Cards
Sell cards at a card show: rules, pricing, payment
Every show sets its own rules for who may sell, from a booked vendor table to trades on the floor. Prices are the seller's decision, and sold listings for the same card in the same condition are the usual reference. Bring a priced inventory, payment methods you have tested and a way to write receipts.
Selling single cards in person at a show. Drafted 8 Nov 2026.
Each show sets its own selling rules
Shows differ. Some require a booked vendor table for any selling. Some allow attendees to trade or sell to vendors on the floor, and some ban floor sales outright. Some ask vendors for a business licence or a sales tax registration, depending on local law. Expect buyers to hold a card up to a light, the check Pokémon Support's counterfeit page recommends, and let them do it with the card in your sight. Read the organiser's vendor terms before booking, and ask about table size, power, Wi-Fi, set-up times and whether the organiser takes a share of sales. Selling to a vendor is the quickest route: vendors buy below the price they sell at, which covers their own costs and risk, and the deal is done in minutes.
Price from sold listings, and the number is yours
Pricing is the seller's decision. The strongest reference is sold listings for the same card, language, edition and condition, ideally from the last few weeks. Asking prices show what other sellers hope for, which makes them a weak reference. Sold listings record other copies on other days, so they guide the number on the sticker and leave the final figure to you. Write the price on a sticker or a toploader label, and decide in advance how far you will move in a negotiation. Group cards by price band in the display so buyers find them. Show prices often differ from online prices, since there is no shipping and the buyer can inspect the card.
Fees and payment methods each take a share
The table fee is the main cost of selling at a show. Card readers and many payment apps charge the seller a fee per transaction, and the fee and the timing of payouts vary by provider and account type. Cash settles at once; count it at the table and keep it out of sight. With a payment app, confirm the payment has arrived in your own app before handing over a card, since a screenshot of a payment is easy to fake. Transfers marked as between friends often lack buyer and seller protection, so use the goods or business setting where the app offers one.
Bring an inventory, receipts and protection
Bring a list of every card for sale with its identity, condition, price and its place in the display. Keep cards in sleeves and toploaders, in a lockable case or display that stays on the table. Pack a receipt book or a phone app that issues receipts, a calculator, change in small notes, tape, spare sleeves and toploaders, a loupe and a pen. A receipt with the date, card, condition, price and payment method protects both sides if a question comes up later. Keep a record of each sale. Tax rules on selling personal items or running a small business exist in most places and vary by country and region.
11 checks before you act
- Organiser's vendor terms read; table booked if required
- Local licence or tax registration checked if the show asks for one
- Inventory list with identity, condition and price for each card
- Prices set from sold listings for the same card and condition
- Cards in sleeves and toploaders with visible price labels
- Cash float in small notes
- Card reader or payment app tested before the doors open
- Payment confirmed in your own app before a card changes hands
- Receipt book or receipt app
- Spare sleeves, toploaders, tape, loupe and pen
- Each sale recorded the same day
Read next
Sources read for this page
- ReadPokémon Support: Did I purchase fake or counterfeit cards?read 8 Nov 2026