A Guide To COMC.com

COMC, which stands for Check Out My Cards, is a popular online marketplace designed for buying, selling, grading, and storing (commonly knows as “vaulting”) trading cards and collectibles. It caters to a wide range of collectors, offering sports cards, non-sports cards, gaming cards, and other collectibles. What sets COMC apart is its streamlined process for managing inventory and transactions, making it an attractive platform for both casual hobbyists and serious collectors.

With more than 41 million total cards and 10 million unique cards listed, COMC provides a centralized hub for collectors to explore and expand their collections and stands as one of the world’s largest trading card marketplaces.

Getting Started

The platform operates on a consignment-based model, where sellers create an account, prepare a shipment through the Shipping Wizard, then send their cards to the COMC warehouse for processing and imaging.

Here is a quick tutorial from COMC on how to prepare your shipment:

As an extra safety measure, it is recommended to take a picture and create a list of the cards you are shipping.

Once received, COMC handles the scanning, bar coding, listing, and storage of the cards, allowing sellers to focus on pricing and managing their inventory through the platform. Buyers and sellers benefit from high-resolution scans of each card, ensuring transparency and confidence in their purchases. This system eliminates the need for sellers to manage shipping and storage themselves, making it a hassle-free experience.

When a card is sold on COMC, it physically remains in the company’s warehouse while ownership is transferred electronically, via bar-code scanning, from the seller to the buyer. The card stays in the warehouse until the new owner requests shipment.

This instant transfer of ownership allows collectors to swiftly buy and resell items, leveraging timely news, announcements, performances, and events in sports and entertainment.

One of the standout features of COMC is its flexibility in shipping and storage. Buyers can purchase cards and choose to have them shipped immediately or store them in their COMC account for future shipment. This “buy now and ship later” option allows collectors to consolidate multiple purchases into a single shipment, saving significantly on shipping costs. Additionally, COMC offers integration with eBay, enabling sellers to list their cards on both platforms simultaneously for greater exposure.

In addition, COMC provides more than just fixed-price eBay listings, offering both standard 7-Day eBay Auctions and eBay Live Auctions. These auctions take place on eBay to ensure your cards reach the widest audience possible.

After signing up, you will need to add store credit to your account to start buying, selling, and utilizing all of the COMC services. The Standard service receiving rate is $0.50 per card, while the Select service costs $1.00 per card. A few weeks later, once your cards have been received, scanned, and added to your account, you’re ready to list them for sale. COMC charges additional fees, including a 5% selling fee when your card is sold and a 10% cash-out fee for withdrawing your credit to a bank account.

COMC also provides tools for collectors to track market trends and make informed decisions. The platform includes features like historical sales data, which helps users understand the value and demand for specific cards.

For sellers, COMC offers promotional opportunities, such as sales events and discounts, to attract buyers and boost sales. These tools make COMC not just a marketplace but also a resource for strategic collecting and selling.

In a recent interview, Barry Mah, manager of Canadian operations at COMC, describes their services as focusing on outsourcing the less desirable aspects of selling cards, including handling all customer service. He adds, “We are always looking for ways to improve, leveraging economies of scale to take on more business and provide additional services to our customers.”

Below is a quick demonstration of how simple it is to list and flip cards on COMC:

Grading

In addition, COMC offers grading submissions to PSA, SGC and CGC. Instead of dealing with cumbersome paperwork, shipping and insurance, COMC users can submit a card for grading in literally five clicks: Actions > Submit for Grading > Select a Service > Specify Declared Value >  Select Turnaround Time > Submit.

COMC users benefit from a special discounted grading rate, making the process more accessible and cost-effective for collectors. This reduced rate covers essential services such as shipping in both directions and insurance, ensuring that cards are securely transported and protected throughout the grading process. Unlike other grading submission centers, COMC eliminates submission minimums, allowing users to submit any quantity of cards — from a single card to larger collections — without restrictions.

This flexibility makes it easier for collectors to grade cards at their own pace, whether they’re just starting out or looking to enhance the value of select items in their inventory. Combined with the streamlined submission system of COMC, this special grading rate offers collectors a hassle-free way to authenticate and preserve their cards while optimizing costs.

Here’s a quick video example of a card being submitted to SGC for grading:

Conclusion

COMC is a comprehensive and intuitive platform designed to streamline the trading card buying and selling process. Compared to selling cards on eBay, it significantly reduces the effort involved in tasks such as scanning images, creating listings, writing titles and descriptions, handling payments, packaging and shipping cards, and managing communication and customer service.

By handling the logistical challenges of selling and offering a wide array of features for buyers, it has become an essential destination for collectors worldwide. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or simply explore the world of trading cards, COMC provides a dynamic and efficient solution.

With a wide assortment of useful features in one place, you can see why so many hobbyists have called COMC “The Hobby Cheat Code“.

Make sure to check out and subscribe to the COMC YouTube channel for latest news and more helpful tutorials.

For specific details about getting set up, buying, selling, grading and vaulting with COMC make sure to review the “Getting Started with COMC” blog post.