You’re getting back into collecting, perhaps after a long layoff (that’s the common story these days). The good news? You’re faced with more buying options than ever before!
This list could be endless, so I’ve put together just 8 ways you can buy cards! There are high-end auction houses (such as Goldin), but I’m not going to talk about those today.
So you’re asking: “Where can I buy sports cards?”
Let’s go!
1. eBay (The King of Buying/Selling Sports Cards)
Let’s start with the monster. While a lot of people complain about buying/selling cards on eBay, there’s no denying it’s still by far the #1 way to buy cards. It likely beats out all the other sources combined!
In 2020, eBay reported sales of 4 million more sports cards than in 2019, for overall growth of 142%! Basketball card sales by themselves saw a 373% increase…and soccer at 1,586%.
It’s hard to beat the ease of eBay, where you can find just about any card you can imagine, as well as reports of recent sales so you can make sure you’re getting a good price. It you’re like me, instead of surfing channels, you might be surfing eBay auctions…or surfing both!
And most complaints that sports card collectors have with eBay is on the selling side—there isn’t really a downside for buying!
=> Not sure if you should buy raw or graded cards? I broke it all down here: Better ROI: Should I Buy Raw or Graded Cards?
2. Local Card Shop (LCS)
As a kid, I only bought cards from my LCS. It was on my way home from school, and I had a hard time walking past it! I remember the day I decided to buy a box of SPx and I carried $120 with me in my back pocket, no wallet, all day at school. I was super nervous someone would steal it from me!
But now in many places, the LCS is a dying breed. Margins aren’t as high as they used to be, and eBay has simply taken over. LCS don’t even buy as many cards as they used to—as evidenecd by when I tried to sell off my 90’s cards and no one would take anything except Kobes and Jordans (which I didn’t want to sell).
However, it’s hard to beat the atmosphere and camaraderie. The best pull of my young adult life was a redemption card for an autographed Magic Johnson poster…and I’m from LA. I opened the pack in an LCS, and it was fun to share the excitement with the owner!
My closest LCS is 30 minute from my house, so I rarely go, but I know lots of people online who swear by theirs.
Not sure what to buy at your LCS? Check out the Best Baseball Card Packs to Buy.
3. Facebook Groups
If you’re like me, your Facebook feed is filled with posts from groups of people trying to sell their cards! It’s fun because there’s more of a community feel than eBay.
You can often find good prices too, as sellers get to avoid eBay’s high fees. I see lower prices as well when someone just wants to move something fast, or do something nice for the community.
I’d check out Sports Cards Buy Sell Trade & Sports Talk—with 56k+ members, you find cards all the time to buy.
4. COMC
Don’t quote me on this, but it wouldn’t surprise if COMC is the second-highest source of single card sales online! They allow sellers to bulk-submit cards, and they scan and list each card for you.
Before eBay had their PWE (plain white envelope shipping for under $1), COMC was probably a better place for selling low-end singles. While that might be changing, there are still a huge number of cards for sale on their site!
And if you register, you can find historical sales for cards on their site—super helpful for both buyers and sellers.
5. Walmart & Target
If you’re new to the game, you might not know the can of worms opened by this!
Big retailers like Walmart & Target sell cards at retail prices—meaning that you can buy packs or boxes for dirt cheap.
But things have changed a bit—they’ve raised prices a bit and prices on the secondary market have gone down. That being said, the more premier brands are usually still a great deal at these stores upon release.
Of course, if you’re just into ripping cards, any brand that you like is a good deal at Walmart. Just a word of warning—I’ve seen people buy anything that’s leftover because they think all sports cards are a good investment. There are some cruddy stuff out there with no resale value and practically nothing worthwhile in the packs.
6. Walgreens, CVS, Big Lots, Barnes & Noble
I know these are retail as well, but there in a different category. It’s definitely still hit or miss at these locations, but you can still get lucky.
My secret source is there’s one Barnes & Noble that almost always has something decent. I call ahead and have them set some aside for me, and then I drive there on my lunch break. I never resell these, partially because I love ripping packs and partially because I wouldn’t make enough after eBay fees to make it worth it.
For me, ripping packs just doesn’t have enough ROI unless you can find them retail. While I love building a collection, my ultimate goal is to make money. I spend my money on nice singles or when I can find cheap retail…that’s about it.
7. Online Card Shops
Many card shops have an online presence these days, and a few dominate the market. While the prices for buying packs and boxes won’t be what you’d find at Walmart, you can at least depend on consistent supply and occasionally better prices than eBay. Plus, they’ll have hobby boxes, which aren’t at the retail locations.
I like Grand Slam Collectibles and Blowout Cards…but to be honest, I rarely buy from there. If I need a fix and can’t find retail in the wild, I’ll cruise eBay Buy It Now listings. I usually try to find new listings where someone lists for $5 cheaper than everyone else. Just have to be patient.
8. Card Breaks
Breaks are scientifically proven to be the most addictive activity on the planet (don’t fact check me).
A break is when you pay an entry fee, like $35 with The Card Shop on Facebook, and then you randomly get assigned a team. Then, they open the packs live on camera. Any player pulled belonging to your team is yours!
It’s fun because they open a TON of cards because everyone is putting in money. Altogether, it leads to several hundred cards being opened (unless they’re doing super high-end stuff).
You can also get a chance at nice cards from brands that are out of your price range.
The problem though is how you often you get absolutely nothing! Perhaps you randomly got assigned a cruddy team, or no big pulls happened for your team. However, if you get a great team (like the Spurs with Wembanyama rookie potential), you could walk away with something nice.
I actually had to leave a few breaking groups altogether because I just paid too much money with little in return…and I couldn’t help myself.
I wrote a complete rundown on breaks and why you should either jump in or run far away => What is a Card Break? The Ultimate Guide.