Best Place to Sell Cards

Elbow

Elbow

Klinklang V Plz
Member
So I am going to Nationals this year and I don't know if I should take my bulk cards there to sell.
Is it better to sell online/at an event? Is there a price difference?
Which store is it best to sell to? Troll and toad, collector's cache, Top Cut Central, etc.
And one last question: I have a lot of older cards, but one day I may want to make an older world's deck without any worlds championship cards. So is it worth it in the long run to look up what cards used to be good or prices of individual cards or should I just hand it to a store and give me their bulk price rate? Or do those stores look at the bulk cards and sort out ones worth more? (I have sorted out things like claydol and uxie, holos, and reverse holos already, but I don't want to sell valuable rares at bulk price).
 
I'll answer your questions in order, based on my experience and to the best of my ability.
1. Selling at an event vs online - It depends. At an event, let's say you meet someone who is in desperate need of some Lysandre. He didn't run any in his deck for whatever reason, and after seeing other's decklists, he decides it might be smart to add a couple copies. Let's say you have two spares. Normally, you can sell Lysandre for $1.85 on Ebay, but since he needs these cards now, he is probably willing to pay some extra cash for them. So instead of $3.70 for both copies, you might be able to sell them to him for $5-6. Not really moral, but it happens, and it very common, so don't feel bad it you do this. So if by better you mean making more money, then in certain situations, events can make you more money for cards.
2. Price difference - Online sites such as Ebay are generally the most accurate representation of price at the moment. People might be willing to pay more at an event because of short notice and convenience though.
3. Best store to sell to - Okay, here is my personal opinion. STAY AWAY FROM TROLL AND TOAD! I could (and have) go on and on about how bad Trollandtoad experiences have been for me, but I'll save you the time. I personally use Ebay for selling my cards and buying them. I find they are the easiest to use and you can generally sell cards on Ebay for higher prices than what TrollandToad will pay you. However, Ebay is tricky when you are the seller, as they tend to favor the buyer in almost every situation. Make sure when you say a card is mint, it is MINT (as in after you pulled it out of the pack, you put it straight into a sleeve, haven't touched it since. Some people are very picky, and if they aren't satisfied, you are usually looking at a full refund and having to have your cards shipped back to you. I haven't personally tried TopCut, so I have no idea, and Collector's Cache I find to be over priced with some cards that I know I can get on Ebay cheaper. (Example: Ebay is selling Yveltal EX promo for $6.75, Reg Art for $9.99, and Full Art for $24.99; while the Collector's Cache is selling Yveltal promo for $8.99, Reg Art for $11.99, and Full Art for $29.99)
4. Selling older cards - Personally, I would sell the cards to fuel my current expense with this game. If you choose to sell, keep reading this, if not, don't bother. Any older cards that you KNOW are worth a decent amount ($5-6+) I would sell individually online exclusively. Hardly any card shops will pay you anything more than $1 for cards out of rotation, simply because they are harder for them to sell because they cannot be used by the players ( a large majority of their customers). Online, would be your best bet to sell individual old cards with some worth. Collectors are always looking for old cards to either complete their sets or just to relive the nostalgia and build rotated decks. As for older cards without any real value, just sell lots on Ebay. Those seem to be all the rage now. Selling lots of 10-20 cards for $10. Just look up "Pokemon Card Lots" to get a general idea of how they work, and find a hot listing that is selling a lot to find out any tricks to selling them (it's beyond me how they do it).
 
i suggest ebay. I seen alot of people selling and ive bought from sellers selling Dupes from PreReleases. :)
 
Elbow said:
Is it better to sell online/at an event? Is there a price difference?
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I have sold individual and bulk cards, at events (such as Nats) and online. Consider the following suggested tips:
  • Identify those "rare" individual cards (current format) you feel are "valuable," separate them from your bulk, and try to sell them online (especially if they are older and in mint to near mint condition) before Nats. My experience has been that you'll get a higher value for your older cards if you can sell them online before Nats. For those that don't sell online, you can then sell at Nats along with your bulk cards.
  • I preferred to sell my bulk cards (4,000+ current format) at Nats. It was just far easier and more convenient.
  • In preparation to sell bulk cards at Nats, completely separate your cards by "value groups" i.e., holo/reverse holo rares, regular rares, holo/reverse holo uncommon/common, and regular uncommon/common. Segregate, count and place these cards in card boxes. By doing so, you'll know if the price offered is approximately correct.
  • Identify and separate the "popular," "playable," rare cards and place those in sleeves and/or hard sleeves too (this "presentation of caring" for your good cards may help in your negotiations). These cards represent the ones you want to sell individually at Nats.
Elbow said:
Is there a price difference?
Which store is it best to sell to? Troll and toad, collector's cache, Top Cut Central, etc.
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  • Yes, the Nats vendors will more than likely offer different prices. I'd suggest you scout each vendor EARLY AT THE EVENT. Their offering prices may even change with each day too. They all have certain fund amounts they wish to spend, and they will have more allocated funding early in the event than later.
  • During your scouting event, also ask what particular cards they may be looking for. This will give you some additional insight into the value of your cards.
  • Checkout each vendor's prices they offer for bulk purchases.
  • Sell your cards to the vendor you like most thereafter. I'd suggest day 2 of the event. Interestingly enough, players may have gone to the vendors on day 1 and created high demand for certain cards.
Elbow said:
And one last question: I have a lot of older cards, but one day I may want to make an older world's deck without any worlds championship cards. So is it worth it in the long run to look up what cards used to be good or prices of individual cards or should I just hand it to a store and give me their bulk price rate? Or do those stores look at the bulk cards and sort out ones worth more? (I have sorted out things like claydol and uxie, holos, and reverse holos already, but I don't want to sell valuable rares at bulk price).
Click to expand...
Very interesting question. The owner of Top Cut Central recently ran an "old school," 2007(?) season, deck tournament. I believe there were close to 20 players competing in that event. Needless to say, the owner reached out to a number of players not only inviting them to compete, but also for their "old" cards too. So, there is demand for the older cards, but you may not find high interest across all of the vendors. Consider contacting each vendor prior to Nats and gauge their interest in your old, good cards. If there is interest, you can then sell those cards to that particular vendor at Nats. Otherwise, you try to sell those cards online.
 
Elbow said:
The-Kaiser said:
i suggest ebay. I seen alot of people selling and ive bought from sellers selling Dupes from PreReleases. :)
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Bulk for ebay???
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Yep some sellers sell Bulk cards aka Card Lots a bit after PreReleases are over
 
I sell card lots from £6.49, they are a mixture of English, Korean and Japanese cards. I have sold about 50 bundles in the last 6 months. Some sell from the start price of £6.49, the most I have sold one is £21.99, yes someone paid that much for one haha.

1 Random Ultra Rare or Promo
1 Random Holo
2 Random Rares
3 Random Reverse Holo's
40 Random commons or uncommons.
 
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