Buy Counter
Sort → Protect → Offer → Explain
| Step | Do | Trap |
|---|---|---|
| Sort | Use the value levers to pull hits: star rookies, serial-numbered cards, autos, patches, slabs. Everything else is bulk, priced as one lot. | Comping every card, or making a blind offer without looking |
| Protect | Hold by the edges with clean hands. Sleeve before you inspect. | Bare cards sliding around on the counter |
| Offer | Sold comps, same card, same grade → subtract fees, holding time, risk, profit → follow the store's buy guidelines. | Using asking prices, or comping a raw card against PSA 10 sales |
| Explain | Show the comps, give a one-line reason, offer cash vs. credit, price bulk as a lot. | Calling the comps "inflated," or hiding how you got the number |
Why offers sit below comps
Fees: eBay sports cards take 13.25% + $0.40 per order over $10 (≈ $13.65 on a $100 sale). Holding time and risk: the card may sit, and the price can drop while it does. Overhead and profit. Liquid cards get a higher share. Slow movers and bulk get much less.
Data points, not rules: one shop owner pays ~20% under comps when buying to resell. A collector reported some dealers at 50–60% of comps. CardVault's own rates aren't public. Follow the store's guidelines.
Credit > cash because "cash leaves the shop; credit comes back" (it gets spent on marked-up stock). Example: $10 card = $5 cash or $6.50 credit.
Supply ladder
| Holder | Use |
|---|---|
| Penny sleeve | Everything, always, as the first layer |
| Toploader | Hits being held, sorted, or shipped (sleeve first) |
| Magnetic one-touch | Display and high-value raw singles |
| Semi-rigid (Card Saver I) | PSA submissions: clear penny sleeve + semi-rigid, 3 5/16" × 4 7/8". No toploaders, tape, pull tabs, or sticky notes. |
Red flags → pause and escalate
| Counterfeit / reprint | Card stock feels thin, flimsy, or stiff; blurry print or inkjet lines; chrome feels textured; silver tone off on a Silver Prizm. Compare with a known real copy. |
| Altered | Lifted sticker-auto edges, swapped patch, re-glued relic window |
| Trimmed | Uneven edges, odd corners, wrong size vs. a known copy. PSA won't number-grade trimmed or recolored cards. |
| Fake slab | Cert lookup (psacard.com/cert), and the card must match the record (fakes reuse real certs). Check for frosted edges, flex, glue or pry marks, bright-light label test. |
| Deal | Seller eager to take far below comps on a big card |
Notice, compare, get a second opinion. Never accuse. ID and reporting rules: follow store policy (unverified whether CA's secondhand-dealer reporting system covers card shops).
Script
"Here's what it's actually sold for lately in this condition. We have to resell it, which means fees and time, and the price can move while it sits, so cash is $X, or $Y in store credit. The rest we'd take as a lot for $Z."
Sources: Card Shop Finder · eBay fees · Sports Collectors Daily (Reid) · Sports Collectors Digest · TCGSync · Card Shop Finder supplies · PSA shipping guide · Card Shop Finder fakes · PSA grading standards · PSA Security Buyer's Guide