How Does a Sports Card Collector Sell Cards?
Other People Are Reading
-
Selling Sports Cards
-
At first, people do not begin collecting sports cards trying to make money, but there are times when you will look to sell off some of your collection. Different markets are available to sell your sports cards. You will have to do a bit of homework to gauge the right market that may be interested in your cards. If they're valuable, chances are someone will want to buy them.
Price Guides and Grading Services
-
Purchase a Beckett Guide to determine the value of your cards. A guide will help you discover if your cards have value and are worth selling. The prices listed in the various guides are a good starting point to provide insight about the rarity of a card. Remember, price guides are printed monthly and the market can often change in a few weeks.
Never grow too attached to any card in your collection. You want to turn over the card as many times as possible to profit from each transaction.
Consider a number of factors when deciding whether to submit a card to a grading service. If the card is not of sufficient value, it would be in your best interest not to have it certified. -
EBay
-
EBay, an online auction site, has categories dedicated to selling sports cards. Sell your cards individually or in sets, or put up your entire collection on the site. You will need to scan your cards in order to post a picture for your auction. Start small, begin with a small auction to learn the process thoroughly. You will have to pay a listing and commission fee to eBay for each sold item.
Once you have posted your cards, do a search on the site to make sure the cards are appearing in the right category. It's also a good idea to begin the bidding on your auction to attract attention. Don't bid too high, as buyers tend to shy away from items that have too high a price tag. The idea is to get people bidding: the more bidding, the better.
Sports Card Dealers and Card Shows
-
Take your sports cards to a card dealer. You will not get full value for your cards, as dealers are looking to keep the price down in order to make a profit selling the cards down the line. But a dealer is the perfect option if you want to sell your collection immediately.
Locate sports card shows in your area and sell your cards to dealers at the show. Nothing beats the Internet as a marketplace to sell sports cards, but card shows are a close second. The bigger the show, the better price you will receive. Do not get carried away and bring your entire collection to the show.
Sports Cards Web Communities
-
Join a sports card Web community that allows members to sell cards to one another. Do your homework on these type of sites to make sure they're legitimate. Ask for references before agreeing to any transaction. TradingCardCentral.com and SportsCardForum.com are two such communities, but a quick online search will yield many more.
Selling Strategies
-
If you have a large quantity of common cards, it often best to sell them as a group package instead of individually. Valuable cards should be sold individually.
Unless you have a crystal ball, you never know the exact time when an athlete's card is at peak demand. The market is unpredictable, and certain events in an athlete's career can increase interest in the card. When in doubt, trust your gut feeling.
-
