Sure could use some pointers

[MellyMay]

Hi there. My brother recently passed away after a short illness and I inherited his HUGE collection of cards - mostly baseball, but he also had some hockey, football, and basketball cards. I am a total novice at this and don't know where to begin. I loved him dearly and miss him much; however, organizational skills weren't his strong point! The boxes are stacked 5 feet high and about 12 feet wide and as far as I can tell there isn't much rhyme or reason to how they are organized. HELP! Where do I begin? What is the best way to organize them - by set, by player, by team, by year, by brand? I'm not in any big hurry to get rid of them; although they are taking up a lot of space, but I don't want to give them away either. I would have to guess there are at least 20,000 cards and most likely more. Any tips on where to start would be helpful. He does have a couple of albums, but even those seem to be really randomly "organized". Although I did find one that has an entire 1989 set (lacking 1 card); which doesn't appear to worth much at all. Is there a list somewhere of what cards are worth selling individually - for instance valued at more than $5? I would gladly go through them to find any of value and then try to sell the rest in bulk. Anyway, any tips anyone would care to share would be much appreciated. Thanks! MellyMay from MN

[ucffans]

Melly May- welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. First thing I would do is check which years of cards your brother had. Unfortunately, cards from 1987-1998 are not very valuable. This was when cards were overly produced. I would suggest pulling out any vintage cards (pre-1986). They hold some value. Cards from the past 15 years hold some value as well. My suggestion woud be to pull those out.

[ocanseco55]

Agreed, Sorry for your loss.

Melly May- welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. First thing I would do is check which years of cards your brother had. Unfortunately, cards from 1987-1998 are not very valuable. This was when cards were overly produced. I would suggest pulling out any vintage cards (pre-1986). They hold some value. Cards from the past 15 years hold some value as well. My suggestion woud be to pull those out.

[ucffans]

As far as the mass produced years (which based on the fact that he has a 1989 set, I am afraid you will have quite a few of), I might suggest selling those by team.

[MellyMay]

Thanks for the info. I did find a box that seems to have very random cards - some from the sixties and seventies. I'm guessing he already went through his numerous boxes and pulled out those he thought might be worth something. Where is the best place to "value" individual cards? I will attempt to look up some of them in that box and see if my assumption is correct. Thanks again.

[hayn]

Thanks for the info. I did find a box that seems to have very random cards - some from the sixties and seventies. I'm guessing he already went through his numerous boxes and pulled out those he thought might be worth something. Where is the best place to "value" individual cards? I will attempt to look up some of them in that box and see if my assumption is correct. Thanks again.

Having a loved one gone in your life is always difficult. My wife and I went through this type of situation many times. The cards left in your care are a wonderful present from your brother. As I have read your comments above, you have a stack of boxes filled with cards five feet high and twelve feet long. You have a task in front of you, just take your time and give yourself breaks here and there.

Start with obtaining a magazine called Beckett. It is the industry standard. Since your collection is varied with many types of sports, you will need to purchase several Beckett magazines. One for football, baseball and so on. Try to purchase these magazines from a local card shop and introduce yourself as well as your collection. Normally, card shop owners are extremely helpful with new clients as they would like to create a repoir with you.

If you can and have the time, take a couple of photos of cards that you'll find in your collection that have value. You'll be able to get a good idea of value via your Beckett price guide and post these cards on CCW. You'll be pleasantly surprised by with whom would like to purchase and or trade with some of your collectibles. And you might be pleasantly surprised by a hidden gem that not only is rare but also carries a premium.

Good luck and have fun,

Toshi

[hayn]

I must add, after you take a photo of your card or cards, post them here or on the trade thread and you can ask more questions in regards to your card(s) in the photo. You might have members questioning you if you would like to sell your card(s) in the photo or even a trade if you so care to.

Toshi

[ucffans]

Here are two free online price guides. They should get you close enough to get an idea. The most accurate will be Beckett.

Free Baseball Card Price Guide

Free Sports Cards Price Guides: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey

[schwood]

I thought it might be more appropriate to have this thread in the baseball talk section of the site. It is more of a discussion thread than a meet and greet thread.

Good luck with your cards by the way. This is what is fun for me in the hobby. I love to organize cards and find new 'diamonds in the rough' in huge boxes of stuff.