to know your cards’ worth and stand your ground when necessary.

Of course, there are still legitimate card dealers who’ll buy your cards at a reasonable price. Note that you can usually ask them for a free appraisal of your collection. If you decide to go down this path, it’s a good idea to ask around or do online research on the dealer’s reputation first.

Auction houses

If you have high-value cards, consider selling them to an auction house that specializes in sports cards, such as Robert Edward Auctions, Clean Sweep Auctions, or Lelands.

While auction houses will charge you a seller’s fee, they can help you reach more potential buyers and sell your cards at a higher price. Contact a few established auction houses and pick one that seems trustworthy and easy to deal with. (Again, do your due diligence first by researching their reputation online.)

Online marketplaces

Selling your cards online can bring you higher returns, but the process will be more hands-on and time-consuming than the other methods we’ve mentioned.

You’ll have to do all of the work on your own, from listing your cards and communicating with potential buyers to handling payments and shipping them.

Here are four of the most common sites to sell baseball cards:

• eBay: Selling on eBay is a popular choice for online baseball card dealers. You’ll be charged an “insertion fee” for creating a listing and a final value fee for making a sale.
• Check Out My Collectibles (COMC): This site isn’t a fully fledged marketplace; instead, it’s a service that will process your cards for you, taking away some of the burden of selling them yourself. Once you send them your cards, they’ll package and insure them for you and create a listing, which will automatically be posted to eBay.
• Facebook Marketplace: The site is easy to navigate, and it doesn’t have seller fees. However, it also doesn’t have comprehensive protection policies or a built-in payment system.
• Etsy: This site is mainly for selling handmade arts and crafts, but you can list cards on it as long as they’re vintage (defined as being twenty years or older, so many baseball cards that technically belong to the “modern” era will still qualify).

In addition, you can also check out Dave & Adam’s Card World and Sell2BBNovelties. These aren’t marketplaces like eBay, but they do feature “buylists,” which means they’ll purchase certain cards from you themselves.

5. Seal the deal with the buyer

Whether you decide to turn to a dealer, auction house, or marketplace to sell your cards, don’t rush into the sale. Do your research and compare different options beforehand to sell your cards for the best value.

Once you’re sure you’re ready, the only thing left to do is to finalize the deal and hand over the cards (which might require shipping them or just taking them to a physical location). If you have to ship them, package the cards safely by placing them in sleeves or between cardboard sheets. Valuable cards in mint condition should be packaged in hard-shelled cases.

Selling your baseball cards is worth it if you no longer have any emotional attachment to them. If you have a couple thousand cards, you may be able to get a few hundred dollars for them. It’s a quick way to make extra cash while clearing up space.

If you end up enjoying the process, you might even find it worth it to start an ongoing card-flipping side hustle. (“Flipping” cards means buying them secondhand, usually in bulk, and selling them for a profit.)

That said, it’s important to keep your expectations realistic. We’ll discuss how much you can realistically expect to earn in more detail below.

How much can you really make from selling baseball cards?

The rarest baseball cards can sell for millions of dollars. In 2022, a 1952 Topps-branded Mickey Mantle card sold for a record-breaking $12.6 million, becoming both the most expensive card and the most expensive single piece of sports memorabilia ever sold. 1

It probably goes without saying that the odds of you having any cards like that in your possession are negligible. It’s possible (although not guaranteed) that you’ll have a few cards worth $100–$200, but most baseball cards are worth considerably less than that. Even many relatively old and uncommon cards typically sell for around $2–$10, and common cards will usually net just a few cents each.

If you have a lot of cards to sell, that can still translate to a considerable amount of money, and this side hustle can be well worth your time. It’s just important to go into it with reasonable expectations.

Other sports cards you can sell

Baseball cards aren’t the only type of sports cards that have value. You can also make money by selling:

• Basketball cards
• Football cards
• Soccer cards
• Hockey cards
• Auto racing cards
• MMA cards
• Wrestling cards
• Golf cards
• Tennis cards

Whichever type of sports card you want to sell, do your homework and make sure you fully understand the market so that you don’t get lowballed by potential buyers. Good luck!