Investing in, Storing & Grading your Baseball Cards : eBay Guides

If I know no other topic, this one I have years of experience in. In the past I have contributed to the Beckett Guides, and I often appraise entire collections, and have even taught about investing in sports memorabilia, at a local College.

There are many things to consider when purchasing, investing in, storing, and grading your cards. One thing you want to do is set a budget as to how much you can comfortably spend a month on cards. There are literally millions of cards on the market, and thousands of different brands. And if you dont watch yourself, you can quickly end up in financial ruin from trying to buy everything you can get your hands on. There are cards worth less than a nickel, and a few worth thousands. So set your budget before you do anything.

Condition- As with any collectible, condition is vitally important. Since most cards are rectangular in shape, I will use this category of card to explain a few details that are of upmost importance. Edges should be smooth. Rough edges subtract from a cards value. Corners. The corners should come to a point and not be bent or show any wear as this too takes away value. The picture on the card must have a clear focus, and the card's centering should be 50/50 or no more than 60/40 to keep in the more favorable collecting area. In short, to have the most desirable baseball (or any other card for that matter) it is key to keeping it from any defects and not altering its original design. Never pin your card to a wall, or trim bad edges. The more defects you have, the more it takes away from the card's value.

Storage- Get rid of rubberbands!!! Do not ever put rubber bands around your collection. Get plastic sheets and only put one card in each slot. And always get sheets that do NOT have PVC. Pvc often discolors cards after so much time,. and discoloration

Rookies, who should you invest in?- If you have a new player, who's just come out, check his age. Under 25 years old, you might want to keep him. If he's just come out yet over that age, get rid of it. Next, which position does he play? Best picks are First basemen, outfielders, and third basemen. Next, who does he play for? Top best bets for teams are the Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals, Reds. And you want a guy who's left handed and a good player more than a righty.

As for guys who've been around at least 5 years, you want to check their batting, or if it's a pitcher, their pitching stats. If a pitcher averages 150 or more strikeouts, this is good, and for batters 35 or more homeruns, or 150 hits per year, or who has several .300 or more annual batting averages.

Now about buying packs. When it's new, NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER pay over $2.00 per pack!!!!!!!!!!! I've seen it toooooo many times to count. Some company will come out with these "limited edition" cards and the media will often jump on the bandwagon and start talking about how scarce and/or popular the cards are or are going to be, and about how how the prices will be.Well, 9 out of 10 times, within so many months, those packs you paid more than 2.00 per pack for, will be LESS than 2.00 per pack!!! Prime example, 1993 Score Select Update. "Oh they are limited, they are limited" is all I heard. Well guess what people, IT'S ALL LIMITED!!! Whether 1 billion are printed or only a few, they will stop the presses at some time or another. Getting back to the 1993 Score Select Update, they came out at 8.00 per pack. Today, they can be bought for less than 60 CENTS a pack. ENOUGH SAID!!! And I can remember when 1988 Donruss was 25.00 per box. Now I think they're like 5 to 8. Get the picture? So if it's more than 2.00 go on past it. 

As for grading, all you have to do for that is get an old Beckett baseball card price guide book and it will tell you all you need to know