How to Become a Sports Card Dealer

Locate your shop where there's plenty of traffic but no competition. Many towns can only support one card shop. The space should have enough room to house glass display cases, where you'll keep some of your more expensive cards. There should also be room for shelving units behind the cases. These are typically used to house cards that are stored in boxes. If you're planning to sell sports jerseys, storage supplies, magazines or other products, be sure to factor that into your space requirements.

Buy product, and lots of it. Having a card collection you're willing to sell or trade is a good start, since that's what will take up most of the room in your display cases. But the real money comes from selling factory-sealed boxes. Opening boxes is a thrill for both hardcore and casual collectors. Major sports card producers such as Topps and Upper Deck usually offer discounts to dealers. It would be wise to maintain an inventory of cards from every major hockey, baseball, basketball and football release over the past five years.

Open an eBay store. Few reputable dealers rely solely on walk-in customers, and there's plenty of money to be made via online sales. Setting up an eBay account is pretty simple. You should also establish an eBay store, which lets potential buyers scan hundreds of cards quickly and efficiently. And since eBay offers discounts to store operators, you can post plenty of single cards, sets or storage items without spending much money.

Be willing to listen to all offers. If a collector wants to buy a lot of stock from you, offer him a discount. Chances are, he'll buy from you again.