Hobby Education: eBay Auctions vs. Buy It Now for Selling Sports Cards

Choosing the right listing type can make a bigger difference than many sellers realize.

Sports Card Collage | GSC

There are plenty of places where you can sell your sports cards, including auction houses and social media platforms where you can sell directly to other collectors. The most popular option, however, is eBay. It's one of the easiest ways to sell cards, particularly if you're looking to get paid quickly.

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And something that many new eBay sellers don't realize is that the type of listing they choose is extremely important. Deciding between an auction and a Buy It Now listing can impact both how quickly your card sells and how much money you get for it. Each option has its own pros and cons, so let's take a look at what each one brings to the table.

eBay Auctions

For cards that don't sell very often, auctions can be a high-risk, high-reward option. All it takes is two people getting into a bidding war for you to end up with a much higher sale price than expected. That said, there's always the chance that your card underperforms if enough interested buyers don't show up. Because of that, auctions are often used by sellers who want to ensure their card sells at a particular time, and where there is enough sales history on the card to make a reasonable estimate of its value.

Buy It Now Listings

Buy It Now listings are a good way to ensure you get the price you're looking for, but they come with a tradeoff. While you control the price, you lose control over the timing of the sale, and there's no guarantee that the card will sell at all. And although this can be frustrating for some sellers, plenty of collectors and flippers don't mind waiting. As long as they aren't short on cash, many are happy to let a card sit on the market, particularly if they feel they bought it at a great price and believe the right buyer will eventually come along. That said, if you do choose this listing method, keep the following principle in mind. It's something that often goes unnoticed.

When Buy It Now Listings Can Hurt Value

Buy It Now listings have another drawback when you're dealing with extremely rare cards that don't sell very often. Buyers often assume that if a card hasn't sold yet, it must be worth less than the asking price (even if it's priced fairly). And when collectors see the same card sitting on eBay for months, they can start to forget just how rare it really is. Sellers can sometimes unintentionally hurt the perceived value of their own cards.

In these situations, it may make more sense to send the card to auction, where buyers are less focused on a listed price and more focused on what they're willing to pay. Keep in mind that this isn't a guaranteed strategy, so it's important to do your research. And if you've done the work to justify your asking price, don't be afraid to hold firm on a Buy It Now listing if that's the route you'd rather take.