Feel like you’ve been watching the exploding sports card market from the sidelines long enough, and it’s finally time to jump in? Welcome. You’re about to join a fast-moving, fascinating, and — yes — occasionally overwhelming world, but thankfully you’re already in the right place. This guide will show you how to sell sports cards, as well as how to buy them, whether you’re online, on social media, or prefer the old standby of trawling stores and conventions.
There are more auction sites, stores, and other avenues for buying or selling cards out there than we could ever hope to recount, so instead we’re going to focus on giving you the quick highlights for each major category, with some tips on what you should know about each specific store or method. Let’s get started with where to buy sports cards online, as well as how to sell sports cards straight from your browser.
4 ways to buy/sell sports cards online
eBay
The premier auction site for online commerce is also a pretty darn good place for sports card collectors, whether you’re planning to buy or sell. Though you may need to do a little fiddling with search terms and filters to get the best results, eBay hosts auctions for everything from professionally graded, highly sought-after cards to old collections that people are just trying to clear out of their attics. It has plenty of built-in options to make both the buying and selling process as easy as possible, including protections against potential scammers.
OfferUp
While eBay does include options for local pickup, if you want to prioritize in-person exchanges while retaining the convenience and visibility of buying and selling online, you should head straight to OfferUp. This site is built exclusively to facilitate buying and selling between locals. Its directories include just about anything you could want to (legally) buy or sell, but its collectible sections are especially noteworthy. Granted, the selection of both cards and potential buyers will be more limited if you limit your search to your nearby surroundings, but you may be surprised with the gems you can find.
Comc
The options we’ve listed so far cater to buyers and sellers of all kinds of items, but Comc (originally an abbreviation for Check Out My Cards) is exclusively for card collectors. For buyers, Comc offers a handy set-building tool that lets you build one order over time across multiple sellers, helping you save on shipping and enjoy the thrill of opening one big box full of cards all at once. For sellers, you can send your cards straight to Comc and just worry about setting asking prices and responding to offers — they’ll handle shipping and payment.
Otia
You can buy from Otia through a number of different channels, but what makes their approach really special is the way they work with sellers. Rather than going through the time-consuming effort of individually pricing and selling each card in your collection, you simply tell them about your collection in broad strokes, send them a few pictures, and include an asking price. If they like what they see, they’ll get back to you with an offer and even give you 30 days to consider it. Make no mistake, there’s a good chance you’d get more money by selling your cards individually, but this is perfect for folks who just want to turn those basement-dominating collections into quick cash.
3 ways to buy and sell sports cards using social media
Facebook Marketplace
Much like OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace primarily exists to connect local sellers with local buyers (while some sellers do offer shipping, it isn’t the norm). What makes Facebook Marketplace unique is the way it integrates directly into Facebook proper, making it easy to find items or offers from folks you already know as they show up directly in your timeline. The Facebook connection also cuts down on the anonymous disconnect inherent to most online deals, though you should still take care to avoid scams.
While you might not expect it, Instagram has a surprisingly vibrant community of card collectors who are eager to show off their newest finds, buying and selling from each other to fill out their sets. Like most social media these days, working out how to sell sports cards on Instagram is as much about the entertainment as it is about the hobby itself, with collectors breaking new packs in live streams and sharing Stories that show a slice of the collecting life. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or both, making Instagram work for your collection will take some effort — but you may just have a lot of fun doing it.
Drip
We mentioned how Instagram sellers like to show off their cards on live streams, but breaking packs and auctioning cards is Drip's raison d'être. On top of letting fans connect with their favorite collectors, Drip features built-in live auction features so you can get in on the excitement of jockeying for your favorite cards without heading to a physical auction house. At the moment, Drip only hosts streams from vetted collectors, so new folks looking to sell on the platform will likely need to put in some legwork first.
3 ways to buy and sell sports cards locally
Find Local Sports Card Stores
For many years, the best place to buy and sell sports cards was your friendly neighborhood card or hobby shop. While the dawn of ecommerce has spelled doom for some niche retailers, many of these shops have held on thanks to the unique role they play as anchors for their local collector communities. You can find sports card shops online with Beckett’s handy store locator or simply punch “sports card shops near me” into Google to get a head start on your next trip. Though the selection and competitive pricing of online stores are hard to beat, there’s no replacement for the local wisdom and camaraderie of a friendly local card shop.
Head to a sports card show
There is no substitute for walking out onto a show floor full of like-minded people, knowing that there are treasures to be found and deals to be made. If you’re looking to buy, all you need to do is grab a ticket and get yourself there (ideally with cash in hand and appropriate storage for all your new hauls). If you’re wondering how to sell sports cards at a convention, you’ll likely need to contact the event staff to get space for a booth — try to reach out ASAP for better rates. Use this exhaustive list of upcoming shows maintained by Sports Collectors Digest to find the next event near you.
Try out major retailers
Many of the options on this list are well suited for buying cards individually, presumably ones that have changed hands from owner to owner over a potentially decades-long history. But if you want to try your luck at breaking open a new pack and seeing what’s inside, you may need only to just take a quick detour during your next shopping trip. Big-box stores such as Target, Walmart, and Meijer as well as chain drug stores such as Walgreens and Rite Aid often stock new card packs that may have tomorrow’s gold hidden somewhere within their foil wrappers.
