Are Ungraded Baseball Cards Worth Anything in 2024? A Passionate Collector‘s Insights

As an avid lifelong baseball card collector, I am asked constantly by both newcomers and veteran hobbyists alike – do ungraded cards still carry any tangible value in the year 2023? Can I sell my ungraded cards for decent money either as one-off staples or in larger ungraded collections?

The short answer is yes, both modern and vintage ungraded baseball cards certainly can still sell for reasonable sums. However, similar condition graded cards virtually always command exponentially higher market values.

In this 2023 updated collector‘s guide, I‘ll leverage decades of experience buying, selling, and trading cards to explore real-world ungraded baseball card values. You‘ll see current price charts, data-driven analysis, liquidation case studies, and plenty of tips to extract maximum value from your unencapsulated cardboard investments of passion.

Let‘s dive in!

Grading 101: The Process, Purpose and Price Impacts

Grading encapsulates trading cards in hard plastic cases by trusted third party services like PSA, BGS, and SGC to confirm authenticity and condition. Cards are assigned numeric grades from 1 to 10. The higher the grade, the higher the value:

Grading Company Price and Time Comparison

As you can see, grading is a premium service with extended turnaround times as backlogs continue growing. But why pay all this? The exponential market value gains attained by attaining high grades on vintage HOF and modern rookies.

For example, here is a real sales data snapshot comparing an iconic 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in various conditions:

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA Values

Based on this data, while an ungraded ‘52 Mantle still carries a respectable 4-figure value based on overall scarcity, shooting for that high PSA grade multiples values by over 8X per grade jump!

Below PSA 5, ungraded copies actually sell for more because buyers will take a chance on condition and get cards professionally graded themselves potentially unlocking that extra upside.

Of course, securing top grades is exceptionally unlikely for vintage sets pre-1980. Still, the value prospect keeps driving more and more card submissions.

So in summary, while grading is ultimately a personal choice for collectors deciding between increased monetary gains vs pure enjoyment of cards without plastic cases, the amazing market value multiplier of pristine grades continues driving record hobby interest entering 2023.

Determining Accurate Values for Modern Ungraded Cards

Rookie cards of contemporary MLB superstars like Mike Trout and Aaron Judge can also sell for big money even in raw ungraded condition. But how much exactly?

As a trading card dealer, I follow a precise process to baseline "book value" of modern ungraded cards:

1. Check Sold Listings on eBay, filtering specifically by raw copies only
2. Cross-reference Raw Market Values at Major Retailers like Steel City Collectibles
3. Factor in Subjective Premiums for Hot Players like Judge after HR Records

Let‘s walk through some real-world pricing examples of prominent modern rookies:

Ungraded Rookie Card Price Estimates – Feb 2023

Now let‘s analyze the mid to long term value outlooks for these highlighted modern rookies:

• Fernando Tatis Jr. – While a superstar talent, injury concerns and PED suspension make his risky as premium $500+ prices unlikely to sustain long-term. Still demands $200+ on talent upside alone.
• Wander Franco – One of the most hyped MLB prospects ever already fetching $350+ as a 19 year-old rookie before playing a full season. Strong long-term outlook if he avoids injury pitfalls of other young phenom prospects.
• Aaron Judge – His epic 62 HR season in 2022 has already doubled prices to $400+ for raw rookies. As face of the Yankees chasing Maris‘ record, still has room to run.

This analysis shows even ungraded modern rookie cards of MLB young stars and prime talents can quickly accrue very real 4-figure values.

Maximizing Values for Vintage Ungraded Hall of Famers

Ungraded vintage HOFers and stars from the 1950s through 1980s also retain considerable worth in 2024. However, selling them individually is not optimal:

• Complete Ungraded Sets Strongly Outperform Individual Card Values
• Mid-Grade (VG-EX) Sets Offer Best Risk/Reward Ratio

For example, here is a comparison of summed book values for individual 1952 Topps cards versus current market value of the complete ungraded set:

1952 Topps Cards – Individual Values vs Complete Set

1952 Topps Complete Set Value

• Ungraded VG-EX: $5,500

By selling the complete 252 card set, collectors can achieve a 3.5X price multiplier versus liquidating marquee names as individual specimens.

Also, mid-grade complete sets eliminate risk compared to hunting elusive pristine high number Hall of Famers.

Assembling complete sets from scratch does carry costs. For example, here is a comparison of set assembly costs versus potential resale values across different vintage set conditions:

Assembling and Reselling Complete Sets

Based on this market data, collectors can pursue different set completion strategies targeting specific eras, conditions, and grading targets to potentially generate strong long-term hobby investment returns.

That said, you absolutely need the following icon cards graded NM/MINT or better to have a chance at solid ROI:

• 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
• 1951 Bowman Willie Mays
• 1909 T206 Honus Wagner

All other vintage HOF rookies have enough supply in mid-grades where selling complete Ungraded VG/EX sets offers the best overall value.

Managing and Extracting Value From Massive Ungraded Collections

As primarily a player collector rather than set builder, the majority of my 50,000+ card collection accrued since childhood consists of 1980s through modern era stars accumulated in large ungraded quantities:

• 25,000 late-1980s and 1990s base cards
• 15,000 multi-sport athlete and player collections
• 10,000+ rookies, inserts and parallels

When pandemic free time allowed me to reorganize and downsize this lifetime hoard into a manageable collection, the project quickly felt overwhelming!

Here is a brief outline of my card organizing, storage, and liquidation process over a 2 year span:

1. Sort & Catalog The Collection – Separated years, brands, teams into boxes. Excel spreadsheets by year/player/type. Took nearly 200 man hours!

2. Assess True Market Values – Researched real sell prices of ungraded player lots and partial team sets across eras – over 85% had minimal value except for occasional $10-$20 star cards sprinkled in.

3. Consolidate & Sell The Best – Consolidated 50K cards down to 5K keepers. Sold stars/rookies individually on eBay for $7K. Wholesaled mid-tier player lots to dealers for $3K credit.

4. Donate & Gift Common Bulk – Donated 30K common cards to local schools & charities who happily repurposed into kids craft projects and giveaways ultimately valuing community over the raw $.

While certainly time intensive, this project reinforced ungraded card values can still be extracted via targeted eBay sales, dealer bulk trades to purchase rare graded cards for my personal PC, and donating bulk lots to foster the next generation.

Conclusion

As we‘ve explored, ungraded baseball cards – whether iconic vintage HOF rookies or modern prospects – absolutely still carry tangible monetary value for savvy collectors and investors in 2024. However, graded copies in pristine shape will virtually always command significant pricing premiums versus their equally conditioned raw counterparts.

Optimizing value requires understanding real-world market prices, pursuing complete ungraded sets from the 1950s through 1980s, and leveraging bulk liquidation channels simultaneously valuing community and personal collecting goals.

I hope you found these ungraded baseball card value insights useful. What topics would you like me to explore in future collecting industry commentaries? What challenges are you facing valuing your own cards or liquidating significant ungraded collections? I welcome any questions or dialogue in the comments from fellow passionate hobbyists!