The short answer: match the channel to the cards. Modern singles sell fastest on TCGplayer, slabs and sealed on eBay, bulk goes to bulk buyers at flat rates, and a whole collection sells today at 50-70% of market to a store or buyer. I have sold through every one of these channels; here is the routing table, then the TCGplayer speedrun that new sellers always ask about.
The routing table
| What you have | Sell it at | Speed | Take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern singles ($1-100) | TCGplayer | Days | Market minus ~10-15% fees |
| Graded slabs, vintage, sealed, lots | eBay | Days-weeks | Market minus ~13-14% fees |
| Bulk (commons, uncommons, cheap holos) | Bulk buyers / eBay lots | Same week | Flat rates per card |
| A whole collection, cash today | Local store / established buyer | Same day | 50-70% of market |
| Sealed + repeat customers | Your own storefront | Ongoing | Market minus ~3% processing |
Before any route: price the cards from live market data, not memory. Every channel's "good deal" is defined against the real number, and sellers who skip this step donate the difference.
Let the router decide
The where-to-sell router asks four questions (what it is, what it is worth, how many, and whether you want the most money, the fastest cash or the least effort) and answers with a channel, the reasons, and what you keep after fees on every alternative. The monthly sell report says which cards are worth selling this month.
The TCGplayer level-up speedrun
New TCGplayer sellers start at Level 1: capped listing count and value (slots count per card, not per unique listing) and fixed shipping. Levels rise on completed orders and clean feedback, and Level 4 unlocks customizable shipping, which is where sales velocity really starts. The speedrun I used:
- List tracked-shipping cards over $20 first. Tracked orders mark complete in 3-4 days; plain white envelopes take about 6 business days. Early on, completion speed is the rank-up currency.
- Protect feedback fanatically: honest conditions, fast shipping, instant refunds when something goes wrong. One early negative costs more than the order did.
- Once leveled, tune shipping strategy to inventory. With deep bulk inventory, free shipping over $5 puts your listings at the top of price-sorted results and lifts order values as buyers pad carts to cross the threshold; with thin inventory, priced shipping protects margin. I have run both; they are tools, not ideologies.
Volume sellers eventually graduate to TCGplayer Direct, where consolidated shipping changes the economics again.
Picking your own mix
Most real sellers run two or three channels at once, and the deeper guides cover each: the selling overview, eBay, bulk, and opening your own store. If you only remember one thing: dollars per hour beats dollars. A 60% same-day buyout is often the right trade for a one-time seller, and the worst outcome in this hobby is a collection that spends two years "about to be listed."