Hello, everyone! Pic for title attention 
So, I searched and didn't see anything like this ! I've decided to give it a go. Over the years, I've saved so much money sorting eBay items, I've learned how to find decent deals! As a quick FYI, this isn't just pertained to PKMN TCG. I found a $250 travel case set for sale for $60 and free shipping! Researching the cards and products go a long way! You can also find how much products are in a store, take a snap shot, and go home without the FOMO fear. For those of you new to this, FOMO just means "fear of missing out." Let's stop sending money to the ones inflating product, even the TCG hobby and local stores, over pricing the cards!
Without further ado, I shall begin the guide using my personal eBay with sensitive stuff highlighted and/or blacked out. I'll be keeping the pictures in spoilers as well! I hope this guide serves you better and gives you some insight to the eBay world!
꒷︶꒥꒷‧₊ ໒( ” •̀ ᗜ •́ ” )७ ₊˚꒷︶꒷꒥꒷
- Begin Search
When you begin, you can search for anything and most the relevant typically pops up! If you want the hella good: go to deals (ATM I highlighted in blue) > "Sort Time: Ending Soonest". This will give you the, "bids ending quickly", from your search criteria. Yellow circled is what I searched: a general "pokemon booster box" - and it came up with some Paradox Rift (PR) ETB's (Elite Trainer Box), a 36 lot of Darkness Ablaze (DA), and other items.
Key things to note: Sword & Shield (S&S) era packs MAY be weighed on these websites. The current price on this specific pic example is $80 plus $2.99 shipping. I can almost guarantee it has been weighed. It is a cheap lot. You "could" potentially purchase them and sell them for 5 dollars a pop or use them for your marketplace with similar things as the "PokeRev Pack 2.0" - essentially a mystery pack of multiple booster packs. The 10x ETB (PR) is at $197.50 and a 3min ending time. Those are $55 in stores. You could potentially purchase that set up and again sell on your market place for $48/$50 shipping and make money if you add shipping vs a free shipping option! Good luck on your searches! Use this as a means to find what you are wanting!
Added information all that i had forgotten to give- "Oftentimes (but not always), if you "watch" an item, the seller will give you a discounted price!"
Thank you $(you need an account to see links)!
Pic down below:
- Sorting
Sorting cards products slabs is pretty simple. In these couple of pictures, I am showing ones you could go for and ones to avoid completely. The first picture you'll see the tag line, "Huge Pokemon TCG Lot Sealed". The cost is $200 and it ends in 30 mins... Never go for these, and I will tell you why. (DA) ETB and the Silver Tempest (ST) ETB go for nearly $28-$35 on eBay. I'm assuming this seller wanted to re-coop these items they got from the store, which, retail cost for those two will be about $45-$50. The two highlighted are decent costs, and if you add the price, its $87.60 and that's if no one else bids. if you get the Scarlet & Violet (S&V) Booster Box at under $90, it's a decent deal shipped. Used to retail for over $100. I didn't highlight Vivid Voltage (VV) as its a meh set to begin with, but if you like it you like it. VV, if you save it for a couple years, the price WILL always go up. I would purchase it for under $100 and not at what you see in this picture. This is also referred to junk dumping here is a nice video about it click (you need an account to see links)
Picture 2: I am showing you items you should mos def avoid. People who sell "weighted" packs. ESPECIALLY if they are newer releases. Their weight is no longer directed with their pull. Crown Zenith, as well, should not be on that list, as it was a special set. Also, the prices for them are astronomically stupid. The (PR) Booster Box is an okay cost. It was originally $90 on release, but people do seem to like the set which also drives cost up. The only modern sealed set that has extremely high cost is currently Evolving Skies (ES), which we will touch up on soon!
- Raw Card Vs Graded Slabs
Raw card purchases are always your best bet! One of my favourite websites to use for card finding is (you need an account to see links). They do a good job of sorting all American cards! When a new set releases, it does take some time for them to upload. Again, however, a wonderful website, you can also click on your card and it'll take you to the eBay or TCGPlayer. In this next picture, I am showing a Charizard VSTAR Alternate Art. I highlighted yellow as potentials, Red because a CARD shipping price will NEVER be $4.25 - they are just trying to get more money from the easy discount shipping. Card shipping will be $0.64 as highlighted in green. It can be $4.25 if they ship a box which i highly advised ASKING them if they're shipping a box. Stay Safe!
Picture 2: I am explaining the difference between grading companies. As you see AGS (Automated Grading Service) is $16 and $4.50 shipping, which is fine. Slabs require boxes so completely understandable! AGS, however, has only been around since 2021. So their pricing tends to be on the lower range. It is a grade 9 which is pretty damn good! The shiny Charizard and Haunter, I am just highlighting their seal of eBay approval - a key way to know you're safe.
Picture 3: PSA (Professional Sports Authenticators) slabs. Clearly there is a "tax". I personally prefer PSA over AGS, CGC. If, however, I ever wanted to be Hot Boi status: Black Label Beckett all day... Green highlight is one I would mos def buy asap! Yellow is a seller who is trying to start selling in the market as they have 0% feedback. You could make their day and be a first purchaser! This puts you at risk as you have no idea how they run their biz so be weary. Orange highlight is the name of the slab! Blue circles are sellers trying to sell at the highest price point for maximum profit, which I would never purchase the green highlight. Purple are just sellers trying to mask the profit with the shipping cost.
- Advanced Search
The Advanced Search feature is amazing ! Please utilize this in your search for goodies at lower cost! In this example, I'm showing you the highlighted date, cost, and sort of ended recently. Back in the day, like a year or so ago (ES) Booster Boxes were going for $650+!!! So to see a $450 sell gives YOU ammunition to go to a seller and ask if they could price match if they were at a higher right or give slight discount. If no response, keep an eye on their eBay post and message them later. See if they didnt sell it after some time and scoop for profit or pack openings!
Picture 2: Show cases after clicking advanced search, you can input the keyword. My case is "evolving skies", and if you click sold items, it auto clicks completed items. Thus, your search for sold products begin! Now you have even more ammo in your search!
- My Examples
Of course, I can show you my deals! A lot of them I found about a year ago and do not represent current prices. Many are inflated and a lot have deflated as well! I do not count shipping price towards value of the item. A lot of people do, however, so you can be your own judge. I opened 80% of my items and I loved my little discounts! Be safe out there! Be vigilant for those amazing deals! Good luck team cK!
꒰ა ˚₊ ✧・┈・╴﹕꒰ ᐢ｡- ༝ -｡ᐢ ꒱﹕╴・┈・𐑺 ‧₊˚໒꒱
I'd like to special thank $(you need an account to see links) for giving me motivation for writing this up as well as providing her creative touch to my boring coding! Thank you!
A shmoll selling guide: HOLD, do not sell, as if you sold you lost profit. If you purchased at retail - learn from my mistake! Only open if you are wanting to gamble at finding hits, and/or like the set!
My personal favorite sets that have good hits and are fun to open:
All new SV sets
Crown Zenith is a heavy hitter
Silver Tempest is a heavy hitter
tbh thats it, cK fam dont forget to have FUN!
Originally Posted by Misha
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