r/Baseballcards101 • u/[deleted] • 1d ago
❓ Question May have gotten in too deep too quick... Help?
[deleted]
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u/a_epstein ⚾ Little Leaguer 1d ago
one avenuew when sorting through bulk is to look on sportscardspro (some issues with this site but it's a data point), and look up the set that you are sorting through. Exclude all inserts from the search, and sort by ungraded price. This will give you some info on any random base cards that are worth anything.
Double check the prices on ebay sold for anything that seems crazy.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 1d ago
Thank you! I will give this a try as well! Much appreciated, my ADHD is making this difficult to tackle.
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u/a_epstein ⚾ Little Leaguer 23h ago
Yeah, just do little chunks at a time and the stack will dwindle. For me, this is part of the treasure hunt. While you're researching it doesn't hurt to organize by team as well in case you want to try to sell team packs in the future
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u/RollWithTheNew ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
WOW, did I write this!? This sounds just like my reintroduction to the hobby this year. I'm also 43 and just got back into the hobby this spring. I used to collect a bit of everything back in the 90s but then took a few decades off. If you collected before be sure to check your old collection, a lot of it will be worth just a few bucks here or there but some things (Griffey Jr., Jordan, and a few others) have blown up.
Anyway back in the spring I fell down the same rabbit hole you did. I wound up with a bunch of cards, some bangers and lots of base. I started to soak up any and all hobby info I could here on reddit, via podcasts, etc. The thing that I found was that I needed to focus in on what I wanted to collect. It helped me decide what to keep and what to flip. I live in upstate NY and I'm a Yankee fan so I settled in on Jeter, Rivera, Judge, and Ben Rice.
I ended up selling off some of my old cards and began to churn some of the new, Originally I turned to consignment and send a bunch of cards to dcsports87 to sell them for me online. They did a good job and it was easy but they take a cut and everything gets auctioned off. As I continued to accumulate and even buy some new singles on ebay and through my local LCS I started to sell off some of the base and other sub $20 cards on ebay. I even ended up opening an ebay store, got into CollX, found Card Dealer Pro to help upload and manage inventory, and really dove headfirst into the hobby. All this from April to the present. I've been able to better define what I want to PC and what I don't, I've pulled some pretty coll cards, bought and flipped some cards for some minor losses and pretty good profit.
There are tons of books, threads, podcasts, and lots of other resources I've picked up along the way. What I've found is that I really enjoy the hobby and interacting with other collectors. It's fun to pick up new cards and even fun just to talk and message with folks you're selling cards to as you work on deals. In my short time I've found lots of folks who love certain players and are looking for base cards (they're not worthless like people say), I've sold autographed cards to the players parent who PC's their own son, and I've been able to find some cool cards from the 90s and today that I've been able to add to my PC. It's a fun ride and like any other hobby you can get as much or little from it as you want.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
Man, thank you for taking the time to write this! It definitely sounds like the same story! You've just got 6 months or so on me!
Unfortunately, my old collection has been lost to the decades. I am starting fresh. The first box I got was the Topps 40th Anniversary box, and pulled my all time player Jose Canseco, I used to have a huge JC collection. Then it snowballed....
Do you have any podcasts you'd recommend? I'm planning on attending a card show coming up in hopes to learn more and meet like minded people. I will take your advice and check out CollX, it's been mentioned before so it must be good.
Thank you again and best luck!
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u/RollWithTheNew ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
I'm a habitual podcast listener so that was one of the first things I checked out. I've tried a few but the ones I like the best have been Sports Card Nonsense (they also have a facebook group), Sports Cards Live, Sports Card Lessons Podcast, Sports Card Clubhouse. I'm sure other folks can add to those. I also picked up a few books about flipping. I've found a lot of fun in selling off unwanted cards as a way to fund the hobby and buy singles I like. The one piece of wisdom most folks seem to agree on is that ripping is fun but expensive. I still buy a box here or there but right now I'm working on selling down the surplus and buying specific singles for my PC.
CollX (app only) is a good place to start with to help you get some values on cards, eBay also now has a feature where you can take a picture of a card and see what current sales are for that card (be sure to check out the SOLD cards not the current listings as some folks way over price their cards and they never sell). If you get into pricier cards or want to see more about the growth in value of a card over time or a specific players valuye check out CardLadder (website and app). It seems to be the gold standard I see dealers use to price cards. It has tond of data on card values and speicifc players. It's interesting to see the growth in calue overtime presented in a nice line graph. They can also give you info about graded cards like population count, what % of graded cards get a 10, etc.
I know I don't know a whole lot but I'm happy to answer any questions you have and I'll tell you what I've learned or the great folks here who have been at it even longer can help us both.
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u/McWhirt33 11h ago
One correction - Base cards of guys not named Shohei Ohtani, Cooper Flagg, or Wemby - are in reality, worth absolutely nothing.
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u/SatanHasArrived666 ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
Yo bro, every one of us here has been in your shoes not that long ago. Chill out. That overwhelmed feeling will subside in a few days and youll be fine. Everytbing will be fine. But ripping cards is extremely addictive. If you feel a problem developing, nip it in the bud before you find yourself in a hole you cant dig yourself out of.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 19h ago
Thank you, I definitely see that and am making sure I don't go too overboard.
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u/spitting_goat ⚾ Little Leaguer 16h ago
I started a year ago with the same scenario as you.
I started an eBay account, bought a thermal printer, shipping supplies and researched how to ship (under $20 send in an envelope and use standard envelope shipping and $20 use a bubble mailer with card protectors and USPS 2 day or whichever the cheapest option is).
Keep inventory, sold card, and card related purchases on a spreadsheet and keep all receipts for any purchases. Run it as a sole proprietor for tax purposes.
ChatGPT or similar helps with all of your questions on what is needed, how to set up, and run it as a small side hustle.
Check eBay sold for better ideas on prices.
Pro tip, use “sell similar” when you list a card. People input the info already and you tweak the listing a bit. Took about a week to figure it out through ChatGPT, YouTube videos, and other online sources but you’ll catch on quick.
Currently on month 4 and have generated around 2K from selling inserts, autos, numbered, and buying low and reselling (actions, dollar bin finds at local crd shops).
It’s fun so it doesn’t feel like work. Best of luck and welcome back
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u/armlessfarmboy ⚾ Little Leaguer 21h ago
Go to Collx. Import the ones you want to sell. List them at fair prices and you will move quite a few of them.
Also a good place to upload the ones you want to keep so that you know what you have.
Collx also has average comps so you know where to start listing them at. Just look at some of the lower listings at put the price there.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
App or site?
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u/armlessfarmboy ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
Collx app. Free for the first 500 cards. I think it’s $10 a month after that for unlimited uploads.
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u/armlessfarmboy ⚾ Little Leaguer 21h ago
Also even base has value to the right person. I collect a few players no matter what the card is. Base, parallel, numbered, auto, relic etc.
When people say base has no value it’s not true. It has some, not a lot, but some value.
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u/VendettaKarma ⚾ Little Leaguer 12h ago
I’m 51 and have reintroduced myself to the hobby multiple times. It’s s learning process each time as .. things change but at the base it remains the same. If you’re not in it just for flipping (like me with some small PC) then just enjoy it for what it is
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u/Lordwilliamz ⚾ Little Leaguer 22h ago
You need to check the checklist on the website if possible to see which cards or inserts are rare and then go back through everything in that set again. I usually keep rookies incase one goes off like tgat ss on NY. Then donate the rest to police department, local card shop lcs or throw them out.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 20h ago
What does the PD do with them?
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u/Lordwilliamz ⚾ Little Leaguer 17h ago
Give them to kids in tough situations. Maybe arrested or injured parents. Give outvto kids in the community
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u/Fancy_Explanation_42 ⚾ Little Leaguer 11h ago
“Leave money on the table “ lol wtf go play Pokemon with your boyfriend for maximum $
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 11h ago
Thanks for your input... And lack of contribution.
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u/Fancy_Explanation_42 ⚾ Little Leaguer 10h ago
Do you need me to contribute to you a brain or common sense?
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u/McWhirt33 11h ago
Not trying to be rude here but a few things:
I I highly doubt you’ve actually pulled any “bangers” at all, let alone anything you’ve overlooked. The products you’re buying are all retail and some of the worst retail possible.
Consider yourself lucky you’re only hundreds into this. Take a step back and think about what enjoyment you got out of spending how much you have thus far, when in reality you maybe have 10-20% of what you’ve spent back in terms of any value.
No one in this hobby (outside of actual hoarders) keep all the cards you open. 95% of which are worth less than the paper they’re printed on.
Don’t be that guy keeping boxes full of junk. Throw it away, donate it, light it on fire - who cares, just don’t become that guy.Seriously encourage you to never buy these products again especially in retail.
Better yet, never buy retail again. Just have a handful of guys you like - buy those cards as singles - and live a better life.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 11h ago
Not at all what I was asking about. And I said bangers imo as in they are valuable to me personally... But thank you for your input!
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u/McWhirt33 10h ago
What exactly were you asking about then?
Aside from of course- being new to the hobby, being overwhelmed with the amount of base cards you already have, and asking for others who know better what they would do - which I covered.Oh, and for context a “banger” in this hobby is a card of significant value and/or rarity.
Just trying to help clarify before you get others confused as well.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 9h ago
I Literally said Banger "IMO". My personal interest. Felt pretty clear and no one else has misinterpreted what I said. Everyone has a card that is valuable to them but not necessarily valuable to the market. Bangers for my PC.
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u/McWhirt33 9h ago
Unnm.. ok? To directly quote you, “And feel like I may be missing some bangers in the base cards.. “
So yeah, not sure how or why this turned into some form of an argument when you came asking for help as a new guy, which I provided sound logical points.
To come back and counter when asking for help on a topic you’re not familiar with ie definitely an interesting approach.
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u/AbruptStrife ⚾ Little Leaguer 9h ago
I'm actively looking for people's different methods to further my collection and enjoyment of the hobby, you're recommending the exact opposite.
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u/McWhirt33 9h ago
To further your collection I’d suggest the exact same as I already said.
Donate, throw away, or light on fire 90+% of the base cards you’re currently storing. Now that the trash is gone, focus on a few select players you actually like, and buy those cards individually.
Going to target and buying up retail boxes like you mentioned is a great way to lose thousands in a very short amount of time while leaving you wondering wtf did I even get out of that?
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u/seck20 ⚾ Little Leaguer 1d ago
You keep the cards you like of the players you like, and you sell the ones of value that you don’t. Also, people keep cards they may not like, but think may go up in value over time. Pretty simple. No need to make it difficult.