Are you a fan of the Pokemon series? And have you collected Pokemon cards as a child (or even grownup)?
Chances are, you wanted to collect as many Pokemon cards as possible, especially if you’re a big fan. The Pokemon fandom is vast worldwide, which is part of the appeal of selling Pokemon cards online or via eBay.
However, there are many Pokemon cards, and they vary in card value. It is crucial to understand how first editions, individual cards, and card collections can be priced when selling Pokemon cards on eBay to make more money.
Capturing the hearts and wallets of enthusiasts and investors alike, Pokémon cards stand out as modern-day treasures in the broad and ever-evolving world of collectibles.
Since the anime’s launch in the 1990s, the cards have transcended their initial purpose as a trading card game into a highly-coveted collectible, with some even considered lucrative assets.
The popularity of these cards isn’t simply a nod to nostalgia but a testament to the franchise’s enduring legacy.
Whether you are a beginner looking to test the waters, a hobbyist looking to downsize your collection to “just the rare ones”, or a collector looking to invest in this market, this post is for you.
Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to sell cards and make good money with Pokémon cards.
Article Overview
What Factors Affect Card’s Value
Which Pokémon Cards to Collect
Which Valuable Pokémon Cards To Get
Top-Selling Pokemon Cards on eBay
Why sell Pokémon cards?
As the anime’s storyline evolves and games across multiple gaming platforms develop, Pokémon cards become hotter commodities than ever before.
Combine emotional connection to the characters with cards with vibrant colors and shiny textures, add the “thrill” to getting the rare or limited editions, and you get cards that can go as high as six figures in any auction.
This makes collecting and selling Pokémon cards – the robust secondary market- an excellent money-making option.
As with any market, the law of supply and demand results in substantial financial gain.
And for many, it’s not just about making a quick buck; it’s about playing the market, understanding the value and rarity of the card and leveraging the timing.
With that said, the Pokémon card market doesn’t thrive on mere chance – it’s a market that rewards knowledge, patience, and strategic judgement.
Sorting Your Collection
The first thing you need to do with your cards is to sort them properly.
Sorting is not just about organizing your cards; it helps in maintaining their value and getting them ready for sale (or trade). Here’s how to sort your cards correctly:
Categorize
One of the easiest ways to categorize your cards is through their set and series. These cards are released in sets that belong to a specific series.
You can identify this through their unique symbols. Group your cards by these sets and series. This way, you can track and identify your cards easily.
Order (by rarity)
Within the set, organize your cards by their rarity. This is indicated by the symbols on the card (ultra rare, rare, uncommon, common, etc.). This will help you identify which card is most valuable in the market.
Condition
Condition is vital for collectibles, especially 2.5 x 3.5 inches colorful pieces of cardboard. The better the condition, the more valuable the card.
The way to sort this is to organize and store your cards by ‘mint’, ‘near mind’, ‘good’, ‘played’, and ‘poor’ condition. With that said, make sure to handle your cards carefully, preferably with gloves or clean hands.
This will keep oils from your skin from damaging the cards.
Chronology
Another way to sort your collection is by their release date. This will give you a good look at the evolution of your collection, which can be pretty satisfying, especially if you are a massive fan of the franchise.
Sorting Tips
Invest in protective storage
As said earlier, the condition of the card impacts its value. Thus, it is vital to keep them in the best condition possible.
The best way to do that is to keep each card, especially the rare ones, in good protective storage, such as cases, binders, and sleeves. Moreover, good storage will help you organize your cards, especially the valuable ones.
For the most valuable cards, consider using hard plastic top loaders for extra protection.
Regular maintenance
As with other collections, cards will collect dust and debris over time (unless you place them in a sealed container).
This is why you need to clean and sort your collection periodically. Moreover, maintenance helps you evaluate and re-organize the condition of your collection.
Create a digital inventory
If you don’t like pulling out piles of boxes from your storage, it helps to have a digital inventory of your collection.
Have a spreadsheet of all your cards and include all their details, such as their name, set, condition, rarity, etc.
What Factors Affect Card’s Value
As with any collectibles, there are nuances in collecting Pokémon cards, and as with any card collection, some cards are more valuable than others.
Cards are typically valued based on their rarity, condition, demand, authenticity and other unique factors of card art (and features), such as errors in printing, stories behind a specific card, etc.
Rarity is about the release type of the card, such as special promotions, limited editions, or the absence and presence of the card in circulation.
The condition of the card, on the other hand, is often assessed by professional grading services. Cards with the best conditions are priced higher.
The market demand is usually driven by the card’s popularity, which can change occasionally. Cards that feature popular characters or are pivotal in the gameplay are usually more valuable.
Grading Service Companies Authenticate Pokémon Cards
The companies that grade the card’s conditions also authenticate the cards.
Some of the more prominent grading services in the collectible card industry are the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Beckett Grading Services (BGS), Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), and SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Corporation).
As you can see, these are also the companies that authenticate sports cards, such as NBA cards, baseball cards, football cards, etc.
Which Pokémon Cards to Collect
Rarity indicators
Check the card’s rarity indicator; a circle means common, a diamond means uncommon, and a star means rare. However, the most valuable cards go beyond this basic rating system, as it includes other indicators same value such as:
- Holographic cards – These cards have shiny and reflective surfaces.
- First editions – They have the “1st” marking in the middle left of the card.
- Shadowless cards – Early print doesn’t have a shadow on the right side of the image.
- Promotional cards – These are limited offer cards that are only distributed during special events.
High Demand Cards
More popular cards (such as Charizard) are high-demand cards, primarily because of their fanbase.
- Condition – The card’s condition is graded on a scale of ‘gem mint’ as the best and ‘poor’ for damaged or poorly conditioned cards. There are organizations that provide the grading systems for the cards, such as PSA, CGC, and Beckett.
- Errors and misprints – Just like in misprinted money, cards with printing errors are highly sought after due to their rarity. This error, of course, must be recognized and verified.
- Full art and secret rares – Some releases have numbers that exceed the official number of cards released, while some have extended artworks. These are usually more valuable.
Which Valuable Pokémon Cards To Get
- Vintage cards – Original Pokémon set cards like Base Jet, Team Rocket, and Jungle Fossil are considered vintage. Those in pristine condition are indeed more valuable.
- Legendary Pokémon cards – Cards that feature rare Pokémon characters, such as Legendary and Mythical Pokémons, are a good find.
- Chase cards – Each set of cards has “chase cards”. These are usually more valuable and sought after.
- Tournament cards – Those popular in the competitive scene gain value as they become more in demand.
When looking for Pokémon cards to collect, you cannot go wrong with limited editions, the vintage ones, and the low print runs.
As with any market, the Pokémon card market can fluctuate, and your card’s value may change for different factors, such as reprintings, new mechanics of the game, or a shift in collector’s interest.
Top-Selling Pokemon Cards on eBay
Pokemon cards are a niche product, and there is a huge demand from fans wanting to complete their Pokemon cards collection.
And it’s unsurprising that the sales data we gathered via ZIK Analytics, a product research tool for eBay sellers and dropshippers, have confirmed a high demand for this product category.
The sell-through rate for Pokemon cards is 1203%, with a successful listings rate of 26%. The total sales earnings in the last 30 days is $46,301, for an average product price of $53.
Based on the graph, it shows a consistently high demand in searches for Pokemon cards on eBay, ensuring that you can generate consistent sales for your eBay seller account.
You can get ideas on creating listings for these collectors’ cards on eBay by looking at the top sellers. For example, CCGCastle is one of the top eBay sellers of Pokemon cards on eBay.
They have a positive feedback rating of 98.7% and have sold 379,000 items in their eBay seller account. Based on their top products, they list Pokemon cards and other similar related items.
They have limited edition and rare cards, with some in their corresponding boxes.
Now, let’s dive into the individual cards that have been selling well on eBay in the last 30 days, based on sales data from ZIK Analytics.
Pokemon Card Lot 100 Official TCG Cards
This product is listed at $19.95 each (discounts apply for bulk purchases), and it has been the top-selling Pokemon card listing on eBay in the last 30 days.
The seller has sold 6,907 items since its listing, and the total number of items sold for the past 30 days is 326.
This seller is an excellent competitor to look into if you want to make money selling cards on eBay. Their sell-through rate on eBay is 55.77%, with 927 active listings.
They have a feedback score of 79, and their sales earnings in the last 30 days is $16,201. They specialize in selling collector cards, such as Pokemon, My Little Pony, World of Warcraft, and more.
As mentioned, this top product is trending on eBay, as it has sold over 6,000 items. This listing has many watchers, too, which shows you the level of interest in this particular product and its sales to potential buyers.
A further inspection of this product on eBay via ZIK Analytics reveals more interesting sales data. There are 18 similar eBay listings for this product and 326 sold items.
The sell-through rate is 1811%, at an average product price of $19.95. The sales earnings over the last 30 days is $6,504.
Pokemon 151 Ultra Premium Collection Box
Aside from single cards, you can also list collectors boxes on eBay. These products are precious to interested buyers, especially Pokemon fans because they can purchase the entire collection in one go.
You can make more profit from this product from avid collectors who are willing to pay a lot of money for rare items.
And if we examine this product via ZIK Analytics, you can see its sales data over the past 30 days. The product has 175 sold items and over 2,000 lifetime sales. The product is listed at $96.75.
Mainly because of its new and factory-sealed condition. In the last 24 hours, there are 32 watchers for this product, which demonstrates interest in the product.
When we scanned this product via ZIK Analytics, we discovered five active listings of the same product. There have been 175 sold items in the last 30 days, bringing the sell-through rate to 3500%.
The item is listed at a higher price because of its new condition and rarity and is sold for $102.32. The total sales earnings over the last 30 days is $17,906.
The graph for this product shows significant spikes and downsides. However, it is a collector’s product, meaning there is a specific target buyer for this.
The key to making more sales by selling these cards on eBay is to know your buyers, target them, and tailor your listings to appeal to these buyers.
1000 Pokemon Cards Premium Collection Lot with 60 Foils
Selling card collections is the norm on eBay, especially as buyers want to collect as many cards as possible. No wonder this product is one of the top sellers in this category.
It makes for a great gift, or buyers can purchase a pack of these cards as part of their collection.
The seller has sold 73 items in the last 30 days, with a lifetime sales of 112 units. It is listed on eBay for the price of $59.95. EBay also recognizes it as a trending product!
The product is listed as brand new in condition, with six watchers in the last 24 hours.
After further scanning the product on the ZIK Analytics product research tool, we discovered that there are only four active listings for this same product. With 73 sold items, the sell-through rate is an impressive 1825%.
The successful listing rate is 25% for an average product price of $59.55. The total sales earnings are $4,346.
If you examine the graph, you can see a high demand for this product on eBay. Therefore, you must use this opportunity to make more money selling Pokemon cards online with consistent demand.
Final Thoughts on Selling Pokemon Cards on eBay
Selling Pokemon cards on eBay is a potentially lucrative business idea. Whether you are new to selling on eBay or a selling pro looking for more product ideas to sell, this is it!
You follow the suggested tips here to ensure you have an authentic card because you don’t want to ruin your reputation on eBay by selling fake cards.
If you follow the best practices on listing on eBay and optimizing your listings, you could be on your way to making more money selling Pokemon cards.
FAQs
Are Pokemon cards popular on eBay?
Yes. eBay recognizes Pokemon cards as one of its top-selling categories. According to eBay, there is a 142% domestic trading card growth on the online marketplace, which reflects its tremendous popularity.
Is it illegal to sell fake Pomeon cards on eBay?
Yes. It’s not just for Pokemon cards but for any items sold on eBay. Counterfeit items are illegal because they are an infringement of copyright and trademark laws.
Therefore, your eBay account could get suspended if you sell counterfeit cards.
How can you tell if a Pokemon card is rare?
Look for the black symbol at the card’s bottom corner. The star symbol denotes rarity.
Meanwhile, a diamond symbol means it is an uncommon card, and a circle means it is a common card. The rarity of the card can impact its card value.
How do I know if my Pokemon cards are worth money?
The general rule is that the earlier the card’s edition, the more expensive its value will be. Therefore, you must check the bottom of the Pokemon card for its print date and edition.
It will help assess the card values and guide you when pricing your listings on eBay.
Should you auction Pokemon cards on eBay?
It depends on the type of card you have. Some Pokemon cards are extremely valuable, and you can get them for a higher price if you auction them.
Therefore, it is crucial to know the value of the cards before you decide to auction them to maximize your profit.
What other items can I sell on eBay?
Wondering what to sell on eBay? We have a few detailed guides that can help you on your way!
