How to Sell Sports Cards on Online (2023)

Learn how to sell sports cards online by getting a clear idea of which platform to sell on, how to list cards, and the benefits of using eBay compared to other platforms. Our article goes in-depth on what you need to know and how to save time that doesn’t result in getting sales. 

Deciding where to sell your cards is crucial if you want to transform your pastime into a successful business. We break down why eBay is worth using to open your online business.

Step 1: Start by Picking Where to Sell Sports Cards Online

There’s a massive difference between listing cards on eBay and hosting a live stream on WhatNot to sell cards. Knowing the background and context of which platform sells cards best helps make it easier. 

Here are a few platforms you can sell sports trading cards on: 

• 1. Mercari 
• 2. eBay 
• 3. WhatNot
• 4. Facebook Marketplace 
• 5. Self-Hosted: Shopify

Deciding where you sell your cards is essential to getting sales and profiting from a hobby you appreciate. Although there are many different online markets, we suggest eBay for several reasons.

Why We Like eBay as Your First Selling Experience

There are millions of items on eBay, including a vast selection of sports cards.

It’s the go-to place for sports cards, and all collectors, investors, and flippers do it. 

You’ll start selling sports cards right away, mainly due to how big eBay is and how it’s been operating for years.

eBay has a sizable audience already built in, where if you start posting consistently, they introduce your store to their audience. Additionally, you may interact with buyers worldwide on eBay because of its international readership. 

Lastly, eBay provides safe payment alternatives, including PayPal, credit cards, and debit cards, and is convenient and user-friendly.

You Should Sell on eBay instead of Mercari 

eBay has been around for years, and platforms like Mercari are too new where; they need to provide more traffic to make a significant number of sales each day. However, eBay has a huge built-in audience and can get you to sell sports cards faster. 

Benefits of eBay as a marketplace

• Global audience: Since eBay has a large user base, you can connect with customers worldwide.
• Numerous options: There are always millions of products for sale on eBay, including a massive assortment of sports cards.
• Convenience: eBay allows you to buy and sell from the convenience of your home without having to go to a physical location or interact with a seller in person.
• Simple to use: eBay features a straightforward user interface that makes it simple to look for and buy things that catch your eye.
• Secure payments: PayPal, credit cards, and debit cards are just a few of eBay’s convenient and safe payment methods. It’s a trusted brand that has been around for years. 

Step 2: Setting up a Listing on eBay Is Easy.

We wrote an in-depth article on how to efficiently list on eBay using our developed process. However, here’s a short, abridged version of our process includes: 

Create a Listing

We’ll start by clicking on the selling link on the eBay homepage, which will take us to the eBay dashboard. From there, we’ll click on the “list an item” link.

eBay gives you drop-down menus that help buyers find the cards they want. It’s essential to get those as accurate as possible, as eBay uses them to determine your listing. 

It’s a part of the search engine on eBay for specific cards, allowing buyers to find deals by sorting search results by percentage off suggested price or by most recent uploads. 

Importance of Title, Photos, and Description

Next, we’ll enter the title of our listing. Including the year and set the card is from, the player’s name and the card number in the title is essential. We’ll also select “brand new” for the card’s condition and add a photo. 

When taking photos of cards, it’s best to use a black backdrop to eliminate reflections. eBay has a built-in photo editing tool that allows us to crop and adjust the photo’s color. Our setup includes a black backdrop and a custom black card mat that hides the desk’s surface. 

Choosing a Selling Format and Setting a Price

Decide between a fixed price where buyers can ‘buy it now’ or an auction price. We recommend a fixed price and allowing ‘offers’ as this helps with negotiating. In addition, you’ll be able to get the higher price you want, whereas auctions are good when you want to get rid of your product quickly.

Shipping Options

Finally, we’ll select the shipping options for our listing. We can choose to offer free shipping or charge the buyer for shipping. It’s important to factor in the shipping cost when setting the starting price for our card.

For example, if a card’s value is around $4, price it at $3.00 and has the buyer pay for shipping at $1.25. It helps encourage sales because your prices are low while still getting the value of what the card is worth!

Step 3: Preparing the Card for Shipping Becomes Cost Effective

While this article will only go a little into how to ship sports cards, it will explain some basics to get you started. 

1. Packaging options

Decide if you will ship using a small bubble wrapper or a white envelope. Additionally, you can ship using a box; however, this often becomes too expensive when shipping only a few cards at a time. 

Our favorite packaging option is eBay’s standard white envelope program. Sellers can send things utilizing a white envelope rather than a conventional shipping box or padded envelope, thanks to the eBay standard white envelope program.

1. The sports card must fit inside the envelope with 9.5 by 12.5-inch measurements.
2. It can only weigh a maximum of 4 ounces.
3. The card must be smooth and secure. You’ll need to package it with a top loader and penny sleeve, as it’s thin enough but doesn’t allow the card to bend in the mail. 

2. Printing Labels

Use a provider such as USPS to purchase a shipping label. For example, you can use the option called ‘click and ship,’ which allows you to purchase the label directly from USPS by including the delivery address and zip code. 

3. Insurance options

Once the card sells, we’ll need to prepare it for shipping. We can purchase insurance to protect the card during transit, print a shipping label, and choose the proper packaging to ensure the card arrives in the same condition as when it was shipped. USPS gives cost-effective ways to insure packages. 

Why eBay Makes It Easy to Start Selling Sports Cards

eBay has become a reliable marketplace and selling platform to help you list your cards for sale. Like a garage sale or a flea market, eBay helps put buyers and sellers together at the right time. 

Turning your pastime into a company by selling sports cards online might be profitable, but it’s crucial to pick the right platform.

Other possibilities include self-hosted platforms like Shopify, eBay, Mercari, WhatNot, and Facebook Marketplace. eBay stands out among these choices as a sage decision for various reasons.

For starters, it has a huge built-in audience of collectors, investors, and flippers, which means you’ll be able to start making sales immediately. Additionally, eBay offers a wide range of payment options, including PayPal, credit cards, and debit cards, making it convenient and secure for buyers and sellers. 

Finally, because of eBay’s global presence, you may interact with clients worldwide. Therefore, eBay is undoubtedly worth considering as your first selling experience if you’re considering selling sports cards online.