Vintage Baseball Cards

If you cannot find a collector's shop that offers a baseball card grading service in your local area you might want to think about sending your cards to a third party baseball card grading service. The baseball card grading services will evaluate your card and determine it's condition by grading it on a variety of criteria, including centering, sharpness of edges, surface quality, border color quality, and general wearing.

Which Companies Offer Baseball Card Grading Services?
Although there are many baseball card grading services there are a few well known companies that you should be aware of. Not every company has a standard criteria for baseball card grading so you will find some variances with the grades handed out by each of these companies. Perhaps the most well known baseball card grading company and recognized leader in the field is Becket Publications. Professional Sports Authenticator is probably the second most well known company and a couple other baseball grading companies that you should know that offer baseball card grading services are Global Authentication,, and Sportscard Guarantee.

Why Have Your Baseball Cards Graded In The First Place?
The answer to this question depends on what type of baseball card collector you are. If you are a serious collector then the reason for getting your baseball cards graded is to ascertain and protect the value of your card collection. Many collectors will only buy and sell graded cards. Knowing the value of a baseball card is is a requirement for any collector who is seriously pursuing buying and selling baseball cards as an investment; especially old and vintage baseball cards. In addition, baseball card grading companies will return your card back encased in a sealed hard plastic folder that will ensure that your card holds its value. For the not so serious collector, baseball card grading might be an occasional event. I know that at times, I've become curious about a not-so-valuable card and have sent one in to be graded; not so much as an investment but just for fun. Baseball card collectors are a curious bunch and therefore the desire to know the value of our passion is only human nature. Baseball card grading can be fun even if you're not collecting rare and vintage baseball cards.

Alternatives To Baseball Card Grading
If you don't want to pay the money to have your baseball cards graded but still want to know the general value of a card you can consult a baseball card price guide. Beckett's Baseball And Sports Market Report are two monthly publications that can help you keep up to date on recent baseball card market fluctuations. Additionally, there are the larger yearly baseball card price guides which provide market prices for nearly every baseball card printed but since they are generally printed once a year, the information may not always be up to date. Beckett's also provides an online baseball card price guide for a small monthly fee. Another method of evaluating your baseball cards is to take a look at online baseball card auctions. Ebay has plenty of these types of auctions but there are a variety of companies on the internet that provide the same service.

As you can see, if you are thinking about getting your baseball cards graded, there are a variety of methods and services available. Even if you are not yet a serious collector, you may choose to have a few cards graded just to get your feet wet and experience the process for yourself. Always remember though that even after you have your baseball cards graded, your cards' true value can only be determined by how much a buyer is willing to pay for it. Keep all this information in mind and you're sure to have a great time with baseball card grading services.