Pokemon has been a huge success from the very beginning and has been extremely popular globally. You may have fond memories of opening up packs of pokemon cards and playing the trading card game. You may remember watching the tv series or playing any of the video games. If not you may have missed out on great childhood. All jokes aside, Pokemon is a power house among kids, collectors, and even adults. Everyone knows who pikachu is! And you may be ready to get in the action and start selling like a pro, or you may have just an old collection that you would like to cash out on. This guide will help you make the most of your cards and help you get the most money for your cards.
Are Pokémon Cards Valuable?
Pokemon cards vary in value with a select few cards priced as high as in the millions and majority of the cards are worth little to nothing. Pokemon cards are printed in various quantities based on rarity. A general rule that can be used to determine the rarity is based on the rarity symbol on the cards. circles are common, diamonds are uncommon, stars are rare, and silver stars are ultra rare. There are also other factors to consider like is the card holographic and vintage? or is it an alt art, or secret rare or are the cards graded? In short, Pokemon cards can be super valuable and they can be worth as little as a penny a card.
How to Determine Pokemon Card Values
Determining pokemon card values can be very hard if you have never played the trading card game or have never been to pokemon trade shows, or bought individual cards from someone. Times have changed and all the information you need is at your fingertips. For raw cards (cards that are not graded) your best resource is going to be TCGPlayer. They do a good job of providing us with data about the cards going rate. They include data such as market price, median listed price, and lowest priced cards based on condition. This Is my goto site for all the values on raw cards.
Another site that can be used for raw cards, but much better for graded cards is PriceCharting. They dont really price raw cards based on condition, but they do give an estimated value on raw cards. PriceCharting is much better for determining the value of graded cards by consolidating data from places like ebay based on previous sales. They separate the values based on the grade. This is what I personally use to determine the value of my slabs (graded cards).
Where Should I Sell My Pokemon Cards?
There are a multitude of channels that you can use to start selling pokemon cards. Some channels are better than others and it really comes down to what kind of goal you are looking to accomplish. You may choose one channel over another based on the time you have available and the experience you have when it comes to selling stuff online.
Yes, I buy pokemon cards. If you visit Taltonroberson.com/sell-your-cards you can fill out the form and submit cards you would like to sell. I buy cards based on rarity and pay an average price for each type. This can be great for you to have an easy way to sell all of your cards at normal buyback prices. If you have cards valued over $5.00 then you will eligible to be paid on a percentage base. If you are looking to get cash for your pokemon cards fast, then fill out your details and I will reach out shortly!
Yard Sale or Garage Sale
This may be the either the obvious answer or an option you have yet to consider. Resellers are notorious for shopping at yard sales and garage sales and may be just the person you need to come to your sale. They may want to talk you down on your cards and that's okay. If they are going to put in the work to turn it into profit, you are not going to get 100% of the value, they need to make it worth their time too. The skill level here is very minimal, and can help you get rid of cards that you may no longer play with or just lost interest in the hobby. Your best bet is to negotiate roughly 50% of the value based TCGPlayer.
Offerup
Offerup is a buy and sell website and mobile app that lets you sell your stuff locally as well as nationally if you are willing to ship. Offer up is great platform to sell nearly anything locally. There are some downsides to offerup, one being that most buyers like to offer you less than your listed price. Its basically built into the platform and makes it hard for you to sale your pokemon cards at top value. Some of the better cards to sell on here are cards collectors are looking for and are willing to pay full price and sometimes even more because they are able to conduct the transaction in person and inspect the cards thoroughly. Overall, this is great for someone who doesn't have a large collection or isn't looking to sell professionally.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook marketplace has become increasingly popular over the last few years and I predict that it will continue to grow in popularity. Most of america, and basically the world is on facebook and it's no surprise that facebook marketplace sees quite a bit of action. You can find tons of sellers and buyers on marketplace in the pokemon niche. It's very similar to offerup as you can sell locally as well as nationally if you can ship. Facebook definitely has plenty of traffic and your stuff will sell, however, you may have to relist your items often to ensure you're getting eyes on your listing.
Ebay
Ebay is one of those platforms that go hand in hand with selling pokemon cards. ebay is very well known for having items sell for crazy amounts of money and you just wonder who would buy that? Well ebay has a huge network of resellers, collectors, and even just casual shoppers. Pokemon cards can have huge collectible values and ebay reigns supreme when it comes to big ticket sales. This is definitely one of the better places to sell high end pokemon cards, weather they are raw or slabbed. This can also be a great place to sell bulk lots!
TCGplayer
TCGplayer is the go to source for all raw card values but its for good reason. TCGplayer is most commonly used by people that actually play the trading card game. Some collectors shop on TCGPlayer as well but a lot of the market price on most cards is determined by the need for that card for the players. As a seller on TCGPlayer I can 100% say it is the best platform to sell cards fast and it is usually going to net you the most money per card if you are selling cards individually. Selling on TCGPlayer is not for a beginner and it is not for the faint of heart. TCGPlayer will require you to list all your cards individually and all orders are shipped. TCGPlayer allows sellers to send products under $50.00 without tracking to keep shipping costs low. This is great when it comes to selling cheap cards because you ship in a PWE or Plain White Envelope. This platform is better for you if you have a large collection you dont mind selling a little here and there but getting the most money per card.
Amazon
As an amazon seller there are many things I will recommend selling on amazon but raw or graded pokemon cards are neither one of them. I'm not one to say that it can't be done; however amazon is a professional selling platform that is mainly used for new goods. Goods that have a retail receipt or order invoice can be sold as new. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply to pokemon cards. Single cards are currently being sold as new, and they are technically used the moment the packaging gets opened. The proper way to sell individual cards on amazon is to list them as collectible. Some collectible items do sell, but as long as there are other sellers willing to risk their account by selling cards in new condition, its much less likely you will sell. Amazon should be an outlet for you to sell sealed pokemon cards that have been bought through proper wholesale/retail channels.
Whatnot
Whatnot is a live auction website and mobile app. This market place is much more interactive and really requires work to be successful. Whatnot is a marketplace mainly for collectibles, but they do have other fun categories like garage sales. Pokemon has a huge presence on whatnot and is definitely the best place to have fun while the sellers break into packs. This is for the advanced seller who knows how to ship and knows how to stream. This can really help you sell packs if you are looking to have fun opening them. As far as the market goes, the big streamers can sell packs for well over retail, and the smaller streamers usually get hammered by low ballers within the marketplace. To do well here you must lots of product, lots of time to be interactive with potential buyers, and be prepared to lose money to start building a following.
I hope this was helpful!
Leave a comment on where you sell your pokemon cards and what you like about it!
And as always,
Happy selling!