2012 Baseball Cards!

     So all season long I have been collecting 2012 Baseball Cards. I like to take a few years off from collecting and then come back. In 2004 or 2005 I had collected some but had stopped because I had wanted to let the dust settle from all of the steroid mayhem. This year was a good year to start back up. I did a lot of looking and research to see what brand would have the best return some day. Any one who collected in the 1980's knows what I know, you are lucky if 75% of your collection is worth more than 10 cents a card. Be sure to send all of your thank you notes to the steroid users, then thank Topps for making millions of cards in the 80's and 90's.

     Upper Deck was the card of choice late 80's early 90's but not so today. Topps has always made a nice looking card but it is very rare to find a Topps card that is worth much after 30 years. Score is still around others are suspect. I found one old name that is hard to find, but hard to find in a good way. Bowman cards are in high demand. Even the common cards are already worth $1 right out of the pack! The inserts are also starting out with a nice price tag. So my collecting pick this year was Bowman (owned by Topps).

     With the post season shaping up in the MLB I am trying to round up cards and sort them by team. My Orioles and Nationals card stacks are shaping up pretty well, I may keep them but more likely I'll sell them on eBay. Heck I need more space for more cards!!! My office and "Man Cave" have stacks and boxes of baseball cards all over the place. I am hoping to sell a good amount to collectors who will enjoy them more than me, since I am a New England sports fan at heart. My first love is Baseball and I respect the game, so even though I do not like the Yankees I can still find a way to enjoy the sport. I mostly wear my Orioles hat to prevent "road rage". So hopefully my O's card collection can find a home that will love them more than me, and even though I was not born an O's fan I am rooting for them as the post season draws near.

     Card grading is the best way to preserve the most valuable cards in your collection. PSA and BGS and the two leaders. If you have a lot of old / high dollar cards then PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) is the high end collectors choice. PSA's fees are rather high. The last time I looked it was some place around $15 a card. BGS (Beckett Grading Service) tends to be more affordable, when they are not having a sale their 45 day service runs at only $9 per card. In June they were running a sale where it was $7 per card and a free upgrade to their 20 day service. So I gathered up 7 cards and sent them in! There is an online form you fill out, and they give clear instructions on what you must do when send them cards to grade. I should be getting mine back either late this week or some time next week! I'll post the results on here once they are back! If you want more info on BGS you can find it here. If you would like more info on PSA you can find that here.

Good Luck and happy collecting!

-Case