Frequently asked questions

Are you a dealer?

No, I'm a collector. I don't sell cards, although I'm always happy to trade in order to improve my collection.

How should I describe the condition of my cards?

There appears to be no standard rule, but the following guide may help:

• Mint (M) - As new, no marks or signs of wear. They appear just as if they have come out of their original packaging.

• Very good (VG) - Near perfect (even though they may be 30 or 40 years old). Crisp edges and corners, good colours and no obvious faults.

• Good (G) - Showing signs of age, but no major faults. Edges and corners perhaps bumped or worn, colours not as bright as original.

• Fair/Poor (P) - Worn, marked, creased or otherwise damaged.

Where can I acquire cards?

There are four main sources:

• Purchase from dealers (online or otherwise),

• Purchase from specialised auction houses or sales,

• Purchase from general auction sites, or

• Trades with other collectors.

There is a very active auction site at www.ebay.co.uk, where you can check the value of your cards. Try Trading Cards & Stickers.

Trading is perhaps the cheapest and most enjoyable means of improving your collection. You get to learn from other collectors, and it always gives you a means to get rid of those swaps.

What are my football cards worth?  What is my collection worth?

This is never an easy question, but here are a few pointers:

1. Try to visit on-line auction sites, including ebay, to see what cards are currently selling for. If you are able to contact a dealer they normally have catalogues with their selling prices (though you need to remember that this is what they sell for, not what they would pay you).

2. Condition is always very important. Some 'serious' collectors are sticklers for top quality cards. If you are offering your cards for sale you should attempt to describe them accurately. Adding a scanned image or two will always help avoid confusion or miscommunication.

3. Age is not always a good indicator of value. Many older cards are not particularly valuable. A lot of collectors want to collect the cards that they remember from their childhood, so cards older than 40 or 50 years can be less collectable than from 10, 20 or 30 years ago. Cards from some years are much rarer than others, for example, FKS 1967/68 cards and albums are 10 times more valuable than 1968/69 items.

4. For each condition grade that you drop down you can halve the selling price e.g. if a Mint condition card is worth £20 then the same card in VG condition would be worth £10, and in Good condition £5.

5. Your collection may be worth more if broken up. Some people collect cards only for their team. If you are selling part of a set, or a number of cards, you may not attract buyers who want cards from, for example, Arsenal or Manchester United only. Your buyers may have to pay too much for only one or two cards that they are after. However, a complete set in excellent condition is hard to find. Some collectors want complete sets, and will pay good money for complete sets, so it is not always an easy decision about whether to break up a set and sell them individually or to try to sell the set as a whole.