Cornish firm unveils new system for buying and selling trading cards online
Ungraded.com, based in Falmouth, has published new sales data suggesting its sellers are earning up to 25 per cent more than they would on eBay, a claim it attributes to its unique 3D card imaging.
The trading card hobby resurged in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a 20-year nostalgia cycle for franchises such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and other popular series born around the turn of the millennium.
Ungraded.com, based in Falmouth, has published new sales data suggesting its sellers are earning up to 25 per cent more than they would on eBay, a claim it attributes to its unique 3D card imaging (Image: Ungraded.com) While things cooled off post-pandemic, the hobby is now experiencing another boom, with experts forecasting more than £2.7 billion in growth by 2030.
Headlines are often dominated by seven-figure sales for "grail cards." According to Josh Williams and John Brame, the co-founder and director of Ungraded.com, these tales almost always centre on graded cards — those that have been professionally appraised and sealed in a protective case.
"But for every graded card sold, there are around eight ungraded or 'raw' cards changing hands," they explained.
Co-founder Josh added: 'It comes down to the inherent risk of buying something where condition is such a pivotal factor in its value.
"Unless you're lucky enough to live near a big card shop or regular card show, you're likely buying on eBay or other peer-to-peer online marketplaces."
"These platforms are great for buying a plethora of things, but for trading cards, where you want to really scrutinise the photos to find all the minute scratches and dinks before making a purchase decision, we thought something more specialised was needed. There seemed to be an enormous gap in the market.'
Josh Williams (L) and John Brame (R), the co-founder and director of Ungraded.com (Image: Ungraded.com) John Brame – the director of Upgrade.com – said: 'Following our frustrations buying cards online, Josh and I spent over two years coming up with a way to effectively 3D image cards in very high resolution.
'We placed this technology at the heart of a new marketplace – launched last summer – specifically for ungraded cards, where potential buyers can rotate a card around in our 3D viewer, see how light plays on its surface and easily spot any value-defining defects'.
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He added: 'We're also consignment-based, which allows us to provide a quality-controlled marketplace, with consistent imagery, categorisation and – very importantly these days – no fakes'.
Now Ungraded has published performance data that pits them directly against eBay, their biggest competitor.
Performance numbers are based on the platform's auction hammer prices from the last 90 days compared to average eBay sale figures of equivalent cards in the same condition bracket.
Ungraded has published performance data that pits them directly against eBay, their biggest competitor (Image: Ungraded.com) It takes seller fees – Ungraded has none other than a 50p per card processing fee – and costs, such as postage and packaging, into account and suggests that on average, Ungraded's sellers are making up to 25 per cent more than they would have selling the same cards on eBay.
'We've had a nerve-wracking wait while we gathered sufficient sales data and also got legal guidance to help us present it in a fair and objective way' said Josh. 'It was worth the wait, though. Our theory that we should see strong sale prices due to the confidence our imaging gives buyers is, thankfully, proving to be correct."
The trading card hobby resurged in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a 20-year nostalgia cycle for franchises such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and other popular series born around the turn of the millennium (Image: Ungraded.com) The platform also offers buyers the means to buy cards, hold them in Ungraded's storage, and relist them once the market prices have moved favourably.
John explained: 'We recently opened up relisting and it's quickly becoming a big part of the business, particularly with new releases, which see a lot of price volatility. Not only is this great for the business, but it introduces a really fun way to use the site for people who enjoy playing the market.'
To find out more about Ungraded, visit https://www.ungraded.com/
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