Tips-Tuesday: Five tips to prepare you for the Toronto Sport Card Expo

This is the inaugural installment of a new weekly column I’ll be writing on this website titled “Tips Tuesday”.

Each week, I will be giving some tips for hockey card collectors and/or investors. Some columns will be tips targeted at newcomers to the hobby, while others may be geared toward more seasoned veterans.

With the Toronto Sport Card Expo kicking off this Thursday, I thought what a great time to start this series by delivering five tips to prepare you for the Expo.

1) Cash is king.

If there’s one thing you need to know, it’s that cash will always be the preferred method of payment at any convention like this. Most vendors will take PayPal, e-transfer, and perhaps even credit or debit if you don’t have any money left on hand, but cash will make your dealings go further. So much so that cash can be used as a negotiation tool. Paying for cards with bills laid out on the table is a far more effective tactic than offering to send money electronically or using a credit or debit card.

I should point out that there will be ATMs on location if you need them, but your best bet is to get your money ahead of time from the bank just in case the machines get tapped out, which happens occasionally at this show.

2) If you see a card you like, buy it.

I can’t tell you how many times in my early collecting days I’d attend a card show and walk away from a card I liked at a reasonable price only to come to my senses shortly after and go back to the vendor to buy it only to find out the card had been sold. It happens all the time. So if you see a card you like and it’s at a price you’re comfortable with, just grab it, because if you think it’s a good price, someone else will too, and that person will pull the trigger.

I should also note as a bonus tip related to this: Negotiating is accepted and encouraged. This isn’t Walmart or the grocery store. You can haggle with the dealer and try to get a cheaper price than what’s posted on the sticker. Additionally, the more cards you buy from one person, the more likely that seller is to give you a bulk deal.

3) ‘Comps’ are your friends.

Information is key in any walk of life, but especially in the sports card market. Prices are fluid and change by the minute. The best way to know if you’re getting a good or fair deal on a card is to check comparable sales of sold listings online, either on eBay or 130pt.com.

Here’s a true story of how checking comps saved me $200 at a card show.

I was at the Expo one year looking to buy a Connor McDavid rookie card. His graded Young Guns were selling for well over $1,000 at the time, which was completely out of my budget. However, I was ecstatic to stumble upon a BGS 9.5 Young Guns canvas checklist with McDavid and Jake Virtanen on it. I knew the market was obviously down on this card with Virtanen being on it given what happened with his career on and off the ice, but with a $300 sticker price, I still thought it was a steal considering the McJesus’ Young Guns Canvas was selling in the $1,000 range.

However, prior to pulling the trigger on the deal, I figured I’d check and make sure that the price on the card accurately reflected the current market. It was only then that I realized the value plummeted on that card specifically and it was only selling for around $100. I was able to show the dealer the comparables, and he opted to sell me the card for the market price as opposed to his original stick price, which was outdated.

So make sure that you're paying market value with current sales comparisons if you’re about to pull the trigger on a higher-priced card.

4) If you’re bringing your own cards, know the value of them ahead of time.

The expo is not just for buying cards. It’s also a great place to sell and trade with others. That said, know the value of the cards you're looking to move. Vendors are busy and don’t always have time to look up the prices on all your cards, so make sure you’ve done that work ahead of time. I recommend spending the night before the show checking comparables to establish values on all of your cards. Trust me, it will be a much smoother and more pleasant selling and trading experience for both parties if you've put that work in prior to coming to the show.

A couple of free tools you can use to check those values are eBay sold listings and 130pt.com. Both will give you an accurate understanding of what your cards are worth. If you can't find a value because the card is rare and/or doesn't have a public sale, that's when you ask other collectors for their opinion on the value.

5) Wear good shoes. No, seriously.

It’s a long day on your feet, and there aren’t many places to sit and rest them, so make sure you’re wearing the most comfortable shoes you own. Plus, if you’re like me and you get FOMO easily, you’ll spend most of the day walking the show floor looking for that next deal.

Also, don’t forget to eat and drink. Pack water and snacks to keep yourself fed and hydrated throughout the day. You’d be surprised at how often people forget to do this at events like these. Myself included.

So there you have it: five tips to prepare you for the Sport Card Expo this weekend. It’s such a fun-filled event with so much to do. If you’re only going for one day, I’d also advise you to have a game plan for how you want to spend your time.

Oh, and have fun. That’s the most important tip of them all.

Enjoy the Expo, folks!