How to Open an Online Trading Card Shop: 6 Steps and 3 Setups

The short answer in numbers: on Cardmarket you keep 95 cents of every euro, because it takes a 5% sales commission; on Shopify Basic you pay €19 a month billed yearly before you sell a single card; on a free Foilio shop you pay nothing and keep the full price. The work is the same in all three: fifty priced cards, a delivery option with a price, and one link you post everywhere.

Below is what each step looks like on a Tuesday evening with a binder on the desk.

The three setups, side by side

Before the steps, decide where the shop lives. This decides your costs, how fast you go live and who the buyer belongs to.

When a marketplace is the right tool

Be honest with yourself here. If you have a €300 card and nobody in your country wants it, a marketplace with buyers from all over Europe is the right place. Bulgaria is on Cardmarket's list of available countries, and new sellers get the Trustee Service: according to Cardmarket's new user guide, it holds the payment until the buyer confirms arrival on orders over 25 euros and on a new seller's first five sales.

What you trade for that reach: the 5% commission, deducted automatically before the money lands in your Cardmarket balance, and a buyer who is Cardmarket's customer. You cannot message them about your next restock. Private accounts also come with selling limits; Cardmarket's professional seller guide says professional sellers are not limited by any selling restrictions, which tells you private ones are. For the full fee maths, read Cardmarket seller fees explained.

When a store builder is the right tool

Shopify makes sense when you want your own brand, your own domain and a full storefront with sealed product, accessories and blog. On Shopify's pricing page, Basic is €19 a month billed yearly or €27 billed monthly. If you take payments through a third-party provider instead of Shopify Payments, Basic adds a 2% transaction fee; the Shopify Payments online card rate on Basic is 1.9% + €0.25.

What you trade: a monthly bill whether you sell or not, and setup time. A trading card catalogue is also awkward in a general store builder: every single is a product with its own condition, quantity and photos, and someone has to build that.

When a free card-shop link is the right tool

Foilio is built for the seller who already sells through Facebook groups, Discord or a club and wants one link instead of forty posts. Opening a shop is free and Foilio takes no cut of your sales. The buyer pays you directly, and Foilio holds no money: payment is agreed in the order chat as cash on delivery, cash, card, Revolut or bank transfer, whichever you offer.

What you trade: you bring the buyers. Foilio gives you a shop and a link, not a crowd. That is why the last step of this guide is the one most sellers skip and should not.

The six steps

1. Pick what you sell. One or two games you know cold. A shop of Dragon Ball and Riftbound singles is easier to run, price and explain than a shop of eleven games and a box of mystery bulk. Decide singles, sealed, or both.
2. Decide delivery and payment. Write down your options and their prices before you list anything: tracked post, a courier office, in person at the club. Decide who pays delivery and how the buyer pays you.
3. List your first 50 cards. Not your whole collection. Fifty cards with prices beat 2,000 cards marked "ask".
4. Photograph the good ones. Your own photos of anything over a few euros, front and back, on a plain surface.
5. Price against the market. Check each card's Cardmarket trend and price a little under it for near mint, lower for played.
6. Share your link. Pin it in the group, put it in your Discord bio, print it on a card in every parcel.

Step 1: pick what you sell

Sellers who know one game well price faster and answer questions faster. If your binder is mostly Pokémon with a few One Piece leaders, open with Pokémon and add One Piece later. Sealed product is simpler to list but your margin depends on what you paid for it, and there is no reference trend that does the thinking for you.

Step 2: delivery and payment

This is the part buyers ask about first, so put it at the top of the shop. Each delivery option should carry a price. In Foilio, setup asks four questions: which games, how cards reach the buyer, who pays delivery, and how you get paid. Delivery options can be marked "Cash on delivery" and "Inspect before paying", and you choose "The buyer pays" or "I cover it". You can also show a minimum order value, so nobody orders one €0.20 common with paid delivery.

If you sell in Bulgaria by Speedy, look at how Delin Collectibles sets it up: inspect before paying, cash or card, no declared value and no insurance, recipient pays delivery, and the cash on delivery amount is the cards only.

Step 3: list the first 50 cards

Listing is where most shops die, so make it boring. In Foilio you add a card by scanning it ("Scan a card to auto-fill") or searching by name, then set condition (M, NM, EX, GD, LP, PL or PO, NM by default), quantity and price. The card is on the shop at once.

If you already keep stock in a spreadsheet or on Cardmarket, use bulk upload: a CSV or Excel file of up to 300 cards per upload, where only the card name is required. You can upload a Cardmarket stock export directly. Foilio matches the pictures and fills only empty prices, so your own prices are kept, and re-uploading skips duplicates.

One rule: cards without a price show "Ask" and do not appear in site search. A shop full of "Ask" is a shop full of the 40-message "is this still available" thread you were trying to escape.

Step 4: photos

Stock images are fine for €0.50 cards. For anything a buyer will inspect, take your own. Foilio allows up to 8 photos per card, and your own photos earn a "Real photo" badge, which tells the buyer they are looking at the actual card and not the one from the press release. Natural light, no sleeve glare, back included.

Step 5: pricing

Price against the market a buyer already checks. Foilio shows a Cardmarket reference trend next to every card you add, and buyers see how your price compares, for example "10% under market". You still type your own price. Sealed prices are always your own input. There is also a "How you price" note in Shop setup, where you tell buyers your rule in one line.

If you want a reference number before you list, the free market check shows what a card is worth.

Step 6: share the link

Your shop link looks like `foilio.net/shops/your-name`. The name needs at least 3 Latin letters or numbers, so a Cyrillic-only name needs a Latin word added. Then put the link where your buyers already are: the Facebook groups you post in (see how to sell trading cards in Facebook groups for doing that without getting kicked), your Discord, your club's noticeboard and the inside of every parcel.

Over time you also want buyers who search for you. That is a longer game, covered in how to get your card shop on Google.

Opening the shop itself, in a minute

The full walkthrough is in the open a shop help page. In short:

1. Sign in and type a shop name.
2. Tap "Create my free shop". The shop is live at once.
3. Answer the four setup questions, or tap "Do this later".
4. Follow the 4-step welcome: logo, delivery and payment, first cards, share your link.

What running orders looks like

A shop is not done when it is live. It is done when an order goes from first message to review without a mess. In Foilio, an order is placed, you tap "Accept order" or "Decline", pack it, then "Mark shipped" with the tracking number (or "Handed over, done" for in person). The buyer taps "Confirm delivered", you tap "Mark completed", and the buyer can leave one review per completed order.

You can cancel while an order is placed or accepted, and the cards go back on sale at once. After an order is sent, either side can tap "Report a problem", and the chat keeps the full record with times. One order card and one chat, which beats reconstructing a dispute from three Messenger threads and a voice note.

Do you need the paid plan?

No. Foilio's Free plan is €0. Pro is for collectors (price alerts, CSV export), and the pricing page says plainly that you do not need it to sell. Dealer is a pilot for shops that want bulk intake, buylist management, a repricing dashboard and multi-user seats.

FAQ

How much does it cost to open an online trading card shop?

It depends on the setup. Cardmarket keeps a 5% sales commission, Shopify Basic is €19 a month billed yearly plus payment fees, and a Foilio shop is free with no commission on sales.

How many cards do I need to start?

Fifty priced cards is enough to open. Buyers judge a shop by whether the cards they want have a price and a photo, not by the total count.

Should I still sell on Cardmarket if I open my own shop?

Often yes. Use Cardmarket for expensive cards that need buyers from all over Europe, and your own shop for local buyers, groups and repeat customers.

Do I need a business to open a card shop?

It depends on your country, your volume and whether you are selling a personal collection or buying to resell. In Bulgaria, for example, the tax exemption for selling your own belongings excludes collectibles (ЗДДФЛ чл. 13), so keep your purchase receipts. This is not legal or tax advice; check with an accountant for your case.

How do buyers pay in a Foilio shop?

The buyer pays you directly, as agreed in the order chat: cash on delivery, cash, card, Revolut or bank transfer, whichever your shop offers. Foilio takes no cut and holds no money.

Start selling

Open your free shop → It takes a name and a minute, and Foilio takes no cut.

See a live shop → Delin Collectibles in Sofia, set up the way this guide describes.