How to sell cards at a card show
Selling cards at a card show is simple to start and easy to do at a loss. This checklist covers what experienced vendors do before, during and after a show, so the table fee pays for itself and you leave knowing what you actually made.
Before the show: know your costs
Write down what you paid for every card you bring, plus the table fee, gas and any hotel. If you do not know your cost, you cannot know your profit. Decide your floor price for the expensive cards before a customer asks.
Price everything you put out
Unpriced cards slow every conversation. Price singles in top loaders or sleeves, mark bulk boxes by the card, and keep a printed or on-phone list for anything in a showcase. Check market prices the week of the show; they move.
Set up for speed
Put your best cards at eye level facing the aisle, bulk on the edges, and leave room to lay out a trade. Bring a power bank: convention halls rarely have outlets near the tables, and often no signal either.
Take every way people pay
Bring change in small bills, a card reader, and your Venmo, PayPal or Zelle code printed out. Record how each sale was paid so your totals match your accounts at the end of the day.
Handle trades on paper (or in an app)
Trades are where vendors lose track. Write down the value of what you gave, what you received, and any cash, and agree on which prices you are using before you start. Your cost on a traded-in card is the value you gave up.
After the show: count what you made
Gross sales are not profit. Subtract what you paid for each card you sold, the table fee and your expenses. Do it the same night while you remember the cash deals. Compare shows over time to decide which ones are worth the table.
Do it faster with cardVendo
cardVendo is a card dealer app that does this bookkeeping as you sell: each card carries its cost, sales and trades are recorded at the table even with no signal, and each show ends with real profit after table fees.
Free to start
Add 150 cards, scan 100 of them, and record your first 10 sales with profit before you pay anything. See pricing.