price guide for programs, yearbooks, scorecards?
 

Can anyone suggest what they use today to give their programs, yearbooks, scorecards etc. some sort of value to work off of?

I used to have a book years ago that I used but if I found it, it would be out of date. Here, there and under there I have a mixture of such things dating from about the 1920's to the 1980's of different teams, some world series, and all-star, some super bowl as well. Most are baseball, some football, and a few basketballs, most are programs, but its a real mix. I would like to have a current value as I am thinking of selling off my extras as I try to put things together in a better organizational storage.

Doesn't matter if it is a book I can buy, or a monthly value guide or online site, just something that is somewhat accurate.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Ebay completed sales results are a good start.

Thank you, yes I have used that, but they only list those sold in the last year. So there are always ones that are not listed there, even including those for sale. Plus you can't always tell what condition they were on once sold.

Over the years there have been price guides for publications, but that is ancient history. I probably have 4 or 5 different guides but they would not help you at all.

A combination of ebay current items listed, ebay completed items and then finally eBay actual sales should help you out. The current items give you a good indication of the number of items that are in the market and the asking prices. The completed sales will give you an idea what items didn't sell for and obviously the actual sales are the most important. The thing to remember about eBay is that it can be very seasonal (and not just by the calendar). The month of December is usually great. Also, it seems that March and April can be very strong due to tax refunds. The beginning and end of any sport season usually results in higher sales and interest. I have been collecting and selling sports publications for almost 30 years and the market is always changing. Unless you are under duress and need to sell immediately I would start to watch eBay for the items that you are interested in selling and begin to learn what is valuable and what is available in great quantity.

Hope this helps and good luck. If you have a list, I would be happy to review it for you.


Jeff

Thank you very much for your insite!

100% what Jeff said. I haven’t been collecting programs too long but from my observations their prices can fluctuate wildly depending on if more than a few collectors spark interest, and as he said by season. I’ve picked up programs for way under my max budget bid, and I’ve seen some programs go for way more than I would have guessed or other similar examples. Unlike cards which many vintage collectors base around grading, programs don’t have a de facto “graded condition” but spark more interest when in good condition and not beat up or torn.

Also it is all in how you market the sale. Part of the fun for me is weeding out historic or important games from sellers who don’t list/know that information, and I often get the programs pretty cheap. When a seller posts the same game with the listed information it usually commands a premium. No Hitter games and milestone/first games attract buyers who are fans of that player/team who might not otherwise collect programs but want something historical from that event.

I mostly stick to baseball, but a general rule of thumb I’ve seen in 2018 is programs from post 1969 don’t sell unless it’s dirt cheap to niche buyers like me looking for a specific cover/game etc. 1950s-1960s maybe average $5-15 depending on team/condition/cover but many sell for $1-2 + shipping. 1930s-1940s go for about $10-15 unless they are rare covers. Anything 1920s or earlier raise significantly on a case by case basis. But again, I’ve seen very common programs sell on Buy It Now for way more than it would go at auction. Never know what buyer needs what.

Hope that helps a little... one day I want to build a baseball program database. If not to determine values but just use as a visual resource for program collectors.