eBay Consignment for Video Games & Collectibles: How It Works

Selling collectibles online can be rewarding. It can also be a lot of work.

If you have a collection of video games, trading cards or other collectibles, you might know that selling items individually can potentially reach more buyers than selling everything in one large lot.

But actually doing it requires time. You need to research items, take photos, create listings, answer buyer questions, package orders and ship everything as it sells.

That’s where eBay consignment comes in. A consignment service handles much of the selling process on your behalf while allowing your items to be offered through an established eBay seller.

For collectors who don’t want to become full-time online sellers themselves, it can offer an alternative between selling everything outright and managing every sale personally.

What is eBay consignment?

Instead of the business purchasing the collection directly, the items remain part of a consignment arrangement while they are being marketed and sold.

With eBay consignment, the items are listed through an established eBay seller rather than requiring you to create and manage your own selling operation.

How is consignment different from selling your collection directly?

These are two very different options.

Selling directly

When you sell your collection directly to a buyer or business, you receive an agreed purchase price. The buyer then owns the items and takes on the work and risk of reselling them.

The major advantage is simplicity. Once the transaction is completed, you’re finished.

Consignment

With consignment, the items are sold on your behalf. Instead of receiving one direct purchase offer for the entire collection, your return is based on the items actually being sold.

The consignment service then receives an agreed commission for handling the process.

Consignment usually involves more time because buyers still need to purchase the items. However, it may appeal to sellers who want items marketed individually without doing all the work themselves.

Why would someone use an eBay consignment service?

There are several reasons collectors may choose consignment.

You don’t want to create listings

Creating a good listing takes time. For every item, you may need to:

• Research the product
• Determine the correct title
• Photograph it
• Describe its condition
• Choose a category
• Set pricing
• Enter shipping information

Doing that once isn’t difficult. Doing it hundreds of times can be.

You don’t want to deal with shipping

Every individual sale eventually needs to be packaged and shipped. That means keeping:

• Boxes
• Bubble wrap
• Mailers
• Tape
• Labels
• Packing materials

Then you need to pack each order securely and get it into the shipping network. A consignment service handles that process for you.

You don’t want to manage buyers

Selling online can involve more than simply posting an item. Buyers may ask:

• Is this still available?
• Is the game tested?
• Does it include the manual?
• Can you combine shipping?
• Can you provide another photo?
• Will you accept an offer?

After the sale, there can also be questions about shipping, returns and other transaction issues. With consignment, the seller handles buyer communication.

You want access to an established seller account

Starting a brand-new eBay account isn’t the same as selling through an established storefront. An established seller may already have:

• Selling history
• Buyer feedback
• Existing customers
• Listing experience
• Shipping procedures
• Product knowledge

For collectible items, seller reputation can help buyers feel more comfortable purchasing.

What types of items can be consigned?

At Save Point Shop, our focus is on video games, trading cards and collectibles. Potential consignment items may include:

• Retro video games
• Modern video games
• Nintendo games on our eBay store (opens in a new tab)
• PlayStation games on our eBay store (opens in a new tab)
• Xbox games on our eBay store (opens in a new tab)
• Sega games on our eBay store (opens in a new tab)
• Video game consoles
• Controllers and accessories
• Pokémon cards on our eBay store (opens in a new tab)
• Other trading cards
• Graded trading cards on our eBay store (opens in a new tab)
• Funko Pops
• Gaming collectibles
• Selected pop-culture collectibles

Not every item or collection will necessarily be suitable for consignment. Item value, condition, demand and the size of the collection can all affect whether consignment makes sense.

How does the Save Point Shop consignment process work?

While individual collections can be different, the process generally begins with learning what you have.

Step 1: Submit your collection

Start by providing information about the items you’d like to consign. This may include:

• Photos
• Approximate quantity
• Types of items
• Platforms or categories
• Overall condition
• Any particularly valuable items

You don’t need to create professional photos or catalogue every inexpensive item before contacting us. The goal is simply to give us enough information to understand the collection.

Step 2: We review the collection

We’ll review the information provided and determine whether the collection is a good fit for our consignment service.

Some items are much better suited to individual eBay listings than others. For example, a desirable collectible may be appropriate for consignment, while very inexpensive items may make more sense bundled together or handled another way.

Step 3: Agree on the consignment terms

Before items are sold, the terms of the arrangement should be clear. This includes things such as:

• Commission
• Which items are being consigned
• How items will be sold
• How payouts work
• What happens if an item doesn’t sell
• Any other applicable terms

You should understand the arrangement before your items are listed.

Step 4: Items are prepared for sale

Once accepted, we can begin preparing the items for eBay. Depending on the collection, this may include:

• Sorting
• Research
• Condition assessment
• Photography
• Listing preparation

Good listings matter, especially when selling collectible items. Buyers want to know what they’re actually purchasing.

Step 5: Your items are listed on eBay

Items are then marketed through the Save Point Shop eBay store (opens in a new tab). Listings may include details such as:

• Actual item photographs
• Condition
• What’s included
• Relevant product information
• Shipping information

From there, the items are available to eBay buyers.

Step 6: We handle the buyer

When someone purchases an item, Save Point Shop manages the transaction. This includes much of the work that normally falls on an individual seller.

Depending on the sale, that can include:

• Buyer communication
• Packaging
• Shipping
• Transaction management
• Post-sale customer service

You don’t need to individually communicate with every buyer.

Step 7: You receive your share

When consigned items sell and the transaction is completed according to the consignment agreement, your portion of the proceeds is calculated based on the agreed terms.

This allows you to benefit from individual sales without having to personally manage every part of them.

How much does eBay consignment cost?

Consignment services generally work on commission. Instead of charging you to personally create and manage every listing, the service receives a percentage of the sale under the agreed consignment terms.

At Save Point Shop, the exact terms applicable to your collection will be explained before you proceed. This is important because you should know how the numbers work before your items are listed.

Visit our consignment section for the current Save Point Shop consignment details and terms.

Is consignment better than selling directly?

Neither option is automatically better. It depends on what matters to you.

Selling directly may make sense if

• You want a straightforward transaction
• You want to sell the collection together
• You don’t want to wait for individual items to sell
• Convenience is your main priority

Consignment may make sense if

• You have desirable individual items
• You’re comfortable waiting for items to sell
• You want someone else to manage eBay
• You don’t want to photograph and list everything
• You don’t want to package and ship individual orders
• You’d prefer items to be marketed individually

Save Point Shop offers both options because different collections and sellers have different priorities.

Why not just sell everything yourself?

You absolutely can. For someone who enjoys selling online, doing everything yourself may be the right choice. The biggest advantage is that you aren’t paying a consignment commission.

But your time has value. Consider a collection of 100 items. Selling everything individually could require:

• Researching 100 items
• Creating 100 listings
• Taking hundreds of photos
• Answering buyer messages
• Tracking offers
• Packing dozens of orders
• Making repeated shipping trips
• Managing any post-sale issues

For some collectors, that’s enjoyable. For others, it’s exactly what they’re trying to avoid. Consignment is primarily about outsourcing that workload.

Does consignment guarantee my items will sell?

Factors that can affect a sale include:

• Item desirability
• Condition
• Price
• Completeness
• Market demand
• Number of competing listings

Some collectibles can sell quickly. Others may take considerably longer.

That’s an important difference between consignment and selling directly. With a direct sale, you’re receiving an agreed price from the buyer. With consignment, the item still needs to find an end buyer.

Are all video games good for consignment?

Not necessarily. Low-value items can sometimes be difficult to consign individually because the amount of work involved in listing, selling and shipping them may not make sense relative to their value.

Some lower-value games may be better:

• Bundled together
• Grouped by platform
• Included with a console
• Sold directly

Higher-value or particularly collectible items can often be better candidates for individual listings. Part of evaluating a collection is figuring out which approach makes sense for the items involved.

What about complete-in-box games?

Complete-in-box retro games can be strong candidates for individual sale because collectors often care about exactly what’s included.

Depending on the game, buyers may want to see:

• Front and back of the box
• Cartridge or disc
• Manual
• Inserts
• Box condition
• Label condition

Clear photographs can be particularly important with CIB games.

What about trading cards?

Trading cards can also be suitable for consignment. This can include:

• Pokémon cards
• Other collectible card games
• Graded cards
• Higher-value singles

Cards require accurate identification and careful presentation. Things such as set, card number, variant, condition, grading company and grade can significantly affect the way a card is marketed.

What about graded collectibles?

Graded items are particularly straightforward for buyers to identify because much of the key information is displayed on the grading label.

That doesn’t mean all graded items are valuable. Demand still matters.

But graded cards and other authenticated collectibles can often be well suited to online marketplaces where buyers are searching for very specific items.

Do I need to know what everything is worth?

No. If you already know what you have, that’s helpful. But you don’t need to become an expert before contacting us.

If you’re unsure whether something is valuable, provide clear photos and as much information as you reasonably can. We can then determine whether the collection is something we may be interested in purchasing or consigning.

Should I consign an entire collection?

Possibly, but not every item necessarily needs to be handled the same way. A collection might contain:

• High-value items suitable for individual consignment
• Mid-range items
• Common games
• Consoles
• Accessories
• Low-value items better suited to bundles

A mixed approach can sometimes make more sense than treating every item identically. The first step is seeing what the collection contains.

What if I just want to sell everything and be done?

Then a direct sale may be the better option. Save Point Shop also purchases qualifying video games, consoles, trading cards and collectibles directly.

Instead of waiting for individual items to sell, you can submit the collection for consideration. If it’s something we’re interested in buying, we can discuss a direct purchase.

Visit our Sell Your Collection page to submit your collection.

Selling through an established eBay store

Save Point Shop operates primarily through eBay. We’re a Canadian collector-run business selling video games, trading cards and collectibles through an established eBay storefront.

Consignment allows qualifying sellers to use that existing selling infrastructure rather than building their own from scratch.

You provide the collectibles. We handle the selling process.

Is eBay consignment right for you?

Consignment can make sense when you have items worth selling individually but don’t want to become an online seller yourself. It may be particularly useful if you:

• Have a collection you’re downsizing
• Inherited a collection
• Have valuable games you no longer want
• Have trading cards sitting unused
• Don’t have time to sell everything yourself
• Don’t want to deal with eBay buyers
• Don’t want to package dozens of orders

The important thing is understanding the difference between a direct sale and a consignment arrangement before deciding.

Ready to consign your collection?

If you have video games, trading cards or collectibles that you’d like to sell through eBay without handling the entire process yourself, Save Point Shop can help.

Start by sending us information about your collection. We’ll review what you have and determine whether consignment, a direct purchase or another approach makes the most sense for the items involved.

Visit the Save Point Shop consignment section to get started.

Prefer a simpler direct sale? Visit our Sell Your Collection page to submit your collection for consideration instead.

And if you’re looking to add something to your own collection, you can browse our current inventory through the Save Point Shop eBay store (opens in a new tab).

By collectors, for collectors & gamers.