The baseball card business has dramatically changed over the past few years.  Some of these changes have been caused by a stumbling economy. Some card manufacturers are disappearing.  Currently there are only a few companies left producing sports cards.  The companies that still exist include  Upper Deck, Topps and Panini.  Topps has the exclusive license for baseball cards while Panini has it for basketball cards.  Upper Deck has NCAA licensing for their football cards.  The market has definitely changed over the past few years. Some of the best baseball cards are those that are individually numbered and or signed by the player. The ever changing hobby has made it harder for collectors to find out what their sports cards are worth.    Here are some things to think about before selling your sports cards.

Having You Cards Graded

There are a few companies that grade sports cards.  Sports card grading companies help sellers maximize the amount of money they can sell their sports cards for as well as making sure the cards that are being sold are real.  There are only a few sports card grading companies that we recommend and pricing is different based on turnaround times and quantity of cards being submitted. Here are some of the most popular grading card companies that we have used in the past.

• PSA Grading
• Beckett Grading
• GMA Grading
• SGC Grading

All do a great job and have been in business for more than 10 years. Fees for having your cards graded vary by the company of your choice.  Please visit the sites of the companies listed above for more details.

Finding the Value of Sports Cards on Ebay

Once you have had your cards graded you can now go to one of the biggest marketplaces in the world for sports cards. Ebay has thousands of people buying and selling sports cards every day of the week.  They also have some great tools that can help you find out what your baseball cards are worth.  Use eBay’s search feature to help you find out what your particular cards are being sold for by other dealers.
Once you do a search you will find results of other dealers selling your cards and at various prices.  On the left sidebar you can search through completed auctions which will give you completed sales information of your specific card over the past 30 days.  This can be a great way to find out what your cards are worth.  In many cases this is much better than any price guide you can find in stores.  Information here is up to date and free.  Sellers can use completed auction information to get the information they need about almost any sports cards that has ever been produced.

Once you find the sports card you are looking for you now need to compare it to the condition of the card that you had graded.  Cards in higher grades sell for much more money than those in lower grades.  Much like diamonds, the condition the card is in can dramatically affect the value or price it sells for.

Setting Up an Ebay Account to Sell your Sports Cards

Setting up an Ebay account is very easy and free of charge.  If you are not sure if you should do so you may want to consider how many buyers are at your disposal on Ebay.  The more buyers that see your baseball cards the more bidders you may have.  Selling to local card shops can be frustrating and as they tend to haggle and pay you only a small portion of value of your trading cards.  Ebay is easy and can be much better for your wallet.  Once you signup you can start selling your cards online.  
Make sure when you list your cards for sale you add nice pictures of the front and the back of the cards and write detailed descriptions.  The better the description the more buyers you will have and the less email you will have to answer.  Take your time and do it right.

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