Like any other market, sports and gaming cards are governed by the laws of supply and demand. The scarcity of a card determines its price… how rare it is and how many people want it. This article talks about the factors that determine a cards value, and how to determine what your cards are worth TODAY.
Before card collectors had the Internet, they had to rely on buying and selling to a local market. Nowadays it’s possible to buy and sell to a global market thanks to eBay.
Most price guides have a secret algorithm that spits out a high and a low price. Often times baseball cards sell for a fraction of what they book for. So what is YOUR card ACTUALLY worth? The economists answer is, “whatever you can sell it for today.” The best place to find out what cards are selling for right now is eBay. You could sell it to the local card shop, you could sell it to a friend, you could sell it on online… but it’s only worth what you can sell it for.
The price guide is simple. The price of a card is not. There are many factors that influence price, and eBay reflects that. Below are a few factors that influence what your card is worth:
Player Popularity – this varies over time and is not just based on stats. Did the player have a good year? Are they loved by fans? Did they win an award? Did they just get inducted into the hall of fame? Did they get into legal trouble? Did they just die? All of these things effect that player’s card values. Some of them are predictable (like being inducted into the hall of fame), others are not (like suddenly dying or getting arrested).
Rarity – some cards are just more rare than other. Fewer were printed. Card manufacturers often “short print” certain cards, usually rookie cards. Some cards have a serial number such as 1 0f 100 that make that card unique.
Brand – not all card brands are created equal. There are low end brands that print large quantities of low quality cards, there are high end brands that produce small quantities of high quality cards… and everything in between. The best brands will cost the most to buy but they usually end up being worth the most.
Condition – the condition of the card can drastically affect the price of the card. People are more forgiving when it comes to the condition of older cards. Nobody expects a 100 year old card to have perfect centering and corners… but they do expect that for modern cards. Cards are judged based on many factors, which you can learn about here. The card collecting industry recognizes several major authenticating/grading companies: PSA, Beckett, GAI, and SGC. There are other grading and authenticating services out there, but it’s best to stick with the established well known companies.
The most well known and widely used grading scale is the PSA scale developed by Professional Sports Authenticators. They use the following scale:
- 10 Gem Mint
- 9 Mint
- 8 Near Mint-Mint
- 7 Near Mint
- 6 Excellent Mint
- 5 Excellent
- 4 Very Good-Excellent
- 3 Very Good
- 2 Good
- 1 Poor to Fair
I have 3 uncut rolls of 1990 topps baseball cards. What could they be worth?
How much would a 1968 Reggie Jackson be worth?
I believe his rookie year is 1969… there’s a lot of reprint or “art” 1968 cards… perhaps your card is one of these? If your card is a 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson it could be valuable. Here’s the link to the 1969 Topps card: https://mavin.io/search?q=1969+Topps+Reggie+Jackson+&bt=sold
I have a lot of very good condition collectible baseball cards and few other collectible items,i’m looking to sell them for best going value. I need the money and just don’t know who or how to go about selling these. I would appreciate any help in any direction,that you can offer me. Thank you,sincerely Kellie.
Hey Kellie! Have you tried searching for your card on Mavin? Simply type the card into the search bar, use the checkboxes to select listings most similar to yours, and we’ll give you the average price! Let us know how it works!
i have 2 books of very old cards conlon collcction. book of player all in great condition
i collect baseball i just want to known the price of the cards.
Hey Bruce! Have you tried searching for your cards on Mavin? Simply type a card into the search bar, use the checkboxes to select listings most similar to yours, and we’ll give you the average price! Let us know how it works!
I have a 1996 gold Babe Ruth card encased in plastic in excellent condition and curious to know what if anything is it good.
Hi Sandy! It is very easy to find out what your card might be worth! Try searching for your card on our main page using the search bar. Use the checkboxes to pick the cards most like yours and we’ll give you the average price. Let us know what you think!
I have a lot of base ball cards and I need to know what they are worth can you help me Thanks
Hi Pam. Thanks for your comment! Mavin is here to help you find the value of your cards. Start by searching for a card using the search bar on the main page, then use the checkboxes to pick the cards most similar to yours. We will give you the average price! It’s magically simple. Let us know how it works for you!
Am looking for a site where I could type in my whole inventory, be able to see individual appraisal of each card, and also see what the total value of my inventory is worth. Is there such a site? I have baseball, football, and hockey cards. Thank you for a reply.
Hi Shelia! We are working on new updates everyday. Keeping track of your inventory value is definitely on our list but will take some time. One feature we will be adding soon is having a history of prices so you can track the value of a card over time. Please keep searching and we would love more feedback!
Ihave baseball cards the conlon collection, players from 1912 -1940 mvp cards allcards are in great condition.
I buy and sell sports cards except hockey, i want to take this time to THANK MAVIN for such a great web site to help out people that wants to know a sports card value, not only is it free but it makes it alot easier and i honestly go through less stress paying somewhere else i give MAVIN Price Guides an A+!