What is Sports Card?

Sports card is a generic term for a trading card with a sports-related subject, as opposed to non-sports trading cards that deal with other topics. Sports cards were among the earliest forms of collectibles. They typically consist of a picture of a player on one side, with statistics or other information on the reverse. 

Cards have been produced featuring most major sports, especially those played in North America, including, but not limited to, American football, association football (soccer), baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, ice hockey, racing and tennis.

Where to Buy Sports Cards?

1.Stores (Local Card Store)

Retail stores carry hobby boxes, retail boxes and single packs. 

Nothing beats heading down to your neighborhood store to buy boxes or packs of cards instantly. You can immediately open them and begin to sort out the cards of value and list them online for a quick flip. 

2.Box breaking

A phenomenon that emerged during the pandemic, box breaking is a form of live stream that happens on social media platforms. The seller, or card breaker, opens an entire box of cards.

 In advance of opening the box, the card breaker will sell certain sets of cards for a set price. For sports, it could be a specific player, team or division, while for trading cards, it could be the types or attributes of the card. 

3.Online buying

Like sneakers, you can buy cards, packs and blaster boxes online. You can use sites like eBay, Carousell, Facebook pages and forums, where you can purchase from resellers. If you are looking for a specific card, these platforms are the best source. And just like all other resale items, you need to be acutely aware of the current market values. 

For a more reliable source, you can hit up Amazon, Lazada and other licensed stockists’ websites, to purchase your boxes or packs. Do check the sellers and ensure it is an official store. The prices may be fair, but fakes may still pop up.

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The Best Places to Buy Sports Cards Online 

1.ebay

With the most extensive inventory of sports cards, from vintage to modern, and the largest community of buyers and sellers online, the eBay marketplace is without a doubt the number one place to buy and sell sports cards online. With so many active buyers and sellers, eBay has essentially become the official price guide for the sports card market.

The eBay marketplace is user-friendly and straightforward, making it seamless for collectors to navigate the platform. With dozens of filters and sort options to narrow down your search, including by sport, team, player, card attributes, and grade, collectors can find precisely which sports cards they are looking for.

With eBay, you have three different ways to buy sports cards:

• Auction: eBay auctions are probably the most famous buying option for eBay users and what it’s most known for. Basically, sellers list their item up for a timed open auction and buyers bid for it. Whoever has the highest bid on the item when the auction runs out wins. They then pay the seller and recieve the item. Sellers can put a ‘reserve’ on an item (a minimum they’ll accept for the item) to eliminate some risk on thier part.

• Buy it Now: Some sellers will also have a ‘buy it now’ price on thier items. If you don’t want to follow an auction along for a few days, then you can choose to buy the product straight out. Again, do your homework as it’s pretty common for sellers to list an inflated ‘buy it now’ price.

• Buy it Now with ability to Negotiate: Similar to the second point, there’s a buying option where sellers have a price you can pay to purchase the product straight-out but with the ability to negotiate. So, if you think the seller has inflated the price, you can try to negotiate a price. You offer prices, and the seller has the ability to accept or reject it. If they accept, you get to buy it for the negotiated price. You’ll find you can sometimes grab a card for 30-40% of the ‘buy it now’ price.

【Payment】Paypal,Visa,American Express and Mastercard

【Coupons and Discounts】

• Save up to 65% when you buy more sports cards

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2.Amazon

You can find almost anything on Amazon.Likewise, there is a lot of  sports cards including 1974 Topps Dan Driessen you’ve always coveted on Big A as you would on eBay.You can buy directly from Amazon or a third-party reseller who is selling through Amazon.

Amazon is a great place to find newer cards and unopened material. It’s also the preferred shopping spot for many when comes to buying hobby supplies like sheets, boxes, top loaders, and the like.

【Payment】Visa,Mastercard,American Express and Amazon giftcard

【Coupons and Discounts】

• Up to 20% off sports cards

【Extrabux Cashback】temporarily unavailable

3.ComC

ComC or Check Out My Cards is the biggest sports card and memorabilia dedicated online store. In plenty of ways, it works the same was a eBay. Sellers list thier cards on the platform and sellers can either buy it outright or make offers.The beauty of ComC is that it is a platform made for card fans.That means that there’s little things that ComC has that you won’t find on markeplaces like eBay that serve more of a general audience.

Just check their sales page out.There’s previous sales data, and there’s even data for the card’s parallels too.

As a buyer, there’s a lot to like about ComC, and you’ll often find a better standard of product because sellers want to deal with other collectors – and there’s a better chance of finding them at ComC.

【Payment】

Paypal, Check, ACH, Wire, or eCheck

【Coupons and Discounts】

• Clik here for more Site Promotions & Events

• Sale: Up To 67% OFF SRP 

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4.Dollar Box

Over 80,000 cards sold! New drops every night between 10-10:30pm EST. Welcome to Dollar Box, an online inventory of affordable sports trading cards. If you enjoy digging into dollar boxes at trade shows, you'll love this site. Individual raw card prices start at $0.25. 

I suggest you subscribe and be notified of each nightly upload, in case you forget, because you will forget. And their shipping policy really helps—$2.99 flat rate shipping and free Shipping on orders $25+.

【Payment】

Visa,PayPal,Master Card, American Express AMEX, G pay

【Coupons and Discounts】

• Flat $3.49 shipping (bubble mailer w/tracking). Free Shipping on orders $25+

• Sale: up to 80% off 

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5.SportLots

Sportlots is sort of like a separate, old-school eBay dedicated to sports cards and memorabilia, it is a valuable resource for buying lower-end singles, bulk cards, and completing sets. The minimum price for cards on Sportlots sits at only $0.18, making it the go-to destination for buyers on a budget. Sportslots grants buyers the opportunity to scoop up cards for cheap to either keep in their personal collection, or flip for a profit on eBay, COMC, Facebook, and other online platforms.

Many sellers on Sportslots have 10, 20, 50, or more of the same card giving collectors the potential to pick up bulk lots of undiscovered prospects, often at low prices. With this in mind, you can buy a player in bulk, sit on the cards until they have a breakout game, and then flip them for a profit.

【Payment】Visa,PayPal,Master Card and American Express etc..

【Coupons and Discounts】

• Buy from more sellers and save on shipping.
  

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6.Midwest Cards

Located in Columbus, Ohio, Midwest Cards specializes in sealed wax, meaning packs, cases, and boxes of unopened cards. All the sports and brands you’d expect; and it looks like there is current promotion running with the following codes (packs and boxes only). You can also become a Midwest Insider, which appears to be a loyalty program with points and exclusive benefits for shopping.

Midwest Cards brings a modern approach to trading cards. As fellow-trading card collectors and investors ourselves, they created Midwest Cards to make the hobby more exciting, inclusive, and informative.

【Payment】Visa, Mastercard, Discover & American Express. For large orders, you can use wire and ACH bank transfers.

【Coupons and Discounts】//

【Extrabux Cashback】temporarily unavailable

7.THE PIT

Another clearinghouse type of site, The Pit gives collectors (and dealers) access to wide range of cards and other collectors.You can buy, sell, and trade on the site, with The Pit playing middle man and taking commissions and other fees for their efforts.

Like COMC, the wide variety of merchandise on The Pit, plus their account structure, helps smooth your search and transactions. ThePit's focus is on widely-traded rookie cards of active stars as well as graded vintage cards of Hall of Famers.Leave your cards on thePit to exchange for others with NO TRADING FEES! Cash-out and enjoy lower fees than eBay! 

【Payment】Credit cards, checks and wires

【Coupons and Discounts】//

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8.MySlabs

MySlabs is a peer-to-peer marketplace created BY collectors FOR collectors who are seeking an alternative to the high auction and consignment fees that have become standard in the hobby. All of the inventory, pricing, and content on MySlabs is uploaded and controlled by our sellers. Users are free to buy and sell slabbed cards, sealed wax, slabbed comics and now both raw cards and raw comics all while benefiting from the most disruptive pricing model in the industry.

Like eBay, MySlabs inventory is uploaded, sold, and shipped by the sellers. Though, what sets MySlabs apart is their fixed 1% commission fee, designating MySlabs as an attractive marketplace for sellers to move cards quickly and for buyers to browse competitively priced sports cards.

【Payment】PayPal

【Coupons and Discounts】//

【Extrabux Cashback】temporarily unavailable

9.BECKETT MARKETPLACE

The Beckett Marketplace is a one-stop online shop for all collecting needs with an inventory of more than 30 million sports, non-sports, and gaming cards and collectibles from dealers nationwide. The Beckett Marketplace offers an assortment of collectibles such as rookie cards, memorabilia cards, and autograph cards as well as boxes and collecting supplies.

Once you find a favorite seller on the site, you can also visit their Beckett storefront to see their other offerings, and there is also an option to compare sellers and card prices among different offerings.

【Payment】Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Paypal

【Coupons and Discounts】

• Receive a 10% credit in your Beckett Wallet for each friend who successfully places an OPG order.

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10. StarStock

StarStock does have a somewhat unique platform. Instead of posting cards every time their sold, members send their cards into StarStock and they get added to your ‘collection’. Once a card is in your collection, you can ‘list’ it, which means you put a sales price on it. Otherwise, you’re still open to offers on the card.

As a buyer, you can see all the cards of a particular parallel and bid for as many as you like. Then, StarStock will consolidate all the purchases into the one checkout transaction. That means you can easily invest in a player in bulk.  There’s also great access to past sales data for the card you’re looking for.When you buy a card, it gets moved from the seller’s collection to the buyer’s collection – meaning the transaction is instant. You can even day-trade player cards on game days! And because cards are moved from one collection to another, that means you don’t have to worry about shipping until you want to ship cards from your collection to your home.

【Payment】

PayPal and credit cards

【Coupons and Discounts】//

【Extrabux Cashback】temporarily unavailable

11.StockX

If you’re into sneakers and other collectibles, you’ve probably heard of StockX before. These days, StockX also has a wide range of sports cards, and the platform is growing. It’s a marketplace platform, but has a different layout and a few key changs compared to eBay and ComC.

One element that StockX has is the double buy/sell element. Put it simply, a seller can put a sales price on an item and buyers can choose to buy or not. However, along with that, buyers can put an open offer out and sellers can choose to sell at the buyer’s pricepoint. If a deal is met between the two, a transaction is made.

【Payment】PayPal, Venmo, Bank Account and Debit Card

【Coupons and Discounts】//

【Extrabux Cashback】temporarily unavailable

12.Forums 

Sports card forums are a great way to interact with the sports card community and offer dedicated threads for buying and selling cards. Forums are an excellent alternative to e-commerce sites like eBay and COMC because you have the opportunity to build a personal connection with other sports card enthusiasts. 

One of the perks of sports card forums is that if you are trying to complete a set and list it on a thread, collectors will proactively reach out if they have the missing cards you are looking for. 

Three of the most popular sports card forums are:

• Blowout Cards Forums

• PSA Card Forums

• Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum

13.Social Media 

Like sports card forums, social media has a significant sports card collector following, each with its perks:

• Facebook

Although it might sound funny at first, the truth is that there is a huge community of collectors on Facebook. And there are many, many groups dedicated to buying, selling, and trading baseball cards, some of them with a specific focus — specific players or teams, vintage cards, new cards, rookie card, etc.

There’s really two top-tier options for buying sports cards on Facebook.

(1)Facebook Groups: There’s plenty of Facebook groups where members sell their cards and packs. This is an attractive option for sellers as they won’t have any sales fees. The lack of sales fees also means you’re likely to get a bargain. Just make sure you pay with PayPal though – and don’t pay anyone as ‘family or friends’, that way you’ll have protection if things don’t work out. After all, you’re literally sending money to a stranger on the internet!

(2)Local MarketPlaces: Depending on the city you live in, you may have an active card scene in your local marketplace. You’ll unlikely be buying PSA graded cards – but you might be able to get a few good deals from local sellers.

• Twitter

Similar to Facebook, there is a strong collector community on Twitter. While Twitter only provides 280 characters, it's easy to interact with other buyers and sellers to strike up a deal.

 As with Instagram and Facebook, vetting the other party will help minimize risk during transactions.

• Instagram 

Instagram may be the perfect platform for showcasing the cards you have for sale since the whole shebang is based on, you know, showing things with pictures. As with Facebook and Twitter, it didn’t take collectors and dealers long to figure out how to use Instagram for buying, selling, and trading cards.

You’re sure to find plenty of interesting cards, and plenty of cardboard eye candy, but again — be careful with your transactions initiated on any social media platform.

14.Dealer Websites 

Hundreds (or more!) of card dealers maintain their own websites and most of those allow you to buy cards online. A simple Google search will turn up tons of these sites, but here are some of the best:

• Burbank Sports Cards

• Blowout Cards

• Dave and Adam’s Card World

• Steel City Collectibles

• Dean’s Cards

• Charm City Cards

• Larry Fritsch Cards LLC
  

• Kruk Cards

What Sports Trading Cards to Invest in 2024?

These are the 5 sports cards that deserve a spot in your investment portfolio: 

• 2019 Lionel Messi Topps Living Champions League Card

• 2021 Bowman Draft Marcelo Mayer Card

• 2018 Juan Soto Topps Update Baseball Card

• 2003 Carmelo Anthony Basketball Card

• 2020 Panini National Treasures Justin Herbert Rookie Card

The 12 hottest sports card and trading card hobby boxes(List based on the quantity of completed eBay sales from February 15 to February 21, 2024.):

• 2024 Topps Series 1 Baseball 

•  2022 Donruss Football 

• 2022 Bowman Chrome Sapphire Edition Baseball 

•  2022 Topps Chrome Ben Baller Edition Baseball

• 2022 Bowman Draft Sapphire Edition Baseball 

•  2022 Topps Chrome Update Series Baseball 

•  2022 Topps Chrome Update Series Sapphire Edition Baseball

•  2022 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Baseball

•  2022 Topps Heritage High Number Baseball

•  2022 Panini Capstone Baseball 

• 2022 Topps Finest Baseball 

•  2022 Topps Chrome Baseball 

Here are a couple of options to purchase when it comes to investing in the best cheap sports cards;

• 2020-21 Tim Stutzle Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns 

• 2020-21 Tyrese Maxey Panini Prizm 

• 2020-21 Theo Maledon Panini Prizm 

FAQs

1.Collecting and Investing in Sports Cards: What Are the Differences?

Some people are into sports card collecting, while others prefer sports card investing. How are they different? It’s quite simple.

• Sports card collecting: Card collectors buy sports cards and memorabilia for recreational purposes regardless of the cards’ future value.)

• Sports card investing: Investors, on the other hand, are always cognizant of prices and sports card market trends. This means sports card investing is done by those who want to make a profit. 

2.How to get free sports cards?

Perhaps the most reliable way to get free cards is through No Purchase Necessary or “NPN” offers that are offered by major card companies. Basically, these offers involve entering sweepstakes held by the company for each product they release. If you win the sweepstakes, you will receive one card at hobby box odds.

3.Can sports cards lose value?

Sports cards are not dead, however there has been a market correction in 2022. Popular sports cards like Panini and Optic have plummeted in value. However, even with this market correction, it's still possible to make money from sports cards in 2022.

4.Is collecting sports cards a good investment?

Collecting sports cards can be a great investment for card enthusiasts. Not only does it provide a fun hobby, it can also be an excellent way to make a profit. While the value of individual cards depends on the rarity and condition, some rare cards can be worth thousands of dollars.

On the other hand, it is important to note that collecting sports cards can carry some risks. Many cards can lose value over time, so it's important to make sure that the cards you're buying are actually worth something. Additionally, cards can be easily damaged which can reduce their value. It is also important to be aware of counterfeits that may be circulating in the market.

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