Pricing Guides

[DonCard]

Hi everyone. Nice forum you have here. I just registered today and this is my first posting.

I began collecting and trading back in the 1960s with one of the first full time baseball card dealers in the country. He also printed a little newsletter that we mailed out every month. I worked there after school for fifty cents an hour in trade! I wish I knew how many thousands and thousands of great, pristine 1950’s and 1960’s baseball cards I sorted, and just how much they would be worth today. I remember sorting boxes of cards and all those great rookies of the 1960’s. Back then I don’t remember the rookies as being very much special. How that has changed now! And of all those old cards I sorted I’m sure some are in PSA holders today with good grades. The only inventory I knew of bigger than ours was Larry Fritsch on in Wisconsin I believe it was. Larry was licensed to buy wholesale and resell retail complete sets. I think I paid around $17 for a mint set of 1968 Topps. I put them up and they didn’t see the light of day for 20 years until I pulled them out again during the card craze of the late 1980’s.

Back then we measured baseball card value in pennies. Today it is almost staggering the amount of money some of these cards are selling for. And today so much business is done on the internet, particularly ebay, and electronic payment via PayPal. It truly is mind boggling compared to how it was when I started.

I still have a love for cards and want to start buying, selling, and trading again but before I jump back in I’d like a little guidance on pricing. I’ve gotten really interested in starting a collection of PSA graded cards. In the event I want to buy duplicates (one to keep, one to trade or sell), what is considered a wholesale price percent for cards? For example, if a card is listed for a true and accurate market value of $100, what would be a good wholesale price offer? $80? 70? 60? 50? How is that determined?

Part of me is a collector, but there is another part of me that wants to buy, sell, and trade again. I just want some basic guideline to follow so I won’t have more invested in the card that I can resell it for later if I decide to.

Thanks again! I look forward to your suggestions, advice, and comments.

DC