Dean Hanley: Hi! I am Dean Hanley, owner of DeansCards.

com. Today, we're talking about collecting sports cards. Now, we're going to talk about how to sell a vintage sports card collection. I've bought thousands of collections over the years. So why do people sell sports card collections?

The simplest answer is, sometimes they needed the money or a lot of times when the actual collector is looking to sell the cards, it can be a very emotional moment. A lot of them were attached to the cards from their boyhood and don't end up sell them. Often the person is selling the collection has inherited the collection. A lot of times these people don't know much about sports cards, and it could be a quite a daunting task to figure out how to get the best price and a fair deal for their cards. First, let's start when not to sell collection. This almost always involves the collector himself. So when I hear a collector say, you know, I might sell my sports cards if the price is right. Most of the time it never is, and they never do unless they really need the money. I certainly understand how they feel. I'll probably never sell my boyhood collection. The statement I'd love to hear from a seller is, I want a good price for my cards, but I'm definitely going to sell the collection. Most of the time, this works out very well for both parties. Another tempting option is to try to sell the cards online yourself. A lot of times it's a lot more work than you may think. A large collection could easily take months or years to liquidate. Quite often, the seller is much better off just selling to someone directly like a dealer, especially when you consider the expense and the time involved to liquidate a large sports card collection. You can always sell to another collector, but these people can be very difficult to locate or another option is auction houses. These don't always works for collections; they usually handle the more expensive rare high-dollar items, also they charge large commissions. My recommendation is to find a reputable sports card dealer. They're professionals that buying collections and it's in their best interest to treat people fairly. Have them give you a bid on the collection; if you like the bid, take the money. If you're not happy with the bid then you can always get another. If you're still not happy with it then you have the option of putting the cards back in the closet and letting your airs deal with them many years from now. I hope you found this information about starting, maintaining, placing the value on a collection, and selling it helpful. Good luck and happy collecting.