How to Sell Magic: The Gathering Cards
Selling your Magic cards? Here are the six real options, ranked by speed, price, and hassle. If you’re in the Eugene area, skip to the local cash buyer section.
The options at a glance
| Option | Speed | Price | Hassle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local cash buyer (in person) | Same day | Above-average bulk, fair on singles | Low. One meet-up. |
| National buylist (Card Kingdom, SCG) | 1-3 weeks | Competitive on singles, rejects most bulk | Medium. Form, ship, wait. |
| TCGPlayer (your own listings) | Weeks to months | Highest if you wait | High. Pricing, listing, shipping each sale. |
| eBay | Weeks to months | Highest on rare/old singles | High. Fees, disputes, shipping. |
| Facebook Marketplace / groups | Days to weeks | Variable, often lowball offers | Medium. Time-waster messages. |
| Pawn shop | Same day | Worst. 10-20% of value at best. | Low, but you’ll regret it. |
Speed, price, and hassle are a triangle. You get two of three. A local cash buyer is the only option that gives you both same-day speed and low hassle, with bulk price that beats the national buylists once you account for shipping.
Option 1: Local cash buyer
What it is: a person in your area who buys cards in person for cash. You message them, they come look at your cards, they make an offer, you negotiate, you walk away with cash.
When it wins: almost always for bulk-heavy collections, large old binders, and “I want this out of my house this week” situations.
When it loses: if you have a single very high-end card (Black Lotus, Beta dual lands, signed Mox Sapphire). For those, eBay or a high-end singles dealer pays more because the buyer pool is bigger.
If you’re in the Eugene area, that’s what I do. See my rates and the MTG buyback page for specifics. I cover Eugene, Springfield, and Glenwood.
Option 2: National buylist
Card Kingdom, Star City Games, Channel Fireball, ABU Games all run buylists. You fill out a form with the cards you have, they generate a quote, you ship the box, they verify the cards, they pay you (usually via PayPal or store credit).
When it wins: if you have a stack of singles in the $5+ range, especially newer Standard / Pioneer / Modern staples. National buylists move singles fast and pay competitive rates.
When it loses: bulk. Most buylists either reject commons and uncommons outright or pay below local cash rates because they have to factor in your shipping. Add in 1-3 weeks of waiting and the math gets uglier the more bulk you ship.
A useful sanity check: get a buylist quote, then ask a local cash buyer what they’d pay including the bulk. Compare. Local usually wins on mixed collections.
Option 3: TCGPlayer (your own listings)
You list each card individually, set your own price, ship sales as they come in.
When it wins: patient sellers with a few hundred mid-value singles who want top-of-market prices. Best $/card ratio if your time is free.
When it loses: bulk (don’t bother), and anyone who values their time over $10/hour. Listing, pricing, packing, shipping, dispute handling all add up. Realistically you net 70-75% of sticker after fees and time.
Option 4: eBay
You list cards or lots, buyers bid or buy-now, eBay handles payment, you ship.
When it wins: single high-end cards where global demand matters (Reserved List, old promos, signed cards, foil rare collector boosters). eBay has the deepest international buyer pool.
When it loses: bulk lots, mid-value singles (TCGPlayer is better there), and anyone who doesn’t want to deal with buyer disputes. Plan on losing 12-15% to fees and PayPal.
Option 5: Facebook Marketplace and groups
You post the lot, people DM offers, you negotiate.
When it wins: niche items that need a specific buyer (a complete Commander precon, a sealed Old Border bundle, foreign-language singles).
When it loses: bulk and “I have a long box, what’ll you give me” posts. The reply queue is mostly bottom-feeders offering $20 for a thousand cards. You’ll spend an evening filtering for the one real buyer, who is often a local cash buyer like me anyway.
Option 6: Pawn shop
Don’t.
Pawn shops are non-specialists. They look at a box of cards, see something they can’t quickly liquidate, and offer 10-20% of bulk value at best. If you genuinely don’t care about money and just want the cards gone today, sure. Otherwise any of the other five options is better.
How I price a collection
Since I’m a local cash buyer, here’s how I value what you bring me, so you can compare offers from anyone else:
- Bulk gets bulk rates. Per my rate sheet: $7/1k for commons and uncommons, $100/1k for rares, $250/1k for mythics, $80/1k for Full Art Lands, $5/1k for basics and tokens. Foil C/U at $20/1k, foil rares at $125/1k.
- Sealed product at 70% of TCGPlayer market low. Booster packs, boxes, Commander Decks, Pre-Release kits.
- Collections (mixed lots with singles). I look at the pile, factor in the bulk floor, eyeball anything that jumps out as a real single, and make a fair offer based on what I can move. I have the infrastructure to resell bulk and singles, so I can usually pay above what other local buyers will.
- Standing want-list cards (Grizzly Bears, Serra Angel printings, TMNT foil pizza lands): TCGPlayer market or close to it. See the want list for the current ask.
If you’re in the Eugene area
Send a photo of what you’ve got to [email protected] or text (541) 525-0520. Same-day ballpark, cash on pickup, I drive to you anywhere in Eugene, Springfield, or Glenwood.