General Forum

So I have a wide collection, and my parents are encouraging me to start an eBay account to sell cards that I don't care about for cards I do want. I'm only seventeen and want to own my own card shop one day. They say it would be a great learning experience to prepare me for life, what are your guy's thoughts? 

It seems most of us here are trying to move things we don't want and get things we need. Unless you are considering eBay just for money, you should look into doing some trading here.

First, according to ebay policy, you must be at least 18 to have an ebay account. You can use an adults account with their permission.

Ebay will definitely give you experience in dealing with customers. Especially, the bad customers.

I've been an ebayer for the past 14 years. I took the plunge one year ago and tried selling for the first time. It was one card to "test the waters". Now I take advantage of the 50 free listings each month. 

At the same time you can list your cards here on a For Sale/Trade list and your needs on a Wantlist.

In 2017, an Ebay account is a card shop.  The days of brick & mortar card shops is over as there are relatively few left, and I'm sure they're not too profitable.  

You might want to also look into COMC. I've been in the hobby since 1988- longer than you've been alive- and until last year I was a strict hard-line non seller. Then I discovered COMC. I had so much fun buying on there I sent in some cards of my own to sell, and they have...53 out of 100 have sold from the batch I sent in September. I've used the funds I generated from that to purchase other cards. It is less of a hassle than Ebay too.

I've sold on eBay. You will get experience from eBay, both good and bad. You will deal with fees, not to mention realization of card prices not selling for what you think or hoped they should. Every once in a while I will sell, but timing helps. If you want to get rid of unwanted cards so you can get ones you want, look no further. This is by far the best site I've come across. Being able to categorize your collection and want lists/ for trade makes it so easy. And the traders here? Some of the best I've met. Hope this helps, good luck!

I agree to a point, online is a HUGE part of the market eBay or otherwise but if brick and mortar was not profitable then how would there even be a hobby?? Every good online shop liekly has a brick and mortar presence somewhere, might be named differently but 99.9% of the places I buy from exist as an actual business. And as for the B&M shop I go to in the city, they say that the money is there if done correctly. And Edmonton just happens to have around a half dozen shops. Might be different down south but the hobby seems to do well enough up here where the business is warranted. Case and point, In my town our shop just disappeared the other day and not even a notice on thier facebook page. Rumor is they "moved" but this happened mere days before the Hometown Hockey festival was here. And the shop was all of one block away from the broadcast booth. =( Oh well, thats why I stick to Edmonton ..... less chance they will up and disappear.

I've been on ebay since 1998. My best friend from high school has had 5 or 6 card shops since 1990. Some lasted longer than others. He had one that he started back in 2014. Didn't make it through 2016. I don't want to talk you out of starting a card shop, but it takes a great dea lof investment in time and money to get it started and keep it going. RtD87 has the right idea - online card shops seem to be the way today. Stick with ebay/COMC/Sportlots. COMC you have to send the cards to them. The others, you control the cards. I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do.

well congrats and best of luck to learning the biz world.. as many dealers and others on here would say, the Top 3 rules of business is : Location , Location, Location! unfort and fort.. the use of online shopping has dominated and like others had mentioned, the good ol card shops are dwindling-- although there are still many who would rather see first hand what they are getting. Now a-days i think its more about Shipping, Shipping, Shipping and the "whats hot" . If you're gonna do it just for the money, you really need to see what you're product is worth compared to the shipping and other behind the scenes cost you maybe putting out. there are other websites as well, like mentioned, COMC, Sportslot (better for selling commons) , JustCommons that may fit your need and style. In the end, it may come to down trial and error finding out what works best for you in order to make a return. and..most of all.. don't get your hopes up when you start, thinking you're going to make a million bucks over night-- got to take the good with the bad.. it may take time to sell some items off for what you're trying to get (resonably). Now when ppl spend $125 a box with 5 cards in it, the automatically expect to get at least $25 a card-- that aint the case. many ppl who constantly buy are just waiting for the price to drop. it all depends and situational, but if you're doing it for the love and fun of it and not to concerned about taking a loss now and possibly earning something later- its worht it. either way---good luck!!

I've been on eBay since 2009. By no means am I a big seller, but I've made about 50 sales. It's fun and almost guaranteed to get you a sale, albeit perhaps at a lower price than you thought, especially with fees. But I've loved it. 

All I'll say in terms of unwanted advice is: be professional. List items carefully and honestly. Ship quickly and communicate well. Don't ask $50 for a $5 item. Take lots of good pictures. Answer questions promptly. An extra few bucks here and there is generally not worth it if you're hurting your reputation. Do all this, and you really will learn keys to running a business and you'll do just fine. 

Good luck. 

V3