Buy & Sell Cards Safely: Complete Scam Prevention Guide

The Reality of Card Market Fraud

The trading card market's explosive growth has attracted scammers. From fake cards to payment fraud, collectors lose millions annually.

Buying Cards Safely

Choose platforms with buyer protection: eBay (strong buyer protection, money-back guarantee), COMC (authenticated inventory), MySlabs (graded card marketplace with verification), StockX (authentication included).

Higher Risk Platforms: Facebook Marketplace, Instagram DMs, Discord servers, random websites.

Red Flags When Buying

Safe Payment Methods

Safest: PayPal Goods and Services, eBay Managed Payments, Credit Card (chargeback rights).

Risky: PayPal Friends and Family, Venmo/Cash App, Zelle, Cryptocurrency, Gift cards.

NEVER send Friends and Family payments for purchases, regardless of what the seller claims.

Verifying Graded Cards

Before purchasing any graded card: Get the certification number from seller, look up on grading company website (PSA: cert.psacard.com, BGS: beckett.com/grading/card-lookup, SGC: gosgc.com/certlookup), compare photos to actual card, check population reports, verify label details match.

If You Get Scammed

Immediate Steps: Document everything (screenshots, messages), contact payment provider for dispute/chargeback, report to platform, file police report for significant amounts, report to FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.