10 Things I’ve Learned Flipping Pokémon Cards on eBay in 2023
Introduction
For the majority of my time in the hobby, I’ve considered myself a collector and investor rather than a flipper. Whenever I bought Pokémon cards, I did so with a long-term time horizon in mind — I’m talking years or even decades before I’d even think about selling.
Things have changed a bit recently. While I definitely still collect cards and hold slabs long-term, I’ve now also incorporated flipping into my hobby experience.
That all started when I picked up a large binder collection from Facebook Marketplace early this summer because it contained a raw Lugia V Alt Art from Silver Tempest that I was hoping to grade and hold long-term. As it turned out upon closer examination, that card probably wouldn’t have received a 10 (it’s a personal principle of mine to only invest in 10’s when it comes to modern cards), so I decided to sell it — as well as every other card in that binder, piecemeal — on eBay.
A few months later, I’ve managed to flip almost everything in that binder, netting myself a nice little £50 profit. Nothing to call home about, sure, but also not too shabby considering that a short-term flip was never the goal.
More to the point, the ease at which I was able to move the more valuable stuff in that collection had me intrigued. The last time I had sold any cards was during the covid-19 Pokémon card boom, when the market was at its all-time peak; given that things have died down a lot since then, the fact that those binder cards were still so liquid both surprised and excited me. I started buying and flipping regularly, to the point that it’s now become a legitimate side hustle.
Here’s what I’ve learned doing it.
Make sure you know how to calculate eBay fees in order to accurately forecast profit margins
I was lucky enough to have snagged that binder at a cheap enough price where eBay’s fees didn’t completely screw me over. I had known about fees at the time, but I didn’t realise exactly how steep they were; my casual perusal of eBay Sold listings had me initially calculating my overall profit to be closer to £100 than £50. Here’s a very handy eBay fee calculator to make sure that you don’t make the same mistake as I did.
Ultra-modern Pokémon is super liquid; everything else… not so much
Everything in that binder I picked up this past summer was from Crown Zenith onwards; the first card I listed sold within the hour. More recently, I picked up a Scarlet & Violet Base master set and flipped every secret rare in less than a week. Same thing with an Obsidian Flames bundle I won on auction a couple weeks ago.
Meanwhile, things that I would term “mid-modern” (i.e., Sun & Moon-era GX cards, XY-era EX cards, even V cards from older Sword & Shield sets) simply haven’t been moving as fast. For example, I recently picked up a bundle that was comprised of a mixed lot of GX, EX, V and Shiny Vault cards. Despite recent sold listings putting me firmly in profit even after fees, most of them are still sitting there after about a month.
Note: this probably doesn’t apply to the higher-end chase cards from mid-modern sets, which I imagine are still fairly liquid (though still less so than ultra-modern chase cards!); it’s just that I mostly have experience with lower-value “bulk hits” from those sets. I also don’t have much experience with vintage WOTC-era stuff, which I imagine is also quite liquid.
The takeaway here is that the hobby is alive and well: ultra-modern Pokémon is very, very popular, and the market is constantly turning its head towards the newest releases. There will be a time and place for older stuff, but that time isn’t now. If you’re looking to flip for a quick profit now, focus on ultra-modern.
Patience is key; some things may take a while to move, but they will move
All that being said, it’s important to keep in mind that everything will still move.
Pokémon is still Pokémon, and there’s a market out there for all of it.
I’ve had cards sitting on eBay for months and months with barely any views before — *cha-ching*, “You made the sale for…”. All it takes is one person looking to complete a set or add to their collection of some random, obscure Pokémon.
As a matter of fact, while writing this very article, I just sold a Lugia VSTAR jumbo card (not exactly the hottest item with collectors) that was part of the Lugia V binder mentioned in the introduction. I was on the verge of losing all hope on it, but there ya go!
Selling via auction will almost always net you less than a Buy it Now listing
Unless you’re the first to market with the hottest chase card from the newest set, auction sales will almost always get you less than an eventual Buy it Now sale. That’s because auctions limit the amount of time you can get eyes on your listing while also filtering out buyers who don’t immediately have the capital on hand (but who would otherwise be interested in buying at a later time).
While I personally only sell via Buy It Nows (while making liberal use of the “Send offer to buyers” feature), sometimes you just need the cash fast and that’s perfectly okay. Or maybe you got a bulk lot at such a good deal that even an auction sale will nab you good profit and you’d rather have that capital in hand to do other things with. Your call!
Search for large bundles, joblots and collections on auction when sourcing inventory
When buying, on the other hand, you’ll want to be looking almost exclusively at auctions using the keywords “collection”, “bundle” and/or “joblot”. The bigger the bundle, the better. Generally speaking, the more valuable a lot is, the smaller your pool of bidding competitors will be (unless, of course, it’s a super sought-after chase card).
When I’ve got my eye on a bundle/joblot/collection, I like to quickly and conservatively (this is important) estimate its total value by looking up recent sold listings for some (or all) of the cards. I’ll then take 15% off to account for fees and shipping, and then a bit more at my discretion to increase my profit margins and/or create some wiggle room for sending offers. I’ll then set that as my highest bid and forget about it. If that bid is enough to win it, great; if not, I move on to the next bundle, making sure to not FOMO bid beyond my initial highest bid.
Pictures matter… a lot
The number of listings I see on eBay with blurry photos, terrible lighting and no pics of the back of the card is astounding.
While I’d like to think I’ve never been the worst offender in this regard, I’ve definitely had my slip-ups in the past, too. One very salient example that comes to mind is a Reshiram RC22/RC25 full art card I listed way back in June. It was an LP card with some noticeable whitening on the back edges. Not the worst condition relative to other listings on eBay (it’s a fairly old card at this point), but my pictures did it absolutely no favours: it was in a dusty, scratched-up toploader and held in my hand with my messy room visible in the back. The listing got a steady stream of views over the course of a few months, but zero watchers. When I finally got around to taking a couple of new pictures out of the toploader and against a flat surface, the watchers started piling on. A few weeks later, it sold.
I’m not saying you need a scanner or a professional lighting setup, guys; just make it presentable!
Undercutting is a surefire way to increase sales volume
A nice little compromise in between selling things quickly via auction versus sitting on something for a long time with a BIN listing is to price your BIN competitively… as competitively as you can, in fact.
As long as your card is fairly liquid and your pictures/title are clear, setting it as the cheapest listing on eBay will all but guarantee that it will sell quickly. This is a good option if you have the profit margins for it (i.e., you’re able to source cheap inventory) and your main priority is sales volume. I personally really like the dopamine rush I get from hearing my phone go *cha-ching* a few times a day, so I often undercut (or get close to it) myself. This way, I get the added benefit of always having cash on hand to source more inventory.
Ship with tracking information to prevent fraudulent “did not receive” claims
eBay is renowned for its phenomenal buyer’s protection. This means that whenever there’s any kind of ambiguity — such as in the case of an untracked shipment that the buyer claims did not arrive — eBay will side with the buyer and you will be compelled to initiate a refund.
While the vast, vast majority of eBay buyers are decent, honest people, shipping without tracking (such as via Royal Mail 1st or 2nd Class letter in the UK) nevertheless opens you up to bad actors initiating “did not receive” claims even if they did receive it. Since there’s no way to prove that it was delivered, you’ll be forced to refund the buyer while taking a hit to your seller rating (and also potentially receive negative feedback).
The easiest way to circumvent this is to ship with tracking. In the UK, the cheapest tracked option is Royal Mail’s 2nd Class Signed For Letter, which currently costs £2.25 (and also insures you up to £20 in case Royal Mail does actually lose the parcel). However, this often isn’t feasible with lower value cards that simply do not sell for more than, say, £1.99 all in. In such cases, your only option is to purchase and print a regular 2nd Class label through eBay (£0.75) rather than use a standard Royal Mail stamp; while not strictly a tracking number, this printed postage label will include a reference number that eBay will accept as “tracking” for the purposes of defending a fraudulent “did not receive” claim.
Semi-rigid card savers are by far the most cost-effective option for shipping multiple cards securely
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Sometimes, when they fit together thematically, it makes sense to sell cards as bundles rather than as singles. Not only does this save you time on listing, it also allows you to consolidate shipping costs.
When shipping multiple cards, I’ve found that semi-rigid card savers are easily the cheapest solution for packaging without compromising on protection. In my experience, a quality card saver (such as from VaultX) can easily fit up to 15 sleeved cards. For comparison, a standard 35-pt toploader (which is around twice as expensive as a card saver) can only fit 2 sleeved cards. This then allows you to save on shipping: 6 cards slipped into a card saver can still qualify for a regular letter in the UK (£0.75 for 2nd Class), whereas 6 cards stored in 3 toploaders will require you to ship as a large letter (£1.15 for 2nd Class).
Evaluate if the profit margin is worth your time
Flipping isn’t easy. Sourcing inventory for cheap can be tough. Selling said inventory can be tougher. And the whole process, from finding good deals to listing each card to packaging and shipping, takes time — often for not all that much profit.
Is it worth your time? That’s ultimately for you to decide.
Personally, I love everything to do with cards, which makes the whole process quite enjoyable. A bit of extra cash doesn’t hurt, either. There are certainly moments when I wonder if there are better things I could be doing with my time… but then I remember that we all need hobbies.
And messing around with shiny cardboard is one of the coolest hobbies out there.
Flipping Pokemon cards can be a fun way to understand the market, earn some extra cash and roll up your investment. Here are 10 things I’ve learned flipping Pokemon cards on eBay that might help you out on your own flipping journey.