One of the most popular options is to sell your cards individually on eBay. eBay has the largest base of collectors searching for cards. To sell on eBay, you will first need to create a seller account, which is free. Then you can take high-quality pictures of the front and back of each card and list them individually with detailed descriptions. Be sure to look up recent sold prices for each card to help determine your listing price. Many collectors research recently sold prices on sites like eBay to get a sense of fair market value. You’ll want to offer competitive pricing to attract buyers but don’t undersell either. eBay will charge an “Final Value Fee” of 10% on each sale plus a 30 cent per sale listing fee. They offer options to list items for 1, 7, 10 or 30 days. Shipping the cards safely once sold is also important – card savers or toploaders within a rigid mailer work well. Overall eBay can reach the most collectors but does require some work listing each card individually.
A second option is to use online sports card marketplace sites like COMC (Cardboard Connection) or Sportlots to sell cards. With these sites, you send your entire card collection to them and they professionally photograph, grade if desired, and list the cards for sale on their site which collectors regularly check. They handle all payments and shipping too once cards sell. The downside is they will take a larger cut of each sale price – normally around 15% – to account for their time and services. It’s less work than individually listing on eBay. Both COMC and Sportlots have robust databases where collectors can search by player, team, and other criteria easily. Seeing graded cards may also attract more interest from buyers.
Selling your cards directly to a local card shop is another option. Many shops are always looking to purchase collections to resell and build their inventory. Call around to shops in your area to get quotes. Shops will likely offer you 50-60% of the estimated resale value since they need to make a profit when reselling. Payment is normally by check or cash upon delivery. This is a very quick sale option but you likely won’t get top current market value versus selling individually. Meet the shop owner first and check reviews if selling a valuable collection.
Consignment with a local card shop is similar to selling direct but you avoid setting a flat price upfront. Instead the shop lists your cards for a set period, normally 3-6 months, and takes a commission, often 30-40%, of whatever sells. Any unsold cards would be returned to you. This allows leveraging the shop’s buyer traffic without as big of an upfront purchase by the shop. You miss out on getting immediate cash in-hand for the full collection.
Attending a local card show or larger national card convention can also be a good option to sell directly to collectors. Research upcoming shows in your area through Google or trade groups like the Sports Collectors Bible website. At shows, you’ll need to bring your entire collection well protected in boxes to display at your seller’s table. Be prepared with reasonable asking prices and be open to offers from interested buyers at the show. Shows require more work transporting and staffing your table but getting in front of collectors face-to-face can spark interest versus online selling alone. You’ll also need to handle payments and shipping yourself after any purchases at the show.
Overall each selling method involves different trade-offs of time investment, potential selling prices, and convenience. Doing research on recent sales of your best cards on sites like eBay can help set competitive initial asking prices across any of these selling options. With some preparation and effort, selling your 1990s baseball cards collection through the methods outlined here should allow tapping into the strong continued demand from collectors for cards from that era. Just be sure to pack and ship any items responsibly and communicate clearly with buyers to help ensure smooth transactions. With a combination approach, your cards are sure to find new appreciative homes and collectors.
