Found a box of cards? We'll buy them. Magic & Pokémon, any amount.
Snap a few photos and send them over. You'll have a free estimate within 48 hours. No sorting, no spreadsheet, no need to know what anything is worth. We do that part. In Northern Colorado, we'll even come and pick the cards up.
Current rates
Know what you'll get before you ship anything. We confirm the count and condition when the cards arrive.
Bulk
| Card | We pay |
|---|---|
| Magic commons & uncommons | $10 per 1,000 |
| Magic rares & mythics | 10¢ each |
| Pokémon commons & uncommons | $20 per 1,000 |
| Pokémon holos & reverse holos | $50 per 1,000 |
| Pokémon basic energy | $10 per 1,000 |
| Pokémon V, ex & GX | 70¢ each |
| Pokémon full arts | 75¢ each |
For cards worth under $1. Price your bulk instantly.
Cards worth $1 or more
| Card value | Magic | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| $200+ | 70% | 75% |
| $50–199 | 65% | 70% |
| $20–49 | 55% | 60% |
| $5–19 | 45% | 45% |
| $1–4 | 30% | 30% |
Percent of TCGplayer Market, for near-mint English cards. Graded cards and sealed product get a quote.
How we grade condition
To the TCGplayer condition guide, under bright light, and no harder than that. Every offer lists each card's condition, so you can see exactly why it's priced the way it is.
- Near MintLooks fresh from the pack. Minor wear at most.Full rate
- Lightly PlayedLight edge or corner wear, small scuffs.80% of rate
- Moderately PlayedClear wear on edges, corners or surface.55% of rate
- Heavily PlayedHeavy wear all over, still in one piece.30% of rate
- DamagedCreases, tears, water damage or writing.Bulk
Three steps
Send photos
Lay the cards out so we can read them: binder pages flat, stacks fanned, boxes opened. Phone photos are fine. Email them to buymycards@variant616.com and you'll have an estimate within 48 hours. Free, no obligation.
Say yes, then ship
Like the number? We send you the shipping address and simple packing instructions, and for estimates over $500 a prepaid, insured label. In Northern Colorado, skip the box: we'll set up a pickup instead.
Get paid
We open your box on camera, check the cards and send your final offer. Accept it and you're paid within two business days. Change your mind and we send everything back.
The terms, in full
- The estimate is free. The final offer comes after we check the cards on camera, and you can say no to any part of it.
- Say yes and you're paid within two business days. Zelle and ACH are free, PayPal fees come off the payment, checks on request.
- Say no and the cards come back within five business days. You pay the return postage.
- Offers are good for 7 days. No reply in 30 and we send the cards back.
- Only send cards you own. Fakes aren't paid for and come back with your return. Over $1,000, we ask for a photo ID.
What we buy
Yes, please
- Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon cards, any era
- Singles, binders, decks, whole collections and bulk boxes
- Graded cards from PSA, CGC and BGS
- Factory-sealed boxes and packs
- Any condition. We sort out what's worth what.
No thanks
- Other games and sports cards (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana, One Piece, baseball)
- Counterfeit, proxy or altered cards
- Opened or resealed sealed product
- Cards you don't own
Not sure what you have? Send photos anyway. Finding out what it's worth is free.
Not sure what's in the box?
Here's how we handle a big unsorted lot, so you never have to guess.
The floor
The bulk alone is worth a set amount no matter what: about $10 per thousand cards for Magic, $20 for Pokémon. That's the least you'll get.
The upside
Anything worth more than a dollar that we find is paid at our posted rates on top of the floor, itemized card by card, within a week of sorting. The sorting is on us.
For honesty's sake: most unsorted lots of several thousand cards land somewhere between $50 and $300. Now and then one is worth far more. We'll tell you which you have before you decide anything.
In Northern Colorado
We come get the whole lot, weigh the boxes on camera at the pickup, pay the floor on the spot, and send the itemized list with the rest within a week.
Everywhere else: don't ship it all
Forty pounds of commons costs more to mail than the bulk is worth. Spend two minutes pulling the cards that could matter and send just those. Most lots come down to a shoebox.
Magic: pull these
- Anything with a gold, orange or purple set symbol
- Anything shiny, or with a fancy frame
- Anything in the old card frame, or with a white border
- Anything that just looks old
Pokémon: pull these
- Anything shiny or textured
- Anything with a star next to the card number
- Anything that says ex, GX, V, VMAX or VSTAR
- Anything whose first number is bigger than the second, like 199/165. Those are secret rares.
Then send five photos of what's left, in case we want it anyway.
Selling bulk?
Already sorted and counted? Skip the photos. Enter what you have, see the number instantly and submit it. Within 48 hours you'll get an email with the address and packing steps, or a pickup time in Northern Colorado.
Your submission number
- We review itUsually the same day, always within 48 hours.
- You get the go-aheadAddress and packing steps by email, or a pickup time in Northern Colorado.
- Counted on camera, then paidFinal count within three business days of arrival, payment within two business days of your okay.
What counts
- Sort by game and category. We recount on camera and pay on our count.
- Rares worth over a dollar pay more: pull them and send photos.
- Leave out Magic basic lands and tokens. Pokémon basic energy counts, at its own rate.
Count without counting
Card boxes are named for what they hold: a full 1,000-count box is about 1,000 unsleeved cards. Or weigh them: 1,000 cards is about four pounds. Close is fine. We weigh on camera and pay on the final count.
Shipping tip: a USPS flat-rate box costs the same whatever it weighs. A medium holds roughly 2,500 cards, a large roughly 4,000.
Shipping your cards
Once you accept an estimate, we send the address and these instructions, so there's nothing to figure out alone. In Northern Colorado, we can come to you instead.
- Sleeve the valuable cards. Bulk can go in stacks, wrapped so it can't shift.
- Use a box, not an envelope, and fill the empty space so nothing moves. No rubber bands.
- Ship with tracking, and insure anything worth more than $100. If your estimate is over $500, our prepaid label covers both.
- Put your estimate number on a note inside the box.
Big collection?
Over about 20,000 cards, email first and we'll plan it together. In Northern Colorado we'll come pick it up. Everywhere else, bulk that size costs more to ship than it's worth, so the best deal is usually to send us the cards that matter and sell the bulk locally.
Questions
I have no idea what my cards are worth. Is that okay?
Yes. Most people who email us don't. Send photos and we'll tell you what you have and what we'd pay for it, free, whether or not you sell.
An app says my collection is worth $2,000. Will you pay that?
Not quite, and it's worth knowing why before you talk to anyone. Collection apps add up every card at full retail, as if each one were near mint and already sold. An offer is a percentage of what the cards actually sell for, and only for the cards that actually sell. Ours is a high percentage of TCGplayer Market, itemized so you can see every number. Any app total will come in above any honest offer, including ours.
Do I have to sort them or type up a list?
No. Clear photos of binder pages, fanned stacks or opened boxes are enough. We pick out everything worth more than a dollar and list it by name; the rest is counted as bulk.
My cards are from the 90s or early 2000s. Do you still want them?
Especially those. Older sets are where a lot of the valuable cards live, and the condition can be rough and still be worth real money. Send photos.
Why do you pay less than market value?
Market value is what a card sells for after we photograph it, list it, pay marketplace fees, ship it and handle returns, and after it has sat in inventory for as long as it takes to sell. Our rate is the difference between cash now and doing all of that yourself.
Can I sell only the expensive cards?
Yes. Send whatever you want to sell, whether that's a single graded card or thirty thousand commons.
Can I sell just bulk?
Yes. If it's sorted and counted, use the bulk form: the rates are posted, the estimate is instant and there are no photos to take. The minimum is $20 a submission, and we recount on camera when it arrives.
How do you grade condition?
To the TCGplayer condition guide, under bright light. We don't grade harder than that. If a card comes back lower than you expected, the offer says why, and you can decline any part of it.
Can I drop cards off, or can you pick them up?
There's no storefront, so there's nowhere to drop off, but if you're in Northern Colorado we'll come to you. Once your estimate is ready we set a pickup time, and the cards are counted and checked on camera just as they would be out of a box. Everywhere else, cards come by mail.
Which Variant will I be dealing with?
Whoever is on duty. Around Halloween that's the darker one. The offers are just as fair; the emails are a little shorter.
Ready?
Send photos.
Free estimate within 48 hours. No obligation, no sorting, no spreadsheet.