What do you do with base cards?

[RagingAcid]

I got a Jumbo Hobby for $100 and without thinking about the consequences of having far too many base cards, purchased it.

Me and my Muncy auto have no regrets, but I'm not sure what to do with it.

 

[mrmopar]

I have boxes upon boxes of them. If storage is an issue, then you could donate them to someone (card shop for customers, childrens hospital, goodwill, etc). If you can't find a good way to donate them, you could always recycle them.

You might also offer them up on the boards and have someone pay the shipping fee, maybe squeeze a few more $ for your efforts. I'm sure you can make them go away if you really want to.

Shame, as that is the core of collecting, the base set. What collecting has become, people ripping boxes for the hits and leaving the base in piles at the shop (seen it many, many times), is kind of sad and really magnifies the gambling aspect.

 

[RagingAcid]

Base cards are such a specific niche that it's hard to justify buying them. Full sets are $50 or whatever. I'm probably gonna start moving towards hit only packs but even those seem to usually result in a loss. Maybe I'll stop being a gambling addict and just buy hits

 

[mrmopar]

That is the smartest play for your money. I finally came to that realization when I was dropping $70-80 for boxes in the late 90s, which was a lot at the time, and IF I beat the odds, it was always the Matt Williams or John Olerud out of the tough 1 per case sets, not the Bonds, Griffey, Ripken or Thomas! You won't ever have a chance to win the lottery with some super expensive Ruth cut, but you'll have more money to buy the singles you want. It's all a trade off. Some people need that rush of the gamble and a chance, however small, of hitting gold.

 

[RagingAcid]

That is the smartest play for your money. I finally came to that realization when I was dropping $70-80 for boxes in the late 90s, which was a lot at the time, and IF I beat the odds, it was always the Matt Williams or John Olerud out of the tough 1 per case sets, not the Bonds, Griffey, Ripken or Thomas! You won't ever have a chance to win the lottery with some super expensive Ruth cut, but you'll have more money to buy the singles you want. It's all a trade off. Some people need that rush of the gamble and a chance, however small, of hitting gold.

Box - Hits = Cost of fun.

I'm not sure $50 is worth an hour. rather just dump that money on pokerstars or something and have a months worth of fun with it.

I'm picking up a Bichette and Vladdy auto next. I don't care about the cards value, love the players. This should be about fun!

 

[finestkind]

Back in the mid 90's I gave a 3000 baseball commons to the Children's Hospital in Boston. The lady that worked there looked at me like I was nuts. She had no idea what I was talking about. But she did take them.

 

[gt2590]

The local kids hospital here takes them.

Or if looking to sell, post them on FB Marketplace or another meet up-type site for $20-30...

 

[dano7]

Give some to some young collectors at church and donate the rest to Goodwill or hospital.

 

[Randy Shields]

"All your base are belong to us"

 

[Austin]

I love base cards. If you’re a baseball fan, how can you not love looking at the pictures and reading the backs?

I’m a set collector too, so all cards have the same fun value to me, regardless of what they’re worth.

It’s weird to me that people buy boxes and cast aside the base cards without ever looking at them.

If you just want hits, buy them individually on eBay. Sure you lose the temporary gambling thrill, but you’ll end up happier and won’t be throwing money away on cards you don’t want.

 

[nevermore]

For newer base cards, I give them out during Halloween in team bags along with candy for those that want on a typical, non-Covid, year.

 

[RagingAcid]

I love base cards. If you’re a baseball fan, how can you not love looking at the pictures and reading the backs?

I’m a set collector too, so all cards have the same fun value to me, regardless of what they’re worth.

It’s weird to me that people buy boxes and cast aside the base cards without ever looking at them.

If you just want hits, buy them individually on eBay. Sure you lose the temporary gambling thrill, but you’ll end up happier and won’t be throwing money away on cards you don’t want.

The issue is the 1000th base card just stops being fun, I love packs of retail but the sheer volume currently in my possession is painful, you feel?

 

[tramers]

one million inventory . I have sold team packs / stars at local minor league team for 20 years --- about 25 times a year . I also give the small kids a misc, team bag of commons at stadium . Also make bags of cards for two low income elementary schools for Haloween or Christmas ---that's about 400 kids at each . Saw kids trading candy for cards LOL . I do trade teams in one group and will trade for teams i need ---yes i always need certain teams commons . On the keepers === 300 game used baseballs signed by hitter and 200 cracked bats . If you would like to do a trade PM me .

 

[finestkind]

In 1995, I started building Topps baseball sets from 1975 - 1995. I won an Ebay auction for 25,000 common cards from 1976 - 1985 for $320. Shipping included. I managed to make a real good start on those sets by buying the star player cards at shows. I just got lucky.

 

[EtherealSOC]

Between 2003-2013 I gave away over 1 million base cards in lots of 20K-50K cards on a local yard sale website. I could never sell a huge lot of cards worth $200 for $20, but I always had folks lining up for junk cards for free.

Personally, I love base cards, especially 2015 and up. I sort my collection by player, so I have no issue with tons of base cards, just not crazy about tons of doubles. My dream scenario is when people open boxes for hits in the card store and leave the base cards, especially if it's something other than flagship. I love scooping up the base at a fraction of the cost.

I also coach little league baseball and have used re-packs of base cards to give to players at the end of the year.

 

[RagingAcid]

Between 2003-2013 I gave away over 1 million base cards in lots of 20K-50K cards on a local yard sale website. I could never sell a huge lot of cards worth $200 for $20, but I always had folks lining up for junk cards for free.

Personally, I love base cards, especially 2015 and up. I sort my collection by player, so I have no issue with tons of base cards, just not crazy about tons of doubles. My dream scenario is when people open boxes for hits in the card store and leave the base cards, especially if it's something other than flagship. I love scooping up the base at a fraction of the cost.

I also coach little league baseball and have used re-packs of base cards to give to players at the end of the year.

non flagship base cards are 100x funner than flagship base. I love Stadium Club so much, this year's Bichette is something I might honestly buy a few of

 

[mrmopar]

The biggest problem with any unwanted cards is the sheer bulk and weight, making it nearly impossible to do anything with them that will be beneficial to both buyer and seller. Even trying to trade team lots turns out to be a losing proposition in most cases. Once you exceed 13 ounces, the PO sticks it to you hard. You can go with a flat rate priority box, but even then it costs $15-20 for one of the larger sizes and you can't hardly get enough cards in there to make even that worth while.

If you can find someone locally, like a tramers, who will take them and do what he does, then that is a score. Even then, and nothing against tramers as I have no idea how he values bulk cards, but most will give you pennies on the dollar for them, if that. Sometimes a large pile of cards is worth more for the boxes (5K or super shoes) than the cards may be worth to most!

It is interesting to hear how many cards some people think is too many and how many people have massive amounts and they roll with it like it is nothing. I have seen questions and polls when the spread is something like one guy has only 100 cards and the guy on the other end of the spectrum has 1 mil +. i have too many, mainly because storing them is starting to be an issue. I just don't want to get rid of any right now!

 

[tramers]

i've picked up inventory from two stores 30 years ago --FREE and traded / bought few cases / lots of boxes / sold Ebay . My main income is in the team packs i sell at stadium ---about 100 of 50's and 100 of 100 counts .now think about all the time to make 5 packs of 100 same team different players THREE SPORTS . Glenn Hubbard used to coach against local team --i had about 10 of the BOA cards and gave to others at a game --HE WAS A GREAT SIGNER -- going down line all in row had that card 'WHERE are these coming from ?? All pointed to me . BTW i don't use 5000 count boxes won't fit in wall and TOO HEAVY ---i'm limited to pounds i can lift --- will be going for operation #5

 

[mrmopar]

I don't have the room or the skills, but I thought it would be cool to make a wall of cards. I envision shelves from floor to ceiling (although maybe from about waist to chest would be better) that extend out on rollers/sliders and have boxes that sit on them. You could pull up a chair or stand, pull a shelf out and the cards would be supported (no need for a table) and you could view them all. Probably tough to get something strong enough to support the weight of a large box of cards though, or it would be ridiculously expensive. Probably need a nice solid foundation too, to hold up all that weight. Sometimes I worry about stuff I have stored in a 2nd story room.

 

[gt2590]

Also,

@tim carroll

is probably looking for free/cheap base cards to use in his art making...