How to put cash value on cards

[Vintage Vern]

that don't come up for sale often? Other than the often sold high value cards, the value guides are worthless IMO, at least for rare uncommon cards. So how do you put a value on something that isn't anything more than an obscure common player that rarely sells at AH or EBay that many people have no interest in. It seems if I find a card it always has a premium price for a common player. So how should I approach this? I basically have 2 options over pay or never aquire a card. Is there any way to reach middle ground? Also how do people track AH for rare uncommon players. Is there a simple way to track a certain player at all AH? I'll just kick this out for an example. PSA says card value is $53.00 the seller wants way more $400.00, but I have little resources with sales recently for guidelines to counter offer. The other issue is these don't come up very often yet still don't have the value. So how do I play the game?

[NiceDocter]

Just a suggestion…. make an offer of what you think is fair based on any or no information that you have. Worst case the seller says no…. or maybe you meet somewhere in between. Just be respectful and unemotional about it…. sometimes you can make a deal and sometimes you can’t. It never pays to be negative about the cards ( oh those are in really poor condition, I can get those anytime for less, etc) Again, be respectful, don’t be afraid to make a reasonable offer….. don’t overpay if you can’t reach a deal, there’s always another card and another deal tomorrow!

[GeoPoto]

You really have to trap your own data, if you want to be confident that you have a real handle on (recent) historical pricing. Keep a spread sheet of any items you bid on or watch and what they sell for. In the early days, you either have to mostly watch or plunge in and risk some amount of "overpaying" and/or "coming up short". Assume anything listed BIN/BO is listed at 2-3 times what the seller thinks it is worth. In auctions, assume that the high bid 24 hours before closing is 2/3 what the "market" thinks it is worth.

[Vintage Vern]

Thanks for the replies so far. My problem is length of time between seeing any that sell. I might be able to pull up a card that sold a year ago or ten years ago, but have little between those time frames. I know the seller he will sit on it for years. The issue is if I will capture another for sale. When you only collect 1 player, and they only have about 7 total cards 2 being almost impossible to track down it changes my approach. The E120 in question has a decent population, but still not easy to find, and many are sitting in a registry that aren't for sale. There's little to go off of for raw cards to even know the real total of cards. I have no issue to buy more than 1 of the same if I can get a higher grade or nicer card. This card is a PSA 4 the highest is a 5. I might be able to trade or I may just have to find a 5 then I can sell the lesser card. My other issue is set collectors don't like to sell so it makes it even harder to get low pop cards most under 10 total graded.

[Vintage Vern]

The last one PSA has listed for sale at auction sold for $25.00 was a PSA 5 grade. Doesn’t list the year sold. I think one sold on ebay same grade might have been the same card have no way to tell because it's gone from ebay sold too long ago to find but, it went for $149.00. I didn't see it listed before it sold or I would have gladly bought it.

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by Vintage Vern

The last one PSA has listed for sale at auction sold for $25.00 was a PSA 5 grade. Doesn’t list the year sold. I think one sold on ebay same grade might have been the same card have no way to tell because it's gone from ebay sold too long ago to find but, it went for $149.00. I didn't see it listed before it sold or I would have gladly bought it.

Here's a scan of the one that sold on Ebay for $149 in Jan 2021. If you look through cardtarget.com even though it is no longer active there are a number that have sold (mostly raw) over the years. Most were under $50. The one in Jan 2021 is the highest by a good margin. Even the SGC 84/7 that sold in 2015 only sold for $125.

[Vintage Vern]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

Here's a scan of the one that sold on Ebay for $149 in Jan 2021. If you look through cardtarget.com even though it is no longer active there are a number that have sold (mostly raw) over the years. Most were under $50. The one in Jan 2021 is the highest by a good margin. Even the SGC 84/7 that sold in 2015 only sold for $125.

Thanks a million for this info. I just offered 200 and no dice. I think I will just let one come to me.

[UKCardGuy]

Another way to assess the potential current value is to use other comparable cards from the same set. If there are other similarly hard to find cards from the same set then you have data from those salws too.

I tend to compare the sales history of similar cards and then make an adjustment foe geneeal cards price changes since those sales.

Its not perfect and It doesn't completely solve your problem because the seller might not agree with your logic. But for me it helps me to assess what i think a fair price is.

[x2drich2000]

If it is truly rare, as you describe, throw whatever PSA or whatever guide you are using out the window. What makes PSA or whatever guide the all knowing dictator of what something is worth and what it should sell for? The question really is just what is it worth to you. Are you willing to spend $400 for the card? If that is the only one you've seen, then its up to you to decide if it is worth getting or not. If it is buy it. If not, you'll need to keep looking which maybe for years or decades.

[Leon]

I agree on the pricing. It's best to get your own data.
As a rare-type-card collector valuation is one of the most difficult things. Many times I have bought cards with no comps in the last 10+ yrs. At that point it's just how much am I willing to pay. I would rather overpay, than not ever own a card, in a lot of circumstances. Of course, generally, things need to be close.

I am absolutely sure I overpaid for these (shown many times). But the alternative was letting them possibly go to auction and having 2-3 deep pocket collectors go after them. I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing them in my collection, so even if I ever lose money on them it's still worth it to me. But then again, I love cards more than investing. I try not to make it a habit of overpaying but I am sure it will happen again....and probably soon. And sometimes I will have a card, sell it, and make a few bucks so it's all good.

E221s.

[Vintage Vern]

Originally Posted by Leon

I agree on the pricing. It's best to get your own data.
As a rare-type-card collector valuation is one of the most difficult things. Many times I have bought cards with no comps in the last 10+ yrs. At that point it's just how much am I willing to pay. I would rather overpay, than not ever own a card, in a lot of circumstances. Of course, generally, things need to be close.

I am absolutely sure I overpaid for these (shown many times). But the alternative was letting them possibly go to auction and having 2-3 deep pocket collectors go after them. I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing them in my collection, so even if I ever lose money on them it's still worth it to me. But then again, I love cards more than investing. I try not to make it a habit of over overpaying but I am sure it will happen again....and probably soon. And sometimes I will have a card and make a few bucks so it's all good.

E221s.

I'm buying them for me, not as a investment for profit, but an investment to bring it back home. My kids may sell them for profit, but I'm buying them for display at our local city hall. Anything I purchase goes on display. I live in a small town of at best 140 people. We had 2 locals that made names for themselves. The first being Verne James Clemons who played most notably for the St Louis Cardinals the 2nd Sherwood "Sherb" Dick Noble who opened the first Dairy Queen.

[EddieP]

You could do what they do on the Antiques Road Show: they use the last known price and date that the item was sold and plug the numbers in an inflation calculator.

[BobC]

When you are looking for rare players/cards, you also have to remember that even if there aren't a lot (or any) recent sales you can look at for comparisons, that doesn't mean private sales aren't going on behind the scenes that don't normally get reported anywhere. In which case you may also need to expand your your contacts and where/how you look for such cards. Always just going to a mainstream site like Ebay, or the major auction houses that are out there may not yield you the opportunities you want. In which case, coming to a forum like this, and posting what you are looking for on the B/S/T forum, may generate some contacts and opportunities you would not otherwise come across.

Take Leon's story for example, where he says he paid up so the previous owner wouldn't put those items into a public auction. Or even closer to home, you can go to our own B/S/T forum and see members making private sales, or even trades, for certain rare and unusual cards/players. Those kinds of sales and trades normally don't get reported anywhere.

Plus, you also have to be careful that there aren't people out there trying to manipulate the market on some cards. It is fairly well known that on occasions, we have witnessed some rather obvious fake sales on platforms like Ebay, that then get reported on some valuation sites, and make it look like certain cards are currently going for way more than they should be.

Bottom line, as others have opined, is to offer what you feel comfortable with paying. Absent ongoing and numerous sales comps to view and go off of, that is the best you can do when it comes to rare and obscure cards. Good luck.