When I was a little girl, I completely idolized my brother. Honestly.
Everything he did was the cats meow. In that respect, when he started collecting baseball cards in the late 80s and early 90s, I immediately followed suit. Saving up my precious allowance in hopes that one day these cards would be worth millions. MILLIONS!!!! (I cackle this to myself and imagine doing an awesome fist pump as I’m typing this).
Cut to now, I’m sorting through vintage baseball cards from my youth to find… that in the late 80s and early 90s baseball cards were overproduced by card makers, making them virtually worthless for the modern day collector (*cough* hoarder). Nevertheless, I insisted on spending this night looking up the prices of a box of over 500 cards, in hopes that within this trash would be treasure. Realization sets in after completing the box. Each card is now worth roughly 29 cents or less. Only one card was worth over one dollar.
Sammy you’re my over $1 hero!
In my binder of precious cards, which were kept pristine in sleeves, at most for 1 card I can get 3-5 bucks. Oh Barry, why the scandals? A 10 year old me had all the faith that your rookie cards (non-graded and not an aqueous test card) would be worth at least 50 bucks by now. Bah.
Definition:
Aqueous test card – cards printed with “Aqueous Test” across the backing of the card. The cards were then sprayed with a water based coating which is supposedly resistant to fingerprints and scratching.
Nevertheless being that I didnt’t want to start camp fires with the cards, or make them tinder for the summertime BBQ, and there is definitely not much money in trying to sell them on eBay since they are worth so little. I turned to google, which came back with some alternatives:
1. Donate them
Commons 4 Kids is a great organization that started with the idea that card collecting should be for kids, and will donate the cards you send in to a good kids in need.
2. Recycle them
Honestly they aren’t worth that much. Instead of burning them to ash, might as well do the planet some good and turn them into compost.
3. Shipping instruments
If you need to eBay something small that needs to be flattened, why not use the cards as a way to protect valuable items that you’re mailing. Better yet shred the cards into packing materials!
4. DIY something with them
Wouldn’t it be cool to make a wreath out of baseball cards? WOULDN’T IT?!?!?!
5. Glass Cleaning
You know how you sometimes see people use newspaper to clean car windows at gas stations? You could totally use cards for that.
The possibilities are endless, and I can continue the fond memories of collecting by making secondhand uses of these cards. Imagine a toilet scrubber made of Jose Canseco cards! Endless I tell you.
