Seller guide
Where to Sell Pokemon Cards
Every real option, dated fees, what you keep.
The best place to sell a Pokemon card depends on what the card is worth. Bulk commons and uncommons sell most easily to a store buylist, which paid $15 per 1,000 cards at Untapped Games and Cape Fear Games as of October 1, 2026. Singles worth $3 to $20 sell well on TCGplayer or eBay. Cards worth more than $20, graded slabs and auctions usually belong on eBay. Whatnot suits sellers who want to sell live, and a local card shop is the fastest way to turn a whole collection into cash in one visit.
Written by Christopher Loubert, founder of WaxEngine, which identifies, prices and lists Pokemon cards on eBay. Every fee on this page was read from the platform's own published page on October 1, 2026, and each one links to its source.
The comparison
How much do you keep when you sell a Pokemon card?
On a $5, $25 or $100 Pokemon card, eBay and TCGplayer take within 10 cents of each other as of October 1, 2026. Whatnot takes a little less, and a Facebook group sale paid through PayPal Goods and Services takes the least. The figures below assume a US seller, free shipping, no sales tax and each platform's standard seller rate, and they are before postage and supplies.
| Where | Seller fees, Oct 1, 2026 | Left on $5 / $25 / $100, after fees, before postage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | 13.25% of the buyer's total (item, shipping and tax) up to $7,500 per item, plus $0.30 per order up to $10 or $0.40 above | $4.04 / $21.29 / $86.35 | Singles over $20, graded slabs, auctions |
| TCGplayer | 10.75% commission on the order subtotal (capped at $75 per product), plus 2.5% of the order total + $0.30 | $4.04 / $21.39 / $86.45 | Singles from $3 to $20 that buyers find by set and number |
| Whatnot | 8% commission on the item price (TCG, entry tier), plus 2.9% of the order total + $0.30 processing | $4.15 / $21.97 / $88.80 | Live shows, breaks, moving volume to an audience |
| Facebook groups | No group fee; PayPal Goods and Services charges 2.99% + $0.49 | $4.36 / $23.76 / $96.52 | Sellers with references in an active group |
| Local shop or buylist | No fee; the offer is below market value | The shop's offer | Bulk and whole collections; a local shop pays the same day, a mail-in buylist after it checks the cards |
| Cardmarket (Europe) | 5% of the card price per card sold for a private seller, capped at €100 per card | Priced in euros | Sellers based in Europe |
Sources, read October 1, 2026: eBay selling fees, TCGplayer Fees, Whatnot seller fees, PayPal US business fees, Cardmarket fee table. TCGplayer rounds with bankers rounding, which its fee page explains.
The options
Where can you sell Pokemon cards, and what is each one good at?
Pokemon cards sell in six main places: eBay, TCGplayer, Whatnot, Facebook groups, local card shops and buylists, and Cardmarket in Europe. Each one wins for a different kind of card, so many sellers use two or three of them at once.
Selling Pokemon cards on eBay
eBay charges 13.25% of the buyer's total for a trading card, shipping and sales tax included, on the portion up to $7,500 per item, plus $0.30 per order of $10 or less and $0.40 above, according to eBay's selling fees page on October 1, 2026. eBay lists graded slabs, runs auctions, and has its own Canadian site, eBay.ca. A raw Pokemon card that sells for $20 or less can ship by eBay Standard Envelope, which eBay's help page priced at $0.82 for 1 oz on October 1, 2026, with up to 24 raw cards per envelope and no graded cards under its rules on the same date. The cost of eBay is the listing work: in the founder's own timing, a card listed properly by hand takes three to five minutes.
Selling Pokemon cards on TCGplayer
TCGplayer charges a standard Marketplace seller a 10.75% commission on the order subtotal, capped at $75 per product, plus a transaction fee of 2.5% of the order total and $0.30, according to TCGplayer's fee page on October 1, 2026. TCGplayer buyers shop by set, card number and condition, which makes it a strong market for $3 to $20 singles. A new TCGplayer seller starts at Level 1, which allowed 100 items listed at once as of October 1, 2026, $1,000 of total listings and $500 per item, and moves to Level 2 once two orders reach their expected delivery date with feedback of 80% or higher, per TCGplayer's seller levels page. Sellers in the US and Canada can sell on TCGplayer.
Selling Pokemon cards on Whatnot
Whatnot charges an 8% commission on trading card games in the US for sellers under $15,000 of sales in a four-week period, falling to 6.5% at $500,000 and above, under the tiered rates that started September 21, 2026. Whatnot charges its commission on the item price only, and adds a payment processing fee of 2.9% of the order total plus $0.30, according to Whatnot's seller fees page (updated September 29, 2026). Whatnot is built around live shows, so it rewards sellers who can hold an audience on camera. The Whatnot fees guide compares the hours against eBay.
Selling Pokemon cards in Facebook groups
Facebook groups for Pokemon cards charge no fee to post, and buyers usually pay through PayPal Goods and Services, which charges a US seller 2.99% plus $0.49 as of October 2026, per PayPal's fee page. On a $5, $25 or $100 card, PayPal Goods and Services takes the lowest fee of the four online options in the comparison table above. The seller does all the work: photos, price, answering messages, shipping and any dispute. Goods and Services is the payment type PayPal provides for sales, with its buyer and seller protection programs, and Friends and Family payments have neither, so ask every buyer to pay by Goods and Services.
Selling Pokemon cards to a local shop or buylist
A card shop or online buylist pays less than a card sells for, because the store has to resell it at a profit. A local shop pays at the counter once it accepts the cards, and a mail-in buylist pays after it receives and checks them. Neither needs any listings. As of October 1, 2026, Untapped Games paid $15 in cash or $16.50 in store credit per 1,000 Pokemon commons and uncommons, and Cape Fear Games paid $15 in cash or $19.50 in credit per 1,000. Both exclude basic energy, Untapped Games also excludes foils, and both pay less when a submission breaks their buylist rules. The bulk Pokemon guide covers how to sort a collection before you sell it this way.
Selling Pokemon cards on Cardmarket
Cardmarket is the main trading card marketplace for sellers based in Europe. A private seller pays 5% of the card price on each card sold, capped at €100 per card, per Cardmarket's fee table on October 1, 2026. Sellers in the US and Canada usually choose between eBay and TCGplayer instead.
Decide by value
Which Pokemon cards should go where?
Sort a Pokemon collection by value first, then send each pile to the place that pays best for it. A card that sells for $1 on eBay loses money once eBay's fee and a $0.82 envelope label come out, so cheap cards belong in bulk or in lots.
| The card | Where it usually sells best | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Commons and uncommons worth cents | Buylist or local shop, by the thousand | At 1.5 cents a card, listing them one at a time costs more than they sell for |
| Singles worth under $3 | Lots on eBay | One card per envelope leaves little after fees and postage |
| Singles worth $3 to $20 | TCGplayer or eBay with Standard Envelope | Fees are nearly identical; pick the one you can list faster |
| Singles worth more than $20 | eBay, or Whatnot with an audience | Tracked shipping, auctions and the widest pool of buyers |
| Graded slabs (PSA, BGS, CGC) | eBay | eBay lists the grade and certificate in item specifics |
| A whole collection, cash today | Local card shop | One visit, no listings, a lower price in exchange |
Run any single card through the free eBay fee calculator to see what it nets after eBay's fee and postage. Selling sports cards as well? The sports card guide walks the same workflow for hockey, baseball and football.
Where software fits
Can software list Pokemon cards on eBay for you?
WaxEngine lists Pokemon cards on eBay US and eBay Canada from photos. WaxEngine reads up to 12 cards at once from a photo upload or a sheet-fed document scanner, identifies each Pokemon card, and prices it from eBay sold listings. When a Pokemon card has no eBay sale to compare, WaxEngine uses the TCGplayer market price instead. Every Pokemon card waits in Review for you to approve it, and then publishes to eBay as a fixed-price listing or an auction, graded cards included.
- What it does not do. As of October 2026, WaxEngine lists on eBay only, so it does not sell to buylists or list on TCGplayer, Whatnot or Facebook. Relisting is not live for Pokemon cards yet. Free scanner apps, including TCGplayer's own app, identify Pokemon cards if you would rather list by hand.
- What it costs. As of October 2026, the standard plan is $24.95 a month or $249 a year with 1,000 AI scans a month, and extra scans cost $4.95 per 250, up to 3,000 scans a month in total. Stores listing more than 3,000 cards a month can take the Volume plan, from $199 a month for 5,000 cards. The free trial is 14 days or 200 scans, whichever comes first, with no credit card. Details on the pricing page.
- Who built it. Christopher Loubert built WaxEngine to run Loubs Cards, his own eBay store with 1,500+ live hockey listings as of September 2026, and opened it to other sellers in August 2026. The about page has the story.
Common questions.
Where is the best place to sell Pokemon cards?
Is it better to sell Pokemon cards on eBay or TCGplayer?
How much does TCGplayer take from a sale?
Do local card shops buy Pokemon cards?
Is it safe to sell Pokemon cards on Facebook?
What is the fastest way to sell Pokemon cards for cash?
Photos in, priced Pokemon listings out.
Upload a stack of Pokemon card photos, see each card identified and priced from eBay sold listings, approve them in Review, and publish to eBay US or Canada. 14 days or 200 scans free, no credit card.
Start your 14-day free trialNo credit card required. The first 10 subscribers lock in $19.95/mo for life.
Thanks for the honest answer. It genuinely helps.