Don’t miss out on our special giveaway for your chance to win a sealed 2023-24 Donruss Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball Gravity Box, in the debut of EuroLeague tradings cards from Panini America!
We are Trace ‘n Chase, a brand new and innovative company created during the quarantine, out of our desire to give the countless fans of basketball and sports in general in Greece and in Europe the opportunity to learn about the “hobby” of card collecting, as well as to acquire unique collectibles that will decorate their office, home or company!
In-depth knowledge is always the key of course and it’s pretty easy to get into #thehobby, but what happens when you start collecting and you want to actually move some of your items from your collection?
What is the fastest, safest and easiest way to sell a trading card you’ve acquired?
Long before the internet era, collectors had very limited options for selling their cards, but that has changed with the revolution of the digital age and eBay, on top of other platforms, has given us all much more choices across the globe.
Setting up our online eBay store and selling options
To begin the process of listing cards on eBay, you will need to create an eBay seller account and also have a PayPal account. In order to save time and make things easier, it is recommended that you open a new checking bank account, separate from the one you use for personal and household expenses, and link it to PayPal. It is also smart to have stocked up on shipping and card protection supplies such as mailing envelopes and bubble wrap as well as having a local post office account set up so you can instantly register your shipments online before sending your collectibles.
eBay offers a variety of options for selling cards: traditional auctions, fixed-price direct sales and best offer. In an auction, the card goes to the interested buyer who has submitted the highest monetary bid within a certain period of time, while a direct purchase occurs when a seller makes it possible to acquire a card at a predetermined price. At the same time, in the best offer process the buyer and seller carry out an implicit negotiation and the card is sold at a price that both agree.
Create title, select photos and describe the card
One of the first and most important things to do when you start registering your cards is to know exactly which card you are registering. This applies to both the type of card and the status of each card.
Create the title, using as many characters as possible to accurately state which card you are selling, always including the following information:
Year of publishing
Manufacturer
Product (series)
Player
Card attributes (league, autograph, serial number, card number)
Example: 2020-21 Panini Impeccable Basketball Dirk Nowitzki Illustrious Ink 01/10 BGS 9
It’s also very important to state the card’s status as ‘used’ to protect yourself from a buyer claiming you sold them a card as new!
Perhaps the most important field when registering a new card is the photos that accompany the registration. You’ve surely heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” and that certainly holds true when it comes to buying and selling cards on eBay.
The preferred method is to use a scanner, compared to a camera, as it is more likely and has a better image in the end result. Edit or crop the photo in a way that enhances the condition of the card and make sure to leave some space to show the corners and edges of the card!
Use the description space to add any other details about the card and to explain what makes it special. This is done very easily, by copying and pasting the title and adding information such as its uniqueness (gold, silver, red, blue, etc.), the number of the card and obviously stating the existence of an autograph or even a memorabilia patch on the card.
Card pricing and sales options
For any collectible card, it is necessary to do your research and look for identical or similar completed sales in order to determine the current value for your card. For example, you can view recently completed auctions or fixed price purchases on eBay to get a real-time price range for the specific card you’re selling. Or, you can navigate to 130 Point, the most trusted resource for trading card pricing and information, in order to locate a bigger range of final sales.
There are two main options for how to sell. The main default one is the “online auction”, with the optional sub option of “buy it now”, while the other is in the form of “fixed price”.
Using the pricing data you researched, you can create an auction after selecting an initial bid, its price, a buy now option, and the duration of the listing (7 days is the basic default).
Don’t forget that when it comes to choosing the length and type of listing, there is no clear cut practice as different sellers choose different options…
Until you get a better feel for the market and how collectors and bidders react to different forms of a listing, use a 7-day duration, a low starting bid, and a…reasonable “buy it now” price.
On the other hand, creating a fixed price listing is less complicated and requires patience and strategy as the offers you will receive will be varying, many times below your asking price, and you will need to enter into a ton of negotiation discussions with potential buyers in order to agree on a price that will satisfy both.
* Don’t forget that eBay deducts an amount from your sales for the services it offers, which varies depending on the category of the sale and the amount of money. Please refer to the respective website for more information.
Shipping options and return policy
The next and final stage of the registration process is to complete the shipping information section. You should definitely choose the option to ship internationally, an option that greatly increases the likelihood of a sale, and ideally you should ship your package within 24 hours in order for the buyer to remain satisfied and give you positive feedback.
Don’t forget to set a return policy, in case the buyer is not satisfied with the product and wants to return the card. This creates confidence in the buyer and provides a background for any future dispute resolution process. It is extremely important to maintain a profile of satisfied buyers, which will give you prestige in the market and helps you attract even more “customers” in the future.
Congratulations! You just listed your first card on eBay!
Feel free to visit our eBay store to get an idea of what your page should look like.
That’s it for now and don’t forget our special giveaway for your chance to win a sealed 2023-24 Donruss Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball Gravity Box, in the debut of EuroLeague tradings cards from Panini America!
Follow Trace ‘n Chase on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Linkedin, as well as our YouTube channel and learn all about #thehobby!