Trade at a Show

Collection shows and conventions are where many collectors make their biggest trades. Flipping through binders, comparing prices, and walking away with a stack of cards. TopVault's trade tracker helps you record these exchanges as they happen so you have an accurate log of what you bought, what you paid, and where it came from.

Before the show

There is no mandatory setup, but a few things help:

• Have your collection up to date so you know what you already own.
• Check your goals to know which cards you are actively looking for. Having a goal open on your phone while browsing vendor tables makes it easy to spot items you need.

Step 1: Start a trade at a vendor table

When you find cards you want to buy:

1. Tap Start trade from any tab.
2. Optionally enter the vendor's name right away.
3. The trade bar appears at the bottom of the screen and stays visible as you navigate.

Step 2: Add cards to the receiving side

As you pick cards from the vendor's table:

1. Search for each card by name, or use the camera scan to identify it.
2. Add each card to the receiving side of the trade.
3. After each addition, the estimated total updates.

Watch the running total as you go. TopVault shows the estimated market value for each item and the overall sum, so you know whether the vendor's asking price is above or below market.

Step 3: Add cards you are trading away (if applicable)

If you are swapping cards from your own collection:

1. Navigate to your Collection tab while the trade is still active.
2. Find the items you are trading away.
3. Add them to the sending side of the trade.

The trade now shows both sides: what you are giving up and what you are getting.

Step 4: Fill in the details

Switch to the Details tab in the trade modal:

• Trader name: the vendor's name or booth number.
• Location: the show name and city (for example, "Pokémon TCG Fest, Chicago").
• Event date: the date of the trade. This defaults to today.
• Description: any notes you want to remember (for example, "Great condition, seller offered bulk discount").

These details become part of your permanent trade record.

Step 5: Associate with goals (optional)

If the cards you are receiving belong to a goal you are tracking:

1. Before completing the trade, select the goals to associate with.
2. The received items will automatically link to those goals when the trade completes.

This saves you from manually adding items to goals after the fact.

Step 6: Complete the trade

Review the sending and receiving lists one more time, confirm the trade, and submit it. When the trade completes:

• Received items appear in your collection immediately.
• Items you sent are recorded as transferred out.
• Associated goals update with the new items.
• The full trade is saved to your transaction history.

After the show

Review your trades

From the Home tab, open the transactions list. Each trade you completed at the show appears with a summary. Tap any trade to see:

• The complete list of items received and sent.
• Per-item estimated values.
• The vendor name, show location, and your notes.

Multiple vendors, multiple trades

Start a new trade for each vendor you buy from. This keeps your records clean. You will be able to tell exactly which cards came from which table, what you paid per vendor, and how each deal compared to market value.

Tips

• Keep trades per-vendor. One trade per vendor keeps your history organized and your per-deal value comparison meaningful.
• Use the estimated total as a negotiation tool. If the vendor is asking more than what TopVault shows as market value, you have data to discuss pricing.
• Fill in details while you are still at the table. Vendor names and booth numbers are easy to forget once you have moved on.
• Scan cards when possible. Using the camera scan is faster than typing names, especially when adding many cards in a row.
• Associate with goals immediately. Linking received cards to your goals during the trade is faster than finding and linking them later.