Ever since my friends starting knowing that I collected Pokemon cards, a good amount of them have been interested donating/selling me their collections from when they were a kid. Most of these collections consist of mainly base set, jungle, fossil and team rocket with a few holos here and there and a bunch of bulk cards. One recent purchase had a good amount of shadowless and a hand full of 1st edition common/uncommon cards. The condition of these cards weren’t the best but I would definitely say that it ranged from LP - MP with whitening edges and surface scratches.
I’m wondering what you guys do with your old WOTC bulk? Do you hold it just because? Do you sell them?
& if you do sell them, how do you figure out the pricing for them? Do you sell them in lots? Do you sell them individually?
Very curious to know. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! =D
If it’s not NM, it’s not going to be worth a ton (unless it’s all 1st Edition Base lol). And even if it’s NM, it’s still not worth a ton. For truly NM WotC bulk (meaning pack fresh or nearly), you could probably get 15 to 25 cents a card. For LP-MP WotC bulk, maybe 1 to 5 cents a card? This is all assuming that it’s Unlimited and not 1st Edition. And if it’s mostly e-Series sets, then the prices will obviously be much higher.
If they were truly mint I’d grade every wotc to ex era Common/un and rare etc. But that’s if they have a good 10 shot. Or hold them and do that down the line. But in the condition your describing your best bet is a lot on eBay just let people know they arnt in good condition at all. Don’t be one of those guys that list near mint cards with no chance at even getting a 7. Last thing you want is to make a small sale then have to refund if the buyer isn’t happy. Ideally look for only mint bulk or better cards. Light played cards are fine but usually a lot better if the only flaw is some whitening or off center. As a buyer creased or scratched up cards will make me initiate a refund. If the listing said scratched/creased I wouldn’t have even looked let alone bought. You want 1st edition holo’s or unlimited holo’s or better. Also don’t be afraid to collect different era’s. Just some advice from my thoughts from reading your story @retrogiraffe
Edit: Last thing on this topic it seems like light played and near mint are the same condition lately on eBay. Let’s start being honest guys. Do listings as mint or light played. Let’s skip this whole near mint listings shit. As a buyer it gets old. O and stop hiding hidden damage guys! (Last few lines were if anyone with bullshit eBay listings is reading this )
We know your secret. You list as near mint if you know it doesn’t even have a shot at a 8… If not you grade it yourself… Tisk tisk people
If you were to sell them all in one lot to a bulk buyer then sure, 1-5 cents may be all they’d give you. But the reality at the moment is that people are buying LP commons from these sets for $1.50 pretty frequently on eBay.
I’m in the UK and have a load of Base Set unlimited cards from my childhood. Last year I was considering throwing most of the LP- condition cards away as I figured they’d never be worth anything. However fast forward to now and I’ve been able to sell several individual cards for over £5 (~$6.50) each.
I’d honestly say right now if you have WotC bulk in any condition just hold on to it. Try to identify the cards which actively sell on eBay and list yours up one at a time. It’ll be a long process but it’ll get you significantly more than 1-5 cents per card.
Values depend on the buyer and conditions mostly. I’ve got a good friend who does nothing but purchase bulk, if you have a few specific sets/conditions you want rough pricing for just PM me and I’ll ping him.
Average price for WOTC. Non-holo common/uncommon at 35p. Rare non-holo £3. Holo £10.
Of course this is the average, assuming the cards are mostly unlimited, not crazy damaged or minty mint but somewhere in between. Of course it would be more if you have a bunch of Mint holo charizards. But I’ve used this as a good rule of thumb when I have hundreds of cards to shift. I also say that I am open to offers because someone may disagree with how much I suggest.
I think those prices are much, much too high. I could dozens of examples of NM Unlimited WotC holos that I could pick up many copies of for $6-7 (which is the USD equivalent of 10 pounds). $13 is really, really, really high. Like, probably at least double what the actual price is.
And rare non-holos being $4 (or 3 pounds) is equally insane. We’re talking about Unlimited WotC non-holo rares? I would say it’s closer to $1 each. There are many that I could buy for that price right now, from vendors that I’m very confident would send me PSA 8+ quality cards.
And 35p (which I’m assuming is roughly equivalent to 35 cents, if not more) is also way too high of an estimate. I don’t know who in their right mind would buy Unlimited WotC commons for 35 cents each – unless maybe they were actually pack fresh.
You actually got $2 a card for Unlimited Gym bulk? Please let me know who bought them off you, because I have literally thousands of NM bulk Unlimited Gym cards that I would absolutely love to sell for half that price lol.
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