I have been selling sports cards since 1999. I have been selling at shows since 2002. I have come a long way, from being an amateur card dealer to one of the best in the Cleveland area. I started out with only a small 5x3 foot space in 1999 to doing shows with 3 to 4, 10 foot tables. I have gained recognition from many collectors in the area who have met me when I first began doing shows in 2002 and now they can't believe how much I have improved not only business wise, but how fast I'm doing it. Even though 2008 was the toughest year for the economy, I on the other hand had my best year in 2008. I more than doubled what I made compared to 2007. I am writing this guide to share some of my experience, and giving beginners an idea if they should do a sportscard show in their area.

You wouldn't believe how many amateurs I see come and go throughout the years. Many regular dealers at these shows are almost the same as these amateurs as well. This guide isn't just for beginners but for regular show dealers as well. I have seen many regular dealers do what I feel is a no-no at shows.

     If you plan on doing a show in the future, and you've never done one before, there are some things you will need to do before doing a show. You need to attend a show not as a dealer but just as a spectator. You need to look at everybody's booth, at everything they have. Do you like their setup or just a little bit of their setup? Do you like how one dealer has his cards arranged compared to others? There are many dealers that have different setups from each other. You can copy some of their setup style for yourself with a little bit of your own mixed in. After looking at everything everybody has, compare what they have to what you have. Do you have better stuff than they do. Take note of how many dealers you believe you can beat and how many you cannot. If you cannot beat half of the dealers in the show, you are not ready to do that show. When I say beat, I mean is your inventory more valuable than his. His inventory could be worth a total of $30,000 for everything. Can you beat that $30,000 with your stuff in the same amount of space. Do you have bigger name players than what he has? He might have a John Elway autographed card book value of $500. You could have a Vince Young autographed card with the same book value of $500. His card still wins because Elway is a hall of famer and one of the best. Vince Young is still young and nobody knows what is in store for him in the future. He could end up as good as John Elway or like Tim Couch.

     Your merchandise should have a total value of $25,000 or higher for a small market show like hotels, malls, ect. A minimum of $75,000 total inventory for a major show such as the National or Tristar. When I say total value, I mean that is how much you are asking on the merchandise and not how much they book at. You won't sell everything at a show, many amateurs feel they can and do it anyways and find out the hard way. You will most likely sell roughly about 3% to 5% of what you bring to the show. 5% of $25,000  is $1,250. Practice setting up somewhere in your house. Bring only what you can display with a small extra hidden under the table or wherever. Space will be an issue! Tables are usually 10 feet long and 3 feet wide. You will need to be able to put 85% of your inventory on this table. Extra table costs extra money. I would only recommend an extra table if your inventory is more than enough for that particular show. If you don't have this much in inventory for the show in a very little space, you will be wasting your time, and won't do well.

     You can save on table money by cooperating with another dealer(s). The more tables you get the cheaper it costs. Try to get 1 or more people to do a show with you under one person's name. You can save significantly if you can get enough people to take 6 tables or more. An example, The National charges $850 for a 10x10 foot booth and $1,100 for 10x15 foot booth. You can get 2 10x15 booths and it will be the same as three 10x10 booths which costs only $2,200 instead of paying $2,550, saving $350 or $116.67 per booth or person.

      You should keep notes on how much you paid for every item you have. Once you sell something, you cross it out with how much profit you made on that sale. You should be able to calculate weather you made profit or not. Most dealers that I've seen don't do this. They have no idea if they made a profit or not. They would say they did but in reality, they couldn't say. A lot of dealers couldn't tell themselves how much profit they made in a show because they don't keep notes. Many of them think that since table costs $125 and they sold $250 to $600 that they did good. They are only looking at how much money they got but not how much profit they got. With $600, the profit could be only $70, subtract the table money and your actually down $55 plus expenses.

     You should never sell for full book price, people want deals and selling at full price is not a deal. Most collectors won't stick around too long at your booth. I'm not saying something like 10% off. You need to take a minimum of 25% off the book price(depending on what kind of card it is) Low end rookies such as a Topps Reggie Bush, or Score Eli Manning rookie cards should be marked 40% off or more. Sometimes the customer will try talk you into selling a card for lesser than what you've asked. If it's only a little bit cheaper and you still made money, go ahead. If he asked for too much off on the card, such as an additional 25% off or more, be nice and turn down the offer. Being mean to a customer is not good for business. Other people will see this, and may not come to your table.

You also have to keep an eye out for people that steal. You will need help because your cards can be stolen when you go to the bathroom. It's good to have a friend, or relative to help. You need to be able to watch your entire area. It's not good to be by yourself and have 3 or more tables. Many groups of theives will try to steal from you, one will try to distract you at one end and the other will steal something at the other end.

Most collectors are cheap and will most likely not pay for high end stuff that are priced over $100 unless you are selling unopened wax boxes. Keep merchandise this high end at around 20-50 items for small market shows. Any more and only super collectors will buy from you. Super collectors don't come to small market shows very often. For the bigger shows, it is best to have as many as possible.

You will need a glass display case to protect your expensive cards. If you need a little more room, you can stack cards together, such as all Reggie Bush cards in one stack instead of spreading it out and showing each card. Make your booth look clean and professional and not a mesh.

     You should never tell anybody where you get your cards & memorabilia from. It doesn't matter if they are a collector or dealer. If you do, they will get it the same way you got it. They would have no reason to buy from you once they learn where you get your inventory from. Decide on a way to get collectors to buy from you. Never tell other dealers or collectors any secrets of how you do business. Some collectors will tell other dealers your secrets which is not good for you. The other dealer will know what you do and try to counter it with a better one than yours. If someone asks you if you get your stuff from wherever. You tell them its your secret.

     Don't brag about how much you sold to other dealers, this may anger them and they won't do any favors for you. Be courteous to everybody, and dealers will do favors for you if your nice enough to them. At shows its everybody for themselves, but every now and then all dealers need help sometimes.

     I have seen many dealers tell collectors where they get their merchandise from which is not good. Word springs out quick and not too many of those super collectors will come to shows anymore once they know how dealers get their inventory. I believe all dealers should never tell where they get their cards from, except for wax boxes which comes only from the card manufacturer. The best way is not to reveal any information. This should also include your friends and relatives. If you must, you need to tell your immediate family to not tell anybody. You wouldn't believe how quick word spreads out. Doing this will save many dealers at shows which could include yourself.

     Taking a credit card isn't a must for small market shows, unless you have hundreds of  items above $50 and plan on doing more than 2 shows per month. Or you can get someone that does take credit card to take it for you for a small cut. This person should be someone you can trust before doing anything. Credit cards are almost a must for the larger card shows.

     If you do decide to setup at a sports card show, you will need to watch out for the hustlers out there. There's a few of them out there that act real nice or are obnoxious and keep on trying to buy your cards for a lot less than what you would like to get for it. Some of them will offer to buy almost everything in your showcase, but will offer you an amount of money that seems good, but really isn't. He will look into your showcase and calculate how much everything is worth in his head and then offer you an amount for everything in the showcase. The money will look good, but your most likely losing money or only making $10 or something like that. When someone does ask how much for everything, you take each card in your showcase and you add it up. There are others that will spend money not on everything, but on your 5 to 10 best cards in your showcase. They will ask for a better deal since they are spending so much money with you. This is one of the oldest tricks at the shows. In reality they are buying your best cards or everything in your showcase for less than what you paid for or close to what you paid for. You might only be making $20 or less even though they spent like $2,000 with you. Your goal is to make money at the show, you can't make money by selling your best cards to one person and only make $20 or something like that. Give them your price and stick with it. It's much better to lose this sale than getting it.

     I have given you some tips, I won't reveal all my secrets to you. I believe beginners should follow these instructions. It would make things much easier for you. I hope I was able to help you make your decision about setting up at shows. If you found this guide helpful please vote below.