We went to our first card show this weekend in Huntsville, AL (The Flip Trade Show) and decided to challenge ourselves—not to spend any money inside, only trade.

Cost to get in:

$15 parking

$5 entry (my son was free)

What I brought:

A stack of video game controllers and a few cards I picked up cheap on eBay.

Everything was tested on PC with a USB adapter and cleaned with 91% alcohol, plan was to trade up:

Started at booths with both video games + Pokémon

Traded into sealed Pokémon products first (ETBs, boxes, packs)

Opened packs and flipped pulls into more packs/boxes

Finished with smaller trades at Pokémon-only vendors

We didn’t spend a single dollar inside the show.

Based on what vendors were asking, we traded into roughly \~$600 worth of sealed product.

We opened everything, and the cards in the photos are what we pulled. I’m not sure on total value yet, but the best hits are the ones standing in the back, along with the Clefairy and Dragonite in the very front. I’ll probably send a few in for grading.

The Dragonite was my son’s favorite pull—we actually hit it from a Pokémon GO pack he opened on the ride home (not pictured), and it’s a card he’s been wanting for a while since Dragonite is his favorite Pokémon.

Photo breakdown:

Table photos = everything we came home with after trading

eBay screenshots = the items I brought to trade

White box = all the rares/hits from opening everything

Binder page = the start of my son’s binder from the day

Honestly, the best part wasn’t the value—it was getting to spend the day with my son. We hustled trades together, ripped packs, and had a great time.

Posting this in case anyone feels like they don’t have the money to take their kid to something like this—you really can make it happen with a little preparation and effort.

Definitely won’t be our last show.

Took my son to our first Pokémon card show - spent $0 inside and traded into $600 in sealed (ETBs, boxes, packs)