eBay

vintagenorth · ‎08-06-2016

I have lots of hockey and baseball cards we bought back in the 60s and 70s. Some are unopened boxes. Some were rookie cards and have been kept in hard plastic covers. If I wanted to sell them I know it's best to get them graded. Where do I go to get these graded? Anyone know? I am in the Toronto area.

Thanks.

mcrlmn · ‎08-06-2016

Google for your area.

Pass... Grading will cost you more than most of the cards are worth.

vintagenorth · ‎08-06-2016

Really? I thought it might be worth while since I have rookie cards that were taken from pkg and never played with, just stored in covers. Hubby is a bit OCD about his collectibles.

pierrelebel · ‎08-06-2016

Please take a few minutes to review the price hockey cards have sold on eBay recently:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Trading-Cards/868/i.html?_from=R40&_sop=15&_nkw=hockey%20cards&LH_Complete=1...

I think you will quickly agree it is not worth your time and money to have each card "graded".

ricarmic · ‎08-06-2016

Just like all collectibles, it depends on which ones.

There are grading companies that will do bunches together, PSA was the main in in the days I was in it, it has been years since I've dealt with sports cards so I'll leave the names and contacts of grading companies to someone who's selling them these days.

It is pretty simple to decide on the ones that are gradable, all you need to do is do searches on the cards, similar to what Pierre provided except specific to the cards you think have value.

When its 60s and 70s era stuff, it likely is much more solid than anything after the 70s.

If it were me, I'd do searches for ones like:

"dryden rookie"
"sittler rookie"
"esposito rookie"

etc and see what they're offered for and more importantly what they sell for.

Once you know the cost of grading them, you'll know which ones are worthwhile to have graded.

I would also only grade a couple at first, you'll see a big difference in price based on how well a card is graded. What looks like a "9" to you probably isn't. After you see how the first batch of cards gets graded then you'll have a lot better idea what is worth sending as well.

Stuff in boxes (ie unopened packs) from that era I would think are still quite worthwhile....

dutchman48 · ‎08-06-2016

Look for one of these Gretzky cards!!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/wayne-gretzky-rookie-hockey-card-auction-1.3708650

reallynicestamps · ‎08-06-2016

I call a few dealers and ask if they do 'estate appraisals'.

This should find you someone who is comfortable giving you a value for the cards if sold at auction, written, on letterhead, with a description of the better material with approximate auction value.

'Estate' because you don't just want an offer to buy (that's a cash value appraisal) or the cost to replace (that's the insurance value- and much higher than the other two).

Then you(r husband) can decide whether to sell to the dealer for cash (low price but fast money), or to eBay the common cards in lots and the better ones as singles.

And the appraiser will be able to tell you about certificates - including who gives easy ones and who gives respected ones.

Expect to pay the dealer for the appraisal.

Expect to be asked to stay during the appraisal. This is for the appraiser's security, not yours, but if a dealer needs to do a lot of research he doesn't know his cards very well.

I'm basing this on DH's practices as an appraiser of postage stamps.

sylviebee · ‎08-07-2016

I totally identify with your dilemma.

I have albums filled with baseball cards and have been putting them aside for years because they are such a PITA to deal with.

I'm not concerned with condition as they're all undamaged and close to mint, but searching to get a feel for value is a monstrous chore I have ZERO interest in undertaking.

I would like to put them up for sale as is in the albums but that presents other problems.

For example, shipping cost would be sky hi because of the weight.

Also, there is a higher than normal risk that someone will buy the albums, pick out the best cards, and return the picked through albums(s) leaving me stuck with refunding a hefty shipping cost or two (if they claim INAD).

I've thought of approaching a store which specializes in cards but I'm pretty sure they'd offer me a few dollars for the lot regardless of what gems might lurk inside.

Selling these things when you have no interest or knowledge about the cards is a wretched chore.

I've been putting the task aside for the past 10 years or so but at some point I'll have to deal with it.

vintagenorth · ‎08-07-2016

SYlvie, that's exactly how I feel. I spend enough time listing my regular items on eBay, no real time to deal with these cards. I might just get the Gretzky rookie cards and a few others graded though. If they don't grade at least a 9 I don't think I need to bother with them though, just not worth it from what I can see.

reallynicestamps · ‎08-07-2016

Sylvie

I don't think you need to worry about the shipping.

Either the buyer thinks it worthwhile or he doesn't. You don't pay for shipping, he does. Let him make his own decisions.

And the guy who wants to cheap out is going to give you even more problems.

You can also offer the buyer (not the bidder) the choice of shipping as advertised with the albums or at a lower cost without. But don't do that until you have a sale because we both know the customer will want the albums and the lower shipping cost.

The cherry picker is a problem. No good answer. That's rare in philately. (I've mentioned the APS circuit books before.)

And again, don't go to the dealer for a cash offer. He wants to be able to mark up the cards and sell them retail just as you do.

Ask for the estate appraisal I mentioned above and be willing to pay for it.

DH used to flip through a small collection and tell the buyer whether or not the written appraisal would be worth paying for.

And since you are concerned about theft, be prepared to wait while the dealer does the appraisal in front of you. It really shouldn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.

If you didn't put a collection together, don't change what the collector did before showing it to a professional for appraisal. There is a logic in there somewhere, even if you can't see it.

sylviebee · ‎08-07-2016

I'd just list these as albums full of cards with lots of photos but my pictures would be of random cards because i don't know which cards to single out as special.

I'm pretty sure that shipping cost would be high enough to stop most collectors from buying

Taking the cards out of the albums for shipping would be a lot of work in and of itself and i'm not sure the selling price would justify that effort.

I could be wrong, but I'm of the opinion that unless you know there are gems in the lot then appraisals are a waste of money.

But that's circular because if I knew which cards are special then I wouldn't need an appraisal.

Going through these cards one by one would take hours even for someone in the know and it wouldn't take much to surpass the value of the album.

These are the reasons I always end up chucking the albums aside. Too much of a headache to deal with.

vintage, if you come up with a solution let me know. I'd like to borrow it.

femmefan1946 · ‎08-07-2016

Going through these cards one by one would take hours even for someone in the know and it wouldn't take much to surpass the value of the album.

It really doesn't.

Seriously.

Most cards are common and not worth much.

A good appraiser just notes their existence (mentally) as he flips through the pages.

He's watching for the uncommon ones and I suppose for autographs.

And you discuss the fees when you phone for an appointment.

When I worked in the stamp store, I get a reasonable idea of whether a collection was worth a paid appraisal on the telephone.

I'd ask the name of the album. Looking for the ones that cost a fair amount because those were also the ones where the collector was spending money.

I'd tell the owner to go to the Canadian section and tell me what stamps were on the first page. This told me whether there were pre- WWII or better preWWi one stamps.

I'd ask if there was a Bluenose. And if it was mint. And what the postmark was on the mint stamp. These gave me an idea of the expertise of the owner. (One of Canada's best known stamps. And a mint stamp won't have a postmark.)

We would appraise and/or offer to buy any collection, but sometimes it was a good idea to have DH talk to the owner and sometimes the collection was of only sentimental value.

And sometimes we did a formal appraisal on junk which was gratefully accepted by a harrassed executor.

Stamps are less of a gamble than sportscards. A valuable collection needs either money or knowledge to go up in value faster than inflation.

If there are less than a station wagon full of cards, allow the appraiser maybe an hour. Two at the most.

The more bulk the more common stuff.

jt-libra · ‎08-07-2016

@vintagenorth wrote:
I have lots of hockey and baseball cards we bought back in the 60s and 70s. Some are unopened boxes. Some were rookie cards and have been kept in hard plastic covers. If I wanted to sell them I know it's best to get them graded. Where do I go to get these graded? Anyone know? I am in the Toronto area.
Thanks.

I'm very interested in this topic as well.

My late brother left several thousand hockey and baseball cards. I rented a storage locker to house them until I can get them evaluated. I'm still dealing with other aspects of his estate.

A few single cards were in his safety deposit box so I know they are very valuable. As well, I did find a list of some of his cards --- what he paid and what the value is. No doubt, he probably did this for insurance purposes. The value ranged from $100 a card to $1000 a card. He also indicated which cards he had sold and how much he received for them and the selling price was either the same or higher than the value he had recorded. One set of 6 cards brought him $2400.

I have looked online for a few of the cards but, for an inexperienced person like myself, it's a lost cause. A Wayne Gretzky rookie card, for instance, can sell for as little as $3.00 and as much as $95,000 which was the price recently obtained at an auction in California. Yet, to the untrained eye, they look identical.

People have told me that there are a lot of honest dealers around, but I'm very apprehensive. My brother did use a dealer; he didn't sell them online. But I was told that he was disappointed with the last dealer he used. So if an experienced collector like himself had to exercise a great deal of caution with a dealer, I'm afraid to even begin.

This is going to be a winter project for me.

Good luck. I wouldn't be discouraged by the low prices you see these sold for on eBay. I know that brand new cards from the 60's and 70's can be very valuable and, personally, I wouldn't take a chance on selling them on this site before I got expert advice.

vintagenorth · ‎08-07-2016

Hi jt, no fun dealing with an estate (well, for obvious reasons). My wonderful MIL passed away nearly 4 yrs ago and hubby is still not finished with it. We are almost done, all the $$ have been dispersed but stock certificates are a real pain to finalize. We are definitely on a first-name basis with our lawyer now!

Sorry about your brother, mom was 95 so it was expected. Still miss her a lot tough.