Hi Guys,

New to the site, was a big time non-sports card collector from 1977 (the first Star Wars set from Topps) until about 2002 (the first Spider-man film) and then got out as life got in the way.

I am looking to catalog and appraise my collection and am wondering if there is a non-sports card price guide that is recommended by the fine folks who inhibit this site.

Thank you in advance for any recommendations.

This forum is hosted by Non-Sport Update magazine, and now owned by Beckett Media. Check out Non-Sport Update magazine at nonsportupdate.com.

Thanks, H-T. I used to get NSU when I did collect and found it didn't contain all the non-sport cards sets that have been available throughout the years. The guide just seems to list the more popular releases, which is understandable considering the sheer amount of listings involved.

I was hoping there was an annual price guide, along the lines of the Overstreet Price Guide used in the comic book market.

Anything like that exist?

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck White:
Thanks, H-T. I used to get NSU when I did collect and found it didn't contain all the non-sport cards sets that have been available throughout the years. The guide just seems to list the more popular releases, which is understandable considering the sheer amount of listings involved.

I was hoping there was an annual price guide, along the lines of the Overstreet Price Guide used in the comic book market.

Anything like that exist?

Sure, try the Beckett Non-Sports Almanac

Thanks again, H-T.

Not to be a Devil's Advocate, but reviews on Amazon are not overly flattering of this guide. An example review:

First of all, it is NOT a softcover book...it is more like a glorified magazine, very flimsy with cheap paper. Second, the type is so tiny, so miniscule, I could barely read it...and my eyesight is excellent when reading, and I have never had trouble reading anything printed in my whole life! As far as the content, it is sorely lacking, as far as completeness is concerned. The first set I looked up, Mod Squad Topps, which should be listed under the book's section on Post War Vintage, wasn't there; many of the sets listed have no prices (for example, Frankenstein Valentine Stickers), as a matter of fact there is an ad for Beckett.com that reads "Can't find your cards in this magazine? We've got it online *for as low as $6.75 per month." There is only One Ad for a non sports dealer (that i've never heard of) among only a handful, so those disappointments alone already add up to definitely not worth the cover price for me.

Do you have the guide, yourself? If so, what is your reaction to this review? Why do some fairly modern releases have no pricing?

Just curious, as I am looking to get the most complete guide possible.

There are a couple of nice actual books you might be able to find, one that covers 1985 to about the mid 2000s (when it was published) and another focusing on promo cards, but they're both about 10 years out of date, so they won't have anything too recent in them.

I don't usually need pricing for the real vintage stuff, but I've maintained a collection of the various non-sport card magazines that proliferated in the early 1990's, and can usually find info on vintage sets from among those, if I ever needed to. All are defunct, save NSU, the last man standing, but many back issues from those various lines (Cards Illustrated, Combo, Tuff Stuff Collect!, etc.) remain pretty readily available online. I remember the vintage listings in "Tuff Stuff's Collect" being pretty decent, and certainly, older issues of NSU had more comprehensive listings of older sets. The price guide in NSU has evolved over the years.

There isn't any regularly published all-inclusive book length guide (akin to Overstreet for comics) for non-sports that I know of, unfortunately.

Thanks, CPF, not the answer I was hoping for, but not surprised.

My collection ranges from the 60s to the mid-2000s and I was hoping there was a price guide that would cover this era.

Has NSU ever considered doing an online price guide that would be easier for them to list in detail all sets and update with real time pricing? I'd be on board for paying a subscription to that service.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck White:
Thanks, CPF, not the answer I was hoping for, but not surprised.

My collection ranges from the 60s to the mid-2000s and I was hoping there was a price guide that would cover this era.

Has NSU ever considered doing an online price guide that would be easier for them to list in detail all sets and update with real time pricing? I'd be on board for paying a subscription to that service.

Wish granted: http://www.beckett.com/price-guides/non-sports

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck White:

I am looking to catalog and appraise my collection and am wondering if there is a non-sports card price guide that is recommended by the fine folks who inhibit this site.

Welcome to Card Talk Chuck.

Looking to appraise any sizeable card collection is a task I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Every price guide you will ever see will state that it is only a guide. The pricing should be based on average confirmed sales, throwing out a certain percentage of both the abnormally high and the abnormally low transactions. Then you get a high/low range, which is roughly a two and a half times swing from low to high on most cards.

Generally that was supposed to account for different condition grades, but with modern cards always being kept in the best conditions, it has become more of a buy at the low column price and sell at the high column price to some people. Unless you are selling in bulk to a dealer, at which point you can throw away the price guide and choose between next to nothing and less than nothing offers.

I look at non-sport card price guides not for the prices, but for the card listings, which are only fairly represented the first time they appear. After that they are edited down to only the important individual cards and bare bones ranges on other groupings.

The NSU price guide is the best available resource in a pinch. The NSU Encyclopedia of Non-Sport & Entertainment Trading Cards covering 1985 - 2006 can still be ordered I think. Beckett's Non-Sports Almanac came out in 2015 in its first edition. To be fair, this is a work in progress and the first run of anything is usually a test. I have been told that this will be an annual book and that buyer suggestions will be used to improve some issues in the next edition.

The problem with any price guide that wants to cover all of non-sport cards, besides the actual price analysis, is that the sets keep coming and the space is limited. You can't edit out sets or it is incomplete, but it costs too much to keep printing more and more pages and there is only so much you can charge a buyer. So what I'm saying is that you aren't going to find everything in one place, and you can't actually rely on the pricing that you do find for anything more than a broad estimate, that may not even be in the ballpark when you go to really sell anything. How's that for being helpful.

I do not try to appraise my cards, but if I need a current value, I have a rough idea of what something is worth when I look at confirmed sales on that auction site and checking whatever reference material I can find elsewhere to back it up. Sometimes it doesn't back it up, sometimes pricing analysis is way off. The old adage that a collectible item is only worth what someone is willing to pay at the time you want to sell it is quite true. That's why I don't put any faith in the price guides, but by their own disclaimers, neither do they.

And yeah, as Ryan just posted above, if you are not hung up on print there is the online subscription that some people may find very useful.

Very well put, Raven

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Raven:
The NSU Encyclopedia of Non-Sport & Entertainment Trading Cards covering 1985 - 2006 can still be ordered I think. [/UNQUOTE]

This is my guide without a doubt. Although I collect ten years earlier than its start date I usually use a site called Vintage Non-Sports Cards for anything earlier. But for the era stated I think that this book is the best there is.

Thank you, Raven, for taking the time for that detailed and informative response.

Being a comic book collector all my life, and working in a comic book store for 16 years, I had a feeling yours was the type of response I would get. It seems non-sport card pricing is even more volatile than comic book pricing (which is almost impossible to gauge these days, with the movies and television shows throwing everything out of whack).

I will catalog my collection, and check the auction site for an idea of where I am at and live with that.

As for the online guide, I appreciate the link Ryan, but I find it's a little pricey for an online guide. The Overstreet Guide for Comic Books is only $30 and in print, which is really handy. The cheapest NSU digital option is $90, which seems a wee bit high.

Again, I appreciate all the responses, very helpful.

I'm on the cusp of getting back into the hobby and I am sure cataloging my existing collection will pull me over that edge.

So you've all got a new member! You've been warned!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chuck White,

Thanks, btlfannz, sounds like the guide I want, unfortunately I can't seem to get it for less than $60, a little pricey for a 10 year old price guide, up here in Canada.

I will definitely keep an eye out for a copy for sale at the card shows (which I've started to go to again).

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck White:

I will catalog my collection, and check the auction site for an idea of where I am at and live with that.

Honestly Chuck, that is the best way to get your ballpark figures anyway. Just take a look at the real market for the card or set. I hate to say it because a price guide has almost always been a part of my collecting experience but they came out during a time when we didn't have this much price and purchase comparison power at our finger tips. In many ways they (price guides) are an outdated idea.

Thanks, Mykduke, you have all been helpful, appreciated.

Thank you for your feedback, Mykdude, and apologies for the very late response. I didn't seem to receive an email notice of your post.

I've begun cataloging my collection (had a big move last year, so just getting started now).

I know how you feel, price guides have always been a part of my collecting, but it does look like their day in the sun is ending.