Best Marketplaces to buy single sports cards
For over 40 years, it would be an understatement that I have been passionately collecting sports cards. I generally buy single cards for one of these use cases:
- To add to my personal collection
- To get the card signed by a player (using SportsCollectors.net)
- As an investment / To flip for profit (using Collectz)
So I thought it would be fun to share some guidance around what places I go to look when I am searching for specific single cards.
Sports Card Marketplace Comparison
(as of 2025 — based on seller terms, buyer experience, and community consensus)
| Platform | Inventory Strengths | Pricing Tendency | Fees (Buyer) | Best Use Cases | Downsides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Huge selection, raw + graded, all sports/eras | Market-driven (often comps) | None directly, but shipping varies | Auctions for deals, BIN for quick pickup, set building | Risk of fakes, competition drives prices up |
|
Deep raw & some graded inventory, vintage to ultra-modern | Often below comps (esp. bulk) | Small processing fee if cashing out | Building sets, player lots, long-term buy/hold | 2–4 week shipping unless you pay extra |
|
Commons, bulk singles, set fillers | Cheapest for low-end | Shipping per seller | Filling base sets, vintage commons | Clunky UI, multiple shipping fees |
|
Mix of raw & graded, low-mid end | Competitive (often under eBay) | None extra | Cheaper modern singles, PC chasing | Smaller inventory than eBay |
|
High-end graded, premium modern, auctions | Can be deals in weekly auctions | None extra | Big-ticket cards, graded vintage/modern | Less low-end selection |
|
High-end, rare inserts, autos | Auction-driven | None extra | Rare modern hits, high-value slabs | Few cheap singles |
|
All graded (slabs only), low seller fees | Below comps | None | Slab arbitrage, premium PCs | No raw inventory |
|
Mid-to-high-end, mostly graded | Varies, deals possible | None | Modern graded PC | Smaller inventory than PWCC/eBay |
|
Collector-to-collector, all price ranges | Below comps (no fees) | None | Bulk PC buys, trusted collectors | Must earn rep to get best deals |
|
Any type, all price ranges | Often below comps | None | Local deals, PC-focused | Scams possible — need to vet sellers |
|
Mostly raw, mid-end | Under comps | None | Cheap raw deals, quick flips | Less selection |
|
Dealer stock, searchable | Slightly above comps | None | Filling rare set gaps | Prices can be high |
|
Heavy on modern. Live auctions. | Bidding often pushes above comps | None directly, but shipping varies | Live-stream sniping for raw singles, buying bulk from trusted sellers, networking directly with sellers | Easy to overpay, condition not always clear, inventory varies. |
But really, when should I use each marketplace?
Here’s your Sports Card Buying Decision Tree — quick way to decide where to source based on type, budget, and urgency.
Sports Card Sourcing Flowchart
1️⃣ What are you buying?
-
Raw card → go to Step 2
-
Graded (slab) → go to Step 4
2️⃣ Raw Card: What’s your budget?
-
$0.25 – $5 (commons, low-end inserts, set needs) → Sportlots, BuySportsCards, COMC
-
$5 – $50 (mid-tier rookies, SPs, nice parallels) → BuySportsCards, eBay (auctions for deals), WhatNot
-
$50+ (raw high-end inserts, rare parallels) → eBay BIN, Alt, Facebook Groups (trusted sellers)
3️⃣ Do you need it fast?
-
Yes → Avoid COMC unless you pay for expedited shipping; stick to eBay / BuySportsCards
-
No → COMC often has cheaper bulk buys, can wait weeks
4️⃣ Graded Card: What’s your budget?
-
<$100 → MySlabs, PWCC Weekly Auction, Blowout Forum, WhatNot
-
$100 – $500 → MySlabs (low fees), PWCC, Alt
-
$500+ / high-end grails → Goldin, Heritage Auctions, PWCC Premier
5️⃣ Is rarity a factor?
-
Modern rare parallel / auto → Goldin, PWCC, Alt
-
Vintage (pre-1980) → PWCC, Heritage, eBay (carefully)
6️⃣ Do you want to network / bundle deals?
-
Yes → Blowout Forum, Facebook Groups, Reddit r/sportscards BST
-
No → Stick to marketplaces
📌Quick Lookup Table
| Situation | Best Place |
|---|---|
| Filling base set cheaply | Sportlots / BuySportsCards / COMC |
| Hunting raw rookies under comps | BuySportsCards / eBay auctions |
| Flipping slabs | MySlabs / PWCC weekly |
| High-end rare / vintage | PWCC / Goldin / Heritage |
| Quick pickup (need in <5 days) | eBay BIN / MySlabs |
Recommendation for buyers: SportsCardDatabase has comparison shopping in one place!
If you want to compare prices across multiple marketplaces, SportsCardDatabase is a great resource. It aggregates listings from many of the marketplaces listed in this post, so you can quickly find the best deal on any card.
