We began this wonderful journey about the same time. I have a solid customer base some even I consider friends. I have discovered places to sell my singles, no store front, no competition , at great prices that have led to sales of my higher end cards, boxes, and packs. I encourage people to go to my competition price things out and they keep coming back to me. I love what I do. When I can get an obscure Denver Broncos card for a customer who happened to play a round of golf with him and make a small profit it makes my day. That customer ended up buying 3 more cards from me at a nice little profit .
This is a great story Bill! It truly is a wonderful thing to be able to get certain cards to certain collectors out there in the world. There's a place for everyone in the hobby. The one thing I love about the low end space for me is that there are so many collectors out there that just enjoy buying cards they like of players they like. To be an outlet as a means to get it to them is great. Keep it up!
I'm so glad I found you and your videos! You're an inspiration to what I hope to achieve! I'm a nurse, working 12 hour midnight shifts, but collect and sell cards on eBay as a side hustle, hoping to one day open a business, possibly a card shop. I collected cards when I was younger, and I wanted to get back in to the hobby, after stopping when I went in the Navy in 1989. I did well in the stock market and bought a lot of cards at the start of 2022, hoping to just hold those for 5 years, then I was going to start up something. About half way through the year, I started seeing that prices were going higher, so I started on eBay, selling cards, DVD'S, and soccer jerseys that I collected from 17 years ago (sold the last of them during world cup). I want to just sell cards eventually, but I'm not opposed to memorabilia too. I mainly deal in low end cards like you, but I do have some slabs I picked up on Whatnot. I picked up a lot of low pop cards, and most were cheap enough to try and flip on eBay. Hopefully I can learn what I'm doing wrong, and I thank you for putting out these videos, because you've hit on about every point I've had a question about. I still have a few things to figure out, but hopefully everything will start to go a bit more smoothly in the future. Thanks again, and I'm going to check out your eBay site, to see if I can figure out a few more things. Love the videos!
Hi Kevin! I'm glad that you are able to find some value in my videos! I've been on eBay for many years, previous to selling sports cards, I mainly sold video games and collectibles from time to time, but not to level of consistency that I do with sports cards. About a year and half ago I decided to go all in with the lower end sports cards and have been learning my way as I go along. I'm sure you'll do great. There is also this great youtube channel called Daily Refinement that is all about reselling and I learned a lot from Chris there. If you haven't checked them out, I highly suggest doing so.
Right there with you. Not a whole lot of profit, but very enjoyable ripping packs and listing cards. Plus meeting cool people who share the same interest. Thanks for another great video
Thanks Sam, just like you said, it's enjoyable to rip packs and list and meet people with the same interest. I've been having a blast doing this and I find so much enjoyment in it. Thanks for watching!
Cool! Appreciate you stopping by and showing support! Jets Mamba is a cool dude. I've been following him since the beginning and love what he does. It was great to finally meet him at the Burbank Card Show!
Love the transparency and honestly bro!!! It’s a labor of love to be honest. Not big money but money to use to get make those grail cards more attainable. Love the video. Always looking forward to Sunday morning to see these videos!!!
Thanks brotha! It really is a labor of love. Any way to make those grails within reach I'm all for it! Thank you for watching and for your support as always!
Thanks Mervin! I'm doing well here. I was hoping that you would swing down for the Burbank Show! But maybe next time! Also glad to see you've been doing well with upgrading your collection!
Love your videos! You’ve motivated me to order my first thermal label and start my low end journey not sure if you have touched base in on this yet but can you go over the eBay tax situation you deal with yearly and how you go about it? Thank you and much respect!
Thank you for checking out my videos! Much appreciated. In terms of taxes, this was my first full year in doing this. This past year I did not meet the threshold to get a 1099-K from eBay. But I am pretty sure that will change this year. But what I have been doing is keeping a spreadsheet of my COGS as well as my profits and losses. I also keep track of any expenses such as travel for when I go to card shows. I keep track of the amount I spend on supplies (labels, envelopes, top loaders, etc) as well. I try to keep track of everything. Also, my wife has told me to keep aside a portion of my profits for tax purposes as well - which is helpful.
Love it. This is my exact process. I did this as a side hustle for years, then during the pandemic I treated it like a part time job. I scaled up and went full time in October 2021.
Thanks! I haven't really thought about going quite full time yet, but it is something I do plan on doing sometime in the future. As for now, it's been good as a side hustle!
Best profit is low end if your buying bulk. I do not list my dollar cards on ebay. But send to COMC and have about 25 2- row shoe boxes prepped tagged for $1.00/ea cards for shows, in rotatation at shows. I bring 4 boxes at a time. Also bring 4 4-row boxes of quarter cards with me. My goal is quarter boxes pays for table and gas. $1 boxes get me 200+ and all else is gravy. Do 2 shows a month . I make sure i try and find a $250+vintage card to buy every show or next day on ebay.
This is some great advice! I've only done one show as a dealer and I did well with my value boxes. I really like the goals you laid out in paying for the table and everything else being the cherry on top. I also love how you target certain cards too. A very sound strategy and a great way to pick up some nice vintage cards!
Great video. I agree 💯 I have many millions of dollars. But I still mess with low end cards just like you do. I don’t do it for income generation. I do it for the fun, and to me it’s a game of turning a profit or having cards I hold increase in value. It’s the thrill of the build. And if a $50 card goes to $100, it doesn’t affect my life but it is a fun victory. And my son is doing it with me and learning great lessons.
It's nice to hear that you are doing it with your son. It does provide great lessons and I too share this with my son. He mainly collects Pokemon, but I take him to card shows to learn about the art of negotiation and learning how to compound the profits to get that one big card he wants. The lessons learned whether you sell low end cards or high end cards is so valuable! Thank you for watching!
Amen brother! I do it because I love the hunting of the boxes nobody else wants to look through and the enjoyment of getting them into the right collector’s hands. Really enjoy the listing/selling experience. I’m finding BIN w/OBO is pretty effective! Thanks for the inspiration bro, my eBay store is up and rolling!🤙🏻
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it! That's a great way to put it - getting them into the right collector's hands. I may not need the card in my collection but there is someone out there who does and doesn't have access to it locally. Great words and keep it moving, sounds like you are doing great!
Great video. I'm right there with you. I've been collecting, selling and trading cards since the early 80s. My niche was $1, 2, 3, 5 and $10 cards.Never delt with high end cards. It was always about the love of the hobby/sports and interacting with other collectors. I never worried if I made a profit, only that I enjoyed what I was doing
Thank you, David! High end cards have a higher opportunity cost and I often found dealing with those as not as enjoyable. Getting to hold all these lower end cards is so cool and fun. I love being able to get a rare insert for a low price even if it's players who are no longer relevant or who get no hobby love. I love having discussions with dealers as I go through their value boxes and find a cool card and reminiscing about those days of collecting that I loved. Thank you again for the comment, much appreciated!
Exactly this. I started by trying to unload my junk wax era stuff and a few 70s football cards. I've had a little luck with yard sales for the former and by selling the latter on eBay, I discovered the fun to be had. I get to collect what I'm really interested in, gawk at and experience the others and sell them off to others who would appreciate them. A few cents here, a few dollars there, and my wife actually enjoys watching "The Shipping Department" kick into gear every now and then.
That's one of things I enjoy the most, Mike. Being able to just go through cards even I do not plan to keep them is so much fun to me. There are so many cool cards out there and there are many people who collect these types of cards, so might as well get them into their hands. My enjoyment is from being able to look at them and go through them. Plus I can use those profits to buy something that I've been wanting to add to my collection or to help build that set I've been working on!
You have helped me a bunch! I switched to PWE because of a previous video, my sales jumped. My goal is to add to my PC by selling the extras and stuff I pull from dollar boxes. A few amazing finds out of those boxes at shows, 2008 Kershaw update for $1 and 2 Wander Best rookies purple and blue. Off to the Phoenix show!
I appreciate the kind words, Jason. I'm glad you are able to grow in your sales. It does take time, but I find so much satisfaction in doing this. Keep it going, sounds like you are doing great!
Do you ever use some funds to buy packs or boxes? I know it’s usually not cost effective, but I still love the pack fresh cards and the chance to hit on a card that can really help fund the pc.
Only once in awhile when I have the itch to rip a retail blaster. If I run into some WWE blasters at my local Target, then I definitely buy those as those are always fun rips for me. As you said, it's not usually cost effective, but I consider the cost of ripping open those boxes as the price of entertainment, but I can only tolerate a certain price threshold as I feel that most of the hobby boxes are usually not worth the risk, unless it's Topps Series or one of the lower end sets at a reasonable price.
I always just like hunting for deals and finding cool cards to add to my collection while also selling my lower end cards for bigger cards. I have a question about your listings: There is an option on ebay to put a card name in the item specifics, what do you do for that would I put the players name, the card set?
For that portion of the listings, I put the card set in the "card name" in the item specifics. For example, I would put the name of the insert set - such as Dominance for the Prizm Dominance set. Or I would just put the word prizm, optic, fleer for just base cards. Hope that helps!
Ebay gives you 250 free listing for free a month. Do you know how much is after that I have a lot of low end cards. Am hoping to switch some to white envelopes shipping.
I have come to the realization everything has value and can sell. I don’t price anything under a dollar and have been surprised at the cards people have bought from me. I have recently been making a killing on base rookies from 2022 legacy football. I’ll certainly you sell higher priced cards as well but low end is where my volume comes from.
You'd be definitely surprised as to what sells. There are so many people who collect out there but don't have access to certain cards, so as a low end seller you are able to provide those cards for them. Selling higher priced cards is nice, but when you sell these lower end cards you are actually casting a wider net to more prospective buyers in those areas.
My lower end stuff goes to COMC or I do on lots on Ebay. As a higher end seller using the Ebay $1 PWE for lower end stuff is not an option. No way I risk my feedback I've built up for 17 years on a 99c sell plus my time in dealing with low end singles and shipping them.
Totally understand where you are coming from. It's not for everyone and especially if you've built up quite a reputation over the years as there are risks associated with selling lower end cards and shipping through PWE. Respect your point of view and what you are able to accomplish!
I would classify those cards as low end because most of those common base cards of the stars (non-rookies) you would be able to sell for around $1-$3 each. Even the rookies of these overproduced sets have made them worth only a few dollars. So for someone looking to make huge returns, these cards might not do that.
For me i love to collect cards. I have 10-13 types of tcg i been collecting. Im not here to make money. If i see i high end card i check how much it cost . Lets said i have a card that cost 100$ . First i examine my card if it looks perfect i sell it for 95$ but if i see its has dents,scratches etc then instead of selling 95$ i sell it for 40$ or depending how messy it is. But my question is how do i sell 1 cent to 50 cents cards? Without losing money?
What type of items do you sell? Some niches may be difficult to sell based on the customer base. Also other factors to consider are the price of the item and the title. I have a few items on my eBay store that don't get many views myself.
A lot of viewers have been asking me about COMC and if I sell on there. I've been more and more intrigued with going that route for some of the cards that are sitting on my ebay store for a while. Something I'm currently looking into!
We began this wonderful journey about the same time. I have a solid customer base some even I consider friends. I have discovered places to sell my singles, no store front, no competition , at great prices that have led to sales of my higher end cards, boxes, and packs. I encourage people to go to my competition price things out and they keep coming back to me.
I love what I do. When I can get an obscure Denver Broncos card for a customer who happened to play a round of golf with him and make a small profit it makes my day. That customer ended up buying 3 more cards from me at a nice little profit .
This is a great story Bill! It truly is a wonderful thing to be able to get certain cards to certain collectors out there in the world. There's a place for everyone in the hobby. The one thing I love about the low end space for me is that there are so many collectors out there that just enjoy buying cards they like of players they like. To be an outlet as a means to get it to them is great. Keep it up!
I'm so glad I found you and your videos! You're an inspiration to what I hope to achieve! I'm a nurse, working 12 hour midnight shifts, but collect and sell cards on eBay as a side hustle, hoping to one day open a business, possibly a card shop. I collected cards when I was younger, and I wanted to get back in to the hobby, after stopping when I went in the Navy in 1989. I did well in the stock market and bought a lot of cards at the start of 2022, hoping to just hold those for 5 years, then I was going to start up something. About half way through the year, I started seeing that prices were going higher, so I started on eBay, selling cards, DVD'S, and soccer jerseys that I collected from 17 years ago (sold the last of them during world cup). I want to just sell cards eventually, but I'm not opposed to memorabilia too. I mainly deal in low end cards like you, but I do have some slabs I picked up on Whatnot. I picked up a lot of low pop cards, and most were cheap enough to try and flip on eBay. Hopefully I can learn what I'm doing wrong, and I thank you for putting out these videos, because you've hit on about every point I've had a question about. I still have a few things to figure out, but hopefully everything will start to go a bit more smoothly in the future. Thanks again, and I'm going to check out your eBay site, to see if I can figure out a few more things. Love the videos!
Hi Kevin! I'm glad that you are able to find some value in my videos! I've been on eBay for many years, previous to selling sports cards, I mainly sold video games and collectibles from time to time, but not to level of consistency that I do with sports cards. About a year and half ago I decided to go all in with the lower end sports cards and have been learning my way as I go along. I'm sure you'll do great. There is also this great youtube channel called Daily Refinement that is all about reselling and I learned a lot from Chris there. If you haven't checked them out, I highly suggest doing so.
I'll have to check it out! Thanks!
Facts. It is all of what you make of it. I enjoy doing it.
Definitely! Hobby the way you want to! Ain't no right or wrong way as long as you are enjoying what you are doing!
100% agree brother!! Yeah I don't make a lot of profit but just like you, it's a hobby that I enjoy.
So true! It's a hobby, it should be something that you enjoy! Otherwise it wouldn't be so much of a hobby now would it?
Hey I just wanted to say I love the vids
Thanks Brandon! I appreciate the kind words and your support!
Great video. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Glad you were able to find value in it!
It is your hobby. You are helping collectors find inexpensive cards online.
Great words, Ted. Couldn't have said it better myself!
On point every time. Awesome content Josh! 💯👍
Thank you as always!
As long as you're happy & not hurting others, it doesn't matter what others think, keep doing you!
Thanks! Definitely happy with what I'm doing. It's enjoyable and so much fun. Thank you for the kind words!
Right there with you. Not a whole lot of profit, but very enjoyable ripping packs and listing cards. Plus meeting cool people who share the same interest. Thanks for another great video
U sell on ebay ? My listings receive no views 🥺
Thanks Sam, just like you said, it's enjoyable to rip packs and list and meet people with the same interest. I've been having a blast doing this and I find so much enjoyment in it. Thanks for watching!
Just found your channel through Jets Mamba’s recent video upload. Subbed to your channel 🇵🇭
Cool! Appreciate you stopping by and showing support! Jets Mamba is a cool dude. I've been following him since the beginning and love what he does. It was great to finally meet him at the Burbank Card Show!
Love the transparency and honestly bro!!! It’s a labor of love to be honest. Not big money but money to use to get make those grail cards more attainable. Love the video. Always looking forward to Sunday morning to see these videos!!!
Thanks brotha! It really is a labor of love. Any way to make those grails within reach I'm all for it! Thank you for watching and for your support as always!
That Red Ruby Kobe 🔥 Hope all is well Josh!
Thanks Mervin! I'm doing well here. I was hoping that you would swing down for the Burbank Show! But maybe next time! Also glad to see you've been doing well with upgrading your collection!
I’m right there with you brother!
Thank you, David! Glad you have the same sentiments!
Love your videos! You’ve motivated me to order my first thermal label and start my low end journey not sure if you have touched base in on this yet but can you go over the eBay tax situation you deal with yearly and how you go about it? Thank you and much respect!
Thank you for checking out my videos! Much appreciated. In terms of taxes, this was my first full year in doing this. This past year I did not meet the threshold to get a 1099-K from eBay. But I am pretty sure that will change this year.
But what I have been doing is keeping a spreadsheet of my COGS as well as my profits and losses. I also keep track of any expenses such as travel for when I go to card shows. I keep track of the amount I spend on supplies (labels, envelopes, top loaders, etc) as well.
I try to keep track of everything. Also, my wife has told me to keep aside a portion of my profits for tax purposes as well - which is helpful.
Love it. This is my exact process. I did this as a side hustle for years, then during the pandemic I treated it like a part time job. I scaled up and went full time in October 2021.
Thanks! I haven't really thought about going quite full time yet, but it is something I do plan on doing sometime in the future. As for now, it's been good as a side hustle!
Best profit is low end if your buying bulk. I do not list my dollar cards on ebay. But send to COMC and have about 25 2- row shoe boxes prepped tagged for $1.00/ea cards for shows, in rotatation at shows. I bring 4 boxes at a time. Also bring 4 4-row boxes of quarter cards with me. My goal is quarter boxes pays for table and gas. $1 boxes get me 200+ and all else is gravy. Do 2 shows a month . I make sure i try and find a $250+vintage card to buy every show or next day on ebay.
This is some great advice! I've only done one show as a dealer and I did well with my value boxes. I really like the goals you laid out in paying for the table and everything else being the cherry on top. I also love how you target certain cards too. A very sound strategy and a great way to pick up some nice vintage cards!
Great video. I agree 💯
I have many millions of dollars. But I still mess with low end cards just like you do. I don’t do it for income generation. I do it for the fun, and to me it’s a game of turning a profit or having cards I hold increase in value. It’s the thrill of the build.
And if a $50 card goes to $100, it doesn’t affect my life but it is a fun victory. And my son is doing it with me and learning great lessons.
It's nice to hear that you are doing it with your son. It does provide great lessons and I too share this with my son. He mainly collects Pokemon, but I take him to card shows to learn about the art of negotiation and learning how to compound the profits to get that one big card he wants. The lessons learned whether you sell low end cards or high end cards is so valuable! Thank you for watching!
Amen brother! I do it because I love the hunting of the boxes nobody else wants to look through and the enjoyment of getting them into the right collector’s hands. Really enjoy the listing/selling experience. I’m finding BIN w/OBO is pretty effective! Thanks for the inspiration bro, my eBay store is up and rolling!🤙🏻
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it! That's a great way to put it - getting them into the right collector's hands. I may not need the card in my collection but there is someone out there who does and doesn't have access to it locally. Great words and keep it moving, sounds like you are doing great!
Great video. I'm right there with you. I've been collecting, selling and trading cards since the early 80s. My niche was $1, 2, 3, 5 and $10 cards.Never delt with high end cards. It was always about the love of the hobby/sports and interacting with other collectors. I never worried if I made a profit, only that I enjoyed what I was doing
Thank you, David! High end cards have a higher opportunity cost and I often found dealing with those as not as enjoyable. Getting to hold all these lower end cards is so cool and fun. I love being able to get a rare insert for a low price even if it's players who are no longer relevant or who get no hobby love. I love having discussions with dealers as I go through their value boxes and find a cool card and reminiscing about those days of collecting that I loved. Thank you again for the comment, much appreciated!
Wise words Josh, for the love of the hobby hey
Definitely for the hobby! I love this hobby.
Exactly this. I started by trying to unload my junk wax era stuff and a few 70s football cards. I've had a little luck with yard sales for the former and by selling the latter on eBay, I discovered the fun to be had. I get to collect what I'm really interested in, gawk at and experience the others and sell them off to others who would appreciate them. A few cents here, a few dollars there, and my wife actually enjoys watching "The Shipping Department" kick into gear every now and then.
That's one of things I enjoy the most, Mike. Being able to just go through cards even I do not plan to keep them is so much fun to me. There are so many cool cards out there and there are many people who collect these types of cards, so might as well get them into their hands. My enjoyment is from being able to look at them and go through them. Plus I can use those profits to buy something that I've been wanting to add to my collection or to help build that set I've been working on!
You have helped me a bunch! I switched to PWE because of a previous video, my sales jumped. My goal is to add to my PC by selling the extras and stuff I pull from dollar boxes. A few amazing finds out of those boxes at shows, 2008 Kershaw update for $1 and 2 Wander Best rookies purple and blue. Off to the Phoenix show!
I appreciate the kind words, Jason. I'm glad you are able to grow in your sales. It does take time, but I find so much satisfaction in doing this. Keep it going, sounds like you are doing great!
Do you ever use some funds to buy packs or boxes? I know it’s usually not cost effective, but I still love the pack fresh cards and the chance to hit on a card that can really help fund the pc.
Only once in awhile when I have the itch to rip a retail blaster. If I run into some WWE blasters at my local Target, then I definitely buy those as those are always fun rips for me. As you said, it's not usually cost effective, but I consider the cost of ripping open those boxes as the price of entertainment, but I can only tolerate a certain price threshold as I feel that most of the hobby boxes are usually not worth the risk, unless it's Topps Series or one of the lower end sets at a reasonable price.
I always just like hunting for deals and finding cool cards to add to my collection while also selling my lower end cards for bigger cards. I have a question about your listings: There is an option on ebay to put a card name in the item specifics, what do you do for that would I put the players name, the card set?
For that portion of the listings, I put the card set in the "card name" in the item specifics. For example, I would put the name of the insert set - such as Dominance for the Prizm Dominance set. Or I would just put the word prizm, optic, fleer for just base cards. Hope that helps!
Ebay gives you 250 free listing for free a month. Do you know how much is after that I have a lot of low end cards. Am hoping to switch some to white envelopes shipping.
I think it’s $0.30 per listing after you finish the free listings.
I have come to the realization everything has value and can sell. I don’t price anything under a dollar and have been surprised at the cards people have bought from me. I have recently been making a killing on base rookies from 2022 legacy football. I’ll certainly you sell higher priced cards as well but low end is where my volume comes from.
You'd be definitely surprised as to what sells. There are so many people who collect out there but don't have access to certain cards, so as a low end seller you are able to provide those cards for them. Selling higher priced cards is nice, but when you sell these lower end cards you are actually casting a wider net to more prospective buyers in those areas.
My lower end stuff goes to COMC or I do on lots on Ebay. As a higher end seller using the Ebay $1 PWE for lower end stuff is not an option. No way I risk my feedback I've built up for 17 years on a 99c sell plus my time in dealing with low end singles and shipping them.
Totally understand where you are coming from. It's not for everyone and especially if you've built up quite a reputation over the years as there are risks associated with selling lower end cards and shipping through PWE. Respect your point of view and what you are able to accomplish!
If the person view Prizm, Select and Optic as low end then yes low end aint worth it.
I would classify those cards as low end because most of those common base cards of the stars (non-rookies) you would be able to sell for around $1-$3 each. Even the rookies of these overproduced sets have made them worth only a few dollars. So for someone looking to make huge returns, these cards might not do that.
For me i love to collect cards. I have 10-13 types of tcg i been collecting. Im not here to make money. If i see i high end card i check how much it cost . Lets said i have a card that cost 100$ . First i examine my card if it looks perfect i sell it for 95$ but if i see its has dents,scratches etc then instead of selling 95$ i sell it for 40$ or depending how messy it is. But my question is how do i sell 1 cent to 50 cents cards? Without losing money?
What websites do you sell and buy your cards on if you buy your cards from websites?
When I buy cards online, I mainly buy lots through eBay.
Why my posts has no views 😕
What type of items do you sell? Some niches may be difficult to sell based on the customer base. Also other factors to consider are the price of the item and the title. I have a few items on my eBay store that don't get many views myself.
Do you ever try comc. You can do sports cards flipping there too
A lot of viewers have been asking me about COMC and if I sell on there. I've been more and more intrigued with going that route for some of the cards that are sitting on my ebay store for a while. Something I'm currently looking into!