How to Price Your Cards Before a Card Show Using eBay Sold Data

The fastest way to know what a card is worth before a show is to look at what the same card actually sold for on eBay recently. Not what it's listed for. Use eBay's Sold Items filter for the last 90 days, or eBay's free Product Research tool for up to 3 years of sales (eBay Product Research). Then decide your price, your floor, and what you'd take in trade.

Two free ways to see sold prices

Tool	How to get there	What it shows
Sold Items filter	Search the card on eBay, then check 'Sold Items' in the search filters.	Listings that sold in the last 90 days (per eBay). eBay says Product Research, unlike this view, shows the actual price when a Best Offer was accepted.
Product Research (formerly Terapeak)	Seller Hub → Research tab → Product research. Free for sellers with Seller Hub access.	Up to 3 years of eBay sales: average price, price range, average shipping, sell-through rate, and the actual sold price even when a Best Offer was accepted (eBay).

How to pull a good comp

Match the exact card. Same year, set, card number, and parallel. A base card and a numbered parallel can be worlds apart. Not sure what you have? See parallels and numbered cards.
Match the condition. Compare raw to raw, and a PSA 9 to other PSA 9s. Graders aren't priced the same: see grading company comparisons.
Use at least 3 to 5 recent sales and toss obvious outliers, like a lot sale or a shill-looking auction.
Note the trend. Product Research shows whether prices are rising or falling over the date range you pick.
Write the number down on a sticker or a price sheet. You won't have time to look up every card at the table.

Turn the comp into a show price

Dealers at a show are buying to resell, often on eBay, so they work back from the sold price. For sports trading cards, eBay's final value fee is 13.25% of the total sale up to $7,500 (2.35% on the part above), plus $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 for $10 or less). The total includes shipping and sales tax the buyer pays (eBay selling fees).

Example (our math): a card with a $50 sold comp and $4.95 shipping has a fee of about 13.25% x $54.95 + $0.40 = $7.68 before sales tax, so the seller keeps roughly $42 before postage and supplies. That's why a dealer's cash offer is often well below the eBay comp. Decide ahead of time:

Sticker price: about the recent sold comp.
Floor: the least you'd take in cash. Compare it to what you'd net on eBay.
Trade value: many dealers give more in trade than in cash. Know which cards you'd rather trade than sell.

Next: the full seller and trader checklist, card show etiquette, and upcoming Indiana card shows.

Sources (checked Oct 30, 2026): eBay Help: Product research, eBay Help: selling fees. Fees are for eBay.com basic sellers. Store subscribers and Top Rated Sellers may pay different rates.

Shop cards from Mackey's Finest Collectibles, a Kokomo-area Indiana seller on eBay →
Owner's store: Mackey's Finest is owned by this site's owner, so we benefit from sales there.

Info may be outdated. Verify with the source.

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