Selling Sports Cards & TCGs in Australia: Fees, Postage & Getting Paid Safely
If you've got a shoebox of cards you're finally ready to sell, the practical questions are usually the same: what will it actually cost me, how do I post it safely, and how do I make sure I get paid? Here's a plain-language rundown.
What selling actually costs
Listing is free (up to 500 listings a month), and MV's fee only applies when something actually sells. The one exception is a small flat fee if a reserve price isn't met and the item ends unsold, once you've used any free reserves. The rate steps down as the sale price goes up, so higher-value items aren't taxed at the same rate as a $20 common:
| Sale price | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $250 | 8% |
| $250 – $1,250 | 7% |
| $1,250 – $2,500 | 6% |
| $2,500 – $5,000 | 5% |
| $5,000 – $7,500 | 4% |
| Above $7,500 | 3% |
The fee applies to the sale price only — never to postage — and it's framed as a buyer's premium (added on top of what the buyer pays, the way a physical auction house works), not deducted from what you collect. New sellers also get a founding-seller discount on this fee for their first few months while spots remain.
Posting safely — what's actually required, not just recommended
How you post something isn't left to guesswork once the sale price crosses certain thresholds:
- Under $250: untracked postage is allowed if you choose it, but it's disclosed to the buyer upfront — and if it's ever reported not received, an untracked order resolves in the buyer's favour by default, since there's no tracking number to fall back on.
- Over $250: Registered Post and Extra Cover insurance are required by policy, not optional.
- Extra Cover insurance: the first $100 of declared value is covered free; above that it's roughly $2.50 per additional $100 of value, up to $5,000 of cover.
- International: untracked isn't offered at all for international parcels, and the insurance threshold drops to $50 AUD given the higher loss/dispute risk of international post.
The honest tradeoff with untracked postage: it's cheaper, but you're accepting the loss risk yourself if something goes missing. For anything you'd genuinely be upset to lose, tracked and insured is the safer call regardless of what the rules technically allow.
Getting paid without a marketplace holding your money
MV doesn't hold or process buyer payments at all — buyers pay sellers directly through PayPal Goods & Services, which comes with PayPal's own buyer and seller protection built in. That means there's no marketplace-side delay waiting for funds to be "released" to you, but it also means you're relying on PayPal's protection rather than an escrow-style hold — so keep proof of postage and tracking on file, since that's what Seller Protection actually checks against if a dispute is opened.
Check real Australian sold prices for the exact same card, parallel and grade before you set a price — MV's Sold Price Guide is built specifically to separate real sales from asking prices.
Check sold prices →Before you list
- Grade or authentication on hand? Memorabilia needs PSA, JSA, BAS, UD or League certification to list — cards can be listed raw or graded.
- Decide your postage tier honestly against the sale price, not just what's cheapest.
- Check a real sold price for the exact card before setting your starting bid or Buy It Now price.
Once you're ready, listing is free: auctions, Buy It Now and relists, up to 500 a month. Tip: auctions with no reserve get a NO RESERVE tag and tend to attract more bids.