Ebaying my old games/cards

TIFunkalicious

I'm sure someone on this forum has some experience with the topic. I'm looking to unload some old PS1/2 RPGs and a ton of Magic the Gathering rares from the past 8 years. I have a spreadsheet totaling up the retail value and want to end up with something like 70% of that. Used game and hobby stores usually don't offer that much so I believe ebay might be my best option but I've never sold anything online. My roommate has an account that she is willing let me use for this purpose. Are there any other resources I should take a look at first? How do I safely ship video games and trading cards to buyers?

bsjezz

i think you should right away drop any expectations about the value you'll get back. i'm not an expert on cards or anything but i have sold a lot of stuff on ebay, and if you have a dollar-value in mind for every item you'll end up disappointed. the best way to use ebay is to list everything as an auction at 99 cents to draw your largest possible audience, and hope that a few items kick-off and a real bidding war makes up for some of your cheaper sales. you will sell things for far less than their 'retail' value, that is certain. but sometimes you get lucky and you hit pretty well close to what they were purchased for.

i'd also - for time-effectiveness as much as anything - make sure you bundle things up. divide your games and cards into a few interesting grab-bags. spend more time on good images and a good, unique description for less auctions, and you'll get more money and save yourself shipping and buyer hassles.

EggyToast

eBay is great because you can find out what to expect by searching on eBay. Find out what other people are selling your specific games for, and they almost all tell you exactly how they're being shipped. Plan your auctions so that they're Buy It Now at that average price (eBay will tell you) or set the auctions at $0.99 and let them go up naturally.

You ship these things safely by using bubble mailers. With magic cards, if you have hard plastic sleeves, use those; otherwise, use a firm strim of posterboard or cardboard put them in a bubble mailer, and write "DO NOT BEND" on it.

Seriously; you have the internet, you have the names of exactly what you want to sell. Get to work.

ANTVGM64

Honestly I think you'd be better off finding a local Pawn / Specialty shop. Do a google search in your area, you'll get cash right away, not have to deal with shipping and paypal and all that, and be able to bundle together items that are high value and low value. Failing that, hit up a local Magic Tournament sometime, people WAY over pay at those.

ceres

Unfortunately my experience with trying to sell magic cards this way is that when you look up what individuals of old cards actually go for on eBay it isn't worth the time IMO. There are some exceptions, but the return on pre-fourth ed cards is mostly not great, which is the bulk of my collection. Newer cards may sell differently, but I stopped playing after 4th.

Jam Warrior

Also don't 'borrow' your friends EBay account. Just set yourself up, it's not like it costs anything and if you somehow fuck it up and get negative feedback it's not on their account.

EBay lets you search for listings that have recently sold. As such market value should be very easy to ascertain.

joshuadewaal

I disagree with a few of posts here. I have over 300 feedback from buying and selling mostly magic cards on ebay. I also worked for ebay a few years ago. I would start by sorting your cards based on value and considering how much time you wanna spend moving them.

Local stores will generally give you 50% of the market price. If you have a lot of fluff that no one is looking for, that might be your best bet for off loading it quickly. I would check the website starcitygames.com most stores in my area along with a lot of other stores base prices off that website and will pay you 50% of what starcity sells it for.

The website ABUgames.com will actually buy a lot of cards and their website is probably the quickest and easiet to nagivate. I like using them when I have a lot of cards I know are rare, but that might not be too valuable.

Ebay is where I move any card that is worth more than about $5. keep in mind you are gonna pay about 13% in fees and then you also have to take care of shipping. Shipping can be just a stamp, but if it is valuable you run the risk of the buyer not getting the item or claiming they did not receive the item, and you end up out the card and whatever you paid to ship it. Generally anything at $15 and up I print out an ebay shipping label with tracking. (depends on buyer feedback)

I would be careful using your roommates account. You don't want to get them negative feedback because of something that is out of your control. I would just start your own account. I also would not list cards for 99c and hope people bite. (stamps cost half that anyway) It depends a lot on the card. if it is something less popular that has more value than a $1, I would use the buy it now feature and avoid the auction. that essentially will guarantee you get the price you are seeking. Also compare prices on ebay. they are generally lower than what you find on websites like starcitygames.

Lastly, consider your old play group or people who are at your local shops. They will give you the best value, but be sensitive to store owners and any policies they have about selling at their stores. (most don't like it or they want a commission) I have bought collections straight up from people looking to cash out and then I have sold them piecemeal, making a little cash on the side while keeping the cards I needed.

Hope this helps. Goodluck!

TIFunkalicious

Thanks everybody! I set up my own account-didn't know how easy it was-and have already shipped a few cards

@joshuadewaal

I was really curious about the difference between just using a stamp and paying for a shipping label because the price gap is huge. Are the options for delivery confirmation and tracking the only difference?

Daenris

Delivery confirmation is huge. Over the years, Ebay became more and more buyer focused. Generally, if the buyer claims they didn't get something, Ebay sides with them unless you can provide proof of delivery. Obviously, if you just throw a stamp on and send it, you won't have that proof.

joshuadewaal

what Daenris said. Buyers can take advantage of sellers. eBay tracks this and will kick buyers off the site who are clearly being abusive. I personally figure its worth the risk up to about $10-15, after that I make sure I have the delivery confirmation and tracking. Generally speaking the buyers and sellers are honest and I don't normally run into problems. and even tracking doesn't help if the USPS loses your package. I was out a $30 sale a few months back due to their ineptitude.

Also the ebay shipping label is cheaper than going to the post office and getting tracking on a package, and yes that is the only difference between a stamp and a shipping label.

Glad to hear you got started with an ebay account, that will be the best way to maximize profits. I would also suggest looking at other listings similar to your own, it can give good ideas on how to list your item. Lastly, when checking prices look at completed listings and you can see what has sold and what hasn't (its one of the search options and I have found it very helpful.