So, the other day I was cleaning out the attic, you know, the usual weekend chore I put off forever. Stumbled upon this old box, dusty as anything. Turns out it was full of my old sports cards from way back when. Mostly junk, honestly, but then I started seeing some familiar faces.
Digging for Gold (Maybe)
And there they were. Tucked between some baseball commons, I found a few Tom Brady football cards. Not a ton, maybe five or six? Mostly from his early years with the Patriots. I remembered getting these, thinking he might be pretty good someday. Understatement of the century, right?
Seeing them again got me thinking. With all the hype around him, especially after he retired (again!), I figured maybe these bits of cardboard were worth something now. Not that I expected to get rich, but hey, maybe enough for a nice dinner out.
Figuring Out the “For Sale” Part
First step was figuring out what I actually had. I laid them out on the kitchen table. Looked them over real close. Some were in decent shape, still pretty sharp corners. Others, well, let’s just say they saw the inside of a bicycle spoke or two back in the day. Condition is everything, apparently.
Then I tried to figure out the value. Man, that was confusing. I went online, just searching around. Prices were all over the place! Some Brady cards listed for crazy money, others for just a few bucks. It was hard to tell what was real and what was just wishful thinking.
I decided to try selling just one of the better-looking ones first. Didn’t want to go through the hassle for all of them if it was a bust.
- Took some photos. Tried my best to show the condition honestly, front and back. Good lighting helps, I guess.
- Wrote up a little description. Mentioned the year, the card number, and pointed out any flaws I could see.
- Picked an online marketplace place folks use for cards and collectibles.
- Set a price. Honestly, I kind of guessed, aiming somewhere in the middle of what I saw online for similar cards.
- Hit the “list” button and waited.
The Waiting Game and What I Learned
And then… mostly waiting. Checked my phone a lot for notifications. Got a couple of messages asking questions, and one offer that was way too low. Politely declined that one. It felt weird, putting a price on a piece of my childhood like that.
After about a week, someone actually bought it! Not for retirement money, but for more than I expected, honestly. Went through the process of packing it up carefully – used a plastic sleeve and one of those hard plastic holders – and shipped it off.
It was kind of cool, seeing that old card find a new home. But it was also more work than I thought. Taking good pictures, writing descriptions, figuring out pricing, dealing with shipping… it takes time.
My big takeaway? Selling cards isn’t just about having the right player. It’s about condition, knowing the market (which is tough!), and having the patience to list it properly and wait for the right buyer. For now, I think I’ll hang onto the other Brady cards. They’re a nice reminder of finding treasure in a dusty old box. Maybe I’ll try selling another one down the road, maybe not. It was an interesting little project, though!
