Need opinions on baseball collection

rbduckie

New and seeking advice.....

I used to collect baseball cards, but now I simply don't have the room to keep all of them anymore.
I have sets from 1978 to approx. 1988, in Topps, Fleer & Donruss (yrs applicable), along with other
single cards from different years (such as Gary Carter rookies, etc), and I'm trying to decide the best
way to approach this. Selling as sets doesn't seem to be the best way. Thinking about pulling the
more valuable cards, getting them graded, and going in that direction? Sell individual cards from the
sets, grade the more valuable ones but still sell them in a set, or dump them all in the trash heap
and call it a day??? (okay, that last option isn't really an option, but sometimes it seems that would
be simplier!) Is spending the money to grade worth it? The cards have been stored in set boxes and
untouched since put away, so they should be in pretty good shape (I haven't pulled them out yet to
really examine them but I did open some of the individual boxes and they seem fine).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

tkd7

I would pull some of the more valuable cards and see what kind of condition they are. You can scan some and post here for some opinions. Unless the cards will grade 9 or 10, it probably isn't worth grading cards from those years. Once you see what the general condition of the cards is, you will be in a better position to decide to break/sell as sets/save and enjoy.

rbduckie

Thanks! I'm expecting them to be in the shape they were in when first put in - mostly excellent in my non-professional opinion,
give or take a card maybe here or there. I made a list of cards that seemed to be worth something in the 1978 Topps set so I guess I'll
start there (might as well start at the beginning!) I have a bunch of Phillies cards as well from all kinds of years. It's been on my
mind for awhile but since I didn't know where to start I kept putting it off. I have to fix my scanner (love it when you upgrade software
and it screws something else up) so once I have that taken care of I'll see scan a few and post them.
Thanks again!

XanaduNow

Be careful duckie.

I recently picked up a loupe and was flat-out astonished at all the imperfections I never would have seen (at least to their magnitude) with my naked eye. Grading is a skill and it requires practice and time. It doesn't sound like you're looking to invest a great deal of time and/or money in selling your collection so it may just be easier for you in the long run to just put the sets up as is and see what you can get.

Either way, good luck.

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

I agree on getting a loupe.
Learn to grade correctly.
Submit to grading and sell stars then with leftovers sell as team sets.
Some team sets are junk so instead of wasting fees on ebay post them on Naxcom and wait.
You can toss that 1988 stuff though.
Any 89 Fleer Bill Ripkens, let me know.

larryallen73

The simple truth is that unless you want to spend a substantial amount of time (and some money) getting stuff graded, selling stuff on Ebay, etc... it's probably best to just sell as a bulk sale (maybe on Craigslist?), get substantially less than you thought they were worth, and move on with other areas of your life. There are just so many cards printed and available for those years that it's tough to sell them unless you are a rare person who has pristine condition cards. Even easier donate to a nice charity and take a big deduction. Good luck.

rbduckie

Yes, I'm no professional at grading - that's why I wondered if grading the more valuable ones would be better. It's really a shame how the value of baseball cards plummeted. My uncle used to invest a lot of time and money in them and used to help me complete my sets before he passed away - he'd be so disappointed to see how the market turned. If I thought investing time and some money in selling them would be worth it I'd do it. But since they are more modern cards I don't know if investing a lot in them is worth it, so I was thinking bulking them.... forgot about craig's list.... that could be an idea....never heard of Naxcom.

I'm not sure how many cards past 88 I have Ripkencollector, but I do have 2 cards he signed (I can't remember what year).... I guess there is the option of having them authenticated. Also have a Ripken milk poster...and a Pete Rose poster.... oh, and the Desert Storm card set..... I have an eclectic mix, I'll admit that! LOL

lostdart58

......a complete desert storm set would be worth more then a few dollars....

CDsNuts

Do you have a scanner? If so, make a big scan of a few cards that you would consider to be in the best condition and post it here. We will tell you if they are worth grading.

Lee

CDsNuts

Lost, I think he's talking about the non-sports set with cards of George Bush and Norman Schwartzkoff, not the baseball set.

Lee

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

<< <i>
I'm not sure how many cards past 88 I have Ripkencollector, but I do have 2 cards he signed (I can't remember what year).... I guess there is the option of having them authenticated. Also have a Ripken milk poster...and a Pete Rose poster.... oh, and the Desert Storm card set..... I have an eclectic mix, I'll admit that! LOL >>



If you find any 89 Fleer let me know.

Also your PM is turned off. If wanted you can go to profile to turn on,so others can contact you privately thru PSA.

rbduckie

Found the place to turn on PMs..... is there any way to change the password they give you? There is no way I'm gonna remember the mess they assigned.....

When I get a chance I'll scan some in.... I'm at work right now so I can't do it at this moment. And yes, the Desert Storm war set... not the baseball set...

Oh, and CDsnuts...... I'm a girl

CDsNuts

What? A girl? No way. Girls don't collect cards........

Just kidding. Didn't mean to presume your gender, but 99.8% of the people here are male so I guess I just made a bad assumption.

Lee

lostdart58

<< <i>Found the place to turn on PMs..... is there any way to change the password they give you? >>



Go to your profile page to change your password...............( see the "profile" button near the top right of this page)

rbduckie

<< <i>What? A girl? No way. Girls don't collect cards........

Just kidding. Didn't mean to presume your gender, but 99.8% of the people here are male so I guess I just made a bad assumption.

Lee >>






That's okay... you just gave me a good laugh!

rbduckie

Okay... I was wrong.... I have sets up to 1989, including Score. My uncle has EX/MT written on some of the boxes. I know there are what seems like a ton of rating scales out there, so I hope if they are graded they translate well

Thank you lostdart - I totally missed the password change when I changed preferences.

rbduckie

I am elated!!!! After an hour of trying to fix my scanner (after downloading a driver that rendered my scanning ability useless a few months back) I trashed everything that said Epson, reloaded everything and it works! It works! Although I'm not sure scanning the cards really gives the best view..... this card came out of the set that's marked EX-MT.... I totally forgot about the fuss around this one.... my uncle even has "B Ripken" written on the box and I wondered why.... but it's coming back to me now....

tkd7

If you have an 84 Donruss set, that is the modern set that gets the most attention from collectors. High grade cards from that set will get some good money. Check out the condition on the Mattingly card from that set as a start.