# How to sell Pokémon cards on Whatnot: setup and kit > The camera, light, sound and card protection a Pokémon seller needs for a first live show, and the order to buy it in. Updated 5 October 2026 Live card selling is a close-up job. Buyers want to see the corners, the holo and the centring, and they want to hear you call the lot clearly. Your phone handles the camera, so spend on holding it steady, lighting the table and protecting each card from the moment it sells. Use it if you have a few hundred Pokémon singles and some sealed packs and want to run a first show on Whatnot or TikTok Shop. It covers the camera angle, the sound, the sleeving routine and the post-show packing that brings buyers back. ## Point the camera down at the cards An overhead phone arm clamped to the table edge gives you the top-down view card buyers expect. It typically costs £20–35 and frees both hands for flipping cards and opening packs. A tripod works for a face-on shot, but cards look tilted and glare more from that angle. Set the phone so a single card fills about a third of the frame. Leave room on one side for the next card waiting in its sleeve. Do a ten-minute test recording before your first show and watch it back on another device. ## Light the holo without the glare Holo and full-art cards bounce light straight back into the lens. An 18 in ring light, typically £35–60, is the place to start: put it slightly to one side rather than directly above, then tilt the card to show the shine on purpose. If glare still washes out the cards, two LED panels at 45 degrees either side give you softer light. Turn off the main room light so you are not mixing warm and cool colours, which makes reds and yellows look muddy on screen. ## Make sure buyers can hear the call Viewers stay through a slightly soft picture but leave when they cannot hear the price or the card name. A clip-on wireless phone mic, typically £25–45, keeps your voice level whether you look at the camera or down at the binder. Clip it to your collar, not the table, or every card you put down thuds through the stream. Keep a spare charging cable within reach in case the mic dies mid-auction. ## Sleeve before you go live Put every single that might sell into a penny sleeve before you go live. Hits worth protecting go into a toploader as well. A 1,000 pack of penny sleeves is typically £6–10, and 100 toploaders are typically £12–18. Lay the run order out in a row of toploaders so you can lift, show and set aside in one move. Sold cards go straight into a team bag with the buyer’s username on a sticky note. The note stops most mix-ups when you pack later. ## Pack the night’s orders in one sitting Pack on the morning after the show, which leaves you time to check every bag against the order list. Slide each toploader or team bag into a board-backed card mailer so it cannot bend in the post. A 100 pack is typically £10–18. Print labels in one batch with a small thermal label printer and a roll of 100 x 150 mm labels. For combined orders from the same buyer, put all their cards in one team bag and send one parcel. ## Name what you sell accurately You can say you sell Pokémon cards, because that is the product. Keep your own shop name, logo and show artwork your own. Do not use official artwork or logos in thumbnails or packaging, and describe condition in plain terms: near mint, light play, creased. Grade the condition before the show and write it on the sticky note behind the card. Most disputes start with condition called on the spot. ## Checklist - [ ] Clamp the phone arm and frame one card at about a third of the screen - [ ] Place the ring light to one side and test a holo card for glare - [ ] Clip the mic to your collar and record a two-minute test - [ ] Sleeve every single in the run and toploader the hits - [ ] Lay out team bags and sticky notes for sold cards - [ ] Stock card mailers and a fresh label roll before show day - [ ] Write condition on a note behind each card before you go live ## Kit for this - **[Overhead phone arm](https://sellersetups.com/product/overhead-phone-arm)** (£20 to £35): Card and small-item shows sell on the shot of your hands. An overhead arm holds the phone steady and out of your way while you open packs. - **[18 in ring light with stand](https://sellersetups.com/product/ring-light)** (£35 to £60): Daylight in a spare room shifts through the day. Set the ring light once and your items look the same in the evening show as in your photos. - **[Clip-on wireless phone mic](https://sellersetups.com/product/wireless-phone-mic)** (£25 to £45): Viewers leave a show when they can't hear you. A clip-on mic keeps your voice level while you reach for stock. - **[Penny sleeves, 1,000 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/penny-sleeves)** (£6 to £10): Stops surface scratches before the card goes into a toploader. At this pack size each sleeve costs well under a penny. - **[35pt toploaders, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/toploaders)** (£12 to £18): Buyers on Whatnot and eBay expect any card worth more than a few pounds to arrive sleeved and top-loaded. A bent card means a refund. - **[Resealable team bags, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/team-bags)** (£4 to £7): A team bag over the toploader holds the card in place and keeps moisture out, for a few pence a card. - **[Board-backed card mailers, C6, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/rigid-card-mailers)** (£10 to £18): A sleeved and top-loaded card in a rigid mailer stays flat through sorting machines and usually ships as a Large Letter, which costs far less than a parcel. - **[100 x 150 mm thermal labels, 250 roll](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-roll)** (£8 to £13): Put a roll on a holder or inside a printer with a roll bay to save space on a crowded desk. Each label costs about 3p to 5p, a little more than fanfold. ## Setups - [Whatnot card setup: £300 starter kit](https://sellersetups.com/setups/whatnot-card-starter): Camera, lights and packing kit for running your first Whatnot card shows from a desk and shipping the orders next morning, for about £300. ## Questions ### Do I need a second phone to sell cards live? No. One phone on an overhead arm covers a first show; a second screen helps you read chat. Add a tablet for chat later if you find yourself squinting. ### Is a ring light enough for holo cards? Yes, if it sits to one side. If the foil still flares, add two LED panels at an angle and switch off the overhead light. ### How should I post a single card sold live? Penny sleeve, then toploader, then team bag, then a board-backed card mailer. Check Royal Mail’s current size guide to see which service your mailer falls under. ### Can I use Pokémon artwork in my show thumbnail? Avoid it. Use your own photos of your own cards and your own shop name. Official logos and artwork belong to the rights holders. ### Should I sell on Whatnot or TikTok Shop first? Pick the one where you already watch card shows and know how buyers behave. The kit below works on both, so you can try the other later without buying anything new. ### How many cards should I prepare for a first show? Enough to fill the time you plan to stream with a few spare. Leftovers become the next show’s run.