EBay is a competitive, yet rewarding outlet for card purchasing. It comes with some give and take. One must beware not to get entangled in the competition and pay too much for an Upper Deck card. Here are 5 tips so that you can go out and get a steal of your own.

Brad Richards Honorable Numbers: $15

 
Initial Search

Step 1: Search “hockey card auto” into the eBay search box.

Step 2: Sort by “Price + Shipping: Lowest First”

Step 3: Sift through and put amounts in for anything you would want. Be sure to pay attention to people with free shipping as well.

Step 4: Wait. A lot of the time on eBay, cards simply fall through. They go completely unnoticed, especially in mid-day on a weekday. I remember buying an Aleksandr Burmistrov 1/1 Plate for $22, then turning it around for $80. I won it at around 2:20 p.m. or so on a Tuesday.

Logistical Bargain

Take advantage of combined shipping. Most sellers will have a combined shipping policy of $1 or less for each additional card. Just the other day I bought a Peter Holland 2 Color Jersey for $3.99. The seller had a $0.50 combined shipping policy. The other card I wanted was going to be $9 without combined shipping. It turned into a $6.50 deal. What a steal.

Sift Through the Masses

Be sure to check out items in mixed lots. Most people skip right over lots of cards because they just don’t want to look at each and every card, and honestly miss some great hits. This truly supports the saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” 

Michalek BAP Signatures Player’s Club: $1

When to Bid

Do not put in a bid several days before it ends. Do not bid up a card early in. Cards that are bid early are more likely to attract more customers, and therefore you have a less chance of winning the card. Also, competition is increased earlier and a card may climb to a steep price early. I usually only put a bid in with about a minute left. I suggest putting bids in periodically throughout the final minute. Be sure to use eBay’s one-click bid button.

How Much to Bid

My father and I have discovered a way of bidding on cards without going over. It’s called “The 20% Rule”. The rule is:
1) You can only bid on cards that are less than equal to 20% of the high BV (Book Value).
2) Only higher-end cards and cards NPDTS that you can afford to do 20% to 35%.

For example, card A is going for $5 and has a BV $25, I can get it.
For example, card B is going for $5 and has a BV $12, I can’t get it.

I’m not saying you’re definitely going to get steals all of the time, but you should be getting some solid deals. Thanks for the read.

Griffin Germond is a frequent contributor to Upper Deck as well as various other sports forums and websites. Griffin has won Sports Card Forum Hockey Steal of the Month three times. He is a regular user of eBay and pivotal provider to Upper Deck’s Volunteer Alliance. This blog entry was his response to the most recent Volunteer Alliance Mission which asked enthusiasts to contribute any news, advice, or strategies from the perspective of our fans.