NOTE: This is from my column that appeared in the Aug. 17 issue of SPORTS COLLECTORS DIGEST. Reader Brett Craig saw this and thought it might be of interest to some of our readers.

Just about anyone who collects sports cards is aware to some degree of the so-called “book value” of their items, even collectors who say they collect purely for the fun of the hobby.

If you enjoy the emotional connection that you have with your card collection, never start to wonder what your cards might be worth. The moment you look at your collection as a revenue source, they lose their sentimental appeal and become a commodity. Worse yet, they’re a commodity that has no intrinsic value, meaning selling them can be a bigger challenge than most people realize.

The reality is that the bulk of most people’s card collections are made up of iems that aren’t necessarily extremely valuable or rare. That realization comes to some people when they decide to try to sell off some or all of their collections. Most “novice” collectors believe that when it’s time to sell their cards, they simply have to bring in their boxload(s) of items to the nearest card show or dealer and cash them in.

I can’t tell you the number of dealers who tell me they get calls on a regular basis from someone who had a collection of cards “from several years back” and wants the dealer to buy it from them. The dealer eventually learns that what the person has is a box full of unorganized cards from the late 1980s and early 1990s that aren’t valuable or scarce. They decline the customer’s offer, or offer them a bulk rate such as 25 cents per pound. Needless to say, some customers are left feeling a bit deflated. But how many 1990 Fleer Baseball sets or Jose Canseco rookies did they really think the dealer needed?

Dealers will certainly buy things they think they can resell, but they will only pay a portion of what they think they can sell it for. And if they can’t resell it, why should they be under any obligation to buy it?

Collectors now have the option of liquidating cards on their own via eBay or other online avenues. Again, what some soon realize is that some cards will only generate a fraction of what they had hoped they would. In fact, some people who try to sell bulk lots of cards will find out the cost of shipping those cards is sometimes more than what the cards will sell for.

So is card collecting nothing more than a scam, with trumped-up book values designed to lure customers into making a purchase? Of course not. Card collecting is a hobby, and hobbies are meant to provide entertainment. There are examples of cards that sell for a lot of money. There are examples of cards that are worth less today than a few years ago. That’s the case in any collectibles hobby.

If you’re going to get involved in the collectibles market purely to “buy low, sell high” you’ve got to do your homework and know which items will bring top dollar. It can be done, but be prepared: When a hobby turns into a business, it isn’t always as much fun as it used to be.