The Pokemon trading card game (TCG) market is red hot and has evolved—much like the titular monsters—beyond its playground hobby roots into a high-stakes alternative asset. You know what I mean if you’ve ever tried to buy a set from the Pokemon Center: there are long lines. funny. The market potential for these cards has never been greater. On February 16, 2026, Logan Paul broke the trading card record by selling his PSA 10-grade Pikachu Illustrator card (and diamond-encrusted slab holder) on a whim. $16.49 million. It’s a flip for the record books, and you can join the party with a flip of your own. In celebration of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, use this guide as your roadmap to navigate the wild and wonderful world of selling Pokémon cards online. These recommended apps and services will help you price, categorize, and sell cards—and ship them to buyers faster.
1. Value your Pokemon cards with TCGPlayer and other apps.
It’s important to know the value of your card before listing it for sale. The popular TCGPlayer app (available for Android and iOS) is a valuable resource. Its easy scanning feature lets you quickly identify cards and view real-time pricing data based on recent sales completed on TCGPlayer. Each listing includes market price history, recent sales, number of cards available, and other useful metrics.
Searching for cards and sales data in the Collector app (Credit: Collector/PCMag)
You should gather data from multiple sources to better estimate the value of the card. Like TCGPlayer, Collectr is an Android and iOS app. which lets you browse card lists and metrics. Alternative apps include Alt and Card Ladder. Alt is a great listing and auction app that focuses heavily on graded cards (more on that in a bit). Card Ladder also has lists, but offers a subscription to track and grow your card collection. Of course, eBay never fails to feature Pokemon card listings, so make it a point to check the prices of sold cards. Note that some services double as platforms for selling your cards, streamlining the sales process.
Armed with this information, you can establish a base selling price. But before proceeding to this step, you should consider ranking your Pokemon cards to earn big money.
2. Rank your Pokemon cards to add value.
Say you snagged a rare Special Illustration Charizard from the Pokémon Scarlet & Violet 151 set, which currently fetches over $300 as of this writing. You’ll want to have it graded by a certification company to get full value from the sale. The most high-profile service is Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). You’ll often see PSA-rated cards for sale online. PSA has Android and iOS apps for scanning cards and submitting grading orders. It also allows you to track these orders and easily post your listing on eBay for sale.
A ranked Pokemon card gives it far more legitimacy. Why? This process verifies the card’s authenticity and gives it a quality grade (ie, heavily played, mint, or gem mint), making it more valuable than an ungraded card. This process takes time, so it may take 15 to 90 business days for your Pokemon cards to be graded and returned to you depending on the level of submission.
Ratings are not free. PSA charges $32.99 to grade a card. A PSA Collectors Club subscription (starting at $149 per year) drops that price to $24.99 per card with bulk orders of at least 20 cards. There is also a surcharge if the value of the card exceeds $500. This means that if you submit a card for $32.99, but it gets a PSA 10 that costs more than $1,000, PSA will bump it up to its highest level ($64.99 value max) before sending you the slabbed card now. It is very important that you pre-screen your cards with the apps mentioned in the section above, and purchase the appropriate grading tier to avoid any mid-process additions.
Registering a card for PSA grading via mobile app (Credit: PSA/PCmag)
Group submissions are a good way to reduce subscription and pricing fees. PSA dealers process these submissions and aggregate cards from multiple submitters into one batch. You can browse online for local hobby leagues and hobby shops (such as Blacker Trading in New York City) that offer group submissions. GameStop (yes, the video game store) also offers group card submissions.
If you want to maximize profits, there’s no financial incentive to grade Pokemon cards that sell for less than the grading fee—unless you’re sure the card’s value will increase later. Don’t bother sending cheap cards for grading. Instead, sell it raw or in bulk.
You should also consider alternative services that may offer lower cost ratings. Beckett (now owned by PSA’s parent company), Certified Collectibles Group (CGC), and Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (also owned by PSA’s parent company) are other options. Shop around to find a grading service that fits your budget.
That said, if you pull a rare Pokemon card and want cash right away, you don’t necessarily need to grade it, provided you’re okay with not getting full value on sale. List it on eBay or social media with high quality photos. Someone can take it off your hands.
3. Sell your Pokemon cards online.
You’ve researched your Pokemon cards and know their value, whether ranked or not. Now you are ready to sell. But where should you list them? There are many options. If you’re comfortable working through traditional selling apps, check out Alt, eBay, or TCGPlayer. If you’re big on social media, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatNot let you sell to live audiences.
The sales process is quite simple. TCGPlayer app has a scanner to quickly identify cards and get market details. Then, you create a detailed listing title that contains card name, language, rating, and signature information. Make sure the listing description includes the necessary card descriptor language, damage, classification or modification, and quantity. Publish it to go live and let the community find it.
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Selling cards using the TCGPlayer app (Credit: TCGPlayer/PCmag)
If you use social media, remember that communication and engagement are key. For example, you should post Pokemon cards on your Instagram feed and discuss their ranks. Similarly, Facebook has numerous groups filled with buyers, collectors and sellers. WhatNot, on the other hand, is a unique auction and marketplace that combines live feeds and auctions with audience engagement. It also allows you to run giveaways and raffles, making it a fun alternative to traditional selling platforms. Likewise, TikTok users can leverage the platform’s robust live streaming and video features to create a storefront to sell their inventory.
As vanilla as it sounds, eBay is often your best tool for selling Pokemon cards. Use the Buy It Now Sell option to select a specific card price. If you have a lot of cards that you want to sell quickly, use an auction to get people to bid on your stack. You can quickly establish a good reputation by selling honestly and providing accurate card details.
All sales services are subject to commissions and fees for consideration. Long story short, eBay, TCGPlayer, and the like all take a cut of your sales. Shipping fees are another factor. You want to entice buyers with free shipping, but consider out-of-pocket shipping costs. Be sure to carefully review seller fees from services like eBay and TCGPlayer to see what additional fees you may be charged.
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4. Pack your Pokemon cards.
You want the cards you sell to arrive in the best possible condition. Damage during shipping is an easy way to ruin your reputation, so use protection. BCW and UltraPro are big names in the card protection space.
Penny sleeves and team bags are absolute staples. Penny sleeves (about $4 for a pack of 100) can hold up to a dozen cards, but are most commonly used to protect a single card. Team bags (about $6 for a pack of 100) can hold 25 to 75 cards, depending on size. These covers prevent surface damage.
(Credit: Amazon/PCMag)
For added security, tape penny sleeves or team bags closed with painter’s tape (the blue kind) to prevent your cards from slipping out of the opening. Painter’s tape is a good choice because its adhesive is neither particularly strong nor particularly sticky, making it easy to remove without damaging anything.
Selling an individual card? Slide a sealed penny sleeve into the top loader for added protection. Top loaders are extremely durable plastic cases, and are an excellent choice for protecting individual cards. You can pick up a pack of 25 top loaders for around $5. As a general rule, pack your cards as you expect to receive them.
5. Send your Pokemon cards.
Depending on the value of the card, you can take additional steps to protect it. If the cards are cheap (say, under $20), just slip these top loaders or team bags into a padded envelope for shipping. If they cost more than $20, sandwich top loaders or team bags between two pieces of cardboard and secure with painter’s tape or rubber bands. Place the cards in a bubble mailer envelope and send them by courier, such as FedEx, UPS, or USPS. If you want extra security (or have shipping cards in something larger than a large envelope), USPS Ground Advantage handles packages and includes $100 in insurance per label.
If you have a printer, you can print the label and prepare the envelope or box at home. This saves you from standing in line at the post office. Simply place your package in a mailbox or USPS drop-off location. Going the FedEx or UPS routes means you can schedule a pickup online.
Finally, for more information on selling Pokemon cards — or anything else — check out our guide on how to sell on eBay.
About our expert
Gabriel Zamora
Senior Writer, Software
Experience
In 2014, I started my career as a freelancer at PCMag. It opened into a full-time position in 2021, and now I review email marketing apps, mobile operating systems, web hosting services, streaming music platforms and video games as a senior writer. I am a graduate of Hunter College, a hardcore gamer, and Apple enthusiast.
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