We’ve all been spending a lot of time at home lately as we practice social distancing. For many of us, this means more free time that we can devote to long-overdue projects, like organizing our Magic collections.
If you’ve culled through your collection recently, you may find cards that you don’t need – cards you haven’t played with in years, if at all. Plus, with in-store play suspended through fall, now is a great time to turn your rotating Standard cards into store credit that you can use later on.
Thankfully, being stuck at home isn’t an obstacle to selling your cards. Many Magic: The Gathering retailers – including Card Kingdom – buy cards online. If you’ve never sold cards before, we’re here to walk you through the ins and outs of turning your cards into store credit or cash.
Why Sell Your Cards?
(“Venerable Knight” art by Colin Boyer)
Before we get into the details of how to sell your cards, you may be wondering why you’d want to sell them in the first place. After all, weren’t Magic cards designed to be traded with friends?
Here are just a few reasons why you might choose to sell your cards instead of trading:
- Always get the cards you want: You might have some great cards to offer, but the other players in your community may not have what you’re looking for. When you trade your cards in to a retailer for credit, you’ll have their entire inventory to choose from.
- Consistent prices and card quality: Retailers adhere to strict pricing and card-appraisal standards. If you sell cards to a retailer, you can anticipate fair grades and good prices for your cards.
- Trade-in bonuses: Many online retailers, including Card Kingdom, offer several payment methods, including store credit. Retailers also offer trade-in bonuses: at Card Kingdom, you’ll receive a 30% higher quote for your cards if you choose store credit payment.
- Social distancing constraints: Finally, there’s the elephant in the room. Trading simply isn’t as feasible when we can’t congregate at our local game stores or conventions.
Selling Your Cards Online
(“Ill-Gotten Inheritance” art by Winona Nelson)
Armed with this knowledge, you may decide you’re ready to take the leap and sell your cards online for the first time. But it doesn’t have to be a chore – the Card Kingdom buylist makes it easy to search for the cards you want to sell. Head to the buylist page and use the filters to limit your search to different sets, formats, and card styles (such as foil or non-foil).
If you want to sell a lot of cards even faster, you can – provided that you have them logged in a spreadsheet. Card Kingdom’s CSV Import Tool allows you to upload a list of all the cards you wish to sell and add them all to your cart at once. You can learn more about CSV imports here.
As you’re putting cards in your sell cart, please take note of the following:
- Card title: Make sure you haven’t mistaken one card for another while filling out your sell order. Cards that are thematically related in the game may have similar names.
- Edition: Check the set symbol on the right side of the card to make sure the edition is correct. Card value can vary by edition, as some printings of cards are in higher circulation than others.
Shipping Your Cards
(“Shabraz, the Skyshark” art by Paul Scott Canavan)
Once you’ve completed your purchase order, it’s time to send your old cards to their new home. Pack your cards securely and include your order number in the package (a slip of paper with the order number clearly written on it will suffice).
If you’ve ordered cards from Card Kingdom in the past, we recommend shipping your cards in the same plastic hinge cases we use to ship cards to you! Just make sure to secure them with tape so they don’t open in transit.
If you live near our headquarters in Seattle, WA, you don’t need to ship your cards! Just drop them off at Mox Boarding House’s Seattle location and a retail staff member will deliver them to our grading team for you.
You can also sell cards in-person at Mox Boarding House Seattle by contacting our buyer at buyer@cardkingdom.com. We recommend this option if you’re selling a large collection.
More Information
(“Teferi’s Protege” art by Bram Sels)
If you’re looking for more information on selling your cards, we have a full FAQ that you can visit on our website. It includes information on different selling options, our full grading guide, and common customer questions.
With so much going on in the world, we strive to make selling your cards a stress-free experience. If you have any questions, our customer support team is happy to help.