Where do I go?
 

I have several cards that I have picked up, graded, etc. I have been trying to get more into this as I have taken interest in owning a hobby shop. I have a friend who's willing to sell his to me.

My thing is I want to develop a following, or network. I can get just about any card that someone may want, plus I have a lot of my own personal ones.

I have started on EBay. Doing pretty good. I know this is a learning experience & I cherish greatly.

I have so many cool cards but not everything needs to be running through EBay, know what I mean? Are there other places, people might suggest..

I know Facebook, not quite sure how to get Twitter or Instagram marketing. That seems like a lot.

Try the buy, sell, and trade section on here.

If it is going to be a business make sure you have a business(tax) license and keep very good records of every card you buy and sell. It is a lot more work than most people think. After the first year when I was dealing cards I hired an accountant to do all the paper work. It is expensive but well worth it for me. Laws are different everywhere but where i live if you sell even 1 card you have to declare it as income even if you are not doing it as a business. I would guess at least 99% of people selling cards are doing it illegally.

One of the biggest tips I can give is use eBay to advertise, it is not for selling the majority of your stuff on the site.

It will be tough IMHO to make a brick and mortar store profitable in this electronic age.

Best of luck,

Larry

I definitely have it as a business. I live in Massachusetts so I have been trying to keep up on everything.

You mean to list my cards on Ebay & use the links to send to everyone? Just making sure I understand what you mean by using Ebay to advertise.

I eventually want to buy a card shop. I am actually in the process of getting my state bar license to be a lawyer but I wanted to use this business dynamic to get kids involved in sports and the importance of taking care of rare items. A strange angle, I know.

EBay is looking to charge fees for off site sales, so be careful with any link sharing and whatnot...They could try and charge a fee if they think you used their platform for the sale...

One might also say it is unethical to try and skip out on the fees...Don't get me started on the use of PP Friends and Family on this forum. hahahah I'm just messing with you animals, don't start hatin...

I can't imagine trying to run a shop while studying to be a lawyer. Just trying to do my prototyping stuff and taking care of the kids is plenty hard enough for me.

As far as marketing goes, just having a presence on a number of venues will be a help. Facebook, twitter, Ebay, youtube, maybe other's? It's a load of work. It can be as simple as "hey look at the new product that just arrived" or "a peek at the collection we just bought"

The shop I go to locally does Ebay, and even before Ebay used the internet to sell stuff that was good somewhere else but not as saleable for them. The day after Curtis Martin went to the Jets they sold nearly their entire inventory to a dealer in NJ. Not at retail, but for a decent price. They got rid of an entire showcase of stuff that wasn't in demand anymore, and the guy in NJ got an instant inventory of the local teams new star player. A win for everyone. The same would go for Ebay, locally, cards from non-local teams don't sell as well, but will bring more faster on ebay.


I like the angle, but I'm not sure how it would work as a business. It just might, but the biggest group of customers probably won't be into it. New cards vs vintage, totally different groups. If I were a customer and there was a bit of focus on taking care of rare items I'd expect to see a really good line of supplies.

I can share what the stamp dealer I go to told me when I wanted to get into dealing with a goal of eventually doing it full time.
1) Always learn more
2) you can't know everything but you an become a good guesser. Meaning you'll run into things that aren't typical, and you need a good feel for what's "good" and what's not.
3) don't marry your mistakes, move them along for whatever is reasonable and try not to make the same mistake again. In card terms, lets say you buy a collection based on bulk and estimate wrong. Maybe half the monster boxes are only half full, or the 100,000 cards don't really include any better cards but are all commons. Don't store the stuff, send it to someone else, and check the next collection a bit better.
4)Don't obsess over making every last dollar, if you buy a $60 card for $20 and can sell it almost instantly for $40 that's better than holding it a year waiting for 60. And the person who got a deal from you will probably buy more stuff over time. (especially if it's a dealer and you've got a steady supply of stuff they do well with)

I worked a show with him, and he made more selling to other dealers before the show opened than he did the entire rest of the show. Everyone specializes a bit, and he would set aside things for someone else who specialized in that area.

There's so much more, the balance between lowballing and overpaying, How much space to commit to a category, Probably a ton of stuff I don't even know about.

Steve B

Personally I think a forum shouldn't dictate how it's members pay for their stuff. I could care less. It's not my deal and the forum isn't liable for anything. Caveat emptor and have fun!!

Concerns I have about PP Friends...

- It is definitely unethical to escape those fees, knowing goods were bought and sold. Hey do it if you please, I eat cheddar popcorn and watch cat porn on Friday nights. Wait, today is Friday!!! Meooooow....

- No protection between the parties involved.

- Most important to me. If someone pays friends and family, I can't print a shipping label from PayPal. (Just found this out yesterday.) I ain't trying to write something out and have to stand in line to ship. hahah

Solution- Don't take it. Man, wish they were all that easy. Now for all of the other members that want to use it, they can. No forum rules broken. Paypal is a very profitable company and I am guessing they probably know a few folks use it for goods...and my guess is they still make way more money than not offering it. To each their own on this forum. I have always felt the fewer rules the better. I was told we are strict around here, yesterday. It concerned having a name by a post that was accusatorial. Yes, on that and a few other things, we are quite strict. Dictating how you do your business or collecting, not so much. Again, not griping about any other venue doing what they want to. Each should do the best they can for their members, imo. And of course no two businesses or forums are run the same. Each has imperfections as nothing is perfect. (except my wife)

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You have a concern about PP FF so I said don't take it. That should have alleviated your concern. It won't affect you.
You will be held accountable on this board, trust me, just like every other member. Also, please put your full name in your sig line and it needs to remain there as long as you are on this forum. Thanks....

btw, if a deal goes bad on this board yes, I do get involved as much as possible to help. Otherwise, my goal is to say out of our board members business.

I am not going to add my name to my signature. I am using my signature for trade links and stuff like that...

As long as you don't say anything that needs your full name, all is good.

My take on ff vs g&s. It is money. Money is used to pay for things. If I send my brother 400 bucks, likely it is ultimately to pay for something. My view is the fees are to cover the buyer in the event of dispute. Aka insurance. If I elect to take a leap of faith and assume that risk, then I can pay ff. If I get screwed, then tough *hit. May not be the rules of PayPal, but I believe it’s the intent.

Let’s assume my brother, myself and Leon are at a card show. I have no cash. My brother pays Leon 500 bucks in cash for a card. So now according to the t&s of PayPal I can pay my family 500 bucks without fees. What difference does “who” I pay matter. My 500 bucks paid for a card in this scenario, regardless of the recipient. So IMO, if I can stomach the risk(which I do occasionally) I pat via ff. If not I pay goods for the insurance. My .02

Mark Medlin

Back to the original questions, you can use COMC or blowoutforums.com to sell cards as well.