How card consignment works: fees, premiums and timing
What a card consignment house does, how seller commissions and buyer's premiums work, the premium Goldin charges, and what to ask before you consign.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 4 min read
Consigning a card means handing it to an auction house or marketplace that photographs it, writes the listing, sells it, collects from the buyer and pays you. The house is paid in two ways. The seller’s commission comes out of the hammer price, the top bid. The buyer’s premium is added on top and paid by the buyer. Goldin charges a 22% premium on its auctions.
What does a consignment house do?
The house does the selling work you would otherwise do yourself.
Larger houses add a consultation. REA’s process has five steps: an initial contact, an evaluation, a seller’s agreement, marketing and the auction itself. Its team divides a consignment into lots, suggests which cards to grade, writes descriptions and photographs each item, and lays out the options and fees in the agreement. Lelands also starts with an evaluation and recommends which of its auction formats suits each piece.
In return you give up some control. Bidders set the price, the house sets the calendar, and you can’t bid on your own cards.
How do seller fees and buyer’s premiums work?
The hammer price is the top bid when the auction closes. The house adds its buyer’s premium to that for the buyer’s invoice, then pays you the hammer price, less any seller’s commission and plus any extra payment it makes to sellers.
| House and format | Buyer’s premium | Minimums and extra terms |
|---|---|---|
| Goldin Weekly and Elite auctions | 22%, $19 minimum | Weekly: estimated value $100 and up. Elite: $7,500 and up ($2,500 for non-sports and vintage Elite) |
| Clean Sweep Auctions | 22% | Bids after 2:00 a.m. Eastern add 5%, and after 2:30 a.m. add 10% |
The Goldin figures are as of October 12, 2026, so check Goldin’s live terms before you consign.
Who keeps what on one sale?
Here is Rip.fan’s arithmetic for three hammer prices at Goldin. Its seller commission is set by its sales team, so the table shows what the buyer pays.
| Hammer price | Goldin: buyer pays |
|---|---|
| $500 | $610 |
| $5,000 | $6,100 |
| $50,000 | $61,000 |
The premium shapes the bidding: a bidder who will pay a set total in all has to bid less than that, because the premium is added on top of the hammer price. Compare houses on what you receive, not on the headline rates.
How long does consignment take?
At Goldin, the weekly auction runs 9 days, from Tuesday at 8 a.m. Eastern to Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern, and its consignment deadline is one week before the auction. Clean Sweep gives buyers 14 days after the close to pay. Ask each house when it pays consignors before you sign.
Which cards suit consignment?
Start with the house’s thresholds. Goldin’s weekly auction looks for an estimated value of $100 and up.
If your card is raw, decide whether grading it first is worth it. Our guide to whether a card is worth grading helps with that call, and the grading cost calculator prices it.
If you want money sooner, there are options:
- An outright sale. Lelands may offer cash advances or an outright purchase on qualified consignments, and Clean Sweep offers outright cash purchases.
- Selling it yourself. Our guides to selling on TCGplayer, selling on Whatnot and selling graded cards set out those fees.
What should you ask before you consign?
- What is the seller’s commission? Get it in writing before you sign.
- What is the buyer’s premium? It affects how high bidders go.
- Is there a minimum value or a reserve, and what happens if the card doesn’t sell? Settle both before the card leaves your hands.
- When are you paid, and how? Ask for the number of days after the auction, and any withdrawal fee.
- How do you ship it in? Ask who pays postage and insurance. Our guide to shipping a graded card covers packing it.
Before any of that, check recent sales for the card with our guide to finding what a card sold for, so you know what the hammer price might be measured against.
Frequently asked questions
How does a Clean Sweep auction end?
Lot by lot, starting at 12:30 am Eastern on closing night. Each lot stays open until 15 minutes pass with no further bid.
How do buyers pay at a card auction house like Clean Sweep?
Clean Sweep takes checks, money orders and bank wires, and no credit cards or PayPal, to keep fees down for consignors and bidders. Every bid is binding once placed.
Do I have to mail my cards to consign them?
Not always at first. REA's representatives on the East Coast and West Coast may come to you for a larger consignment, while a smaller one can be handled with scans and a digital contract.
What auction formats does Lelands offer?
Lelands, which has run sports auctions since 1985, places each piece in a Classic Auction, a Pop-Up Auction or its wider Collectors First network. Clean Sweep belongs to that Collectors First partnership.