Agree completely with this. If you think a product’s margins are too low, try selling something else.
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From what I can tell, you can either:
- Be a cool, funny and chill guy passively collecting stuff for a long, long time until one day it goes parabolic.
OR
- You can wake up with an existential terror every day – a terror that drives you to research bulk card prices and watch market videos that you’re pretty sure are bullshit unless they confirm your biases, putting together 100 card subs and refreshing the dominos tracker every monday and friday (and tuesday and thursday), getting a gixen account to snipe things but still setting your buy price too high to actually profit if things go tits up, refreshing buyee coupon pages, feeling smarter than every single normie at the card shop even though you’re technically in debt (but it’s all good, the debt is temporary until you get that psa return), telling your significant other not to worry because even if it gets a 9 you’re still at breakeven, turning a perfectly normal spare room into a grading/packing/unboxing/primal screaming space, etc.
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Lol this was me for the first month and then I realised I could just chill out and enjoy the cards
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I’m not saying this to be mean but no one is going to share their playbook and give detailed instructions on a public internet forum on how you can copy their business plan so you can turn around and compete with them. If someone found a niche that’s making them money, it’s unlikely they would share it, especially for free. That’s where research, time and money comes in like everyone else has already said. You need to be putting the time in to learn, like the people who are “successful” already did. And this isn’t even just pokemon, for any entrepreneurial endeavor you should learn general business concepts that can be applied universally to any industry or market first, then start applying those to your pokemon business. None of the challenges presented by running a pokemon tcg business are exclusive to pokemon- thin margins, risk, competition, etc. exist in pretty much every industry. It’s 100% possible to make money in pokemon and collectables but no one is going to spoonfeed you a plan.
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This just isn’t true in my opinion.
Most successful Pokemon sellers have open communication and readily learn from each other’s mistakes and successes. We see what others are doing and whether it will work within our own systems. This isn’t like conventional businesses where intellectual property and patented processes differentiate each other. We may buy or sell different cards, but it’s all the same concept.
Working toward a goal in a vacuum will get you nowhere. Everyone needs formal or informal mentorship and an opportunity to learn from those who are more successful than they are. Competition is a good thing; you get to see your “competitors” try out selling strategies without having to take that own risk yourself.
Most large sellers talk to each other. They know who buys what and how/why they got it. Their success will not ruin your chances. The market is large enough to support many thousands of sellers.
Here’s Z&G’s thoughts on the topic, which I tend to agree with.
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The other part of this is that even if you knew the “secret” it’s often hard to replicate.
Like my advice above was to buy stuff and wait 5-6 years to sell it. I can tell the world that and it doesn’t matter because not many people are going to be that patient.
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For sure there’s definitely tons of high level knowledge available, you could watch Rusty/tca gaming or Bulbastore on youtube and get a pretty good idea of what they’re doing to make money and try to copy that. The general ideas and concepts related to selling pokemon aren’t very secret at all, there are plenty of youtubers and stuff like that you can get ideas from. Once you get deeper than that though, you’re not going to have people giving you leads on collections to buy and flip or pointing out specific arbitrage opportunities. There’s stuff like that you need to learn on your own.
With all the knowledge and videos available on the internet, if you’re still asking how it’s possible to make money with pokemon or asking for help finding a niche, you haven’t even begun to do the introductory level research required to really get started.
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Well written and it also goes to show how important it is to spend time in the market through its lows and highs
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I am not a seller myself, but the amount of information that’s put out there on youtube/E4 for no reason other than helping other people is astounding.
People like @trainerji legit show all their purchases, what they paid, what’s selling in their store, for how much, etc. You’ve got @gottaketchumall giving lots of helpful advice too, @sacari shows what he’s buying/grading as well, and those are just a few names off the top of my head that I follow.
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Interested to hear @thundermoo ’s take. 
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consignors like Z&G’ make razor thin margins as many here say. The big gross numbers look impressive. But is it really that impressive?
Just repeating what you all say. Dont kill the messenger.
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I think one thing that challenges people when selling pokemon cards is a lack of business accumen. A lot of people who get into this are hobbyists/enthusiasts first and business people second, and that’s not a winning formula unfortunately. You need to put business first and hobby second if you want to be make meaningful money (I assume that’s how OP defines “success”).
My personal view is that there is still plenty of opportunity in the Pokemon space to run a successful and even large business. People auction off collections every day, there are still deals on FB marketplace and other platforms, there are plenty of people selling collections directly to resellers - the product is there. No it’s not easy, but it’s not easy to start and run any business.
You’re not going to be successful if you flail around trying multiple different approachs hapharzardly. You need to pick a strategy, understand the numbers behind that strategy, and then execute it repeatedly to build expertise.
If you’re selling raw singles it’s all about volume and efficiency. If you don’t have both those things you’re going to make less than minimum wage because every second you spend sourcing, listing, and picking/packing significantly reduces your hourly income.
If you’re selling graded cards margins can be a lot higher, but you need to get very good at pre-grading because in this environment it’s generally 10 or bust. You also need to figure out the expected value of a raw card purchase - how often on average will a certain card grade a 10, 9, 8 etc and, given that, what is your weighted average margin?
In both cases you need to source inventory at the right price, ship in a cost efficient but appropriate manner, and provide strong customer service. At its core, being a pokemon reseller is running a retail business.
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The ebay fees he is being charged have to be less than 5% for the 95% to work. Most items are going to be under $1000 so that’s going to be at least a 10% margin on most items. Plus the actual expenses are minimal since he’s not buying the items to sell.
So yeah the margins aren’t really thin at all and the number on the other end is impressive.
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If i put 1/2 the effort a consignor does, i wonder how much i would make?
I own all my cards, the risk is minimal vs a consignor.
Take a vacation any time i want.
No need for employees.
there is a long list .
You all want to talk about net profits vs time spent? Best calculate , risk, ownership and other non monetary factors.
No need to post videos,
No need to beg for business.
No website to maintain.
The upside of actually owning my cards is much more safe than relying on selling other peoples cards.
Just a hobby for me, pretty sure i have a better net profit ratio vs time than most fulltime consignors.
You asked about margins and profit and I gave you an answer. No need to be jealous bud.
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Your post is nonsensical.
Is your point that it’s easier to “not” run a business vs running one? That’s obviously true, no one is arguing against that.
If you’re trying to claim that you, as an amateur seller, operate more efficiently than a business like Z&G you’re not going to be taken seriously.
Consignors like Z&G spend a lot of time improving efficiency because that’s how you handle more volume and make more money in a consigment business.
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nobody jealous,
His COGS is essentially 0. There’s literally nothing you can say to prove your ROI is higher. Unless you’re stealing your cards.
Z&G , has proven me wrong,
When he quit his job i really thought he was crazy and was going to do into a deep depression by now. Could not stand the company he was associated with at the time and knew something was wrong , sure enough that company was a scam. Z&G surprisingly recovered and made it work for the better. He worked hard and made it thru the hard times and scandal . Great for him. He definitely works hard and enjoys what he does.
But it is the members here that want to talk about margins , time and $$$. Just because you dont agree with what i said does not mean it is not true.
My operation is ultra inefficient , really does not make sense and amateurish. But does that mean i do not make close to the Professional & efficient big time sellers?
Nope, watching all these youtubers, my numbers would surprise many professional sellers , members here and those youtubers
Remember, i am not efficient and running a casual operation as more fun hobby and actually can admit to putting very casual effort.
You all think i just stepped into the Pokemon sector and dont know what i am talking about is where the problem starts. I am a actual vintage collector that just happened to making some good money selling ultra modern by chance.
Anyone could be successful with the 2021 boom, Just started selling in 2023 when everyone was losing their butts, We are going to see what the real smart people can do .
Enjoy the hobby, makes life fun. Pokemon is fun .