Am I ready to set up at a card show?

Everyone at a show is a buyer. Most are sellers, too. Becoming a vendor is the next level for both vantage points.

I probably started setting up at card shows too early. When I first got back into the hobby, I was buying and selling low-end cards on eBay and Facebook. I was also ripping the occasional low-end hobby box. I loved where the hobby was taking me and my natural “go big or go home” mentality said I was ready to become a vendor at a card show.

When I went to my first show, I probably had less than 100 cards totaling a value less than $1,000. I applaud myself for being willing to jump in with both feet, but I wouldn’t advise doing that. I sold like $130 in my first show. I was too pumped to realize that $30 went to my table fee, $20 went to the gas to get there, $10 went to lunch, and my cost in those $130 worth of cards was definitely more than $70. The show was a success, because I had so much fun.

I went back the next month and sold a humbling $30. After fees and gas and lunch, I had to face my wife with less money than I left with. I was going nowhere fast. I had jumped into the dealer ga