How to Sell Pokémon Cards in the UK

To sell Pokémon cards in the UK, first write down exactly which printing each card is and describe its condition against a named scale. Then pick a selling route that fits the number of cards you have and the time you can give it. Single listings on eBay, Vinted or Cardmarket suit cards you can identify exactly. A collection sold as one lot, or bulk sold by count, takes less of your time.

Identify exactly what you are selling

A buyer searching for a card wants one exact printing, so start with the set. Where the set symbol and the collector number sit on the card depends on its era, and the set symbols guide lists the symbols by set.

Copy the collector number exactly as printed, both halves. The Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare from Scarlet & Violet 151 is numbered 199/165. The first figure is higher than the second, which tells a buyer the card sits outside the set's main 165.

Language comes next. An English card and a Japanese card with the same artwork are different cards to a buyer.

Finish matters as much as language. Non-holo, holo and reverse holo versions of the same card are separate items, and the holo and reverse holo guide explains how to tell them apart.

Some older cards were printed more than once, so the edition needs its own line. If you cannot tell which printing you have, say so rather than guess. The 1st Edition and shadowless guide covers the checks.

Finally, note whether the card is raw or graded. For a graded card, write down the grading company, the grade and the certificate number from the label. All three go in the listing title.

Describe condition and photograph the card

A condition word only means something when you name the scale it comes from. Our condition standard sets out the five grades we will use for raw cards: Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played and Damaged. Each has a written test. On our standard, a card that fails one test drops to the grade below.

Cardmarket uses its own seven-step scale: Mint, Near Mint, Excellent, Good, Light Played, Played and Poor. It does not offer Gem Mint as a grade. Its guide also says a card with whitened borders has to be listed as Poor, and that surface scratches make a card Good at best. eBay lists two condition options for trading cards, Graded and Ungraded. Say in your description which scale you used for the detail.

Photographs show defects that words do not, so take them in daylight or under a desk lamp, without flash, with the card out of its sleeve. You need these shots.

• The whole front, square on, filling the frame
• The whole back, taken the same way
• The front tilted under angled light, so scratches and print lines show
• A close-up of each corner
• A close-up of every defect you mention in the description
• For a graded card, both sides of the holder with the full label readable

Photograph the card you will send, never a stock image.

Choose individual sales, a collection sale or bulk

Individual listings put each card up on its own. A collection sale offers everything as one lot, in a single listing or to one buyer. Bulk means commons, uncommons and other non-holo cards sold by count, and the bulk guide covers the options for those.

The times below are our assumptions, not measurements, for one adult with a phone camera and 200 cards.

None of these routes guarantees a figure, and nothing on this page predicts what you will receive. The trade-off is your time against the share of the sorting you leave to the buyer.

The next table shows what each platform's own page said about fees on the date checked. Fees change, so check again before you list.

Without a platform's own dispute process, a sale by post to someone you met in a group leaves more of the risk with you.

Research comparable completed sales

The best evidence of what a card sells for is what the same card has recently sold for, in the same condition and language. Search using the exact identifiers from the first section. Then filter to sold or completed items where the site allows it. Live listings show what sellers are asking, not what buyers paid.

Match the condition to yours and set aside lots and other printings. Look at several sales from the last month or two rather than the single highest. Write down which sales you used, so you can show a buyer how you reached your figure.

The valuation guide goes through the method step by step.

Build an accurate listing or enquiry

A listing and an email to a buyer need the same nine things in the same order. The table is the template. Fill it in once per card, or once per lot with the notable cards named.

The listing title is the Card row, plus the language if it is not English. For a graded card, add the grading company, the grade and the certificate number. If you are emailing a shop or a collector instead, send the same nine lines and the photographs.

Package and document the sale

A raw card goes into a penny sleeve, then a toploader or semi-rigid holder, then a team bag so it cannot slide out. A graded card goes into bubble wrap. Either then goes into a padded mailer with something stiff behind it. More than a few cards go in a small box. The posting guide covers choosing a Royal Mail service.

Before you seal the parcel, photograph the card beside the address label, then photograph the packed parcel. Keep the proof of postage. Add the tracking number to your sale notes and to the platform's dispatch details on the day you post. That paperwork is what you rely on if a buyer says the card did not arrive.

On Vinted, the seller has 5 days after a sale to take the parcel to a drop-off point. The buyer then has 2 days after delivery to report a problem.

Tax and platform reporting

Since 1 January 2024, online platforms report some sellers' details to HMRC. GOV.UK says a report does not automatically mean you owe tax. It also says that if you sell personal possessions you probably do not have to pay Income Tax on them. If you buy goods to sell at a profit, you are likely to count as trading. Capital Gains Tax can apply when a single item, or a set of related items, sells for a large sum.

Selling to TCG Emporium

We do not buy cards. There is no buylist and no trade-in form. A local shop that buys cards sets its own terms, so ask what it takes and which condition scale it uses before you bring a collection in.

If you have not yet checked what your cards have sold for, read the valuation guide next, then fill in the template above.