Most serious collectors are going to end up with a TON of common sports cards! When you see pictures of people’s massive collections…it’s usually because they’re filling up those 3,200 count boxes and letting them stack up!
First, let’s cover some basics and then we’ll dive into what to do with all those commons!
What’s a Common Sports Card?
You’ve probably heard the term “base” before—these are the regular cards that come in a set. Usually, most of the cards you pull from packs will be base.
Most people consider “common” cards to be base cards of players that aren’t valuable. However, your definition can change based on what you collect. For example, I only keep base of superstar players. Even all-stars/pro-bowlers often go into my commons box. Think of guys like Jrue Holiday, Alex Bregman, and Nick Chubb.
Most collectors stick them in 3,200 count cardboard boxes—here are the ones that I buy.
How to Have Fewer Common Sports Cards
I find myself these days wanting fewer commons. I have to get more boxes to store them, find the space for them, and eventually figure out what I want to do with them!
Recently, I bought a hobby box of 2023-24 NBA Hoops. It was a fun rip (but no, I didn’t get anything cool), but it also gave me 192 cards cluttering my desk—most of which are commons.
Usually, I tend to focus more of my time these days on buying boxes with lower card counts. I see collectors saying “this box costs $100 and only has 10 cards in it. That’s $10 per card!”
That’s the wrong logic…if you’re hoping for 1 or 2 bangers in a box, then 10 cards in a high-value box is more worthwhile than getting 360 cards for $60!
Think National Treasures—no one is complaining that there aren’t 100 cards in there.
Brands like Prizm and Select come to mind when thinking about fewer base cards and a higher percentage of “hits.”
You could also stop ripping wax and buy singles. I like opening stuff too much, but it’s certainly easier maintenance to only buy singles.
Go Through Your Commons Occasionally
When I got back into collecting, I almost tossed out an entire box of commons from the late 90s. At the last second, I decided to go through it.
And boy I’m glad I did! I pulled out probably 50-75 cards that I wanted to save! I had a few cards from players that hadn’t popped yet when I stopped collecting—Steve Nash being the prime example.
I also had players I considered lesser stars that turned into much bigger stars, like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, that I decided to keep.
There were even some Kobes. Not sure what my 14-year-old self was thinking as I’m a diehard Lakers fan! It was definitely a nice surprise!
I wonder how many people who stopped collecting 6-7 years ago have Jokic or Giannis in their commons box?
9 Things to Do With Common Sports Cards
Here’s what you can do with the cards you no longer want:
- Use Common Sports Cards to Protect Cards During Shipping
- Give Your Commons Away to Kids
- Sell Them for Dirt Cheap
- Give Your Commons out on Halloween
- Donate Commons to Goodwill
- Give Common Sports Cards to Teachers
- Sell Along With Higher Value Cards
- Recycle Them
- Save Them
1. Use Common Sports Cards to Protect Cards During Shipping
Some sellers like to cut out pieces of cardboard to protect the card they’re shipping. I go a different route!
I like to put in a couple commons on each side of the card. Not only does this protect the card, but a lot of people appreciate getting a few extra cards.
I’ve actually had several buyers mention they were grateful for the extra cards in my eBay feedback!
If it’s a more expensive card, I’ll sometimes slip in some nicer cards here. If I’m in the mood, I’ll even hunt for more of the same player the purchased, or at least from the same team.
Here’s the full scoop on how I safely ship cards:
=> How to Ship Cards Through PWE Shipping
2. Give Your Commons Away to Kids
My 9-year-old son is autistic and he just loves carrying my common cards around! When I open new boxes, he’ll come and stand next to me, waiting for his cards!
Then he’ll carry them around for a few days or weeks, and then I’ll put them in my commons box.
A few neighborhood kids also like my commons, so sometimes I’ll let them pick through my boxes for anyone they want to collect.
3. Sell Them for Dirt Cheap
This usually requires some sort of hookup as most people find these useless!
A 13-year-old down the street says he knows someone who’ll buy a box of commons for $20, so I sold the kid a box of mine for $10. He happily flipped it.
Not sure who’s buying commons for $20, but I was happy to make the $10.
4. Give Your Commons out on Halloween
A little goodie bag of 10 commons and 1 cheap insert card can go a long way for some kids! We’re not big fans of giving out candy, so this is a nice alternative!
5. Donate Commons to Goodwill
Some organizations with federal tax-exempt status will actually give you a tax-deductible receipt for the value of the cards!
Of course, you’re not going to get rich off commons, and it’s a tax deduction, not cash. But it’s something.
6. Give Common Sports Cards to Teachers
I’ve actually seen a TON of people in online groups mention giving cards out to their students to reward good behavior. Apparently, it’s pretty popular!
If you ARE a teacher, try it with your students. If you KNOW a teacher, see if they’d like to take some of your commons off your hands to give them out to students.
7. Sell Along With Higher Value Cards
You’ve probably seen those ads in local classifieds or at garage sales:
“Entire collection for sale!”
It’s an easy way for you to pair some nicer cards you’d like to sell along with thousands of commons. Basically, if they want the nicer cards they have to take the rest, too.
8. Recycle Them
While it is a bit wasteful to do this, it’s certainly an option. These are cards that you don’t want and are hard to sell—you’re under no obligation to do anything productive with them!
I’ve done this before when I didn’t have any more boxes for commons and they started stacking up on my desk. Usually I’d prefer something different, but it’s not like you’re a serial killer for throwing these away.
(In fact, my guess is more people throw them away than you think. Online, some people act like you’ve murdered a puppy, but that’s got to be the minority…and who cares what they think anyway.)
9. Save Them
Some people like to see how big their collection can get. Some have the space and just don’t want to do anything about it.
Others hope that a few random players will go up in value over the next few years! Whatever your reason for saving them is, just be sure you can justify it to your significant other 🙂