Card Show Prep- What Do You Like/Dislike At Shows?

[zack783]

Hey all! I'm hoping to hear from a few people to gather a general opinion on a few card show prep ideas I have. I am new to selling at shows, but have gone to a few in the past year. If you don't want to read my plan, feel free to just leave a quick comment with what you like/dislike seeing at shows.

One thing that bugs me (and I know many others) is not having pricing at shows. I plan on having a price tag on every single item unless it's in a "like" priced box, like a $1 box, $2 box, etc.

I'm trying to make it as simple as possible both for myself and customers. Signage will be clear, labels will be clean, and stuff will be organized.

I will be pricing to sell. It's a 3-day show so I do plan on offering discounts as day 2 closes and all of day 3. I'll have an 8-foot table.

Here's what I am planning aside from a display case with about 20 higher end pieces (all 3-row boxes):
1. Ultra Modern box all $5-$25. Big names, all cards in one-touch cases, bagged and tagged with price stickers. This will have baseball, basketball and football. One sport per row.
2. Ultra Modern box all $1-$4. Star players- lower end inserts, prizm color, all that kind of stuff. All priced directly on toploader with sharpie.
3. 90s NBA box with mainly hall of fame players. Sectioned into $0.50, $1, $2, $3 and $5 cards. If there's room, this box will have one row of $0.50 ultra modern low-end inserts.
4. Hall of Fame rookie binder for baseball & basketball - cards will be $1, $2 or $3 each in this. All cards will be rookies of hall of fame players.
5. NBA Hall of Famer base box - $0.25 per card or 5/$1. Debating on this one. It'll be there if I have enough room.

For myself, to notate any unpriced card (from the $0.50, $1, $2, $3 sections) I will be putting 0, 1, 2, or 3 small lines on the back of the toploader so I can quickly see which price it should have. This will eliminate and accidental, or malicious switching from one price to another.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Hoping to do more shows this year so feedback from people who go often is very helpful!

Adding: I also plan on having a little star player box with toploaded $1-ish cards that I will let kids take a freebie from if they stop by the table.

[dylan1018]

Last show I went to I asked about certain cards at different booths and at 3 of them the seller pulled up 130point and searched the card to give me an answer. It took time and I lost interest and did not buy from any of them. At least have an idea of what you have and what you want for it. Don't search in the moment to make sure you don't miss out on a couple extra bucks based on "up to the minute comps".

[pac_rat_76]

I dislike people at card shows.

[zack783]

Originally Posted by dylan1018

Last show I went to I asked about certain cards at different booths and at 3 of them the seller pulled up 130point and searched the card to give me an answer. It took time and I lost interest and did not buy from any of them. At least have an idea of what you have and what you want for it. Don't search in the moment to make sure you don't miss out on a couple extra bucks based on "up to the minute comps".

Yeah that's why I plan on pricing everything. It's annoying for the buyers plus what seller has time to look up every card on the spot?!

With it all priced, at least there's a baseline for both parties if they want to negotiate.

[Wildcat55]

If you have any that you don’t PC, bring any rare (SSP type) cards and numbered cards of players on teams in your area which looks like California…price them to move which will bring in traffic. Segment part of your $1 boxes with “local” teams as well.

Your ideas in general seem great and I’d definitely stop and look if it was organized like you plan to do. Good luck at the show.

[zack783]

Originally Posted by Wildcat55

If you have any that you don’t PC, bring any rare (SSP type) cards and numbered cards of players on teams in your area which looks like California…price them to move which will bring in traffic. Segment part of your $1 boxes with “local” teams as well.

Your ideas in general seem great and I’d definitely stop and look if it was organized like you plan to do. Good luck at the show.

Thanks! Great idea on the local focus. I will do a section for the bay area teams. Might actually wind up doing an whole box since I could do Giants, A's, 49ers, Kings, Warriors and (still) Raiders.

[Raleigh504]

I wouldn't go too much in the weeds (which you really don't seem to be doing). I see tables with $0.10, $0.25, $0.75 and so on. Most people won't sit all day and look through the BINs. You will have some but others will either quickly glance or just look at what you have laying out.

[gmarutiak]

Originally Posted by pac_rat_76

I dislike people at card shows.

I dislike the smell of most people at card shows.

[zack783]

Originally Posted by gmarutiak

I dislike the smell of most people at card shows.

I'll make a note to wear deodorant and also be invisible.

[jimmyjam1973]

You're ahead of most sellers if you're pricing stuff. That is my biggest pet-peeve when cards are not priced. Having to dig through boxes only to have the dealer have to comp every single card. Yes, it takes time, but in my opinion it's worth it.

I get alot of positive feedback when I set up, that customers like that everything I have is toploaded, in a team bag and clearly priced.

[theshowandme]

If I am flipping through your $1 boxes and pulling Pablo Sandoval or Eric Hosmer cards, I am out.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Just a suggestion. But I don't care for the price to be directly on the toploader. I like it to be written on the sleeve inside (or the bag on the outside for your one touches). That way I can keep the card in the toploader when I buy it and just swap out the sleeve. Not that it would ever keep me from buying, just that I always find it annoying when I get back from a card show and have to either try to peel a sticker off the toploaders (which inevitably results in residue and the toploader being tossed anyway), or throwing away a bunch of toploaders because they have writing on them. I'd rather just pull out the card, change the sleeve, and put it back in the toploader it came in. I'm a little nuts that way. Can't stand writing/residue on my toploaders. So take it for what it's worth.

[soey10]

Curious as to what show you will be selling at since I myself am doing a Fresno California show coming up on January 28th.

I like your idea of having items priced as this is the best way to get people to buy, by knowing what they will be paying for it.

I know you have a way of telling on the back of the top loader what the price is for certain cards but what if they get mixed into other groups. I think it would be beneficial to price those cards as well. If you are going to take the time to mark the back, take the time to put a price sticker on the card itself. With a price gun it only takes a second.

Just my two cents. Everything else sounds good and good luck.


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[bblair_2002]

Seems like dealers at shows around here are all selling the same cards. Bowman Chrome this,PSA 10 that,etc.

Just give me a healthy dose of $1-10 boxes and I'm good to go. Sorting them by sport is a definite plus.

[EldoEsq]

Make sure you put the price on the top loader...I can't stand when sellers put the price on the sleeve. I then have to swap out the sleeve to remove the price.

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[zack783]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

If I am flipping through your $1 boxes and pulling Pablo Sandoval or Eric Hosmer cards, I am out.

To be fair, in this area Pablo is close to a God so I will have some of his stuff for sure.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Just a suggestion. But I don't care for the price to be directly on the toploader. I like it to be written on the sleeve inside (or the bag on the outside for your one touches). That way I can keep the card in the toploader when I buy it and just swap out the sleeve. Not that it would ever keep me from buying, just that I always find it annoying when I get back from a card show and have to either try to peel a sticker off the toploaders (which inevitably results in residue and the toploader being tossed anyway), or throwing away a bunch of toploaders because they have writing on them. I'd rather just pull out the card, change the sleeve, and put it back in the toploader it came in. I'm a little nuts that way. Can't stand writing/residue on my toploaders. So take it for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by EldoEsq

Make sure you put the price on the top loader...I can't stand when sellers put the price on the sleeve. I then have to swap out the sleeve to remove the price.

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[metsandweezer]

The dealers egos at shows are pretty crazy. When I set up at shows, I am trying to give everyone the best deals possible. There is a reason why my booth is almost empty at the end of every show. Some dealers think they are all that and there is a reason they have a tough time selling cards.

[HRderby22]

If you're setting up to have people dig through boxes, I'd suggest being careful to make sure you don't end up with squatters that block your entire table for 25 minutes and then buy $7 worth of cards. Either leave ample space, use smaller boxes, or work with the customer to keep them on task.

If this does happen, I'd suggest repositioning yourself to still be accessible to those walking the aisles.

If the goal is to acquire as many paying customers as possible in a 4-6 hour window, you absolutely cannot afford to let potential buyers just walk by your table because they can't see what you're selling.

AND ABSOLUTELY DO NOT LET YOUR TABLE GET BLOCKED BY SOMEONE TRYING TO SELL CARDS TO YOU!!!!

[EBCollectibles]

Dislike- Organized
Like- Unorganized

Won't find any steals in organized things.

I'm never in a hurry at shows I have plenty of time to look around.

[imwonderboy]

PRICE YOUR STUFF!!!!

I hate waiting to ask 'how much' just to have the guy/girl look at me like it's such an inconvenience to them. Or they just make up a number hoping I'm a sucker. Or worse - they reply 'make an offer'. So annoying. It's the main reason I rarely go to shows anymore.

[EBCollectibles]

Originally Posted by imwonderboy

PRICE YOUR STUFF!!!!

I hate waiting to ask 'how much' just to have the guy/girl look at me like it's such an inconvenience to them. Or they just make up a number hoping I'm a sucker. Or worse - they reply 'make an offer'. So annoying. It's the main reason I rarely go to shows anymore.

All you hear at card shows these days are: Comps or there aren't any comps.

[bmann33]

I think you have a great plan. You’ve covered most of my pet peeves - I’d stop by your table.


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[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

If I am flipping through your $1 boxes and pulling Pablo Sandoval or Eric Hosmer cards, I am out.

Depends, if they are low numbered Pablo cards, I'm a buyer

[LVDan]

What I like:
Bargain boxes filled with failed RC autos and parallels from the last 5 years.
Post hype sleepers and guys who are slow to get going to start their careers due to injury, blocked positions, poor performance, etc.
That’s my jam