I still remember the feeling of absolute certainty I had in late 2020. I had just dug a dusty white shoebox out of my parents' attic in New Jersey. Inside was my retirement fund: a 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. I remembered reading in a Beckett magazine in 1995 that this card was going to be worth thousands.
I drove to the nearest card shop, walked in with a swagger that only nostalgia can provide, and slapped the card on the counter. The owner, a guy named Mike who looked like he had seen this scene play out ten thousand times, didn't even pick it up.
"Five bucks," he said.
"But it's the Griffey rookie," I stammered.
"Yeah, and they printed two million of them," he replied. "And yours is off-center."
That was my crash course in the modern sports card market. The "Junk Wax Era" (roughly 1987–1994) lied to us all. But here is the good news: while most of your childhood binder might be kindling, the market for the right cards has arguably never been hotter. Whether you have a modern Zion Williamson Prizm or a vintage Mickey Mantle, there is a buyer for it. The trick is knowing which platform won't eat your profits in fees.
If you are sitting on a collection and wondering where to sell sports cards to maximize your return—or just trying to clear space—you need a strategy. The market has splintered into high-end auction houses, volume-based consignment sites, and the Wild West of social media flipping.
The Valuation Trap: Do Not Trust Your Gut
Before you even Google where to sell sports cards online, you have to know what you have. The biggest mistake casual sellers make is relying on "Listing Prices" rather than "Sold Prices."
You might see a 1990 Michael Jordan listed on eBay for $10,000. That doesn't mean it's worth $10,000. It means someone hopes it is.
To find the real sports card prices, you need to look at historical data.
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The Tool: 130Point.com. This is the industry standard. It scrapes eBay "Best Offer" data (which eBay hides) to tell you exactly what cash changed hands.
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The Method: Search "Year + Brand + Player + Card Number."
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The Reality: If 130 Point says your card sold yesterday for $12, then your card is worth $12. Not $15. Not $20.
(Note: Condition is everything. A card with a "dinged" corner is worth 10% of what a "Gem Mint" card is worth. Be brutally honest with yourself about the condition.)
Where to Sell Sports Cards Online: The Big Three
Once you know the value, you have to choose your venue.
1. eBay (The Volume King)
For 90% of cards, eBay is the answer. It has the most eyes.
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Pros: Massive audience. The "eBay Standard Envelope" allows you to ship cards under $20 for less than $1.00 with tracking.
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Cons: Fees are roughly 13.25%. Plus, you have to deal with returns, "Item Not Received" scams, and the hassle of photographing every single card.
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My Experience: I sold a raw Justin Herbert rookie card on eBay for $120. After fees and shipping, I pocketed about $102. It took me 15 minutes to list and pack. That’s a decent hourly wage. But if I had to sell 500 cards worth $1 each? The labor would kill me.
I use Closo to automate my cross-listing to platforms like Mercari – saves me about 3 hours weekly – because sometimes the niche buyers on smaller apps will pay full price while eBay buyers are hunting for bargains.
2. COMC (Check Out My Cards)
This is the best option for "middle class" cards ($2 to $50).
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How it works: You put all your cards in a box and mail them to COMC in Washington state. They scan them, identify them, and list them on their site (and cross-list to eBay). You set the price. When it sells, you get credit.
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The "Lazy" Factor: You do zero work after shipping the box.
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The Cost: They charge a processing fee per card (usually $0.50) and take a cut when you cash out.
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My Win: I sent 300 mid-tier cards to COMC in 2022. I forgot about them. I logged in six months later and had $450 in credit. I didn't have to pack a single envelope.
3. Goldin / Heritage (The Heavy Hitters)
If you have a card worth over $5,000, do not put it on eBay.
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Why: Safety and marketing. These auction houses market your item to high-net-worth collectors.
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The Process: You send the card. They grade it (usually). They run a premium auction.
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The Catch: It takes months.
Here’s where it gets interesting... recent acquisitions have blurred the lines. eBay bought TCGplayer and Goldin is owned by Collectors (who owns PSA). The ecosystem is consolidating, meaning cross-listing is getting easier, but the fees are getting stickier.
Where to Sell Sports Cards Near Me (The Cash Option)
Sometimes you just want the cardboard gone and the cash in hand. If you are searching for where to sell my sports cards near me, you have two main options: The Card Shop and The Card Show.
The Local Card Shop (LCS)
Sports card stores are businesses. They have rent, electricity, and employees.
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The Math: If your card sells on eBay for $100, the shop owner knows they will net about $85 after fees if they sell it. To make a profit, they need to buy it from you for $50 or $60.
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The Expectation: Expect an offer of 50–60% of the eBay sold average.
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Opinion: This isn't a "rip off." It is a liquidity fee. You are paying them 40% to save yourself the 20 hours of work it would take to list and ship everything yourself.
The Card Show
Weekends at hotel conference centers are back in style.
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The Strategy: Put your cards in a "showcase" (a protective case) with a price sticker. Walk around to dealer tables. Ask, "Are you buying?"
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The Advantage: You can negotiate face-to-face. You can trade up. You might trade ten $20 cards for one $200 card, which is much easier to sell later.
My Honest Failure: I took a binder of unorganized 1990s baseball cards to a card show in Philadelphia. I walked up to a dealer and asked if he was buying. He opened the binder, flipped three pages, closed it, and said, "No thanks." I was insulted. But I realized later: dealers don't have time to sort through your junk. If you want to sell baseball cards near me, you must organize them. Pull out the stars. Put them in "Top Loaders" (hard plastic cases). Make it easy for them to say yes.
How Can I Sell Baseball Cards Specifically? (The Era Matters)
Baseball cards are unique because the history is so deep. Where to sell baseball cards depends entirely on the year printed on the back.
Pre-War & Vintage (Pre-1980)
These are gold. Even in bad condition.
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Where: eBay is great, but specialized Facebook Groups (like "Vintage Baseball Card Collectors") often pay closer to market value because they save on fees.
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Handling: Do not touch the corners. Put them in "Penny Sleeves" immediately.
The Junk Wax Era (1987–1994)
This is 90% of what people find in their closets. Topps, Donruss, Fleer.
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The Hard Truth: Most of these are worthless.
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The Exceptions: High-grade Hall of Fame rookies. A PSA 10 (perfect condition) Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck is worth money. A raw one is worth $40.
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Strategy: Do not list these individually. Sell them as "Player Lots" (e.g., "Lot of 50 Cal Ripken Jr Cards") or just donate them to Goodwill for the tax write-off.
Modern (2018–Present)
This is a volatile stock market.
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Prospecting: People buy "Bowman" cards of players who haven't reached the majors yet.
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The Risk: If you hold a prospect card and he gets injured, the value goes to zero.
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Advice: If you pull a huge card of a new rookie, sell it immediately. The hype is usually highest at release.
Grading: To PSA or Not To PSA?
You cannot talk about where to sell sports cards online without talking about grading. Grading involves sending your card to a company (PSA, SGC, Beckett, TAG) to be encased in plastic and given a score from 1-10.
Now the tricky part... grading costs money. Usually $15 to $25 per card, plus shipping and insurance.
The Math of Grading:
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Card A: Raw value $20. PSA 10 value $150. PSA 9 value $25.
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If you grade it ($20 fee) and it gets a 9, you have spent $40 total to have a card worth $25. You lost money.
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If you grade it and it gets a 10, you win big.
But here is the catch: getting a 10 is incredibly hard. I sent in a batch of 20 "perfect" looking cards to PSA last year. Only 4 came back as 10s. The rest were 9s. I barely broke even. Rule of Thumb: Only grade a card if the value of a PSA 9 is significantly higher than the grading fee + raw cost. If you need a 10 to make money, it's a gamble, not a business strategy.
Comparison: Where Should You Sell?
Here is a breakdown based on your specific situation.
(Note: CollX is a newer app that lets you scan cards to identify them. It's great for identifying, but the selling marketplace is still much smaller than eBay.)
People always ask me...
"Where to sell sports cards if I have thousands of commons?"
Common question I see. If you have 5,000 "common" cards (non-stars) from 1991, you have a problem. Shipping costs more than the cards.
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Option A: Sell them as a "Flat Rate Box" lot on eBay. "20lbs of Vintage Baseball Cards." People buy these for $30-$40 to sort through for fun.
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Option B: Donate them. Schools and children's hospitals often take them (if organized).
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Option C: Throw them away. I know it hurts, but sometimes the physical space is worth more than the cardboard.
"How do I ship a single card on eBay?"
Here's something everyone wants to know. You do not need a bubble mailer for a $5 card. Use the eBay Standard Envelope.
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Put card in a penny sleeve.
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Put that in a semi-rigid holder (Card Saver) or a Top Loader (taped down so it doesn't slide).
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Put it in a plain white envelope.
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Print the eBay label (costs roughly $0.64).
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It includes tracking! If you use a stamp, you have no tracking, and the buyer can claim they never got it.
"Is selling on Facebook Marketplace worth it?"
Generally, no. For sports cards, Facebook Marketplace is full of people looking for garage sale pricing. You will get messages like "Will you take $5?" on a $50 card. It is high-friction. However, for selling huge, heavy bulk lots that you don't want to ship, it is the only viable option.
Conclusion
Finding where to sell sports cards is about matching your inventory to the right audience.
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High End: Send it to an auction house.
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Mid Tier: eBay or COMC.
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Low End: Bulk lots or donation.
The days of retiring on a 1980s collection are mostly a myth, but the modern hobby is thriving. If you are willing to do the research, use the tools like 130Point, and put in the labor of listing, there is real money to be made. Just remember: condition is king, and nostalgia doesn't pay the rent.
If you are ready to start listing, make sure you read our guide on how to package trading cards to avoid damage in transit. And if you have other collectibles gathering dust, check out our breakdown of where to sell comic books to clear out even more space.
FAQ Page Schema
Here's something everyone wants to know: Are cards from the 80s and 90s worth anything? Mostly, no. The era from roughly 1987 to 1994 is known as the "Junk Wax Era" because cards were overproduced by the millions. However, cards of Hall of Famers (like Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, or Michael Jordan) in perfect (Gem Mint 10) condition can still be worth hundreds or thousands. Raw, ungraded cards from this era are typically worth pennies.
Common question I see: What is the best app to scan and sell sports cards? CollX and Center Stage are popular apps that use visual recognition to identify cards instantly. For selling, eBay remains the app with the highest liquidity and buyer base. While the scanning apps are great for cataloging, most serious sellers still move their inventory to eBay or COMC to actually get it sold.
People always ask me: How do I know if I should grade my sports card? You should only grade a card if the value of the graded version (usually PSA 9 or 10) is significantly higher than the cost of the raw card plus the grading fee (approx. $25). Use 130Point.com to check the sold prices of your card in a PSA 9 holder. If the difference is less than $30, it is usually safer and more profitable to sell it raw.
