In the time I’ve spent collecting, I’ve never really been big on lot buying. More recently I’ve gone back to collecting some binder cards and have picked up a few lots for just one or two cards that were at good prices. Now I’ve started to collect a small pile of cards like the ones in the pictures below and it made me wonder what do people in the community do with their cards like these? I’m really tempted to just throw them away as they aren’t worth anything in the condition they’re in. Yet, some small hoarding part of me feels like I should just lump these all together and just tuck them away in a box forever.
I look at this Ancient Mew and I think, “Ooh, Ancient Mew!” and then part of me at the same time is just sad to see it in this state. I know there are more choices than to just hoard or chuck, but I’d like to hear what you do with your cards like this.
If they’re from my own childhood collection I keep them as they’re nostalgic.
If they’re from someone else’s collection I throw them away as they have no value to me or anyone else.
I like it when I see cards in this state though, as it means they have some sort of story behind them.
I just threw all mine into a random collection lot of around 1300 cards that I didn’t care for and just put them up for auction starting at $0.99. I included a bunch of a mint/near mint modern cards to make it a bit more appealing, but made sure the bidders understood that the condition of the older cards were awful.
One time I put two horribly damaged rayquaza LvX’s in the trash, thought about it for a second… pulled them out and sold them on eBay for the price of one played copy
I made my collection binder with cards like these. Honestly I don’t care for it being bended or heavy played. I love to pay low on cards I will just throw in my binder to stare later and I have no issues staring at cards like that, some poeple can’t stand it maybe I’m not that crazy. To dispose them is kinda a waste, you can gift them to someone who cares and loves them.
I just bundle them up for auction at $0.99 starting price like @dilbert.
Some binder collectors don’t care that much about condition, also people on lower budgets may not able to afford perfect looking cards and lastly, there may be parents buying these for their kids who don’t really care if they’re destroyed as long as it’s the coolest card in their school’s playground.
To be honest, even if any of such bundles would sell for just the $0.99 and I lost money on shipping and fees, I would still prefer that to simply disposing of them. At least they’ll be appreciated rather than destroyed.
I also am in the same position and I have no idea what to do with the horrible condition cards that would otherwise be worth money. Right now I just throw them on eBay with best offer, and sometimes they sell.
I usually create “custom boosters” with 1 rare, 1 holo, 3 uncommons and 5 commons and put them all together inside a penny sleeve, then give them away for Halloween when kids ring the door bell…Needless to say that the candy just looses importance at that point ahahah
It puts a smile on my face to see the damaged card love here haha! I don’t actively search for damaged, but if I get them, I know someone out there will be more than happy to pay for them. I use them as place holders in my collection until I find the deal that I want in a better condition. In a binder, many flaws disappear.
Sometimes I get a bunch of those too, I wait until I have a few hundred and than donate them to a local kindergarten! Can only recommend this, spares you the annoying process of selling those cards and you can even create some smiles!
I think it is a waste to destroy the cards. Honestly there are people that would want them and enjoy them even if they are creased or have other heavy damage. I’ve given very damaged cards to kids or friends that didn’t have that card and just want one and they genuinely will enjoy it. If you have something you feel is worthless and want to throw it away, please consider giving it away to someone that might enjoy it since you can really make someone’s day and some people want the cards and can’t really afford to buy a bunch. Your trash can be someone else’s free/cheap happiness/nostalgia (not going to say treasure necessarily but it’s not impossible).
You bet your ass those are wanted, do you know how hard it is to complete full sets lol, i’m so happy people don’t want bad condition those cards are bargains. Picked up a gold star charizard for 50 bucks locally because it was creased up! Cant even tell the different in my binder
If I don’t have the card yet, it goes in my binder regardless of condition. If I later on somehow receive the same card in better condition, the played one goes to my duplicated stack.
There are however two heavy played cards which will remain with me: the Moltres WotC #21 promo (my favorite artwork) which I received as a kid at the cinemas (this one is actually at PSA right now for nostalgia sake, probably getting a PSA 2-3). And the Jungle Jolteon holo, which was the second holo card I ever pulled as a kid (the first one I traded away within a week of opening it, haha).
If I do already have it, it’s going in my duplicated stack. Still have to actively start selling my 10k duplicated stack, but never really in the mood to start doing it. Right now I only sell to single-Pokémon collectors usually, after I made a list for them and I check whether I have some of the cards they’re missing.
The heavy played duplicated cards I have I’ll probably just gift for free with other cards, and/or use them as packaging material. That’s how I received most of them myself as well tbh.
If you were thinking of chucking you could always host a giveaway on here or gift them to someone you know that would appreciate them more either way.
OR I’m sure a local kids club would get a kick out of them i had a kid buy a few Hidden Fates cards from me a few months a go with his dad and he was so excited to see WOTC era cards which were 10 years older than him. I am sure they would not mind about the condition.
Alternatively Selling is always an option, Condition really does not matter for some people
Recent sold ebay listing for reference
People will definitely use them as placeholders for more expensive cards. Ive sold many LC reverses for great profit when they were bent in half and found in the 10c bin at the LGS!
