We found a decent sized correction of cards that my dad had stashed away. We haven't gone through them yet but they look like the type that were meant to be collected (like the Upper Deck sort of cards). I know ebay pretty much killed the collectible market so we aren't fooling ourselves that these cards are worth tons of loot but we'd like to get them valued. There are no more comic book shops in the area. Nothing like this ever sells on ebay so that's not a great gauge. Do we have a forum expert on such things?

Turns out step-mom isn't eligible to receive any of dad's pension (I guess because they weren't yet married when he retired). So I'm going to try to get her some cash for some of this stuff.

The era of the cards have a lot to determining price. Post 1990 is when the value decreases as the market was flooded. There will be a few exceptions of course.

Pre-1990 is where the highest average value will be realized.

A subscription to Beckett's (unless they still pri8nt hard copies) is a great source as will be the historicals of what was actually sold on E-Bay.

Toughest part you may have is identifying the actual year which a given card was produced. A buddy gave me a stack of premium Tony Gwynn cards. Hard part is determining the year to thereby determine the value.

Also, while it is a bigger pain in the ass, selling as individual cards will reap more however, the rip-off artists/scumbags on e-bay will piss you off in a New York second and put a very sour taste on your tongue because of the theif.

Here's a recent thread from November on the same topic: https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/7540024334

Thanks for the info. Considering LS1 GTOs post and the other thread I think most of them are from the late 1990s but, knowing my dad, I imagine there are some from the 1970s mixed in there somewhere. I'll go through them and dump the junk off on one of the nephews.

If you have collectible cards (or comics) that are honestly worth something and hope to get anything close to book value, then you have to send them to a professional grading company where they will appraise it and seal it in a case or frame. Without their certification, then the grading and value become widely arbitrary.

The grading companies considered to be the industry standard are: PSA, SGC, and GAI. You can read a good primer at the following:

Buying Graded Sports Cards: Avoid Being Ripped Off!

If you have an extremely valuable card or other sports memorabilia, then you can skip the above and go to Heritage Auctions in Dallas, TX. They're the type of place that deals w/ Honus Wagner cards.