Key points
- Title the card exactly as a buyer would search for it.
- Photograph front and back, straight on, with any flaw shown deliberately.
- Auctions suit liquid cards; fixed price suits thin markets and patient sellers.
- Track your net figure after fees and postage, not the headline sale price.
Writing a title that gets found
Search is the whole game. A title should contain the year, the set, the player, the card number, the parallel and the grade if graded, in the order a buyer would type them. Filler words consume characters that could be carrying a search term.
Avoid subjective language in the title. Words like rare, mint and investment do not match buyer searches and can create expectations the card does not meet.
Photographs that sell
Shoot the card out of the toploader where practical, on a plain neutral surface, in diffused daylight. Take the front and back square to the camera so the borders can be assessed for centring, then add angled shots that show surface and corners.
Photograph flaws deliberately. A clearly shown soft corner converts better than a hidden one, because it removes the buyer's doubt about everything else you have said.
Describing condition honestly
Use the same four attributes graders use, and say what you can see. If you are unsure, say you are unsure. Understating a flaw produces a return, a refund, negative feedback and a lower selling account standard, which costs far more than the difference in price.
Auction or fixed price
Auctions work when demand is broad enough that several buyers will compete. Starting low on a genuinely liquid card usually finds the market price. Starting low on a thin-market card usually finds one buyer at a bargain.
- Auction: liquid modern cards, hot players, recognisable rookies
- Fixed price with offers: numbered cards, niche sets, high-value slabs
- End auctions Sunday evening when UK buyer traffic peaks
- Use a reserve sparingly — many buyers skip reserve listings entirely
Postage and packing
Sleeve, toploader or semi-rigid, team bag, then a rigid card mailer. Never send a card in a plain envelope. Anything of meaningful value should go tracked, and higher-value items signed for, because tracking is the seller's evidence in a dispute.
Fees and your real net
Marketplace fees are charged on the total including postage, and payment processing is deducted before funds are released. Build a simple sheet with the sale price, the fees, the postage cost, the packing cost and the original acquisition cost, and read the final column rather than the first.
Common questions
Should cards be graded before selling on eBay?
Only when the maths supports it. A graded card sells more easily to a remote buyer, but the fee and delay have to be recovered by the price difference.
How can a new seller build trust?
Accurate descriptions, fast dispatch, tracked postage and prompt replies. Feedback volume compounds; the first twenty sales matter disproportionately.
What is the biggest mistake sellers make?
Listing the wrong parallel. It produces either a lost sale or an unhappy buyer, and both are avoidable with two minutes spent on the card back.