10 Tips for Buying Wholesale Sports Cards Online
Trading cards have been a huge part of sports culture since the mid-1800s when people first started to buy baseball cards. Later, people began to buy football cards and soccer cards, as well. Today, virtually every popular team sport has trading cards to match it.
But how do people get into sports cards? Do you know where to buy sports cards online at wholesale prices? What are the advantages of buying wholesale sports cards?
Whether you're looking at Panini soccer cards or a Panini basketball box, you need to know why and how to buy sports cards wholesale. Read on for 10 tips to get your online sports card collection started.
1. Decide Which Cards Are Most Important to You
Whether you're collecting cards for one sport or many, the first thing every collector needs to understand is that you can't possibly get every single card ever printed. There are simply too many out there for that to be possible.
Oftentimes, serious collectors will have a spreadsheet that lists all of the cards that they really want in their collection. These usually follow some kind of theme. You might consider collecting cards from specific teams or picking your favorite players.
This will leave you with a lot of cards in your collection that you'll feel more comfortable parting with. These are the cards that you can sell or trade later.
Trading means you can get a card that you actually wanted in your collection. Selling gets you a little extra cash to buy more online sports cards.
2. Learn Which Cards Are Most Valuable
Before you go trading or selling, you should know which of your cards are the most valuable. This gives you an idea of which cards people will be willing to spend more money on. The good news is that there are several ways to tell if a card has any value.
A good rule of thumb is that the rarer it is, the more valuable it is. Most of the cards that you get will probably be base cards that aren't worth very much.
In many cases, these cards are going to have something unique about them. They might have gold foil or a shiny surface, for example. If you're particularly lucky, then you might get an autographed card.
Occasionally, there are also what are called relic cards included in packs. These online sports cards will come with something that belonged to the player. This is usually a piece of their helmet or uniform.
And like a lot of collectibles, vintage cards are going to be very sought after simply because of their rarity. Many collectors will go to great lengths to make sure these cards stay in good condition to maintain their values.
3. Keep an Eye on Online Auctions
If you're planning to sell your cards, then knowing how to price them is going to be important. Just because you know which cards are more valuable doesn't mean you know how much it's actually worth.
This is going to be one of the trickier parts of collecting and selling. You have to consider a lot of things when pricing a card.
What condition is it in? What player is featured? Is it a rookie or a premium card?
You'll find that there are certain online sports cards that are more sought-after than others. This, combined with limited supplies, creates a high-market value for certain cards.
In the past, magazines would release which cards were most valuable and how much they were worth. You would've needed to wait until the publication came out to know how much your cards were worth back then.
Today, you have the advantage of the internet. Keep an eye on auction websites to see how much the cards in your Panini baseball box have been sold for in the past.
4. Keep Records
Another good way to determine the price of your online sports cards is to keep clear records of your own sports cards.
Which cards do you have? Which ones have you sold or traded? Who did you sell or trade them to?
Keep a record of all of this information in a log. Every valuable card from every Panini football box you buy should be listed in there. It should say who you sold it to, when, and for how much.
If you include pricing information that you found on the internet, then this will give you a good resource to look back on during sale negotiations. You'll know right away if someone is lowballing an offer for one of your more valuable cards.
Your goal is to at least break even on your investment into wholesale sports cards. And ideally, you'll actually make a profit from it. This ledger will give you an idea of if you're meeting these goals or not.
Be sure to keep this ledger somewhere safe. If something happens to your home, you want this data so you can possibly get some insurance compensation.
5. Buy in Bulk
One of the best ways to buy sports cards online is to buy them in bulk. This lowers the cost for you, so you get more online sports cards for your money. And wholesale sports cards distributors have a wide selection of new sports card releases.
Keep in mind that this is an investment. When you buy in bulk, expect to be sorting through your new Prizm football box for a few hours. And most of them will be low-value base cards.
But don't let this worry you too much. The good news is that the more sports cards you buy, the more likely you are to find one that you wanted for your personal collection. This also makes you more likely to find one that's more valuable!
Have patience, and be ready to sell any duplicate cards or less valuable cards. That way you can turn around and buy basketball cards again. This can become a fun cycle that often pays for itself.
6. Know Where to Sell Them
Now that you have the online sports cards and you know how much to sell them for, you can focus on actually selling them. The main question you might be asking yourself now is where to do that.
Most people will be tempted to sell them online. It's not that it isn't a good place to start, but you should plan carefully before doing so.
Remember, most of the cards you have are going to be low-value base cards. If you sell them individually, most people aren't going to want to spend ten to fifteen dollars on shipping for a four-dollar card. Save individual sales for the more valuable cards.
For the lower-value base cards, you have a few options. You can choose to sell them individually at consignment sales, for starters, or you can bundle them and sell them online.
Selling online sports cards in groups by team can be a great way to attract collectors. People looking to buy baseball cards from members of the Red Sox, for example, will be happy to purchase a set of Red Sox cards from you.
7. Get Friends Involved
Everything is more fun when you share it with your friends. Even if none of your friends are currently into trading online sports cards, there are communities everywhere that like to help each other.
These are made up of serious collectors. They make each other aware of what cards they're looking for and then help each other find them!
One way that they do this is by trading groups of cards. Imagine one member of the group buys a panini baseball case and gets a lot of Red Sox cards in it when they're looking for players from the Atlanta Braves. They might then trade their Red Sox cards for another group member's Braves cards.
This cycle goes on and on whenever these group members come across cards that someone else is looking for. And they don't need to exchange any money between them to do it! It's all part of the kindness and joy that comes from being in a collector community.
These communities form bonds between collectors. They're friendships that can last the rest of their lives.
8. Keep to a Budget
When you go to buy sports cards online and start your new collection of Topps baseball cards, or whichever online sports cards you want to collect, you need to be careful of overspending. Remember that most cards aren't going to sell for a high price. That means that you're making an investment and a gamble when you purchase wholesale sports cards online.
The last thing you want is to spend all of your money on a Panini football case and not be able to earn any money back from it. That isn't to say that buying sports cards isn't worth it. Just make sure to set yourself a firm budget and stick to it.
Any good collection starts small and builds from there. Sports cards are no exception. Every good collector started with their first Topps baseball case or Prizm basketball box.
You can even start your collection by purchasing one Prizm hobby box and see what kind of money you can make off of that one. That gives you the money to spend on the next case. This cycle will continue until you're a certified, serious online sports card collector.
9. Make Sure You Get Accessories
In order to maintain the value of your cards, they must be kept in good condition. These are usually protective sleeves that you can keep the cards in to prevent spills or wrinkles.
For example, the Ultra Pro Top Loaders will allow your cards to slide in easily. Any spills will just roll right off of the sleeve instead of affecting the card.
You can also get items to help you display any online sports cards you intend to keep as part of your personal collection. You should be proud of this collection, since you've worked so hard on it. It deserves a spot of recognition.
Anyone who comes to your home should be able to admire the rare and valuable cards that you've decided not to sell or trade, especially when you invite friends from your collecting community over.
It’s also a great conversation starter when you're looking to make new friends! Any good sports fan will want to see your collection on display.
10. Have Fun With It
Finally, the most important thing you can do when collecting online sports cards is to have fun with it! You have fun watching your favorite sports, so you should enjoy opening that new Topps baseball box or Panini basketball case. It should feel like opening a present every time you get new soccer card boxes.
Some people will do unboxing videos to share with friends online, so they can see what they got. For these people, showing off their new cards is part of the joy of collecting. It also gives them a chance to announce which cards they plan to sell and which ones they plan to keep from each Prizm hobby case.
Others will get friends together to help them go through all of the cards in the case. This helps you to unload them all faster and gives you some fun memories at the same time.
There's no point in starting a collection if you don't genuinely enjoy doing it. But collecting online sports cards can be one of the most fun hobbies to get into when you give it a try.
Get Your Collection of Wholesale Sports Cards Started Today
When you're ready to start your collection of wholesale football cards, soccer cards, or any other team sport’s cards you might like, then it's time for you to make that investment. To do that, you need a reliable place to get those soccer card cases and select hobby boxes filled with top online sports cards.
You might also be looking for a good place to buy sports cards online to get those baseball card supplies. The good news is that Giant Sports Cards has everything you need from a Panini soccer box and affordable top loaders to a select hobby case.
Check out our special deals today to get your collection of wholesale sports cards started with us.