Sell Cigarette Cards on eBay and Corner a Huge Chunk of the Market Fast

Cigarette cards are very popular collectibles on eBay but a little work is involved in compiling sets, checking all come from the same specific set, even replacing damaged cards with perfect specimens. Being successful involves WORK, which is almost certainly the reason few people take time to sell these highly prized, highly priced collectibles on eBay.

Cigarette cards have a long history, being first used as stiffeners in packages of cigarettes in the day before slide packets. Cigarette cards probably appeared first in the United States, most likely in the mid 1850s. Most cigarette cards were printed in sets and today, although some individual cards sell at high prices, it is sets which generate really high prices at specialist auctions, including eBay. Some collections, issued with albums, are worth significantly more than the set itself, but not if cards are glued in place.

Cigarette packets, though a specialty in their own right, can also command high prices, especially where condition is good where several hundred dollars a set is not uncommon.

EBAY REASON PRICES

* One card, just one, from Millhoff Famous Golfers series of 1928 fetched £112.00 (around $225.00).

* Another solitary card, this time from Murad Baseball Series 'Pennsylvania Sports' went for $159.50. NOTE: Baseball cards of most kinds - cigarette, postcard, trading, bubble gum - fetch fantastic prices.

TIPS TO HELP YOU MAKE BIG PROFITS SELLING CIGARETTE CARDS ON EBAY

* Work hard at completing sets even if it takes quite some time. The work will almost always be worthwhile. Continuously search for missing cards for potentially valuable sets. Certain dealers sell cigarette cards individually making this a good place to turn for one or two elusive specimens in an otherwise valuable set.

* At auctions, boot sales and flea markets consider buying bundles of cards often found in biscuit tins and plastic bags. These are usually part collections from original collectors and not unsold business stock so the potential for resale profits is relatively high.

* Avoid albums with cigarette cards stuck into place with strong adhesive as this reduces their value to almost nothing except for really rare cards. Cards slotted loose into special hinges in special collectors' albums are usually in good condition and fetch a premium over cards kept separate in tins and boxes and allowed to bump together and become damaged.