By: Blaze Aldrich | July 16, 2024
How To Sell Your Board Games: Start To Finish
Do you have unwanted board games that you want to get rid of? That's impossible! There's no such thing as unwanted board games. BUT you may have board games that have been sitting on the shelf forever that haven't been played in awhile or ever. So now you are thinking it's finally time to part ways and possibly sell them. Luckily for you, I've sold hundreds of used board games and I've figured out the most efficient way to sell them. This includes how to set the prices, where to post them, cheap shipping costs (cheapish), and how to get paid. I will go step by step on how to sell your beloved board games... Well I guess they aren't beloved anymore lol.
Setting Your Price
There are a couple great ways to figure out a reasonable price at which to sell your board games. The easiest method is to Google your game and view the online stores' prices. The price of a used game is usually 30-40% lower than its retail price. Retail price meaning the game being brand new and still in shrink wrap. I believe the most superior way to see how much a board game is worth is by searching on a website called boardgamegeek.com.
Board Game Geek
When you first arrive on their website you need to click "Shopping" then click "GeekMarket" under the Shopping header.
2. At the top there is a search bar where you can search for any game
3. For example, I searched for "Heat: Pedal to the Metal." On this first page, you can see what people are trying to sell their games at currently. There is also a "Price History" button that you can click which shows the most recently sold copies and their prices. In addition, it even shows the condition of each copy. So overall, this tool is very helpful and FREE.
How To Sell Your Board Games
I've been in sales for many different industries and the best way to sell your product quickly is with excellent pictures and a clear description of the product. I would make sure to find a spot in your home where you can get a white background (white wall) or even a wooden tone background (wooden floors/table). These backgrounds allow for a cleaner look and the board game/games will stand out clearer in the picture.
The pictures don't have to be super professional. But these types of pictures help avoid distraction from other things in the background of the picture. Lastly, I would use a stock photo if the board game is brand new since there's no point in taking pictures of the condition of the game. When you are writing a description of the game make sure to describe both the components and the board game box itself. The components may be in excellent shape, but people also want to know if the box has been torn to pieces.
Where To Sell Your Board Games
There are many places where you can try and sell your board games, but I am just going to include my top 3 favorites to sell board games. I will list these places from least to most favorite.
eBay: I would only post your most expensive games ($100+) on eBay because there are a lot of collectors who are willing to pay the high prices compared to other places. Listing your less expensive games here makes no sense because eBay takes 20% of your Revenue and then on top of that you have to pay shipping. eBay makes selling your games on their platform very user friendly. All you do is upload your pictures and make a description. That's it and you are basically done.
Board Game Geek: Again I will reiterate how amazing this website is! You can sell ALL your games here and most of the time you don't need to take pictures until someone is interested in your board game. In the beginning of this post I showed you how to get to the "GeekMarket". Well to sell your games, you need to go back there to post your games. Once you are there, on the left hand side there is "Selling" and under selling there's "Create New Listing".
Click on "Create New Listing" and the next screen looks like this
You then search for the title of the game you are selling and the rest is self explanatory. Simple and easy to use to post all your games. The only negative about Board Game Geek is shipping, but you can always charge shipping to the buyer. In addition, BGG charges a 3% fee.
Facebook: I believe Facebook is the best place to post your board games because you sell locally and don't have to worry about finding a box and shipping them out. Moreover, Facebook Marketplace is very user friendly and doesn't charge you to use their platform. If you take good photos and include a good description, games usually sell relatively quicker there.
Here's an example of a description with multiple games:
"Venmo, PayPal, & Cash
Ticket To Ride (NEW) $20
Heat: Pedal To The Metal (New) $50
Catan (Box Damage-Check Pictures) $15
Carcassonne (Missing 1 Tile) $10"
Some negatives about Facebook include meeting up with strangers, some locations may not be big into the board game hobby, and updating your post every time something sells.
Taking Payment
I would recommend setting up at least a Venmo account. Venmo is owned by PayPal and I think it's easier to navigate than PayPal. It never hurts to set up a PayPal account too. Many people prefer PayPal when you are shipping games to them since they feel more comfortable with their Goods & Services Protection, although Venmo has the same protection in place.
How Do I Ship My Board Games for Cheap?
Pirateship.com is the best place to buy shipping labels from my experience. They are a fraction of the price compared to if you actually went into USPS or UPS. They provide heavy discounts on USPS & UPS shipping rates. It's FREE to use!
Here are some additional pointers to lower your shipping costs:
The shorter the shipping box the better (In reality, smaller the box the better)
Recycle your Amazon Boxes
Use newspaper or any type of paper in place of bubble wrap
Finally, please package your games appropriately! I can speak for all the gamers out there that it's a pet peeve for someone to send you a game where it's moving around in the box with no protection. Also don't just send a game in one of those plastic bag mailers. WE HATE THAT! lol
So just makes sure to secure the board game with bubble wrap or paper so it doesn't move and don't force a board game to fit in a box. Make sure it has room for the bubble wrap or paper.
Sell Your Games To Elevated Board Games (Skip All The Steps)
At Elevated Board Games we are now buying board games from people like yourself :). Instead of you going through the hassle of selling your games, we make the process super easy. We provide you with a quote and you either accept it or don't. If you do accept our quote, we pay for the shipping for it to be sent to us. We can either pay you via PayPal or give you Store Credits which is usually 20% more. We would love to buy those games you are trying to get rid of.
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