Trading Card Resources

Trading Card Resources is a PSA-focused card shop in Waipahu, on Oahu, at 94-239 Waipahu Depot St #201B. It is the headquarters of a small family of Hawaii shops and the place to go for grading drop-off, collection appraisals and buying, selling and trading singles. Pokémon is the one game carried, and the store suits collectors who want help getting cards graded as much as they want a place to browse.

Grading and PSA services

The store has been a PSA Authorized Dealer since 2017, the longest-standing one in Hawaii. At headquarters, collectors can drop off and pick up PSA grading submissions, and the store handles both card and autograph grading and authentication. Grading supplies and the use of pre-grading tools are free at the counter. A prep and preview service, for a small fee, helps get cards ready before they go in. Collection evaluation and inspection are part of the same service.

Cards are not graded in Hawaii. PSA authenticates, grades and encases every submission at its headquarters in Santa Ana, California, and the store's role is evaluation, preparation and handling of the paperwork. The store has helped more than 200 unique collectors through the process, and the cards have ranged in value from $5 to over $100,000. Submissions can also be made through an online form, which turns on automated order tracking emails and status updates.

Buying, selling and trading

The store buys, sells and trades cards, and also carries sealed product. Appraisals and evaluations are offered for collections, as is consignment. The buy side leans toward bulk: low-end hits such as numbered cards, color parallels, rookie cards, low-end autographs and patches, short prints and case hits. The store will trade down for the right bulk lots and collections.

A listing service called TCR EZ List is available only at headquarters. The store builds a collector's listings for online sale and returns a CSV upload file to post on the collector's own account. There are low-cost listing creation fees and no consignment fees, the collector supplies the photos and ships the cards when they sell, and the collector keeps 100% of the proceeds.

Appointments and visiting

Headquarters is open weekends from noon to 6 PM. Weekday visits are by appointment only, and only on a case-by-case basis, booked by phone or text. Appointments can be set for PSA order drop-off, pickup or help, the listing service, selling cards, collection evaluation and general assistance.

Walk-ins are also welcome to talk shop. The store offers general advice on the hobby, from storage to values and market pricing, and points people to someone else when a question is outside its expertise.

History

Trading Card Resources started in Hawaii in 2017 and has since added locations in California, Texas and Connecticut, including a newer shop in the San Francisco Bay Area. The team counts more than 75 years of combined experience across vintage baseball, modern basketball and Pokémon. The store also travels to card shows, including the Westside Card Show, and occasionally closes for stretches to do so, such as a closure from 11/10 through 11/21 with the office closed 11/22 and 11/23 while staff set up at that show.

Satellite locations

Several Hawaii shops act as affiliates and take PSA submissions for drop-off and pickup, with supplies and sealed product:

Maui Sports Cards is the way to reach the system from Maui.

The local scene

Other card and collectible stores sit close to Waipahu headquarters. Aurora's Collectibles is about 0.1 miles away in Waipahu, and I Win Games is about 2.8 miles off, also in Waipahu. In Pearl City, 808 Collectibles is about 2.3 miles away, while Best of the Best in Sportscards and Choice Comics are each about 3.4 miles away.