Long time reader here but really never felt I knew enough about the hobby to contribute in a meaningful way. Despite this, I want to thank all of you for all the informative posts as this is where I learned the most after coming back into collecting. Like many of you, I collected when I was a kid, only to stupidly sell my entire collection in a garage sale. Back in 2012, a friend of mine in graduate school got me back into the hobby.
I was going through an incredibly stressful program and collecting cards gave me an outlet to relieve that stress. I was chasing that nostalgia of opening packs that I opened as a kid. After completing the early WOTC sets, I then set my sights on collecting sealed items of these sets. Fast forward and this expanded into the later sets. I moved across the country 3 years ago for a job and my passion to continue this hobby was slowly dwindling. Over this past year, there has been the much talked about boom in value, which has essentially priced me out of ever completing my collecting goals. Add in that I got a new job that’s going to require me moving across the country again, and I don’t look foreword to safely moving my collection again. Due to all of this, over these past few weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m moving on from this hobby. I’m sad to come to this conclusion, but I feel this is the right time.
Therefore, I come to you seeking your help to sell my collection. To be clear (I know the rules), I’m not selling the items on this forum, but I’m actually seeking your help to determine the best way to sell my collection. I’ve essentially been out of the hobby for the past 2 years. I know about eBay (I believe they take 10% cut, with PayPal taking 3%), but where else are people selling their sealed boxes, tins and packs/blisters? I’ve talked with my local comic shop that also sells magic cards about selling via consignment, but I have no idea what’s a fair percentage for his cut. I like the consignment as he has a website and Instagram page to advertise the items. I essentially want to find the best way to open up my collection to others as they seek to add to their collection.
My next question is for those who sell regularly… will I be taxed for the money made on selling these items? Is there a threshold I should stay under for tax purposes? Sorry, I’m new to all of this.
Again, I appreciate all your knowledge through the years. I wish everyone the best as you continue in this hobby.
And yes you will be taxed on everything. The only “threshold” is that paypal will produce tax docs at $20k but that doesn’t mean anything under that is not taxed.
@backtothepack12, Good to meet you and sad to see you go haha. I wouldn’t consider consigning to a card store or individual because their cut will be steeper than PWCC or selling on eBay yourself. For the lesser value or ungraded cards, what I have done is made 6-card lots (all cards of the same set / similar in some way if possible) and do a 7 or 10 day eBay auction. I usually get about 70% market value on these auctions but it’s worth it not to pay $3 shipping per card. Message me if you want to talk details. Wishing you well!
@dragonwarrior, @batman,@cedar, thanks for the input. I’m a long way away from selling bulk and individual cards. Gonna start with moving on from the sealed stuff first and PWCC is a great recommendation. I had never bought from them before but looks like they’ve sold quite a few high end items in the past
Keep good records of everything financial associated with your cards and selling them. In the US (and most other places) you will get taxed on the net profit from selling. That means the all expenses (purchase price, shipping delivery and transportation costs, storage and insurance fees, costs related to any sale, etc. can be deducted. Where you live and the detail of your records will determine how much can be deducted.
This might be getting off topic slightly, but for taxes do you guys claim your profits on cards? I’ve been in the hobby for a minute and most of my dealings are of the private nature via Reddit. I buy some on eBay, but as far as selling I just do reddit and PWCC occasionally. I was planning a bigger sendoff to PWCC once I get some returns, does PWCC send any tax documents or is it up to us to track? I know the IRS wants every dime of tax $ they can get, but what are the odds of them actually getting you for profits on cards?
Can’t really help with the selling part that hasn’t been covered already, but wanted to offer a suggestion for consideration: Keep at least 1 to 3 cards that you know you’ll always love.
My advice is to consign the higher end items if you don’t have much experience selling. This can be an auction house like pwcc which takes around 8-17.5% or an individual/store consignment which I’ve seen be anywhere from 10%-25% of the items sale price. For lower end items it’s usually sold to a store or individual at buylist. Feel free to pm me too if you have any questions or want a more detailed breakdown on options for selling specific items/categories.