Football, Baseball, and Other Sports Card Values

To estimate the value of your cards, I recommend looking first at recent prices on eBay. That will give you a good indication of what people will actually pay for your cards. Price guides such as Beckett and Tuff Stuff will also give you an idea what your cards are worth, but they list approximate retail values. Retail values are what dealers typically charge their customers, and in general you can expect to get less for your cards.

Also see my page on places to sell football, baseball, and other sports cards.

Finding Your Cards on eBay

To find completed auctions for your cards on eBay:

1. Use the eBay search box below to search for your card. I recommend using the set name and the player, e.g., "1981 Topps Joe Montana."
2. On the page of results that comes up, scroll down until you find the Completed Listings link on the left. (It is in the Preferences section.)
3. Select the Completed Listings link. (You will need a valid ebay id to see the completed listings. If you don't have one, you can register here.)
4. Look for your card in the results to see what people have paid for it.

The condition of your cards is critical in determining their value, so look in the results for cards that are in the same condition as yours. Many of the cards you see will have grades assigned to them, either by the seller or a third-party grading company such as SGC or PSA. You can find descriptions of the grades on PSA's web site and SGC's web site.

Price Guides

Beckett and Tuff Stuff are the most popular price guides, and they are both available from Amazon.com. Select the ads below to see descriptions of the publications on Amazon. These ads show football card price guides, but there are guides available for baseball, basketball, and hockey as well.