It has been too long. The last time we ran a Trade Night was back in May, and we have heard about it ever since. Collectors keep asking when the next one is happening, and now we have an answer.
Trade Night returns to Lab 20 Sports Cards on Saturday, August 15, from 5 to 8 PM. Regular Saturday hours wrap at 4, then we flip the lights back on at 5 and hand the shop over to the trading floor.
Here is the format this time around: food, good company, and three hours of trading with collectors from all over Southwest Virginia and the Tri-State area. No complicated structure, no ticket to a seat. Bring your binders, your boxes, your trade bait, and your appetite. We will keep everyone fed while the deals get done.
If you have never been to one of these, Trade Night is a different animal than a card show. It is casual, it is face to face, and the whole point is the swap. You might walk in trying to move a stack of parallels and walk out with a card you have been chasing all year. We broke down what a Trade Night is and how to make the most of one on the blog, and the short version is this: come prepared, stay open minded, and let the room do the rest.
Quick tips if you are joining us for the first time. Organize your cards so people can actually flip through them. Know rough comps on your bigger pieces so conversations move fast. And do not sleep on the smaller trades. Set builders and beginners make some of the best deals in the room.
One more reason to load the car that night. The Topps NBA Chrome Buyback closes September 1, and Lab 20 is an official Topps Buyback location. That means eligible NBA cards can be traded in at our counter for store credit toward boxes, singles, slabs, and supplies. If you are already bringing your basketball stack to trade on August 15, have us look at it for the Buyback while you are here. Two weeks later, that window is shut.
Sports cards, Pokémon, whatever you collect, there is a seat for you. Some of the best Trade Night deals happen between two collectors who did not think they had anything in common until the binders opened.
Mark it down. Saturday, August 15. 5 to 8 PM. Lab 20 Sports Cards, 16611 Russell St, St. Paul, VA. Bring cards, bring friends, bring the kids who are just getting started. The Biggest Little Card Shop in the Hobby is about to feel a whole lot bigger for one night.
See you at the Lab.