As the world’s biggest online marketplace, eBay is instantly recognisable in a myriad of industries, with millions of dollars and products exchanging hands on a daily basis.
In the world of sports trading card buying and selling, eBay has replaced the traditional hobby shops and sports card trading fairs, to become the biggest sports trading card marketplace on the planet.
One of the key appeals with eBay is the sheer number of people that can be accessed via the touch of a few buttons. eBay is incredibly efficient and connecting buyers and sellers all over the world and the sports card market has grown exponentially since its popularity on eBay boomed.
Becoming completely au fait with the workings of eBay has become essential for sports card traders, especially those who are looking to sell their products.
Whilst it can be a little overwhelming initially, once a seller gets to grips with eBay, they can open up their sports trading card business to a plethora of audiences, which can yield significant returns, for all levels of collector.
Here is a rundown of how to sell sports cards on eBay successfully:
1. Create an eBay Account and Get Selling
Having an eBay account is a rather obvious pre-requisite for anybody looking to sell through eBay but sports card traders are always advised to have a separate bank account for all their sports card dealings.
eBay do look to protect the rights of both buyers and sellers at every opportunity but inevitably, not all transactions can be moderated, meaning having a separate bank account for sports card trading is always recommended.
The actual creation of an eBay account is a relatively simple process, with a high level of usability on the eBay home page making navigation super simple – regardless of one’s level of IT expertise.
Once the eBay account is created and verified, users are all set to get selling.
Navigation to the ‘Sell’ page on the eBay home page is situated in the top right hand corner of the homepage and from there, sports card traders are good to go.
2. Listing the Sports Cards
How any item is listed on any online marketplace can have a huge impact in both the audiences the product can reach and the potential popularity of a specific item.
Sports card sales on eBay are huge business and as a result, eBay are very adept at suggesting appropriate titles under which each card is listed.
Google algorithms have taken a real hold across most online trading markets in recent years and that has transcended into the eBay sphere, making it essential that all sellers are on the ball when it comes to keywords and search engine optimisation.
Whilst much is made of ensuring that each card maximises its selling potential within the listing, ensuring that no exaggerations or white lies have been posted in the title is essential too, as buyers expect to get what they have paid for when shopping through eBay.
3. Categories, Descriptions and Details
The lack of human contact given to buyers and sellers when trading sports cards through eBay can open up a real grey area for traders.
Personal interpretation of each card is subjective and consequently, itemising each card appropriately and more importantly accurately, is essential.
Using keywords to categorise any cards is key and eBay work hard to help sellers find similar or even the same cards as the ones they are looking to move on.
From there, sellers can either opt to use a card ‘closest to theirs’ to get started with their listing or they can choose to create a ‘new listing’.
In relation to the details sellers should look to include when dealing their sports trading cards on eBay, accuracy and truth is key.
Particularly in high end sports card trading, each card will have been graded by PSA or Beckett, so optimising the information given to the seller from the outset could be helpful down the line.
In addition, if a card is of a certain age or condition, omitting it completely from the initial description will only cause further issues down the line, so full disclosure is always recommended for all sellers.
4. Types of Sale
One of the key innovations within the eBay marketplace over the years has been the advent of different payment options.
Initially, the auction mode appealed to plenty of users, with many sports card traders able to pick up bargains through unwanted or ill-informed sellers.
Nowadays however, sports card traders are far more au fait with the options available to them within the market.
The ’auction’ sales method remains the most popular for buyers, as they look to cut a chunk off the initial asking price and wait to see if they can hold out for a bargain of sorts.
Of course, this method can create a bidding war – the ideal scenario for sellers, so should a seller have a decent card in their midst, pushing the limits for how much it could go for can yield significant returns.
In more recent times, the ‘Buy it Now’ feature has become one of the most used buying methods on eBay, with buyers not looking to engage in bidding disputes with other users and choosing to bite the bullet and pay for the card they want.
Sellers are always encouraged to add a little more value to any card they are offering through the ‘Buy it Now’ feature, enabling them to guarantee a set return on any sale they make.
Negotiating within the ‘Buy it Now’ feature on eBay has also become a viable option for sports card traders but once again, ensuring the minimum payment received from the buyer is key before pressing ahead with the sale.
5. Pack and Ship
Once the set up and sale is done, it is then down to the seller to organise the packing and shipment of their sports trading card(s) to the buyer.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to packing sports trading cards but they are fragile pieces, so ensuring they are flat and well packed is key – as there is nothing worse than a paid for card being damaged in transit to its final destination.
eBay remains the biggest online sports card trading marketplace and it is a valuable resource for all levels of sports card collector.