Maybe you don’t have the problem that I do. But I have a problem when it comes to board games. Mainly that I have a limited amount of space, and budget, for board games. Maybe it’s not a problem for you because you have all the space in the world. Or maybe it’s not a problem for you because you always keep a very lean collection, or you have a friend like me. Let’s face it, that’s what most board gamers don’t own a ton of board games, because they have a friend who owns a ton. But now you ran out of room, how do you sell them all? Or maybe a better question, where?

Friendly Local Board Games Store

My top spot to sell board games is your friendly local game store. Now, this is not going to be where you make the most money. But I like it best for two reasons, and I understand it’s hard for two reasons.

The first reason I like it is because it’s easy for me. I can bring in a big stack of board games and that is about all that I have to do. The barrier to me selling my games is really low. The other reason is that the games stay in the community. Now that might sound odd, but selling locally means that it’s helping the community grow and hopefully with some more good games.

The two reasons why it might be less ideal are firstly how much you get back. This is a business and as a business they need to make money. So they are going to give you a percentage of what they’ll sell your games for. And depending on the place, that percentage is going to change, or might be store credit for more. The other thing is that not all game stores do this. Or you might not even have one around.

Board Games Market/Swap

A close second for me when it comes selling is going to be a local market or swap. The fun part about this is that it’s a massive spot where board gamers show up, and more casual folks show up just to see what it is. It’s often at a coffee shop or a brewery, so it already has some traffic planned into it that is just naturally going to be there.

At a board game market you are going to be the one who sets the price for the games that you sell. But it’s only kind of when it comes to that. If you and 6 other people have the same game, you all need to price it about the same, or be fine potentially not selling it. Because the discerning shoppers are going to go around see what everyone has before buying a game.

Another slight downside is that you’ll come home with some games. And by that I mean both the ones that you brought because not all will sell, but also some board games that you’ve bought as well.

But I think all of that is worth it because the event is just that much fun. I love talking to the neighboring folks selling. Or maybe I’ll spend some time talking to people who are just getting into games and recommending games from my table for them, or maybe ones from other peoples that they should checkout. And I also have the habit of giving away some games towards the ends to people who I think will be a good fit for that game. Generally not the expensive board games, but still some games.

Facebook Marketplace

Next up I’d say is Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, things like that. Why is this further down on the list, mainly because it’s just a touch more work when it comes to these things. You need to create a listing, listen to offers, and then meet up somewhere to do the sale. But you can see that I prioritize ones that are generally local to me so that I can keep the games in the community. Plus, shipping board games is not the easiest. So being able to just hand someone a game is nice.

Now, you do need to be careful. Firstly just handing it off to someone you don’t know who they are. And be aware of the scam ones. These are going to be the folks who are have new accounts and are pushing for weird payment ways or asking you do to do extra things.

Board Game Geek

Speaking of shipping, the next spot is going to be Board Game Geek’s market place for selling board games. The nice part about this is that you know you are selling to a fellow board gamer. I will say that is true 95% of the time. You do need to do some checks like I talk about above. But in this case you are likely to be shipping your game versus having local pick-up of the game. Though, I know folks on Board Game Geek do offer that pretty often.

eBay

Finally I have eBay on the list. Now there are likely others that I missed, but I think I hit the big ones in terms of how to sell board games. eBay I put at the bottom because it’s often used by people to get and flip games, trading cards, etc. and there is often a greater premium on the stuff listed than you’ll actually get for a game.

eBay is, however, probably a better spot to sell bigger Kickstarter games that you backed and decided wasn’t something you wanted when it showed up three years later. There is always going to be someone who has FOMO strong and looking to correct that feeling. Just know that with that, it’s also going to be a real pain in the rear end to ship it all and eBay is going to take their cut.

How Do You Sell Board Games?

Have you found a spot that works well for you? And one thing that I’ll talk about sometime in the future is how you price your board games. Because I think that this is something that people can struggle with as well for multiple reasons. I’ve used the top three myself, I haven’t ventured into shipping on Board Game Geek or eBay for board games. Though I have sold trading cards on eBay and TCG Player.

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