What to bring to a card show comes down to three things: a way to pay, a way to protect what you buy, and a plan. Forget the first and you're watching someone else walk off with your card. Forget the second and your new pickup rides home loose in a hoodie pocket. Forget the third and you spend four hours looping the same aisle.
Here's the checklist we'd hand a friend before their first show, and the stuff seasoned collectors still forget.
Money: bring more cash than you think
Plenty of vendors take card payments or payment apps now, but cash is still the fastest way to close a deal, and the easiest way to ask for a better price. Bring small bills: a vendor making change for a $100 bill on a $12 card isn't in a generous mood.
Set a budget before you walk in and split it into what you'll spend on your want list and what you'll allow yourself for impulse buys. The impulse pile always wins otherwise. Check whether the show charges admission at the door too; it's on the show's page.
A want list, written down
The best day at a card show is the one where you find your grails. The worst is remembering on the drive home that the card you've wanted for a year was sitting in a case you walked past.
Write the list down, with the condition you'll accept and the most you'll pay. On ShowFloor you can put it in your wishlist: add the cards you're hunting, tap "I'm going" on a show, and you're matched with the vendors there who have them, table and all, before you arrive.
Check recent sold prices for the big cards on your list too, so you know a fair price when you see one. TCGplayer and eBay's sold listings are the usual places.
Protection for what you buy
Vendors sometimes throw in a sleeve. Don't count on it. Pack:
- Penny sleeves and toploaders, more than you expect to need
- A few semi-rigid holders if you're buying cards to grade
- A small binder or a team bag for singles
- A rigid box or case for slabs, so they don't scratch each other
- A bag that zips shut, worn on your front in a crowded aisle
Your phone, charged, and a battery pack
You'll use your phone to check prices, pay, message vendors and find your way back to that one table. Card show halls are rarely generous with outlets or signal. A charged battery pack is the most underrated thing on this list.
If you bought a ticket online, have it ready before you reach the door; a screenshot works if the signal's bad.
Cards to trade, if you trade
Many vendors will trade, or take your cards as part payment. Bring trade bait sorted and sleeved, with prices in mind, not a shoebox you have to dig through at the table. If you plan to sell to vendors, expect offers below market value: they have to resell at a profit.
What to leave at home
Your whole collection, for a start. Big binders are heavy, slow you down and are a nightmare to keep an eye on. Bring the cards you might trade, not the ones you'd never part with. And leave the drinks with loose lids away from the tables: nobody wants to be the person who watered a vendor's display case.
Questions
Should I bring cash to a card show?
Yes. Many vendors take cards or payment apps, but cash is quicker, it's accepted at every table and it makes it easier to negotiate. Bring small bills.
How much money should I bring to a card show?
Bring what you've budgeted for your want list plus a set amount for impulse buys, and no more. Check recent sold prices for the cards you want, so you know roughly what they'll cost.
Do vendors give you sleeves and toploaders?
Some do, especially on bigger purchases, but plenty don't. Bring your own penny sleeves and toploaders so every card you buy is protected on the way home.
Can I trade cards at a card show?
Usually, yes. Many vendors trade or take cards toward a purchase. Bring your trade cards sleeved and sorted, and expect offers below market value, since vendors resell at a profit.