There isn’t that booming of a market for selling magic cards. If anything, magic cards (or MTG: Magic the Gathering) is more of a niche market, making them stressful to sell.
As such, you’re not alone. As common as this issue is, magic cards are a lucrative business, you only need to know where to look and how to plan ahead.
Luckily, we cover every aspect of selling magic cards below. We go through why it’s a niche you should get into, what issues to look out for, and a step-by-step guide to how to sell them.
Why You Should Consider Selling Magic Cards
So, what do you stand to gain from selling magic cards? Let’s answer that by going through the four primary reasons:
- To make a few bucks: There’s a market for everything, including magic cards. Plus, the rarer your cards are, the more money you’d make. MTGs are among the best things to flip for cold hard cash!
- It’s a solid investment: If you’ve had your cards for a while now, inflation should help increase your profit margin. A card you bought for $10 over a decade ago would probably sell for $20 now, leaving you with a pretty lucrative profit.
- Join the collectibles market: Some of your cards may sell for over $300 to $400 if they were printed in the 90s or have either a rare or a mythic rare symbol printed on them. Such cards might sell for thousands too!
- Make room for the newer generation: MTG is fun for family, friends, and kids. If your magic days are behind you, why not help those who’ve recently discovered it? You can use that need to bargain for more money as well.
Problems With Selling Magic Cards
All products face one issue or another after being put on the market. So, what problems can you expect when selling magic cards?
Let’s see:
- It’s not an earn-money-quick premise: Since magic cards are a niche market, that fact can slow business down. There’s not always a need for them, so it can be harder to find someone who wants to buy.
- There could be no need for your cards: The less rare your MTGs are, the less need shops and online platforms have for them. Common magic cards are abundant in the market and will sell for less money or not at all.
- Your card collection is basic: Basic card collections don’t do as well as rare, mythic rare, or old edition ones—unless they’re in near-mint or crisp condition.
- Limited selling platforms: It can be hard to know where to sell things online—even more so with magic cards. While there are many websites designed specifically for magic cards, your collection can be lost among the many others.
What You’ll Need to Sell Magic Cards
You now know both the issues and benefits related to selling magic cards. After weighing your options, here’s a quick list of what you’ll need to pursue this journey further:
- Ascertain your cards’ value: You can’t go in blind, and if you’ve been in the MTG scene long enough, chances are you know which cards hold value and which don’t. Factor in the rarity element, the edition, and the card condition.
- Create an online presence: A platform or a site to post your cards on should attract the right customers, particularly if you’re using an MTG-centered website. Some sites offer many convenient features and payment options too, but we’ll get into that later.
- Check for a local option: Going the old-fashioned way is best if you want quick cash. Search for a local game store or set up shop in an MTG convention, for example, and sell your cards there.
- Prepare your cards for advertising: Sealed cards would naturally do better than old cards. Older cards and near-mint cards can’t even compare. Prepare to efficiently market and advertise your entire collection to potential buyers.
Where to Sell Magic Cards
Once you’ve prepared what you need, let’s help you reach a decision about where you can finally sell your magic cards. Here are three viable options:
1. TCGplayer
TCGplayer, and other selling apps like Card Kingdom or Channel Fireball, are notorious platforms for selling cards. It’s a domain specializing in helping others buy Magic the Gathering cards from thousands of sellers in the US.
What Makes This Option Great
Selling cards on TCGplayer is easy and straightforward, thus making the website our top choice. The site’s interface is simple to navigate and comes with an extensive Buylist.
- Fees/Commission: Selling on TCGplayer is free. They do, however, take a commission for every sale you make (10% off the total selling price). Shipping fees inside the US aren’t expensive either.
- Payment Methods: Prepaid Visa and Mastercard, PayPal, cash, and/or store credit.
2. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace doesn’t seem an appropriate site for selling magic cards, but it’s an excellent choice for selling or trading MTG cards within your local community.
What Makes This Option Great
All you need is a Facebook account and you’re set! Being able to sell used, sealed, old cards, cards in bulk, and more is another factor that makes Facebook Marketplace a great option.
- Fees/Commission: Facebook Marketplace charges a flat fee of $0.40 for every card sold below $8. If your collection fetches a higher price, expect Facebook to cut 5% of the final payment.
- Payment Methods: Credit, debit cards, and PayPal accounts are possible with Facebook Marketplace.
3. eBay
eBay is another popular option to post your MTG cards. That’s because when selling on eBay, you can auction your collection there and earn cold hard cash!
What Makes This Option Great
eBay is suitable for selling rare and rare mythic cards. You’ll make good money selling sealed cards and those in mint or near-mint condition. eBay also has a vast reach.
- Fees/Commission: For every listing, you’ll have to pay $0.30 in fees. eBay will keep a portion of the final selling price as well.
- Payment Methods: eBay accepts credit or debit cards, PayPal, Google or Apple Pay, and cash. Plus, the online platform has a wire transaction option.
How To Sell Magic Cards: Step-By-Step Instructions
We’ve covered the technical stuff, including the benefits, issues, what you need, and what platforms to pick from. So, to help you out further, here’s our step-by-step guide on how you can start selling magic cards:
Step 1: Prepare Each Card for Selling
Preparing your product for selling is vital. Familiarize yourself with how rare each card is and how much it’ll sell for in the current market. Consider also how good of a condition every card is in and look up the grading scale for Magic: The Gathering cards.Â
You don’t have to get rid of old cards either. Attempt to sell them in bulk since an individual card won’t land you that much money because of its dated condition.
Regardless, you can try to turn your collection of MTG cards into a sealed product too, and try selling that. A folder of sealed individual cards, sorted from rarest to most common, would sell for much cash.
Step 2: Pick a Platform or Store
Once you prep your product, choose where you want to sell. You don’t have to go one route and stick with it either. The smart thing would be to try out multiple avenues and see which one will land you a couple of dollars.
In doing so, you also reduce time spent waiting around for a prospective buyer to become interested in your card collection. Instead, you’d be introducing your item to a vast online and local audience, and someone there would want your cards.
With that in mind, pick a platform you’re familiar with or that sounds simple enough for you to navigate. If the online route isn’t for you, there are always card game conventions, local game stores, and the choice to trade off your cards for better ones or store credit.
Step 3: Know What’s the Best Way to Sell for You
Knowing your selling strategy is as vital. Old cards, for example, won’t do good on online auction sites, like eBay, or any other card-selling site. Sell these locally instead.
Own a rare mythic card with an orange symbol? Or one with a gold-embedded one? Either could sell for a sum of great money, especially if they’re in near-mint or mint condition.
Another example would be common cards—which sell best in bulk because individually they offer little value to most buyers. Â
Step 4: Advertise Your Collection
In case you’re listing your MTG cards or collection online, you should make sure to advertise them properly. Online selling is about marketing, transparency, and straightforwardness.
Ensure that you post high-quality pictures of each card separately. Post another one of the entire collection if you can too. Write an accurate description of every card, including in what condition it’s in, what edition it is, and how much you’d like for each.
Things to Consider When Selling Magic Cards
Before you get to work on our step-by-step guide above, here’s a quick list of a few simple things to consider first:
- Do your market research first: The market price dictates how much you’ll be selling your cards for. It’s how you’ll plan your profit margin too.
- Be patient: Selling MTG cards isn’t a quick process—unless you have rare cards that’ll sell like hotcakes.
- Your cards could end up being useless: A local game store could have excess storage and won’t need your card. An online platform might reject your card after running it through its grading process. Be prepared for either scenario.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have a few burning questions? Here are two of the most common ones asked:
Are Magic Cards Worth Any Money?
The right magic card can sell from anything as low as $3 to as high as $500,000! So yes, magic cards are worth more than a few bucks, depending on how rare it is and the card’s condition.
What is the Most Paid for a Magic Card?
The Black Lotus is, as of now, the rarest and most expensive card ever sold. An Alpha + Signed version of the card sold at $511,100 during an eBay auction in 2021. Roughly a year after, the famous rapper, Post Malone bought a similar Black Lotus card, offering $800,000 for it instead.
So it seems that the Black Lotus keeps increasing in value!
Similar Tutorials to Check Out
Want to take on a card-selling business but don’t have MTGs to get you started? Take a look at these three alternatives along with extensive guides on each to help you figure it out:
- How to Sell Pokémon Cards: We all have one or two Pokémon cards lying around, so why not try selling them to make a few bucks?
- How to Sell Old Postcards: Some old postcards have excellent vintage finesse and will fetch a great price in the right market. Check out this guide for more!
- How to Sell Yugioh Cards: Yugioh cards were and still are popular in the card game world. With the right knowledge, they can sell for a hefty price!
Wrapping Up
To sell magic cards is a straightforward process. Grade and assess the value of your MTG collection before putting it on the market, though.
After that, it’s all about picking the right platform, offering the right selling price, and advertising your cards correctly.
It’s vital that you’re honest when selling collectible items as well to gain an honorable reputation.
Did you like your guide on selling MTG cards? Tell us what you think in the comments and share the article with someone you know will benefit from it too.
