The right answer depends on how much your time is worth and how fast you need the money.
Your four options
| Route | You typically get | Effort | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell to a shop | 50–70% of market | Almost none | Same day |
| Online marketplace, card by card | 80–90% after fees | Very high | Weeks to months |
| Auction house (high-end only) | Market, minus commission | Low | Months |
| Bulk lot to another collector | 40–60% | Low | Days |
What people forget to count
- Fees. Marketplace and payment fees together often take 12–15% before postage.
- Postage and packaging, including tracked and insured for anything valuable.
- Time. Listing 400 cards individually is genuine work. At even £10/hour, a week of evenings can exceed the premium you gained.
- Returns and disputes, which land on the seller far more often than the buyer.
Do this before you sell anything
- 1.Find out what you actually have. The value in a collection is usually concentrated in a handful of cards.
- 2.Split the tail from the head. Sell the top 10–20 cards individually; bulk the rest. Individually listing a £2 card destroys your hourly rate.
- 3.Check condition honestly on the valuable ones. Over-grading your own cards is the fastest route to a return.
- 4.Decide whether anything should be graded first — see should I grade my card.
Working out the head from the tail
Log the collection here and the total, the biggest holdings and the recent movers are worked out for you, so you can see which cards are worth listing individually rather than guessing. It is free, and the selling guide goes deeper on timing.