Tool Tip: “Saved Searches” on eBay To the Rescue!
Are you taking advantage of this free card finder?
Each Happy Hobby Sports Card Newsletter For Collectors has a handful of great sports card subjects, helping sports card collectors working with limited budgets!
This Week’s Newsletter Highlights!
⚾🏈🏀 TOOL TIP: ‘SAVED SEARCHES’ ON EBAY TO THE RESCUE!
🏈⚾🏀 SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!
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⚾🏈🏀 TOOL TIP: ‘SAVED SEARCHES’ ON EBAY TO THE RESCUE!
In October of last year, I wrote a newsletter entitled, “5 eBay Searches You Need To Add!” The day it posted, everybody’s friend Nando Di Fino texted me and said, “You should do a newsletter on “How To Do Saved Searches on eBay!” I tucked that idea away – and now I’m untucking!
When you do a “saved search” on eBay, you tell the world’s largest card store:
“Hey, when these cards go up for sale, at this price, with this grade, I want to be notified!”
Whether you’re a seasoned collector or just starting out, the search for hidden gems in the sports card market can be overwhelming. (Imagine dizzily spinning around in a huge Walmart-sized card store!) The “saved searches” feature on eBay is a powerful, underused tool that can make your card collecting more efficient and rewarding.
It’s like telling your local card shop’s owner to text you immediately when a card you’re hunting goes up for sale! You’re on the inside, now!
By setting up saved searches, you can get real-time notifications for specific cards, players, sets, or deals, which helps you act fast and never miss opportunities when new listings pop up.
Stay Alert for Grails: Instantly know when your “white whale” card — like a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle — hits the market.
Monitor Price Drops: Track certain cards or sets and receive notifications when prices fall within your desired range.
Find Rare Variations: Get alerts for specific parallels, errors, or limited editions, ensuring you’re first to know about rare listings.
Expand Your Focus: Set searches for lesser-known players, teams, or inserts that you believe are undervalued before prices jump.
Track Completed Sales: Use saved search filters to keep tabs on recent sales or auction endings, gaining insight into real-time market value.
Don’t let great cards slip through the cracks. Spend a few minutes setting up eBay saved searches, and watch your collection grow smarter and stronger.
Obviously, being the first to find out a card is for sale – especially a card you want – is a good thing. We all can’t drop what we’re doing however, just to jump on that 2011 Topps Billy Butler short print we’ve been eyeing.
That’s where getting the list of “saved searches” emailed to you comes in handy. I get a handful of them sent to me each morning, and when I get time, I’ll check them out.
How to Use eBay "Saved Searches" for Baseball Card Collecting
Listen, eBay’s "saved searches" feature is easy to use and can give you a big advantage in building your baseball card collection.
Setting Up Saved Searches
Search for a Card: Type the name or details of the card you want in eBay’s search bar (like, “2018 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani 1983 Rookie 83T-6”).
Refine Your Results: Use filters like price, condition, seller location, or auction type to tailor the results to your preferences.
Click "Save This Search”: Once you have your preferred filters set, click the "Save this search" link near the top of the search results page.
Manage Saved Searches: Access your saved searches from your eBay account for easy updates or to adjust your notification settings.
Get Alerts: eBay will notify you via email or app notification whenever a new listing matches your saved search, so you never miss out.
“Saved Search” Ideas for Baseball Cards
Besides the article I wrote about this in October, here are some more ideas!
Rare Rookie Cards: "2011 Topps Update Mike Trout PSA 10" -- to catch high-grade listings of the iconic Trout rookie.
Vintage Hall of Famers: "1956 Topps Jackie Robinson" -- saves you time hunting for classic cards.
Modern Autographs: "2022 Bowman Chrome Junior Caminero autograph" -- set alerts for popular modern player autographs.
Error and Parallel Cards: "2018 Topps Series 2 Shohei Ohtani gold /2018" -- follow limited, numbered parallels as soon as they’re listed.
Team or Player Focus: "Tampa Bay Rays rookie card" -- expand your collection with a team-focused search.
Setting up and regularly updating your saved searches will help you snag the best cards for your collection before others do.
⚾ BASEBALL CARD TRIVIA!
Send me the answer to this question – you could win this free card from me: 2024 Topps Throwback Thursday Junior Caminero Rookie Card #138!
This Topps Home Run Leaders card has FIVE Baseball Hall-of-Famers on it. What is it?
Email your answer to gonoscards@gmail.com and you can win this 2024 Topps Throwback Thursday Junior Caminero Rookie Card #138 Card! Rather than take the first person who answers it right, I’m going to do a random drawing of all the people who answer this question before midnight, Friday, April 4th. The winner will be announced in the April 10th newsletter.
From July 10 newsletter: This card is considered the most expensive Topps base rookie card ever (not counting 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays, since those aren’t their true rookie cards). Answer this question before midnight, Friday, July 18. The winner will be announced in the July 25 newsletter.
From July 3 newsletter: This baseball card has two currently retired players on it, from the same year/Topps set as their true rookie cards, and they combined for 7,367 hits, 820 home runs, 3,018 RBI, and 3,334 runs scored in their careers. What card is it? The answer: 2001Topps Traded Ichiro Suzuki/Albert Pujols #T99 . Prize: 2025 Topps Heritage Bryan Woo Blue Sparkle High Number SP #494 card. The winner: Jarren Ray – congrats, Jarren!
Coming Next Week!
⚾ 6 THINGS TO LOVE/HATE ABOUT 2025 TOPPS CHROME BASEBALL!
🏈⚾🏀 SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!
***Important Card-Collecting Articles on DavidGonos.com***
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Email me: mailto:gonoscards@gmail.com
Have a #HappyHobby!
Podcast Music: "I dunno" by grapes - 2008 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)
I have been using eBay’s “Saved Searches” since David mentioned it in October. Not only for finding baseball cards. It is also great for finding odd/exotic woods for my woodstuffs. Cocobolo, here I come!