LOL is right.
Most ebay sellers dont make money, they just turning the product for a hobby to improve there collection.
You all wanted to turn this topic into a money topic. I posted to let members know the trend and pokemon is doing just fine.
You all getting what you ask for.
Yes some people got lucky by being heavily invested in the hobby before it boomed, but thatâs not a repeatable strategy. Missing that boat doesnât mean thereâs no longer plenty of opportunity.
I think your other points are right, if you want to run a sustainable pokemon business you need to treat it as such. Identify trends in the market, build expertise around grading, establish yourself as a reputable buyer/seller, figure out marketing (e.g. youtube), etc.
Someone literally liked a post from here, man how times have changed! Itâs been almost 2 years since I posted this, and in my time Iâve actually been able to sell a lot more cards! Itâs weird how naive I was compared to my self now (although still naive). Thank you e4 forum.
buy high sell higher
haha guilty, was going through a bunch of old threads and just reading some of the interesting discussions over the years
EDIT: Just realized itâs an old thread that got bumped, but I hope this can help somebody
I do not believe you wouldâve had to start years ago to make money now. Happy to share what I do as we speak with items I am buying at current market. I buy only on eBay and sell through consignment. Nothing crazy in profit margin, but something that works steadily and is repeatable.
First off, you should get tax exempt, so you donât pay sales tax on eBay. Shoutout to ketchumallcollectibles for this. Please disregard if you donât buy on eBay. Also, I suppose youâd need at minimum $1,000.
Are you able to buy something slightly below market which would sell at $1,000 minimum via auction on eBay? Again, I just use eBay so itâd be just buying buy it now listings and winning auctions. For $1,000+ items, you can net 93-95% from consignment. Shipping to consignment would be $15-20 depending on item (use pirateship.com). Ideally you would want something that would sell slightly over $1000 to be safe, but letâs just use $1000 for easy math.
For $1000 item sold on auction through consigment, 95% payout to you is $950. If I bought the item at $900, then I profit $35 after shipping cost (4% profit). If I bought the item at $850, then I profit $85 (10%). Nothing sexy, but this is doable for anyone from just watching new listings on eBay.
Scour auction sites for retail arbitrage on high end, rare in demand cards, ship to vault, sell from vault. Profit.
back in 2023-early 24 it was even easier to do this coz u can just send it straight to the ebay vault which had no fees at the time and basically turn pokeman trading into stock trading 
say you bought something for 700 and then list at 800 then the 100 difference is pure profit (coz no fees) you can even just list at like 750 or something and make less but easier to sell
Artificial scarcity is one hell of a drug. Hold anything long enough until it becomes rare and itâll stonk. This assumes Pokemon still exists, all the rage and still growing by the time it becomes rare.
However, Pokemon has been ramping up their printing over the last few years so itâll take longer for modern product to reach the point where itâs deemed rare. Then again, modern product is in higher demand than ever, stock flies off shelves immediately so maybe not?
As the wise Luigi once saidâŠahemâŠ
âShe sells seashells on a seashore
But the value of these shells will fall
Due to the laws of supply and demand
No one wants to buy shells 'cause thereâs loads on the sand
Step 1, you must create a sense of scarcity
Shells will sell much better if the people think theyâre rare, you see
Bare with me, take as many shells as you can find and hide 'em on an island stockpile 'em high
until theyâre rarer than a diamond
Step 2, you gotta make the people think that they want 'em
Really want 'em, really fuckin want 'em
Hit 'em like Bronson
Influencers, product placement, featured prime time entertainment
If you havenât got a shell then youâre just a fucking waste man
Three, itâs monopoly, invest inside some property, start a corporation, make a logo, do it properly
âShells must sellâ, that will be your new philosophy
Swallow all your morals theyâre a poor manâs qualityâŠâ