If you love collecting baseball cards, you are certainly not alone. There are millions of cards to choose from. Some people collect their favorite players or teams, while other collect specific years, brands, or sets. There is no right or wrong to collecting, but it would be a waste to pay full price for your cards. This penny pincher's guide to collecting baseball cards will help you get the most cards for the least amount of money.
The absolute best place to buy cheap baseball cards is eBay. Some might consider this the worst place, because of the number of people that are actively bidding on eBay each day. However, there are way more baseball card sellers on eBay than there are bidders. Thousands of baseball cards sell on eBay every minute for only a small fraction of their book value.
The Beckett price guide is considered the "bible" of baseball card values. Buyers and seller refer to this guide in order to see how much their cards are worth, how much they should pay for new cards, and what they might be able to sell their cards for. The problem that newcomers to the baseball card world encounter is that they think the prices in this guide are set in stone. This is far from the truth. In actuality, there is a unwritten rule amongst those active in the baseball card world that unless a card is extremely hot or rare, it usually is only worth 10% of the high book value listed. That's right, 10%.
If you are hoping to sell baseball cards, this is likely crushing news. If you are wanting to purchase new cards for your collection, you should jump for joy. There are exceptions, of course. Cards that are extremely limited, older cards, and some autographed and game used memorabilia cards can sell at their high book value, or even higher. By and large though, most cards fall into this unspoken 10% area.
There are several reasons to visit eBay. For one, there is no larger selection of baseball cards in one spot. Additionally, this large selection means that there are always extreme baseball card bargains to be had. There simply is not a buyer, or more than one buyer, for all of the over one million baseball cards on eBay at any given time. The vast majority of eBay sellers are trustworthy, and now more than ever, sellers are offering free shipping deals. Purchasing a baseball card that you need for your collection for a dollar or less is well withing the realm of possibility.
There are other auction sites where you can find baseball cards. Sites such as ePier, Bonanza, iOffer, and many more have thousands of such listings. Generally, the deals found on these sites are not as extreme as eBay deals, but they may be worth checking out if you are looking for specific cards and cannot find them on eBay.
