Determining the value of your baseball cards is the first thing you'll want
to do if you're planning on selling or buying them. The value of a
baseball card is based on how much somebody is willing to pay for it.
How much they’re willing to pay is based on how rare the card is
and the condition that the card is in. "Professional" collectors and
dealers primarily deal in highly valued cards that are graded by the
hobby's top grading companies: SGC, PSA, GAI and BVG/BGS. If they
purchase or sell a "raw" card, a card that is not graded, considerations
toward what the card will be graded at are heavily weighed. Hence a
professional card flipper will look for a card that looks like it will
receive a high grade and they aim to pay as little as possible for it
with the intention of having it graded by the aforementioned grading
companies and in turn sell it for as much as they possibly can.
So how do you find out what a baseball card is really worth before you
buy or sell one? Knowing what a graded baseball card has sold for in the
past either on eBay or major auction houses is the most accurate way to
go. The key is that the card is graded and that the sale is public. This
site provides exactly that by breaking down sales by grader and grade in
an easy-to-read grid for each baseball card.