Well, if you ask me, priceless. Carl Yastrzemski is/was/will always be my favorite player. Boston Red Sox rookie, took over in LF for Ted Williams, played his entire career in Boston, that classic Yaz snarl at every public event post playing career, left handed power, hustle, I could go on and on. I have several of his cards and cherish every single one of them. None of my Carl Yaz cards are for sale, but just for sh$ts and giggles, how much is it worth, monetarily?

Don’t geek out, I know the condition is less than satisfactory. It had to fit in the spokes of my bike and in my back pocket and be placed in and out of books as a bookmark for the past 40 years or so. Hmmmm… maybe there is a website that can tell me the value, the monetary value that is, of this card. Maybe I am sitting on a goldmine and a priceless treasure, one that is coveted by collectors worldwide. Does a website or app exist where you can look up old cards and determine (roughly) what they are worth? Apparently, yes there are several.

A quick Google search for card value apps brought me to the app “CollX.” CollX allows you to scan a card, obtain its value based on recent sales/purchases online, even create a collection for sale and trade via your profile. My Carl Yaz, 1980 Topps Classic Baseball Card, priceless in value to me personally, has a monetary card value of $1.50. Ouch, I won’t take that personally, and neither should you Yaz!!! Okay, here is how CollX works, from an email I received after signing up for the app:

Now, I do want to mention there are other ways to determine your card’s value. Baseball card shops still exist, in fact I am planning on visiting one here in Virginia Beach in the next day or two to do some research. The store’s attendants have card value catalogs and some may just know the value off the top of their heads. There are several card value apps like CollX out there that give you the value of the card and allow you to add in condition to increase/decrease its value. Reviews online have been mostly positive for CollX with some mixed and negative reviews regarding how the value is derived, as well as some cards not being found in the app’s catalog.

I haven’t really used the app enough to form an opinion. To me, it’s just a cool way to get a general sense of the value of your card. Sort of like selling your 1980 Nissan 200SX. Classic car, maybe. Valuable, maybe. Add in the condition and the fact that it doesn’t run, well the value now is plummeting. Some baseball cards will lose value over the years, where others will gain value. Condition ultimately forms the actual value of the card, and this is where so many lose money on baseball cards not stored properly.

I mentioned picking up a pack of cards the other day. I used the CollX app and determined that 99% of my new cards were worth – about $0.88. However, in 10 years time, perhaps we can get a bump up to say $2.00? In closing, do your research via the CollX app or similar card value app, go to the card shops, maybe attend a baseball card trading convention, and then take the average of your research to determine your baseball card’s monetary value. For me, my Yaz card is still priceless at a measly monetary card value of $1.50!!!