Whether you have a collection you want to liquidate or individual rare cards you want to turn into cash, selling baseball cards online can be a great way to earn money in today’s market. The internet has opened the door for collectors and dealers across the world to connect, allowing cards of all values to find new homes. With so many options available, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of various platforms so you can choose where to sell your cards wisely. This in-depth guide will explore some of the most reputable and viable places collectors can turn to in order to get top dollar for their baseball card inventory.
eBay – Without a doubt, eBay is the biggest player in the online baseball card market. The site attracts thousands of new listings and millions of potential buyers every day, giving sellers unparalleled exposure and liquidity. eBay takes a final value fee of 10% on sold items, plus 30 cents per listing. Listings can run anywhere from 3 days to 10 days. Sellers have the ability to accept best offers or set a reserve price. Make sure to take high quality photos, accurately describe condition details, and check sold prices of comps to determine a competitive starting bid or BIN price. On the downside, eBay charges listings fees which eat into profits on lower priced singles. Still, the massive audience often makes it worth the cost.
Sportlots – As one of the earliest sports card retail platforms to go digital, Sportslots has been a premier destination for collectors for over 25 years. There are no listing or seller fees, but they do charge a buyer’s premium which is baked into final sale prices. These range from 5-10% depending on total order value. Sportslots has a robust search functionality for actively finding cards across thousands of sellers. They also grant access to COMC’s instant cash offers on cards in your inventory. Like eBay, sellers must know how to photograph and describe their items well to entice buyers. Overall volume is lower than eBay so highly sought after cards can sometimes move slower here.
COMC – The Collectible Oline Card Marketplace pioneered the consignment model for online baseball card selling. Sellers ship bulk submissions to COMC’s warehouse where each item is catalogued, graded if needed, and then listed for sale. COMC takes a flat 15% (with volume discounts for power sellers) fee on the final selling price of each transaction. Unlike traditional auction sites, sellers aren’t chasing bidding wars or re-listing constantly. COMC handles the photography, hosting, orders, and payments seamlessly. This lets sellers generate income from even lower end parts of their collections. Downsides include waiting to get paid and less ability to directly affect sale prices. However COMC has millions of active collectors shopping their inventory each month.
Collector’s Universe – Through brands like PSA, BGS, and SGC, Collector’s Universe is the undisputed leader in 3rd party grading services for sports cards and other collectibles. They’ve built a dedicated marketplace specifically for showcasing slabs from their own authentication partners. While sale prices sometimes don’t quite reach what they could on a broader platform, the branded environment provides collectors utmost confidence in provenance. Since sales are managed directly by CU, sellers don’t have to worry about shipping, payments or customer service issues. For modern star cards or vintage HOFers already professionally graded, this can be an excellent liquidation channel. As with COMC, profits are generated over time through consistent traffic to the site.
Twitter – In recent years, Twitter has become a must for networking within the baseball card community as well as facilitating deals between collectors. Using relevant hashtags like #CantCrack and #CardShopTalk, sellers can post photos of individual card listings, lots for sale, and take offers from interested buyers in the replies. For rare or valuable cards, auctions are sometimes conducted by announcing an end time for best bid wins. Transactions are handled offline then. While Twitter doesn’t provide the same analytics as dedicated marketplaces, the ability to tap into a vast collector audience through personalized networking can result in very motivated purchasers for unique items. Just practice caution and only do business with trusted parties with positive reputations.
Facebook Groups – Much like Twitter, Facebook allows sellers to plug into highly engaged groups focused on particular teams, eras, players, or the hobby in general. Groups centered around trading, networking, and buying/selling give collectors a constantly updated stream of fresh inventory from fellow peers. Sellers can post ISO’s for wants or scan the feed for potential bargain finds to flip. Many groups have sales feedback functions to help establish community reputations over time. Facebook doesn’t host payments or shipments, but makes finding a fair deal and building rapport within the market very streamlined. Similar to Twitter, maintaining vigilance against scammers is important when dealing directly with group members.
Online Card Shows – As live shows began cancelling or moving online due to COVID-19, several companies emerged to recreate the convention experience through digital platforms. Topps Auctions utilizes live and silent auctions. Sports Card Meetups focuses on facilitating transactions between collectors showcasing inventory within specific price ranges. Meanwhile Delcampe offers calendar grids for scheduling personal viewing sessions of lots for sale. Event platforms provide streamlined shipping/invoicing as well as interactive forums for relationship building. Take rates tend to be on the higher side versus traditional auctions or marketplaces. Many buyers still cling to the nostalgia of physical browsing that digital shows can’t fully replicate.
Independent Websites – Diehard collectors obsessive about a niche player, set, or time period often launch their own professional trading post websites. While inventory may focus narrowly, these boutique shops compete by cultivating devoted followings through community forums, articles, want lists and more immersive exploring. Sites can be found through Google along with references from specialty message boards. With fewer middleman fees and lots of bespoke buyer perks, determined solo-preneurs successfully move some of the rarest trophies in the hobby. The amount of work to drum up consistent traffic means they may not scale over the long haul compared to big industry powerhouses.
Wherever baseball card sellers opt to list their items, diligent research, savvy pricing, and quality customer service remain keys to finding eager buyers and maximizing profits in today’s booming market. The rise of digital platforms now grants collectors worldwide unprecedented access and opportunities to trade across demographics. With so many viable selling venues, the possibilities are endless.
