How to Price Your Collectibles

Method 1: eBay Sold Comps

eBay sold comps are the gold standard for collectibles pricing. Unlike active listings (which show what sellers hope to get), sold/completed listings show what buyers actually paid. This is the data that professional dealers, graders, and auction houses use.

How to check eBay sold prices

On eBay's website, search for your item, then filter by "Sold Items" under the search results. On mobile, tap "Filter" then toggle "Sold Items." You'll see a green price for each completed sale with the date it sold. Look at the most recent 10-20 sales to get a reliable range.

Limitations of eBay comps

eBay comps aren't perfect. Best Offer accepted prices are often hidden (you see "Best Offer accepted" but not the actual amount). Condition varies wildly between listings, and rare items may have very few comps. You also can't easily aggregate comps across multiple items — checking a shelf of 30 games means 30 separate searches.

Method 2: Dedicated Pricing Databases

Several specialized databases track collectibles prices with varying degrees of accuracy and coverage:

The downside is fragmentation — you need a different tool for every category. If you collect games AND cards AND vinyl, you're juggling three or four apps and websites.

Method 3: AI-Powered Scanning Apps

AI scanning is the newest approach. You point your phone camera at an item, the AI identifies it using computer vision and large language models, and then pulls pricing from multiple databases automatically.

LootyAI aggregates pricing from 8 sources simultaneously — PriceCharting, Scryfall, YGOPRODeck, JustTCG, eBay Sold listings, eBay Active listings, Discogs, and an AI estimate — and uses the median price (not the average) to resist outlier sales that would skew your valuation.

The key advantage is speed: scanning a shelf of 25 games takes seconds instead of 25 individual lookups. The key disadvantage is that AI identification isn't 100% perfect — it can miss rare variants or misidentify damaged items.

Which Method Should You Use?

For most collectors, the best approach is a combination: use AI scanning for bulk identification and initial pricing, then verify high-value items with eBay sold comps directly.

Common Pricing Mistakes to Avoid

Using listing prices instead of sold prices. Just because someone listed a game for $500 doesn't mean it's worth $500. Only sold/completed prices matter.

Ignoring condition. A mint-in-box retro game can be worth 10x more than a loose cartridge. Always compare like-for-like condition.

Checking only one source. A single eBay sale could be an outlier (auction sniping, motivated buyer, mislabeled listing). Check multiple sources and use the median.

Not accounting for variants. First edition Pokémon cards, black label PS1 games, original pressings of vinyl — variants can dramatically change value. Make sure you're pricing the right version.

Outdated data. Collectibles markets move fast. A price guide from 6 months ago might be meaningless today. Always use the most recent sales data available.