How to make money collecting baseball cards

I wanted to see how much money someone could make over a year selling cards casually on COMC. I came into this challenge already with years of selling on COMC under my belt — so my only purpose for this account was to flip cards already on the site. That would be the ma,e type price. I get the Total Cost figures below from my sales history, which I have linked crads if you want to take a look at all my sales. How many eBay sellers you know show their data like this?? The data shows how much I paid for each card — and how much it was sold. A few things about the numbers you see. The Stats are only for 6 months of the year since the account was opened in June of Consequently, the stats are essentially a 7 month figure since they collectjng YTD.

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Michael Pruser. At age seven, I tagged along with my father, waking up at 4am on the weekends to help him change the cups at a golf course he landscaped. Compounding on that job, I would frisk the woods of the course and grab all the stray golf balls I could find. Then, I would bring them home, clean them, and set up shop on the short par 3 fifth. I made a pretty penny. Throughout third grade, I ran my own candy shop. Warheads, Jawbreakers, Tootsie Pops… whatever you wanted, I had it. Mom and I would go to the grocery store, and I would spend 45 minutes in the candy aisle with a notebook. I put a lot of effort into working my food costs and trying to find the right mix for the boys and girls in my class.

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Girls were always drawn to the Fireballs. At the University of Miami, I made friends with someone from Peru who had an inside track on a Lacoste warehouse. Sizes ranged from 3 to 9, and if you caught me just after a shipment, I would have different colors for you to choose from in any size. I made the mistake of expanding the business outside of my university and selling on eBay, at which point I ran into a bit of legal trouble with Lacoste and their fancy New York lawyers. Fast forward to today. Instead, the majority of my investment portfolio resides in baseball, basketball, and football cards. I started collecting baseball cards when I was in grade school and lost the hobby when I started racking up student loan debt.

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Part of modern card collecting is that many of us look for ways to make a little bit of money out of it. And that’s great. Now let’s get one thing straight, there’s no easy way to profit off of cards. What works for one person isn’t going to work for long if 50 others do the exact same thing. Flipping cards on COMC is one of them. It’s no get-rich-quick method, but it’s not difficult or tricky to do either.

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Article Info This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. If you put more effort into the presentation of the cards, your chances are higher of someone buying them. And industry observers note that the high-end vintage cards in mint condition continue to increase in value, drawing rather than deterring the well-heeled hobbyist. Then your next category is post-war cards, or cards produced between and Never lie about their condition. Put ads out on Craigslist, eBay or other websites where cards are sold. Purchase a binder and pocket protection pages. It was an era when baseball card collecting engaged scores of passionate Americans, especially children. As much as nostalgists might like to protect the collecting hobby with the type of clear cellophane case that keeps vintage cards from aging, interest has faded from its peak period. Depending on the amount of your initial investment and the time it takes you to make the sale, even a small profit can be considered successful. Start with the oldest, most valuable cards, and move to the newer, less valuable cards. Stay up to date on all the latest sports card and memorabilia news, articles, and products by subscribing to our newsletter below: Email address: Privacy guaranteed. Make your ad attractive to catch everyone’s attention.

How I Got Started Investing in Baseball Cards

Next, consult a Beckett price guide to get an idea of how much your cards are worth. By the early s, baseball cards were the engine of a full-blown billion-dollar industry that capitalized mqke a card collection craze. For many avid card collectors, many of the cards that are most valuable are also the most sentimental. Article Summary X To sell baseball cards, start by organizing your cards chronologically since older cards are typically more tto. Present your cards. It can be enjoyable to browse through cards, find something you think can be turned into a profit, buy it and relist it. Show them to a card dealer preferably more than one dealer.

I am in the. For the next five hours, Wright enjoyed the inanimate companionship provided by the beloved baseball merchandise at her Cornelia Sports Card Colleccting. There was no other option, given the scarce human traffic.

She made two sales that day, and only one was for baseball cards. She first opened 33 years ago in this tiny town tucked into the northeast corner of Georgia. It was an era when baseball card collecting engaged scores of passionate Americans, especially children. The hobby ultimately engulfed adult baby boomers — some driven by the investment potential, others willing to spend considerable discretionary dollars just for fun.

By the early s, baseball cards were the engine of a full-blown billion-dollar industry that capitalized on a card collection craze. When they grew up and moved out of the house, she gathered the cards left behind and performed a parenting role reversal — following in the footsteps of her children.

Wright immersed herself in the trade, educating herself on the value of cards. She boned up on baseball by making televised big league games, especially those of her Atlanta Braves, a nightly ritual with her husband. Children gobbled up the small packs, their fathers the jumbo ones. Her next largest sale was a single card. Ordered shipments sometimes included a special pack with one player, unidentified, inside. For once, she resorted to the Internet, relying on one of her sons to list the no-longer-hidden treasure for sale.

Mostly, Wright has catered to the casual collector, marking up the price of packs and sets just enough to assure a small gain for herself while keeping them affordable. But not nearly as profitable over the last two decades. As much as nostalgists might like to protect the collecting hobby with the type of clear cellophane case that keeps vintage cards from aging, interest has faded from its peak period.

Berkus how to make money collecting baseball cards that the amount of money from card sales across the country each year has declined by nearly two thirds from its peak. Berkus in basebll blamed cards flooding the market from multiple manufacturers that had previously waged healthy competition. Then investors found them to be less reliable than shares of stock.

And industry observers note that the high-end vintage cards in mint condition continue to increase in value, drawing rather than deterring the well-heeled hobbyist. Some experts envision the fever, even if ho, spreading again to the masses. Chris Carlin, the manager of basebball marketing and social media for the card maker Upper Deck, also senses more prosperous times ahead as customers grow accustomed to buying and trading online.

Wright does not share the encouraging outlook. Still, she has no plans to shutter the store, one of few that peddle baseball cards in north Georgia. The nearest competitor is in Helen, about 20 miles away. Also on the shelves and in glass cases are cards featuring Pokemon, football, basketball, Tiger Woods baseballl President Obama, along with specially minted coins and items that remind visitors of long-gone fads like Beanie Babies.

It is not enough to make the venture financially worthwhile for her, but Wright is content to wile away the hours — 25 over the course of a week — in the quiet company of her cards and the memories they bring.

Before getting started, you should make sure that you know what cards you. There are lots of great tips below on this page to help you identify what you. Most vintage cards have some value, even if they’re not in the best of condition.

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The vintage and prewar market is at least partially driven by the «Holy Grail» of cards, the T Honus Wagner. What your cards are worth will depend on several factors including the demand and the condition of the cards. A few card shops are still out there, but most have disappeared from local communities. Most local sports card dealers how to make money collecting baseball cards be interested in buying your collection but only if they know they can turn it around for a profit quickly and will likely not offer you representative value. You would be wise to seek an offer from a nationally known dealer that will have both the financial resources and customer base to pay you more for your cards than the card shop across town. Each collection is different and each seller has unique goals, but there are some basic steps that even a complete novice can follow to be able to sell sports cards.