Hi there. I’m looking to consign my collection and need to send some cards to the US from the UK. Some of the cards are very high end and I would be devastated if something were to happen to them in the mail. When I’ve looked into insurance the only company I could find offering insurance up to a high enough amount was DHL, but it requires a business account and I’m not sure I’d trust them to hold up their end of the deal if something were to happen anyway.
I’ve thought about selling to shops/vendors but with the recent spike in prices I don’t think they’re going to want to take on the risk and would likely offer significantly less than what I could get. And I have items that haven’t sold in recent times so it’s hard to put a price on them. So I’d much rather consign them to be sold on a US auction site.
If anyone could give any advice on the matter or put me in contact with someone knowledgeable based in the UK it would be much appreciated. Thanks!
If in doubt, arrange to travel and drop off the cards in person. Otherwise, I would recommend not to use extra insurance. Just under declare and hope and pray.
Done a little more looking around and have seen fanatic have a store in London now which lets you list cards for auction. I can’t seem to find any details on the actual process though. Anyone have any experience with fanatic in London?
Even way outside of the UK, I am acutely aware of the bad state of parcel and mail courriers in the UK. I will say, that once I see something I’ve bought clear the UK’s borders I feel safe. Once it gets to the USA side, I’ve not had issues.
I mean ballpark, what level of value are we talking? Like mentioned earlier, even if you did find some insurance at some point it might be just as well to make an impromptu holiday out of it and hand the items off yourself.
And agree with Frosty, absolutely avoid putting your stuff in a place that theives will target. I am also aware that in particular London Police I think only solve about %1-%2 of thefts. Be wary. I remember that also that one UK grading company got broken into last year or the year before.
It’s been a while. But I have dropped stuff off at the counter of Fanatics London a few times. It’s all been quite smooth. They insure and send your cards to the Fanatics vault (takes about a month). You need to have an account already setup and a vault ID. Then you can auction or do buy it now.
Alternatively, I believe some consigners will insure your shipment too.
Okay thanks. So do they take my account email and vault ID whilst I’m there and once the cards arrive at the vault I can choose how I list them? I’m going into London in a couple weeks so I think I’ll bring a couple cheaper cards to test the process.
I was considering consigning with KetchumAllCollectibles but he can only insure within the US. So then I’m stuck with the same dilemma getting them to him in the first place.
Yes, exactly. They take your details when you’re there and you can choose how to list them You can also do a vault transfer to a Fanatics Consignor too.
Well I went in and they said they can’t send TCG to the vault because of tariffs/import charges… TCG as apposed to what, I don’t know. It seemed like they mainly dealt with sports cards but I would assume sports cards would also fall under TCG? I guess they just meant cards over certain values but didn’t communicate properly.
So I’m still looking for options. Looking like a trip to the US is becoming more and more likely.
It’s looking more and more likely that I will have to take them to the US myself. Do you have any experience with bringing cards in through hand luggage? They’re my personal cards and I’m not selling them to the US from abroad and trying to bypass import charges. I’m bringing them to the US to be vaulted/consigned and then sold on the US market. So I guess it shouldn’t be an issue? Still worried about someone at the airport potentially pulling them out and damaging them or something though.
Seconding what @Frosty.Puppy said about travel. That will be your safest and best way of getting your cards to the US. “Very high value” is vague but insurance costs on individual packages are usually 1-2% of package value. So if your collection is 100k or above, the flight to the US is probably the same cost as package insurance. You’ll never avoid all risk, but it’s probably the best option.
Thank you. Yes it is a 6 figure collection. Would just like to hear if anyone has experience with bringing collections through hand luggage because there’s no way I’m letting it go in checked luggage with how often they go missing.
I guess it depends on how many cards you are transporting. But I think for the most part border service will not care. I flew from Canada to the UK last year to purchase a 5k card because insured delivery was 1/2 the price of a flight.
It’s possible you can notify the border of the value just so they don’t question you. If they are English cards and originally manufactured in the US (you can lie if mfgd in continental Europe) then there should be no tariff.
Are these graded or ungraded? Seems a bit silly of them to refuse graded cards when the whole gimmick was to send them to the USA to sell them at auction.
I’m still curious to know which cards of yours are worth doing this with. Keep in mind that the 6 figure prices you see online are usually for graded cards with the highest grades. If all you have are cards you found in your parents’ attic, you might get a few thousand or hundred dollars, if you’re lucky. If you’d like, you can share what cards you have here, or see if anyone here is interested, before deciding whether to make the trip or put them back in your parents’ attic.
You can also do a vault transfer to a Fanatics Consignor too.