Selling football sports cards online is really just a matter of knowing where the buyers are, and knowing how to show off what you have in the right way. This is not a tough thing to do if you know where to go, and have a basic grasp on the sports card market. It is also important that you use more than one avenue to sell your football cards. Not every market is the same for football cards because of the various niches found within the hobby. Here are some surefire tips on how to sell your football cards online effectively:
The first thing you want to do is to know the hobby. Certain cards and players are hot at certain times. For example, during the start of the NFL football season, the newest rookies are sure to be red hot. The NFL markets their rookies on what is called rookie cards. These cards are the first NFL football cards that they appear on, and will forever hold a special significance throughout their careers. Due to this, it is important that you know when to sell them and when to hold on to them.
The key is to use some common sense. Players from the larger schools that play the important positions are sure to be red hot during the early part of the NFL season. These cards will usually be trading at very high levels due to the speculation that they will be huge stars. Some people are the investors, and some people are the sellers. You want to be the seller or you would not be reading this article.
That said, you should be selling any cards of hot NFL rookies while they are hot. Some people try to hold on to certain rookies in the hopes that their cards will soar, but this is a flawed idea. The reason? Because the vast majority of cards will drop in value as the season progresses. For every Adrian Peterson, there are thousands of Ryan Leafs, or Tony Mandarichs.
You are much better off selling those cards while they are hot, and instead investing in some of the lesser known players at key positions. An example of this for 2009 would be selling all of your Matthew Staffords and Mark Sanchez cards right now, and holding onto those lower level rookies to see if they make a splash. You would not get much if anything for them anyway right now, so it is a logical investment strategy. What of Mark Sanchez, however? Right now, you can sell his cards at serious premiums because of his great start. One knee injury and you would be stuck with those cards. A dollar in the hand is worth…. you know the old adage.
The best place to sell sports cards in general, and football in particular is still Ebay. Ebay is not nearly as good as years past, but they are still the major place to sell most anything that is collectible or used. When you post the items for sale, make sure you post pictures and describe condition. If you do not do this, you will get zero bids for your cards from any serious collector. This is because that is the most important factor in trading cards.
Another great place to sell your football cards is called Sportlots. This is a much smaller venue than Ebay, but it is filled with passionate collectors. That is worth it’s weight in gold to a seller.
The last place is called Beckett.com. This is the website of the world famous price guide magazine, and they offer online stores, as well as collector’s selling avenues for football cards. They are not designed as much for the collector that is selling, as much as the collector that is buying, however.
All of these are things to keep in mind when selling your football cards online. Sell when the cards are hot, and sit on the sleepers. Take the time to look around before you sell, and make sure you are using the best venue to sell. Any one of the three markets above will give you that.
