Rookies are some of the most sought after cards in the hobby—but you already know this!
So the next question…how do you find rookies to buy at reasonable prices?
If you’re not sure how to identify a rookie card, read this post first => How Do You identify a Rookie Card?
Let’s dig in.
8 Places to Find Rookie Card Gems
Here are your best bets:
- Local Card Shops (LCS)
- Estate Sales
- Yard Sales
- Facebook Marketplace
- Card Shows
- Open Boxes
- Buy Singles Online
- Your Family’s or Friend’s Attic
1. Local Card Shops (LCS)
Think of an LCS as a guy who is an avid collector that has been building his inventory for a loooong time. They’re bound to have some amazing cards for you to dig through! In fact, while eBay clearly has the most, your LCS might have some rare or high end cards that you can’t find on eBay.
One of my favorite parts of going to an LCS is that you get to chat with a store owner. It’s more of a community than you’ll ever find buying on eBay or even in a Facebook group.
Also, if they’re selling ungraded cards, you can look at them more closely to assess condition. This is nearly impossible to do online.
Just be sure to compare to online prices. Some LCS prey on in-store visitors and count on them to not compare eBay sold listings.
2. Estate Sales
I know lots of people that drive all their profits and the growth of their collection by buying entire collections from people and sorting through them! Any sort of collection like this is bound to have TONS of great rookie cards in them.
One way to do this is through estate sales. An estate sale is when almost all of someone’s possessions are being sold—usually after they pass away. You can get good deals on cards because the people who inherit the cards are much more likely to just want to sell the whole lot as opposed to piecing it out and getting fair value for each piece.
Estate sales are often advertised in local classifieds or on sites such as EstateSales.net.
3. Yard Sales
Yard sales can also be a good source, but the sellers tend to have a little better idea of what they’re holding…but not always. I’m not suggesting you take advantage of them, I’m suggesting that they’re less likely to try to squeeze every penny out of the sale—especially if there’s sentimental value there.
These people sometimes are selling whole collections, but it’s also pretty common that they’ll just put out a few of their better rookies and try to sell them.
You know how to find yard sales…just drive around on a Saturday morning until you see bright yellow posters taped to poles.
4. Facebook Marketplace
I personally haven’t had a lot of luck here, but I know people who have. Most people seem to overvalue their collection or sell individual rookies for higher than eBay comps.
The key is to be diligent and check back frequently, but truthfully I find this one a bit tedious.
5. Card Shows
This is probably the single best place for picking up a bunch of awesome rookies! The sellers are industry vets, so it can be hard to find deals…but they’re still out there.
Some guys who go to card shows weekly don’t always update their prices every single time. Others will give you discounts for purchasing multiple cards.
Many of them will also have $1 or $5 boxes. Sometimes they’ll throw an $8 rookie in the $5 box to get rid of it.
6. Open Boxes
While opening boxes rarely provides an immediate ROI, it is super fun (at least for me).
And you’re likely to get a boatload of rookies…you just have to hope that you get the RIGHT rookies!
However, it’s also the most likely place that you can get something worth 100x what you paid for the box (although still unlikely).
Here’s an article to help you decide which boxes are worth it and where to buy them:
=> What is the Difference Between Hobby and Retail Sports Cards Boxes
7. Buy Singles Online (FB, Whatnot, Loupe, eBay, COMC)
The most reliable place to buy singles is online! eBay is by far the largest marketplace anywhere for buying and selling, so you can find almost any rookie card you’d like.
However, there is more competition there. If you check out sites like Whatnot and Loupe, you can snag deals without a lot of eyeballs, especially if you’re buying from a seller you trust.
Facebook is another popular place, but you’re at the mercy of whatever shows up in your buy/sell groups.
COMC is an interesting option as another very large marketplace. Sometimes you can find things on there that aren’t on eBay, especially lower end stuff. On COMC, you can buy a bunch of cards from different sellers and still have the shipping combined.
Buying lots of low end cards on eBay doesn’t always make sense because you have to pay individual shipping. COMC has solved that.
Overall, eBay is usually you’re best place to research card values and find the rookies you’re looking for—even if finding bargains is a little more difficult.
8. Your Family’s or Friend’s Attic
And lastly, one of the best places (although not reliable) to find cheap—or even free—cards is from a friend or family member!
For me, this comes down to just talking to other people about my hobby…which is easy because I spend so much time doing it!
Right now, I have a friend from work who’s giving me his Pokemon card collection and he just wants me to take him to lunch in return.
I’ve got two other friends/family members who have mentioned having me help them look through their collections with them. Those are prime opportunities to purchase the whole thing from them so they don’t have to worry about trying to sell it, or make an offer for you to sell the lot and split profit with them.