Finding Collectable Baseball Cards

Baseball cards are definitely fun to collect, and many cards increase in value over time. You can use online means to find good deals on baseball cards too. You have the option of getting single baseball cards, team sets, brand new baseball cards, vintage cards, and rare cards.  

Photo: Baseball Player

You will want to shop around and price compare the different card options so you get the best deal possible.

About Collectable Baseball Cards

Baseball lineup cards are assessed for their value based on a special grading system.  Just like coins, baseball lineup cards are graded on a system that involves defining cards as poor, good, excellent, near mint, or mint.  Baseball cards that get a poor rating are cards that have identifiable marks, tears, creases, flaws, discoloration, or are poorly made.  Near mint baseball cards are cardstock that might present minor scratches, blemishes, or flawed corners.  Meanwhile, mint cards, which are the most desirable and costly, are those types of cards that are flawless in their presentation.

The way a card is graded clearly influences baseball card value.  Mint cards are bought and sold for the most money.  Often times a professional grading company is hired for the purposes of supplying a third party opinion on card condition.  One of the factors used in determining the grade and value of a card is the card’s centering.  The card will be viewed and assessed to determine if the white border around the image is even on all sides.  If flaws are identified these flaws are broken down into a percentage: for instance, if the card’s image centering is more to the right than to the left, the card might have a listing of near mint with a 60:40 offset. The ratio means that the card has more white area on the left hand side of the card than on the right hand side of the card.  The same kind of assessment is conducted on the border from top to bottom.

Card corner condition plays a significant role in the grading of a baseball card too.  Corners should be perfect, sharp, and unbent.  Creases will decrease the value of a card considerably.  In addition, the surface of baseball cards plays a huge role in the grade that they receive.  The surface of the card should be clean, free of fingerprints, marks, gum stains, scratches, or other marks.  In order to get a grading of near mint a card has to have minimal flaws.

Other considerations that card sellers use in grading baseball lineup cards include the age and authenticity of the card.  A card has to be authentic to retain any value at all.  Further, the age of the card determines whether or not the card is vintage: these types of cards may be assigned a higher value.  Finally, card rarity definitely plays a role in how much baseball cards are worth; the more difficult it is to get the card because of its rarity, the higher the price of the card when it is sold.

Companies Offering Baseball Cards

Baseball Cards Only

Baseball Cards Only is a company offering vintage cards if you want to add quality vintage cards to your baseball cards collection.  This company allows you to search for baseball lineup cards by player, by team, by brand, or by year.  The company has vintage cards and sets that include offers like the 2011 Topps® Series 1, 2011 Bowman®, Topps® Heritage, the 2011 Topps® Pro Debut, the 2011 Bowman® Chrome, and vintage cards from 1964, 1961, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1963, and more.  You can find vintage baseball cards for players from a wide array of teams too including the Yankees, White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Spiders, Senators, Royals, Rockies, Robins, Reds, Red Sox, Rays, Rangers, Pirates, Pilots, Pilgrims, Phillies, Padres, Orioles, Naps, Mets, marlins, Mariners, Indians, Giants,  Expos, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Colt 45s, Cardinals, Browns, Brewers, Braves, Blue Jays, Astros, Angels, and more.  Each card is presented with information on the year, brand, and the book value of the card.  You can also view an image of the vintage baseball card that is for sale.  For more information visit http://bbonly.com/.

The Baseball Cards Shop Online Store

The Baseball Cards Shop Online Store has loads of different baseball cards you can add to your existing baseball cards collection.  You can shop for baseball boxes, sets, packs, singles, team sets, and more.  You can view an image of the boxes, sets, and single cards on offer.  The Baseball Cards Shop Online Store details each item for sale with information on the card number, the serial number, pricing information, and card buying tips.  When you order baseball cards from The Baseball Cards Shop Online Store it can take three to four days for your order to ship.   You can find team sets like the Los Angeles Angels, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Atlanta Braves, the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Colorado Rockies, the Detroit Tigers, the Florida Marlins, the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and more.  For full details visit http://baseballcardshop.net/.

More Companies Offering Baseball Cards

Homeruncards.com

Homeruncards.com has rookie baseball cards, autographed baseball cards, bat cards, and Jersey cards for sale.  You can shop for baseball cards based on team or individual team member.  Each card is listed with the name of the player, the set that the card comes from, the type of card it is, the grading of the card, and the price.  Cards are shipped to you via USPS mail and it can take three to seven days for you to receive your order.  For more information visit http://www.homeruncards.com.

Scottsdale Baseball Cards

Scottsdale Baseball Cards also has some nice options for you when you are looking to add new cards to your baseball cards collection.  This company has more than 4000 baseball card on offer.  They have autographed cards, and they also sell alternative cards for a variety of sports enthusiasts including hockey, golf, football, soccer, and basketball, boxing.  You can order single cards, bundled cards, or entire sets.  For more information visit http://www.scottsdalecards.com/catalog/.