How to flip $5 (or sometimes less) cards into $40 profit (or sometimes more!)
Sometimes deals fall in your lap. Most of the time, though, you need to actively seek them out. In-person or online, there are a number of places to search for value steals.
I’ve talked at great length about “getting lucky” with huge sports card deals found on COMC. But if waiting around for a random good deal isn’t your thing, here is what I do to actively seek out cards that can be flipped for much more.
1. Know What Cards You’re Looking For
Yes, a little bit of research is needed, but the good news is I’ve spilled my knowledge (and will continue doing so) through this entire platform and the “Sneaky Valuable Card” list specifically.
These are cards that seem to fly under the radar for some reason, and thus, are just sitting there waiting for knowledgeable buyers to snatch them up.
A lot of these come from experience, but another thing I like to do from time to time is just look through Watchcount to see the types of cards that are being watched the most on eBay:
2. Know Where to Find the Cards
And to clarify, I’m not talking about buying them on eBay.
With so many people already flocking to eBay to find cards, good deals either go fast, or, a card is sent to auction which means those with the knowledge are all bidding against each other, driving up the price.
Instead, I’m talking about looking outside of eBay for these cards. This could mean in the value boxes in-person at your local card shop or at a show.
Or, if you’re like me, it could mean looking at the “recently added” section on COMC or buysportscards.com; it could mean searching CollX and other platforms.
3. Buy at the Right Price
Half the battle is finding the cards for sale, and the other half is know the price you should be buying at if you want to turn a profit.
Check eBay sold listings for the card—what has it sold for?
Check eBay current listings for the card—what is it listed for?
Check eBay profit after sales feels—how much will you be left with?
For the first bullet, don’t limit yourself to 90 days of data. If you click “selling” on the eBay app, you can go to this “Product research” area to search up to 3-years worth of data.
Also, don’t get fooled by the crossed out Best Offer accepted price.
If you see this on eBay, it means the card was sold at a price other than the crossed out price. Go to 130pt and search for the card to find the true price:
For the third bullet, eBay calculators are all over the place. I personally like to use this “eBit” Chrome extension to get an idea of how much profit I’ll be left with after I sell a card on eBay.
4. Sell! (and Ship)
Once you’ve found your deals, now is the time to use eBay. I mean, it’s up to you really. I don’t mind the fees if it means I’m going to sell faster, but if you have a better way to sell with less fees coming off your profit, then by all means!
The challenge is, if you’re buying these cards off of eBay, then trying to use those same platforms to sell might be futile (meaning, if the cards weren’t selling at the greatly reduced price you bought them for, why would they sell for more once you list them)? Of course, could be just a matter of timing, but I always just go to eBay to sell.
When it comes time to list, if under $20 I like to utilize the eBay Standard Envelope option. Some people don’t. Again, just personal preference as most buyers like to pay less for shipping.
For example, if a buyer knows they only want to pay $20 for a card, that means you can list yours at $19.99 + about a dollar in shipping for eBay Standard Envelope. Or, you can list at $16 + about $4 in shipping. The buyer is paying the same amount for the card in either scenario, but if you list at $19.99, you’re going to pocket more.