People everywhere are unaware of how valuable their collections can be. Maybe someone gifted them a collection, maybe they never bothered to look up how much the items are worth, or maybe they forgot they still had the collectibles until recently. Whatever the reason, if you have a trove of baseball cards, coins, stamps, or other potentially valuable items, you should study how to find out what your collectibles are worth. A base understanding can help as you explore opportunities to sell your goods.
Research Auction Selling Prices
One of the best ways to determine the value of a collection is to research how similar collections have sold on virtual auction websites. If you have a treasure trove of baseball cards, you can determine if those products are in high demand by looking them up on eBay. An important tip for your mission on how to find out what your collectibles are worth is that you should always check the completed auction list.
Review Online Price Guides
If you want a clear-cut idea of how much your collectibles are worth—whether they’re trading cards, old books, or stamps—online price guides are invaluable resources. These websites are extremely comprehensive. One of the most prominent sites, called Kovels, has over 600,000 prices listed for collectibles and antiques. Some other wonderful resources include:
- Beckett: sports collectibles and trading cards
- Downtown: back issues of collectible magazines
- Collect: militaria, comic books, records, and more
Work With an Appraiser
Especially if you are trying to determine the value of silver and gold coins, you may want to work with an appraiser. Appraisers are extremely knowledgeable about their areas of expertise. They do typically charge a fee for their services. However, if they reveal that your collectibles have a value greater than you anticipated, then the price would be well worth it.
Reference Written Price Guides
Price guides are not simply online either. There are also extremely helpful price guide books. Many of them have annual updates to stay current with the trends in the market. Some examples of important or noteworthy price guides include:
- House of Collectibles Price Guide to Star Wars Collectibles by Sue Cornwell
- The Official Price Guide to Dolls by Denise Van Patten
- Goldmine’s Price Guide to Collectible Record Albums by Neal Umphred
When you get one of these, you can reference it yourself to determine how much your collectibles are worth.
