How to Sell Sports Cards

Whether you’re an avid collector yourself or you’ve inherited a collection, sports cards can take up a lot of space. If you’re looking to declutter (and earn some cash along the way), you may be wondering how to sell baseball cards and other sports cards.

We’ve got you covered. Here’s a detailed guide on how to sell sports cards for the most money, without the hassle.

How to Sell Sports Cards in Seattle

Bellevue Rare Coins is the best place to sell sports cards in Seattle. We have convenient locations in West Seattle, Bellevue, Lynnwood, Issaquah, and Tacoma.

Bellevue Rare Coins buys baseball cards, basketball cards, football cards, F1 racing cards, hockey cards, and much more — all for top dollar.

Plus, Bellevue Rare Coins offers quick, no-obligation quotes. You can come in with your collection to receive a free quote, with no obligation to sell.

To sell, simply:

1. Bring in your items to one of our stores (consider making an appointment for the fastest service)
2. Our staff will examine your cards and provide a quote
3. If you accept the offer, you can walk out in minutes with a check
4. If you don’t want to sell, no problem — you are never obligated!

You may be wondering, why is a coin shop buying sports cards? Well, the truth is that Bellevue Rare Coins deals in much more than just coins. In fact, we’re the best place to sell valuables in Seattle.

We buy coins, gold and silver bullion, jewelry, sports memorabilia, stamps, and yes — sports cards of all types.

BRC’s expert sports card buyers know exactly what to look for, and can help you get the most for your cards. We buy everything from single rare cards, all the way up to massive collections by the truckload!

Make an appointment today, or simply stop by one of our five Seattle-area locations.

How to Sell Sports Cards Online

If you don’t live in the Seattle area, you could find a local trading card dealer that may purchase your collection.

Alternatively, there are ways to sell sports cards online. Here are some different approaches.

Selling on eBay

eBay allows sellers to list individual cards or entire collections. It can be a decent option, but it requires more effort than selling to a shop. You’ll need to inventory your collection, take pictures of everything, sign up for an eBay account, and then wait for a buyer to purchase it. And you’ll have to pay to ship it, and pay for eBay seller’s fees.

Despite the hassle, eBay might be worthwhile for certain people. If you have an ultra-rare card that might fetch a lot of money, it could be worth it to put it on eBay. Or if you have a collection and you don’t really care how much you get for it, you could put it up for auction on eBay. Just remember to account for the cost of shipping your collection!

Selling to online sports card dealers

There are also a handful of companies that specialize in buying sports cards collections over the internet. You can search to find options — just be sure to read customer reviews to find a reputable company.

Generally speaking, these companies will ask you to ship your cards to them. They will then examine them and prepare an offer. If you accept the offer, you will be paid. If not, they ship the cards back to you. You will typically be responsible for shipping costs in both directions.

How Much Are Sports Cards Worth?

A tricky question! The value of a sports card collection can vary from almost nothing to tens of thousands of dollars.

For individual rare cards, you can search completed listings on eBay to see what the card has sold for in the past. You could also use eBay’s Terapeak research tool.

Online price guides for sports cards also exist. Beckett is among the most well known. However, take price guide prices with a grain of salt, as they don’t necessarily match what you could actually get for a card.

Here are some of the factors that affect the value of sports cards.

• Sport: Cards from more popular sports are generally worth more. Baseball, basketball, and football cards are the most commonly collected.
• Era: Vintage cards tend to be more valuable than modern cards. There’s one exception: baseball cards from 1986 to 1992 have little to no value, simply because so many cards were produced during this time period.
• Athlete popularity: Cards of sports legends will obviously be more valuable than cards from lesser-known athletes.
• Career era: If you have a rookie card for an athlete who went on to become very successful, that card will typically be worth more than a card from the same athlete’s later career years.
• Condition: The better the condition, the more a card will be worth. Damaged cards have little to no value, unless they are very rare.
• Grading: Sports cards can be graded by companies like PSA, BGS, and SGC. If the card receives high grades, it may be worth more. Graded cards also have the benefit of being more difficult to counterfeit, so they may be more attractive to collectors.
• Collection size: The sheer number of cards in your collection can affect the value. Even if you don’t have any rare cards, a collection with thousands of cards could still be valuable.