How much are my basketball cards worth?

May 23, 2010 8:24 PM

Just came across a bunch of basketball cards, looking for tips on getting proper valuation and the best way to sell these cards.

These cards are mostly from the 90s. There are some pretty valuable ones (i.e. KG and Kobe Topps Finest rookie cards) and they are in good condition. Thing is, I've been out of the collecting game for so long, that I don't know the best way to find out how much these are worth and subsequently, the best method to sell them. There are probably about 50 cards, all in cases. If you need a better description, feel free to ask and I'll elaborate. Thanks!

posted by mealticket to sports, hobbies, & recreation (3 answers total)

Look up previous sales on eBay. You could also pick up a Beckett price guide or go to their site (Beckett.com) and get prices there.
posted by neilbert at 8:55 PM on May 23, 2010

Checkoutmycards.com is a good site that will give you an idea of how much others are asking for your cards. eBay completed auctions are another great resource for this and anything else you ever sell.

I would stick to those and other similar sites that reflect actual sales conditions. My experience is that Beckett prices are inflated way beyond what anyone will actually ever pay. Then again I stopped collecting cards (and looking at Becketts) about 15 years ago so YMMV.
posted by ctab at 9:03 PM on May 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

Just to add to what the others said... use Beckett to find out what they're "worth" (roughly what a card store would sell them for) and use eBay to find out what someone expecting a good deal will actually pay for them.

If you take them to a card store to get them appraised, they'll just look it up in a Beckett or similar price guide. Assuming the cards aren't just commons, you can expect to get around 50% of the listed Beckett price at most (unless the card is highly desired -- the Kobe one perhaps). If the cards aren't listed in Beckett for more than $10 or so (and probably even closer to $25), you'll likely have a hard time finding anyone to buy it. That's been my experience at least.
posted by Kippersoft at 8:31 AM on May 24, 2010