My Pokémon Card Business: A Transparent Look at Profit and Operations After 4 Months

September 2025: A Snapshot of a Growing Card Business

September was the fourth month of operations, and the numbers are starting to look solid. Total revenue for the month hit $1,750, with a final profit of nearly $700 after all costs. This is a significant step up from the first few weeks of the business, which has now generated over $5,000 in total revenue since starting from zero.

Revenue Breakdown Across Platforms

The $1,750 in revenue came from a mix of platforms, each serving a different part of the inventory. Here's how it broke down:

• Ricardo: $1,250 (The primary platform for more valuable singles)
• Card Market: $235 (Bulk cards)
• Card Trader: $130 (Bulk cards)
• Direct Sales: $150 (Customers reaching out via email)
• Shopify: $20 (First sales on the new store)

The Most Important Number: September's Profit

Revenue is one thing, but profit is what matters. After subtracting the cost of goods and all fixed operational costs, the total profit for September was $680. The profit sources were surprisingly balanced between high-value singles and bulk.

• Ricardo Profit: ~$500 (from $1+ cards)
• Card Market Profit: $175 (from bulk cards)
• Card Trader Profit: $100 (from bulk cards)
• Direct Sales Profit: $110 (mostly from bulk cards)

Selling bulk on Card Market and Card Trader generated almost $300 in profit for the month, proving that there's real money to be made from cards that many sellers ignore.

Understanding the Monthly Fixed Costs

Keeping the business running involves a few key fixed costs. For September, the structure was:

• Business Postal Address: ~$150/month
• Magic Sorter Software: ~$35/month (after a free trial)
• TCG PowerTools: ~$12/month
• Shopify: $0 (currently on a 3-month trial, will be ~$30/month)

These costs are manageable and are more than covered by the profit from bulk sales alone.

The Challenge of Sourcing Sealed Product

To grow, I looked into selling newer sealed products like ETBs and displays. I reached out to the main distributor in Switzerland, but my application was rejected within a couple of hours.

They explained that demand from their existing customers is so high that they can't take on new accounts right now. This is a common hurdle for new sellers and means I'll have to wait, likely until next year, to try again. For now, the focus remains on singles and bulk.

Building an Efficient Inventory System

A major project this month was overhauling my inventory system. For all new cards, I've implemented a new, highly organized system that makes picking orders much faster. It took about eight hours to set up, but the payoff is significant.

Picking the cards is I think now two to three times faster as with the old system definitely.

I still have around 30,000 cards in the old system, which is sorted by set, alphabetical order, and language. It works, but it's much slower. The new system is essential for scaling up order volume without getting bogged down.

A Smarter Way to Build Master Sets

The new inventory process also helps with building master sets. I've developed a script that scans my inventory and identifies incomplete sets. Instead of buying expensive singles to fill the gaps, I just wait for the missing cards to show up in future bulk buys. This way, I'm completing sets with cards that cost me pennies, not dollars.

Expanding Sales Channels with Shopify and Direct Sales

My Shopify store is officially live. I set a minimum order value of 10 Swiss Francs (about $13) and, surprisingly, got two orders in the first week from a single customer. This is a great sign, as Shopify offers much lower fees (around 5% vs. 10-12%) and direct access to customer emails.

Creating a Direct Sales Funnel

I've also started generating direct sales by inviting customers to contact me. On my Ricardo listings, I added a note for buyers to email me if they're looking for specific bulk cards to complete their sets. This has turned into a small but steady stream of orders, totaling $150 in revenue this month. It's a great way to move bulk inventory and provide a valuable service.

The Headaches of Multi-Platform Inventory Syncing

Selling on multiple platforms creates a major operational challenge: keeping inventory synchronized. A sale on Ricardo needs to be manually removed from Shopify, and vice-versa. It's not a sustainable approach.

I'm exploring solutions. I have a call scheduled with Ricardo to discuss a potential API integration to sync with Shopify. For bulk, I plan to use TCG PowerTools to sync my Card Market/Card Trader inventory to Shopify. However, there's a two-month waiting list for access, which highlights how in-demand these automation tools are.

Key Takeaways After Four Months in Business

After four months, the business is generating consistent monthly profit. The numbers are moving in the right direction.

The biggest lesson is that as sales increase, time spent on fulfillment also increases. This makes process optimization critical. The new inventory system is a perfect example—an upfront time investment that saves hours every week. Managing time between fulfilling orders, listing new cards, and developing the business is becoming the next big challenge.