Selling

Tips for Selling Your Card Decks on eBay

Written by: KB Blogger

When selling your decks, it's important to remember that the market for cards is very, very niche. Most of the people who are looking to buy are fellow card collectors, and they already know the value of what you're looking to sell. 

Before you put your decks on the market, here are some tips and pointers. 

1. Do your research. Make sure that you know the company/artist, edition, card size and release year... at the very least. Buyers know what they want, and they'll be more inclined to trust you if you list as many details as possible about your deck(s).
2. Check the current selling price of your deck on as many sites as possible. Don't be 'that guy' who inflates the price of a deck. You're not just going to get lucky selling an overpriced deck to someone who doesn't know better because, believe me, playing card collectors don't mess around. They've already done their research or have had their eye on decks they want for months waiting for the price to drop. List your decks at a competitive, but fair, price.
3. Opened/unsealed cards lose their value. That's just the truth. If you do a simple eBay search on "lot of playing cards", you'll quickly notice that lots of new cards (4 to 12 decks) may go for $50-$100  compared to opened/unsealed decks which may go for a fraction of that. Sure, your cards may be in excellent condition, but that isn't going to matter in this cut-throat environment.
4. Be patient. This is something I really struggle with, but you have to be patient if you're selling playing cards. When you're considering selling your limited edition deck, consider waiting for a few months (or even a few years) because as these decks drop in supply, the value will surely go up. Take the Virtuoso playing cards for example. A first edition deck goes for over $150 right now. All the later seasons have gone up in price too.
5. If you're selling mystery decks, make sure all your decks are of equal value. I know this seems obvious, but I can't tell you how many times I've come across "mystery decks for sale" where there's one deck worth $30 and the rest are worth $5 to $10... at best. And can you take a wild guess at which deck you're probably going to get? Not the $30 one. 
6. Take good care of your decks. Even if you have an unopened/sealed deck, they can easily get damaged when you're rearranging your display. No one likes a dented deck. Your seller reviews on eBay won't be pretty if your decks aren't pretty. Consider investing in some poker-sized plastic boxes to store your cards. These are also a great edition for your vintage decks to protect them from dust and damage. Taking good care of your decks also goes for shipping! Pull out the bubble wrap and newspapers. We can't control how careful shipment companies are with our items, but you can be proactive with good packing practices.