I remember having a phone call with my mom, and she told me about her neighbor that has a garage full with sports cards…like wall-to-wall, just covered in them. “How do people get so many sports cards?” I wondered at the time.
Turns out, there are lots of ways to buy sports cards in bulk!
Why Buy Sports Cards in Bulk?
There are few things more enjoyable for a sports card collector than to sort through 20,000 cards! Whether you hit a few monsters, or just have fun with the nostalgia of older cards, it’s a win.
Of course, you’re generally in it to make money, and buying in bulk can be a cost effective way to get a ton of cards. People selling in bulk generally don’t want to go through their cards, and they sell them much cheaper as a result.
Just keep in mind that you’re not only paying for the cards, you’re paying for a hundred hours of sorting through them. If that doesn’t sound like fun…well, you’re better off spending time elsewhere.
Here’s why you might want to give it a try:
Boost Your Collection
To me, this depends on what you mean by “bulk.” I often think buying an entire collection from someone is more a money-making idea, but of course it could also be a way to add a ton of cards to your collection.
If you’re just getting into card collecting, perhaps to make some money here or there, but mostly to collect for fun, there’s no cheaper way to get a big boost! This is especially a great idea if you have kids who like to collect sports cards…I mean this is like Christmas!
I bought a bunch of sports cards at once was when I was a kid. I found a listing on eBay for 250 packs of cards for $125. These were all sorts of random packs from ’89 to ’96 or so. So…the junk wax era for sure.
But I remember taking over the kitchen counter and opening all of those packs over a few hours. And with that many packs? I pulled some of the best cards in my collection—including dozens of Jordans and some Kobe rookies as well.
Those same packs today would run you 10x the price easy, but you can still find deals on people’s collections they’d like to get rid of.
For Profit
Sorting through a massive collection in order to make money is by far the most tedious way to do this!
I will warn you though, I’ve heard too many stories about people buying big collections and then all the “hits” are gone. The seller will have already gone through it and sold off the good stuff…except perhaps a couple of cards that appear high value (like over-printed Jordans) and advertise those ones.
How do you go about pricing out cards in a 10k collection? Here’s a great primer on how I did it upon rediscovering my old collection.
Start a Card Store (Physical or Online)
If you’re planning to start a brick-and-mortar shop (also called LCS for local card shop), then you’re going to need more than a bunch of nice singles. You’ll need consistent access to distributors to bring you cards—which is actually harder and more pricey than you’d think.
But, you DO need TONS of singles to get started! Or at least it’s highly recommended.
Or, if you’d like to start an online shop, you can! Either with a website or with an eBay store. Buying up tens of thousands of cards and going through them is a great way to get the inventory needed to launch.
Where to Buy Sports Cards in Bulk
Here’s how I find cards in bulk:
Estate Sales/Yard Sales
Let’s start with perhaps the best source of bulk sports cards! If you’re unfamiliar with estate sales, those are usually done by the family of someone who’s passed. If their kids aren’t that interested in keeping or sorting through a sports card collection, then you’ve got a great shot at finding some hidden gems for cheap.
You can subscribe to lists that will shoot you emails of new estate sales in the area. Try EstateSales.net.
Online Classifieds
This is an excellent place to keep an eye out for people liquidating their entire collection! In my area, KSL is the big one (that’s where I found this ad). You can also try Craigslist, although I haven’t seen much on there.
Typically, I’ll say that people usually overvalue their collection! They say “I have 5,000 cards here, probably an average of $1 apiece…so I’ll give them a deal at $2,000…”
Meanwhile, 99% of those cards won’t sell on eBay and many of the others are worth a few bucks and might take months before you get the right eyes on your listing!
But you can still keep an eye out for deals—especially when people say something like “inherited this collection” or “my son left his card collection and doesn’t want it anymore.”
And even then, you’ll still want to visit and do a quick once-over before purchasing. Many of these types of sales are people looking to sell their commons and believe that the sheer quantity will provide value (it doesn’t).
Facebook Marketplace
Similar to online classifieds…but with better functionality, navigation, pics, contact methods, and lots more people!
Of course that means more competition, but there are usually plenty of listings in my area for big sports card collections.
COMC
Check Out My Cards has become a large-scale, reputable operation for buying and selling cards! It’s kind of like eBay, except they’ll create a listing with pictures, and store them for you, too.
This probably isn’t the place for buying a 10k card collection from someone, but COMC is great about combining shipping, no matter how many different sellers you buy from.
I know lots of people who go around COMC and purchase 50-100 cheap cards at a time and combine shipping. They do this to add to their PC (personal collection) or to flip later.
Friends/Family
While rare, the BEST stories I’ve heard are people who get a hook-up from someone they know!
For example, I’m in a FB group with a guy who befriended an old man down the street, and the man gave him his entire sports card collection worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Obviously I’m not saying to target people for their card collections and base friendships on that…but don’t be afraid to talk about your sports card hobby.
Since I restarted and I talk to people about it, I’ve had several people mention their card collection to me. In fact, my dad recently gave me some old cards, including a ’65 Willie Mays. (He also gave me a bunch of old comics, which I sold to bolster my NBA autograph collection!)
eBay
This is probably my least favorite idea on this list, but it’s still an option!
I would never spend good money on a bulk collection on eBay unless they had tons of pics and they were promising to ship it…and even then, you can’t discern any sort of condition from these.
If you want to buy a bunch of unopened boxes/cases, this is also the most expensive place to do it. Because seller fees are so high and the resell market is hottest there, prices aren’t going to be favorable.
Buy Whole Boxes/Cases Direct or From Reputable Sites
If you’re looking for TONS of cards, or want to hold a bunch of sealed wax long-term, then you’ll want to get familiar with Topps’ and Panini’s website launches!
New releases of popular brands sell out FAST (like 5 minutes fast), but they’re sold at a decent price and can make some money upon resale or just have something slightly cheaper to rip!
Another way is to buy from a reputable site like DA Card World. You can buy whole cases on there (even ones that are years old, like the pic here). You aren’t going to be able to resell them individually on eBay and make a fortune, but there are some savings here for buying in bulk.
Also, I have seen some random good deals in my FB groups. For example, someone recently offered a case for $4,500. If I cracked and sold boxes individually, I could’ve made an extra $800 or so… problem is having that $4,500 ready to go before someone else does.