Vendor field guide · September 26, 2026
You sold $1,600 at a card show. Did you make money? The answer depends on what those cards cost, what the show cost, and how much cash went back into inventory.
This closeout method gives you three separate answers: your sales, your result after direct show costs, and your cash movement. Do not force all three into one number.
Before the doors open: record your starting point
Choose one show name or ID for the weekend. Use it on every sale, buy, trade, and expense. Then record:
- Opening cash: count the float before it mixes with sales.
- Inventory brought: identify each card by set, number, language, and condition or slab grade. Record quantity and your assigned acquisition cost.
- Prices: separate the sticker price from your minimum acceptable price. Neither is the cost you paid.
- Show costs: include the table, travel, parking, event supplies, and any other costs you are allocating to this show. Keep receipts.
- Buying budget: set aside money for new stock. Buying inventory is a different decision from covering the table fee.
If you bought a collection as one lot, assign costs using a consistent, documented method before the show. Do not invent a cost after a card sells just to make its margin look better.
At the table: log the deal, not just the payment
A $200 payment without a card list is hard to reconcile later. Record the items, quantities, agreed prices, payment method, and any fee. If several cards sell as a bundle, keep the bundle total and document how you allocated it across those cards.
Keep buys and trades distinct from sales. For a trade, list both sides, any cash added, and the agreed values. Do not record only the cash difference and lose the inventory movement. This guide’s worked example excludes trades; ask your bookkeeper how to handle their accounting and tax treatment.
Mark refunds and returned inventory explicitly. If you take a deposit, leave the deal open until delivery and payment are resolved rather than treating it as an ordinary completed sale.
A worked card-show profit example
All numbers below are illustrative. This example has no refunds or trades. Sales figures exclude any separately tracked tax collected from customers. It measures the show before income taxes, your own unpaid time, and general business overhead.
| Line item | Amount | What belongs here |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | $1,600 | $800 cash + $800 by card |
| Cost of the cards sold | −$1,040 | The assigned acquisition cost of those exact cards |
| Gross profit | $560 | Sales minus the cost of sold inventory |
| Payment fees | −$24 | Assumed 3% of the $800 card payments |
| Table fee | −$120 | This show’s table cost |
| Travel and parking | −$55 | Costs allocated to this event |
| Event supplies | −$21 | Supplies consumed or allocated to this event |
| Result after direct show costs | $340 | Before taxes, owner time, and unallocated overhead |
The assumed 3% fee is only for the example, not a quote from a payment provider. Use the fees actually charged to your account.
The important distinction is the cost of cards sold. It is not the sticker value of the cards and not the amount you spent buying stock that day. The IRS explains the basic net-receipts-minus-cost-of-goods-sold calculation in Publication 334, chapter 7.
Why your cash can tell a different story
Suppose you also bought $900 of new cards and still held all of them when the show closed. For this internal show worksheet, record that purchase as cash spent on inventory. Do not subtract the full $900 again from the cost of the cards you already sold.
Your combined cash and bank movement from these show transactions would be:
The show result is $340, while cash increased $480. Both can be correct. You sold $1,040 of previously acquired inventory and replaced it with $900 of new stock. That $140 difference explains the gap in this simplified example.
Count the cash drawer separately
Use cash transactions only for the physical drawer. Card payments do not belong in that count.
In the same example, assume you started with $200, made $800 in cash sales, paid $300 of the inventory purchases in cash, and paid $20 of the show costs in cash. With no cash refunds or withdrawals, you should finish with:
If the drawer holds $660, record a $20 difference and investigate it. Check unlogged purchases, change given, refunds, and personal withdrawals. Do not silently change a sale to force the drawer to balance.
Reconcile electronic payments against the processor’s transaction report. A pending payout is not necessarily a missing sale. Compare gross charges, refunds, fees, and the expected payout separately.
Set a break-even target before the next show
In the worked example, card costs use 65% of sales, leaving a 35% gross margin. With half the sales paid by card at the assumed 3% fee, blended payment fees use another 1.5% of sales. That leaves 33.5% to cover the $196 event budget.
Round up to roughly $586 for this example.
This adapts the SBA’s break-even-in-sales-dollars formula. It assumes the same merchandise margin and payment mix, and treats the $196 event budget as fixed for this sales range. It is not a universal card-show target. More discounting, a lower-margin case, or higher costs will raise it.
Your end-of-show closeout checklist
- Finish the deal log. Resolve missing card lists, bundle allocations, refunds, deposits, and open balances.
- Count the cash. Compare actual cash with the expected drawer balance. Record any difference.
- Match electronic payments. Separate sales from fees and payout timing.
- Reconcile stock. Opening quantity + buys + trade-ins + customer returns − sales − trade-outs − other removals = expected closing quantity.
- Check the physical inventory. Investigate missing cards and keep personal collection transfers separate.
- Add the event costs. Include costs paid before the show, not only receipts from today.
- Write down three totals. Sales, result after direct show costs, and cash movement.
- Choose one change for next time. Adjust the stock mix, discount limit, buying budget, or event choice based on what the records show.
Use Vendor Desk inside Grade Ready
Vendor Desk is part of the Grade Ready app. It brings table inventory, buys, sales, trades, and show expenses into one place. Keep your original receipts and payment records so you can check the totals at closeout.
See Grade Ready’s card-show vendor tools · More collector guides
Sources checked September 26, 2026: IRS Publication 334 and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s break-even guide, linked above. All figures are worked examples, not typical vendor results or promised earnings. The worksheet is for internal event review; tax rules and accounting requirements depend on your circumstances.