Sell a $100 card and you'll keep roughly $82 on TCGPlayer, $81 on eBay, $60–70 from a vendor buylist, or $90+ in a local cash deal — so "how to sell trading cards" is really a question about how much of your Saturday each dollar is worth. The listed price is never the number that hits your bank account. Plan around the net.
The $100 card, netted out
| Platform | You keep (approx.) | Time to cash | Your effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCGPlayer | $82 | 3–14 days | List, pack, ship |
| eBay | $81 | 3–10 days | Photos, list, pack, ship |
| Vendor buylist | $60–70 cash | Same day–1 week | Almost none |
| Local / Facebook | $85–95 | Same day | Haggling, meetup |
The marketplace math: TCGPlayer charges about 10.25% commission plus roughly 2.5% + $0.30 processing, so a $100 sale returns about $87 before you've bought a bubble mailer or paid tracked postage. eBay's cut on trading cards lands around 13%, similar story. Full line-item breakdowns, including what happens to $5 cards, are in our TCGPlayer fee walkthrough with real examples. This ~15% haircut between sticker price and cash is exactly why the Pack Value Calculator offers a sell-fee adjustment on every EV figure it shows you: a binder "worth" $1,000 is an $850 binder once it's actually sold.
TCGPlayer: the default for singles
If a card is worth $2–300 and you're willing to ship it yourself, TCGPlayer wins on volume and simplicity. No photos needed, you list against a catalog, and pricing takes seconds because the market is right there. The tradeoffs: you're competing with stores on price, cheap cards barely clear fees, and payment arrives on a schedule rather than instantly. Condition honesty matters; overgrade and refunds will eat the margin you thought you'd made.
eBay: for the expensive, the graded and the weird
eBay earns its slightly worse fee math when the card benefits from photos and competition: graded slabs, high-end raws, vintage, error cards, sealed. Auctions on genuinely scarce cards can beat fixed-price listings by real money, and eBay's buyer pool for a $1,500 slab is far deeper than TCGPlayer's. For anything over about $500, ship with signature confirmation, and read our guide on packing cards so they arrive mint before you tape anything, because one damaged-item refund erases ten smooth sales.
Buylists: selling your time back
A vendor buylist pays 60–75% of market in cash, sometimes 75–85% in store credit. That sounds bad until you price the alternative: photographing, listing, packing and shipping forty cards to net 82% anyway. Buylists win when the cards are liquid staples, when you'd rather have money this week than maximum money next month, and when the gap between buylist and net-of-fees is smaller than your time is worth. They're also the only sane channel for true bulk, which has its own economics entirely.
Local deals: highest net, most friction
Facebook groups, Discord servers and shop trade nights carry no fees, which is why they net the most per card. The costs are everything else: buyers expect 10–15% under market, meetups take an evening, and scam risk is yours to manage. Cash in a public place, or goods-and-services payment with its fee if shipping. Never friends-and-family to a stranger; that discount is how people get robbed politely.
Match the platform to the card
- Under $2: don't sell it individually, ever. Buylist it or lot it.
- $2–50: TCGPlayer. This is its home turf.
- $50–500: TCGPlayer or eBay; pick eBay when photos add value (condition, grading potential).
- $500+ or graded: eBay, with signature delivery, or a consignment seller if you value your time.
- Liquid staples in quantity: buylist and take the store credit bump.
- A whole collection at once: different problem, with its own sequencing traps — see our exit strategy guide for selling collections.
FAQ
What's the fastest way to turn cards into cash?
A vendor buylist, in person at a shop or show: 60–75% of market, money the same day, zero listing work. You're paying roughly 15 points versus marketplaces for the speed.
Is it worth selling cards under $5 online?
Rarely. Fees and postage take 30–40% of a $5 card and the listing takes the same effort as a $50 one. Batch cheap cards into lots or push them to a buylist.
Do I owe taxes on card sales?
Marketplaces issue 1099-Ks past federal thresholds and your gains can be taxable either way. Keep purchase records and talk to a tax professional; this isn't tax advice.