How to make money selling sports cards cardboard

I could do a dissertation on this, suffice to say it is much harder to successfully do than it was say ten years ago for a multitude of reasons. But even experienced dealers could still learn something from this book. I bought a case of Prizm Jumbo for about a grand and one of the hobby cases I had bought of the same thing ended up with about 5 times the value. In order to buy cards to flip on COMC, make sure that you’re logged in when you go to buy something.

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Before the Internet, collectors had few options to sell their unwanted cards. Brick and mortar shops would only offer a fraction of a card’s value. Setting up at a weekend card show was, and still is, a commitment in time and money. Enter eBay. Since the late s, its cardboad audience, simple listing tools and a relatively low start-up cost have given collectors a lot more options for selling their cards.

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Who would have thought that you could profit from recycling used cardboard boxes? All you have to do is collect used boxes and resell them, but it does require some legwork and effort. According to the Census Bureau , an estimated 36 million Americans moved between and , though the average is somewhere around 50 million. Once unpacked, these boxes are then discarded in the trash or dropped off at the city recycling bin. They in turn profit by selling the used boxes to customers that are moving. Just as I explained in my make money recycling aluminum cans post, this is the legwork required for succeeding here. Start by searching in your own home.

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Before the Internet, collectors had few options to sell their unwanted cards. Brick and mortar shops would only offer a fraction of a card’s value.

Setting up at a weekend card show was, and still is, a commitment in time and money. Enter eBay. Since the late s, its worldwide audience, simple listing tools and a relatively low start-up cost have given collectors a lot more options for selling their cards. So how does one actually list trading cards on eBay?

What are some of the tips, tricks, and best practices used by top-rated sellers? The purpose of this article is to answer some frequently asked questions and walk you through the listing process, step-by-step. It is assumed that you already have an eBay and PayPal account.

To begin the process of listing cards on eBay, you will need to register for an eBay Seller Account and upgrade or register for a PayPal Premiere Account.

Additionally, to save time and make things easier, it is recommended that you open a new checking account, separate from the one you use for personal and household expenses. Request a debit card be issued on the account so that it can be registered with both your PayPal and eBay accounts. Once your bank account is set-up you can efficiently start the process for eBay and PayPal registration and start selling.

Whether you plan on selling trading cards on eBay to fund other hobby purchases or to serve as a secondary form of income, it is wise to keep track of expenses from the beginning.

They may have tax implications down the road. Some of those expenses will be shipping supplies and card protection. It can be beneficial to stock up on these items in bulk before you start selling so that you aren’t scrambling or recycling supplies once you close your first card sales. The following list will get you started and can be purchased conveniently online at a place like Amazon or through a combination of an office supply store and a hobby shop. At this point, you have your eBay seller account set-up, your PayPal Premiere account set-up and verified, your checking account set-up, linked and funded, and you are stockpiled on shipping supplies and card protection.

While setting up an eBay store may be practical, we recommend getting your feet wet with the more traditional auctions and Buy It Now listings. After you’ve been selling for a while and are more familiar with using the site, then you may want to shift into an eBay store. One of the first and most important things to do when you start listing your cards how to make money selling sports cards cardboard to know exactly what card you are listing.

Once you have determined these aspects, it is time to create your listing. Create your title. You are allowed 80 characters. Use as many as possible to accurately state what card you are selling by including the following information:. Additionally, here is a list of commonly accepted abbreviations to maximize the amount of information in the title:.

To help write a good title, take a quick glance at existing auctions. The most common elements are probably what is being searched as. You may miss out on potential bidders by using abbreviations, which could cut into how much your cards sell. Also, keep in mind the often ambiguous nature of memorabilia and relic cards. If the card back disclaimer doesn’t specifically say «game-used» just use the term jersey, ball, shoe, or whatever the item is. You protect yourself from a buyer claiming you sold them a card as being game-used when it actually isn’t.

Select the condition from the drop-down menu. Most cards pulled directly from packs should be described as «Like New. Add a picture to your listing by clicking «Add Pictures» and following the directions on the next screen. Basically, you will be selecting a picture you have saved to your computer of the card.

It cannot be stressed enough how important photos are. You have heard the phrase, «a picture is worth a thousand words. The preferred method is to use a scanner as compared to a camera.

It’s easier and results in a better image. Scan one card at a time OR if scanning multiple cards, which can be done nine-up in a vertical format or eight-up in horizontal format, magnify the saved image and then crop and save the individual cards.

Do not add a picture of multiple cards referred to as a «gang scan» to your listing. To build trust with your bidders, do not crop your image to the edge of the card. Leave a bit of space to show you are not hiding any corner dings or chipped edges. Do not Photoshop, edit, or crop the card in a way that enhances the card’s condition. This is a dishonest act and will be quickly picked up on by buyers. One picture is typically enough unless the card is an ungraded vintage card and you are trying to highlight the condition.

In that case, you may want to include separate pictures of corners or one of the card’s. Use the description space pictured below to add any other details about the item and to reiterate what the auction listing is. It is also wise to use collecting terms to state the card’s condition.

You can also state in this section what the shipping and handling charges are. Here is a more detailed look at writing eBay descriptions. Ignore the next two sections, «Listing Designer» and «Visitor Count. In the next few sections, you will select whether to list the item as an auction, a fixed priced, or a combination of.

As well, we will guide you through other details related to pricing, quantity and duration. At this point, it is a good idea to bring up a second browser window and copy and paste your title into a new eBay search. Here you can see what identical or similar cards are selling. You can take it one step further and look at recently completed auctions to get a real-time price range for the particular card you are selling.

By clicking on the «Advanced» link next to the search button, this will pull up an additional screen where you can look at the aforementioned «Completed Listings» data by selecting the box accordingly and then clicking «Search. The resulting screen will give you details for up to 90 days worth of completed listings.

This will allow you to better decide what price to list your card. It can else help you set reasonable opening bids and reserve prices. Completed listings can also help you barter with an offers received through the «Best Offer» option. Sold items with bids are shown in green and unsold items are red. Carefully check the listing to make sure it matches the card you are selling.

It is also worth noting that the search page shows Buy It Now prices. However, when you click on the item, the listing shows the realized bid. The difference between the two can be considerable so it is worth clicking on the actual item when researching with Buy It Now items.

As you can see above, there are two tabs to select. The other is for the «Fixed Price» format, which we will come back to in a moment. Using the pricing data you discovered earlier, you can now select a starting bid, Buy It Now price, and reserve price.

The only one that is required is the starting price. In this section, you will also say how many cards you have for sale and the duration of the listing. Seven-day listings are the default. Listing an auction with a large initial price will cost you increased insertion fees and deter prospective bidders.

It might also be wise to determine the mean value for recent sales and place a Buy It Now price on the item equal to that value. If there is a wide gap between the lowest and highest price paid for the item, you may consider putting a Reserve Price on the auction. Keep in mind, collectors tend to shy away from auctions with reserve prices.

Special circumstances can change what the best plan might be. Some people swear that listing on a Thursday and running the auction for ten days is the best formula. The reason is that the item is live for two weekends, a period of higher documented eBay browsing. This allows the maximum number of potential bidders to view the item. Other people will advise that the best time to list your items is when you actually have the time to do so.

Do what works best for your schedule. Still others say that with a high-end card, rare, or an exceptionally conditioned vintage card, that a short duration may work best. Other examples of when a short listing may be best is when a player breaks a record, unexpectedly makes the Hall of Fame, wins an award or other has a career- or life-changing event. In these circumstances, the «strike while the iron’s hot» mentality often kicks in with collectors.

Until you get a better feel for the market and how collectors and bidders react to different aspects of the hobby, use the seven-day format, a low starting bid, no reserve, and a Buy It Now option. Below is the tab for a «Fixed-Price» listing referenced earlier. Here you have the option of setting and establishing rules to automatically reject or accept offers at specified amounts. The next step is to select method of payments, how to make money selling sports cards cardboard is a bit of a misnomer because eBay only facilitates payments through PayPal.

Here you input the email address associated with your PayPal account. You can also specify if immediate payment is required for Buy It Now items. This is always a good idea as it can discourage unscrupulous sellers from buying your item while they are selling theirs and essentially holding it in limbo.

Requiring immediate payment protects you. The next part of the listing process is to complete the shipping information section. You need to first decide if you will ship internationally. While this option obviously expands your potential market considerably, it also comes with inherent risks of dealing with foreign carriers when the parcel leaves the possession of USPS.

I have cards to sell on COMC that are not part of my collection. They weren’t stacked neatly at all. You’d need a solid online presence, including daily social media posts promoting your inventory. How feasible would it be to earn a full-time 6 figure income in the hobby? Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web. Word Wise: Enabled.