Posted By:
MargaretHi, I hope someone can offer some advice about this... my sweetie found some old baseball cards and asked me to help figure out how to sell them. So, there are only eight (8) cards altogether, and that doesn't seem worthy of a subscription to Beckett's or another service. Baseball cards aren't a major focus of my life yk?
Evidently though, these cards are rare, and I can see why because they are absolutely ancient. These are some really really old baseball cards, I think they were made in 1916. They're from Fleischmann Bakery. Considering how old they are, they seem to be in pretty good shape, I don't think I dare venture a guess at how they'd be graded though, since that would require an expertise beyond anything I'll ever acquire! Seven of the eight cards still have the coupons from the bakery attached to the bottom. Should I rip those off so they all match? (J/K! ha ha)
After having spent the last couple of hours surfing around trying to see what they're worth, I'm finally beginning to understand ... nobody wants me to know the value of these cards unless I care so much about baseball cards that I'll pay to subscribe to their service or buy their big fat book listing every baseball card that's ever been made .... am I getting this right?
Or am I just completely missing something that should be really obvious? I will readily admit that I'm completely out of touch with the concept of baseball card buying, selling, trading, collecting, loving, wanting, grading, and whatever else may be involved in this hobby.....
Would any of you (much more knowledgeable) people care to be so kind as to clue me in? I would really really appreciate it. I looked on what I thought was the obvious (::hrmph::cough:: ebay) and there wasn't really anything much listed that was comparable to these, how weird is that? (I'm not used to things being so obscure that I can't find a few dozen of them about to expire on ebay....) But a bit of googling can go a long way, so I do know these are real cards, and they're really old, and somehow they're desirable to collectors. The question is, who are these collectors and where does one find them? And how do I find out the secret to their "value" without taking on yet another hobby (i.e. becoming obsessed with baseball cards, which is, IMO, a rather uninteresting hobby at that, but that's just me.... I'm sure a lot of people think my hobbies are a waste of time.... that's totally untrue, of course....)
Well, TIA to anyone who's willing to steer me in the right direction with these things, I surely do appreciate it!
~~Margaret~~ ;*p