My Time as a Sports Card Collectibles Dealer

After my time as a flea market dealer I decided to become a sports card collectibles dealer. It seemed simple: buy low and sell high. I was still in high school, had a car, and most importantly had the internet. The strategy was to buy sports cards that were desired locally from people in other parts of the country at a discount. With the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins being popular teams in North Florida, there was plenty of inventory available.

After amassing a decent collection of sports cards that I thought were desirable I signed up to have a table at a Saturday show in my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. In the back of the Beckett magazine there was always a list of shows around the country and the Tallahassee show only came around three times per year — it was a big deal.

I drove my little red Nissan pick-up truck stocked with sports cards, and a little wood display case my dad built for me, over to the local armory. Never having done a sports card show before, but with a little bit of retail experience from working my table at the flea market, I was excited and nervous. The show was a huge success. In that short six hour show I made $500.

Every show I did after that first one was a failure.

The first show made me think this sports card collectibles thing was easy money. With the internet I had an abundant supply of cheap cards, my costs were low since I was merely a high school student, and I didn’t have to go to too many shows. What I didn’t realize was that in my market the same people would come to every show looking for new cards to complete different collections (e.g. every Chipper Jones ever, or the 1989 Upper Deck set of Atlanta Braves). At the first show I had inventory they’d never picked over before, and thus a ton of cards for them to purchase. Even though I had purchased new cards in the interim, as a percentage of my collection there weren’t nearly as many new items, and my subsequent sales reflected that.

With three total shows under my belt I had learned my lesson. I itemized and listed my entire collection on a sports card collectible news group, took a few bids, and ended up selling everything for $1,600 to a guy that drove down from Nashville in a little Honda Civic hatchback. It was a clean exit and my time as a sports card collectibles dealer was over.

What else? Have you tried turning a hobby into a business without luck?