Depends on how fast you need the money and how well of a presence you have as a seller. If you have the time to part things out you will get the most money. If you want it gone quick you can definitely sell the entire lot to the highest bidder but you’re going to take a hefty loss.
Either way I hope you and your family the best! I have an 8 year old and 1 year old myself with another coming next month so I totally understand. If I were you, I would keep a small personal collection of cards that mean the most to you. I’ve been in many hobbies throughout the last 10 years and I always regret whenever I completely sell everything. Whether it’s been yugioh or car audio, I’ve regretted selling some of the things that had sentimental value to me and weren’t really worth that much anyways.
I have quite the collection of photos as well. I want to put it all of for sale on eBay but I don’t know how to go about attracting an audience. I have an 8 year old and a 6 year old . I totally see myself regretting this but I’ve put a lot of thought into it and it’s for the best. I just wish they’d go to a collector as close as passionate as I am.
Just putting everything on eBay by itself will attract an audience, people will find the cards they want and buy them if you’re listing stuff individually. If you’re listing it all as a lot, you won’t get market value as the people that would buy everything as a whole would be looking to piece everything out and make a profit. If you list everything as a lot put the BIN price high and have offers turned on, it might take a while to get a sale via that route depending on your price expectations.
If you’re not in a hurry I would post everything on Ebay as individual cards or complete/partial sets if you have them. Post everything BIN OBO and play the waiting game. If you have popular higher valued cards and don’t have much of an ebay presence you could go with PWCC? I would also search in E4 buy/trade threads for the cards you have and try to keep most of the sales in here!
@missingno,If listing by auction, Sunday is historically the best route to take. Having an auction end on Sunday is statistically the best. You can build an audience by listing this a little bit at a time. List 10 well known items to build a following and write in every listing that there is more to come. People will follow you and expect the condition you state since you built up your reputation.
That’s my suggestion if you opt to auction anything. BIN is for the more niche and rare items for sure to guarantee fair value.
I have so many cards I don’t know what to do >.< lol
If I list individually it will takes ages.
I don’t mind making less of the money I spent overall actually. I just want a fair amount for both the seller and I. I’m not looking to get every single penny I paid for each card, realistically that never pays off.
I’m thinking of making a list of every card, which is most likely over 500 cards. After that I would price them accordingly and add the prices. Upon coming up with a grand total I would round it out to the nearest and lowest hundred or thousand. Or just put the enormous lot up for bid with a reasonable reserve.
I will definitely take that advice on ending on a Sunday.
I actually loved getting my cards at the best prices so I want to do the same to the buyer(s). I am not really trying to get top dollar but a fair dollar for sure. Let’s say a card has sold for $1,550(usd) recently, I would put that same card up for $1k. One of my fears are scammers though.
You can’t. That’s one of the issues with selling on ebay. Ebay (almost) always sides with the buyer so, as a seller, losing any given item is the cost of doing business.
If you have only high value cards, (i.e. $5k+), depending on the card, I would list with PWCC. You’ll lose a percentage of value due to PWCC’s idiocy, but you’ll have a layer of protection with their reputation. If your cards are worth less, then auction them yourself. You can’t avoid scams but you can reduce the probability of getting scammed. Don’t ship internationally, don’t use GSP, do not engage in drop-shipping and mail-forwarding, always ship with tracking and never with stamped envelopes, and review each buyer’s history before shipping.
On a different note, I would at least ask you to consider not selling off everything and keeping a few cards that you feel are important to you, unless you’re 100% sure that you’re not coming back to the hobby at all. There are many stories of people that sold off their collections 3-5 years ago and now severely regret it, not just because the cards they sold went up in value, but because they now can’t obtain those cards ever again because the prices have run away from them. 1st Edition Charizard and base set in general is a great example.
Family always comes first, but I think it’s important to keep a few pieces of your life to yourself.
If you live near a urban center I’d recommend selling local on craigslist or fb. Meet somewhere that isn’t your home like nearby a police station and bring one of those money markers. Selling very low will guarantee flippers will snag up your item. As you said yourself you’d sell a 1550$ card for 1000$. So if you’re not trying to get top dollar local is better for a one time thing. Unless you’re like me and live in a town of a thousand three hours from a city.
If you go this route which is totally fine, I do ask one thing. After you’ve priced and listed everything out, checking out people’s buy threads just to make sure there not looking for that one card that you have. I know if I were to exit the hobby I would love to do it by helping the people here on efour. Or maybe (I don’t know if this is against the rules) but posting your list here and letting people dm you for items.
Mjisaacs
Edit: also just want to say I’ll miss ya man, I remember you from the first days of my collecting and it’s sad to see you go. This hobby is truly going to be missing an amazing person.
It isn’t the best of times to sell as the market seems to be going through a cool off period so you may find it difficult to realise decent prices, especially if you try to sell quickly.
Here are my suggestions if you sell on ebay:
Do not state condition in the item’s description for ungraded cards. Simply take high resolution photos and tell people to refer to photos for condition. Condition is subjective and stating your perceived condition in the listing will more often than not lead to headache.
For older sets, if you have the full set it may fetch a premium so it may be worth not splitting. For newer sets though, selling the most valuable cards will probably be the best option.
If you are worried about getting scammed, maybe PM the seasoned sellers here and ask them for their ebay ban list, it won’t be a guarantee but will decrease your likelihood of getting scammed. I would gladly share mine but am in the UK so probably not relevant to you.
If auctioning, in addition to the Sunday rule, try to have your listings end at the start of the month or at any day that a large amount of people get paid in your country.
If you have any additional questions let me know and I’ll be glad to help.
Depending on the value of your collection it may not be worth it especially towards a house. I know you are not a fan of PSA but grading your more valuable cards will increase the value and it’s not as if you are keeping them just selling.
The thing is I have a lot of things for sale right now. I have 3 cars, silver, some canvases I painted(I am an artist) and My cards. Depending on what sells first I might sell one or the other. I have to much invested in collectibles and feel it’s time to sell the fastest way possible. I feel like if I take some of those awesome singles out the lot one lucky person would be missing out. I’m looking into investing in some real estate.
Thank you friend, I will miss everyone if it is that I leave the hobby.
Since your cards are ungraded, I wouldn’t price too low. Flippers monitor eBay 24/7 and will buy them, grade them, and then flip them. If you want to sell to collectors the best way I would say is BIN with best offer. If you don’t have time to list each card individually put like cards together in a lot, examples like 1st edition Holos, charizards, reverse Holos etc.
Also as several people have mentioned keeping a few cards. This could be for sentimental reasons or it could benefit your kids in the long run. Example if you have any base 1st edition Holos keep a few of the better ones. Those may gain value more than any other investments and would benefit your family later down the road. Perhaps keep a couple cards valued the same for each kid. When that kid is ready to go to college or enter the job market sell them off then and they will have some extra money for schooling or whatever they need.
Go through and keep what means the most to you. If you are talking $10-100 items, it isn’t worth dumping them for quick cash.
Everyone has pretty much summed up sale strategies. I would only emphasize a lot of people panic sell because they get caught up in the “now”. There will be another “now” tomorrow, a year, 5 years from today. So make sure that what you sell is worth it for you personally. It is much easier to get $1000 with time than some cards in this hobby.
. I totally see myself regretting this but I’ve put a lot of thought into it and it’s for the best. I just wish they’d go to a collector as close as passionate as I am.
