How to Sell Pokémon Cards on eBay

eBay is one of the best places to sell Pokémon cards. But if you've never sold there before, you might not know where to start or how to put together a good listing — and there's more to it than uploading photos, picking a price and hoping someone buys. If you want to sell your Pokémon cards on eBay for the most money, read on.

Before you start: you'll need an eBay account to list anything. If you don't have one, register on eBay before following the steps below.

Value First

Listing a card without knowing what it's worth can backfire. Price it too low and you leave money on the table. Price it too high and you could wait months for a buyer who's willing to pay that much.

So start by finding out what your card is worth. Our Pokémon Card Value Checker lets you scan a photo of your card or search it by name, and gives you the current value for raw and graded copies. Each card page also shows recent eBay sales and live listings, so you can see what buyers are paying and what other sellers are asking.

Tip: always compare both current and sold listings — they tell you different things. And make sure the listings you compare against match your card's number, language, rarity and condition.

Auction vs BIN

When selling on eBay you can choose between an auction-style listing and a fixed-price listing, known as Buy It Now (BIN). Neither is better across the board; each has its own trade-offs.

An auction works like a bidding war between collectors. You set the starting price and how long it runs (1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days), buyers place bids, and whoever is highest when the clock runs out wins the card.

The risk is that your card sells for less than you hoped if too few collectors bid. Once an auction ends with a winning bid, you're committed to selling at that price — you can't back out because the final number was low. The upside is that you can add a Buy It Now price to an auction, which a keen buyer can take before the bidding starts.

With a BIN listing, you set the price. That gives you room to plan around fees (more on those below), packaging and postage. You can also switch on Best Offer, so interested buyers can propose a lower price — you can accept, decline or counter. A BIN listing doesn't mean your card will sell faster, though.

So when should you pick which? BIN usually suits bulk commons and uncommons, popular chase cards, and high-value singles, raw or graded. Auctions are more case by case: sellers tend to save them for cards with enough demand to attract competing bids.

Photos & Titles

Your listing could be a collector's dream chase card, but if the photos are blurry and the title is a mess, buyers will scroll past it — or never find it at all.

eBay recommends images around 1,600 pixels on the longest side for the best display and zoom, and at least 500 pixels. You can't use stock photos, and you shouldn't add borders, text or artwork to your pictures.

Your smartphone is more than enough, as long as the lighting is decent. If you're getting reflections, turn the flash off and use natural, indirect light.

Photograph the front and the back. If there are any flaws — whitening, edge wear, scratches or stains — take close-ups. Buyers appreciate a seller who's upfront about imperfections.

Tip: it isn't mandatory, but close-ups of each corner, front and back, help even when the card has no visible flaws.

Titles have an 80-character limit. Sellers typically include the Pokémon's name, the card number, and the set or expansion. For example:

• Charizard 4/130 Base Set 2 Holo Rare
• Mareep 82/127 Platinum
• Snorlax #SVP 051 Scarlet & Violet Black Star Promos

Some sellers also add the condition or, for a slab, the grade.

Fees

eBay takes a cut when your card sells, so the price on your listing isn't what you'll keep. For US sellers in the trading-card categories, there are two fees to keep in mind:

• Final value fee: 13.25% of the total sale amount (including postage) up to $7,500 per item, plus 2.35% on any portion above $7,500.
• Per-order fee: $0.30 on orders of $10 or less, $0.40 on orders over $10.

Rates vary by country and change from time to time, so check eBay's current fee page before you price a big card.

Tip: to see what you'll actually take home, subtract the estimated fees, postage and packaging from the price you expect to sell at.

Shipping

Once your card sells, the job is making sure it arrives in the condition you advertised. The last thing you want is a return request because the card was damaged in the post. A safe way to pack a single:

1. Put the card in a penny sleeve, then a top loader, then a team bag (a resealable plastic sleeve).
2. Sandwich it between two pieces of cardboard, tape each side with painter's tape, and put it in a bubble mailer.

You can buy the postage label directly through eBay. You still pay for postage, but eBay's label rates are usually cheaper than going to the carrier yourself, and tracking is included. Once the label is on, drop the package off with your courier.

Tip: some sellers build the postage cost into the listing price instead of charging it separately.

FAQ

Do I Need to Have My Cards Graded Before Selling on eBay?

No. Plenty of listings are raw, ungraded cards. Grading before you sell only makes sense when the graded premium comfortably covers the fee — see whether grading is worth it, or the cards most worth grading right now.

Can I Sell Bulk Pokémon Cards on eBay?

Yes. Sellers usually group low-value cards by rarity, set or Pokémon. If you're selling in bulk, state the total number of cards and their general condition.

Is It Better to Sell Raw or Graded Cards on eBay?

Neither is better in itself. You can sell both; what matters is pricing and presenting each card so buyers have a reason to pick your listing over the others. If you're weighing eBay against other platforms, here's our rundown of where to sell Pokémon cards.