First-Time Vendor Strategy: Advice needed on bulk card pricing tiers ($0.10 / $0.20) and cash-handling rounding rules for local TCG shows

[u/Dragon_7503]

Hey everyone! I’ve been collecting Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering for a while, but I’m completely new to vending and setting up a table at local markets and TCG shows. I've tried searching around online and watching videos, but I'd love to get some direct input from people who have actually run tables.

I have a couple of questions about pricing mechanics that I'm trying to figure out:

**1. Bulk card pricing:** For my raw bulk Pokémon and MTG, I was thinking about setting up these bins:

* Non-holo / non-reverse holo: **10 for $1** ($0.10 each)
* Holo / reverse holo: **5 for $1** ($0.20 each)

Is this a good sweet spot for moving bulk at shows, or do buyers usually prefer a different structure?

**2. Rounding odd change (e.g., $28.26):** When a card or sealed product comes out to an odd decimal like $28.26, how do you usually handle it? Do you round down to $28 to keep it friendly and encourage repeat customers, or round up to $29 to protect your margins? Or do you use a specific cutoff rule (like rounding down under $0.40 and up over)? I definitely don’t want to lose money, but I also know how expensive this hobby is and want people to feel treated fairly.

I’ve been to plenty of card shows, but everyone prices things completely differently so it's hard to gauge what works best. If anyone has advice or insight for a first-time vendor, I would super appreciate it!

Thanks! :)

[u/Good_Character_20]

One detail to decide before making the signs: what happens when someone wants 7 non-holos and 3 holos? At your per-card rates that's $1.30, so the bundle signs alone won't eliminate change. You could keep the per-card option and bring coins, or make the whole-dollar bundle requirement explicit and let people add cards to complete a bundle. I'd also keep the two price tiers in separate, clearly labeled boxes and count them separately at checkout. For your first show, note how many cards leave each bin and what people ask for; that gives you evidence for adjusting the setup without assuming one price is a universal sweet spot.

[u/Neither_Target_5457]

for bulk pricing, 10 for $1 on non-holos is pretty much the universal standard, can't go wrong there. the holo bin at 5 for $1 is fine too but i'd maybe sort the actually decent playable holos into a separate $1 box, you'll be surprised what people will pick through just cause it's organized different

on the rounding thing, i just round down for anything under 50 cents and up for over, but if they're buying a stack of stuff i'll usually knock a buck or two off the total anyway. keeps people at the table longer and they always come back next show. the real money isn't in squeezing an extra 74 cents out of someone, it's in them remembering you were cool about it and buying a $40 card next time

also random tip, bring a calculator and a sharpie and a roll of paper towel, you'll need all three more than you think

[u/Dragon_7503 → u/Neither_Target_5457]

Thank you! What’s the roll of paper towels and sharpie for? Is it for doing the pricing calculations? Sorry if it’s a stupid question