Method
How we value cards
Every valuation we publish is built from three independent market sources and ranked by how much evidence each one carries. Nothing we show is a guarantee.
The process
AI reads the card. Market data sets the price.
Our AI examines your photographs to identify the player, set, year, parallel and grade, then selects the best match from the real catalogue records our data providers hold. The money figures come from market data. We do not generate estimated prices or invent comparable sales.
The three sources
Strongest evidence
Sold comps
Card Hedge
Recorded completed sales of the same card, matched on set, card number, parallel and grade. We list the individual sales behind every figure on the report, each one linked so you can open it and check it yourself. Money that actually changed hands carries more weight than anything else, so where we have these sales they set the range we show you.
Cross-check and fallback
Price guide
SportsCardsPro and PriceCharting
An independent price guide value for the same card. There are no individual sales behind a guide value, so we use it two ways: as a cross-check on the sold comps, and as the headline figure where no completed sales exist at all. When it stands alone we label the result a low confidence estimate. Where the guide and the sold comps disagree materially, we say so on the report rather than quietly picking one.
Context only
Listed now
eBay UK
Current asking prices on eBay UK. These are not sales. We exclude lots, bundles, multi-quantity listings and our own listings, and we only count a listing towards the lowest asking price when we can match it to the same parallel as your card. Listings we cannot match to a parallel are shown separately and never fill a gap in the pricing. Asking prices never move the valuation on their own.
How confidence is derived
Confidence follows the evidence, not the price. We look at how many qualifying sold comps we have for the exact card and grade, how tightly those sales cluster, and whether the price guide agrees with them. Sales that sit far outside the rest of the market are excluded from the range and shown to you as excluded. Where we have only a guide value and no completed sales, the result is always labelled a low confidence estimate. Where a source did not return data for your scan, the report says so.
Why we sometimes decline to give a figure
If we cannot identify the card confidently, or no source holds usable data for it, we show no price and no range. We would rather tell you we do not know than publish a number we cannot evidence. In that case we explain what we can about the card, suggest a sensible route, and ask our data providers to add it so a rescan in a day or two may return a proper valuation.
Currency conversion
Sold comps and price guide values are priced in US dollars. We convert them to pounds at an indicative rate and show that rate, and the date it was taken, against every valuation. Where a UK market adjustment has been applied, we show that too. If the rate we hold is out of date we flag it on the report.
Data credits
Sold comps and market data from Card HedgePrice guide data from SportsCardsPro and PriceChartingLive asking prices from eBay UK
Common questions
What data do you use to value a trading card?
Three independent sources, each called on every scan and none dependent on another. Recorded completed sales from Card Hedge, an independent price guide from SportsCardsPro and PriceCharting, and current asking prices from eBay UK. Sold comps carry the most weight, the price guide is a cross-check or a fallback, and asking prices are context only.
Does AI decide the price?
Not for our valuations. A valuation is computed by our own code from recorded sales, price guide values and live asking prices, and an AI never sets one: it reads your photographs to identify the card and helps choose between the real parallels our data providers hold. Separately, and only if you ask for it, we offer an AI estimate for cards where no sales data exists. That is reasoned from the card's characteristics rather than from recorded transactions, it is always labelled an estimate rather than a valuation, and it never feeds our market figures, our recommended prices or our confidence.
How is confidence worked out?
From the evidence behind the figure. How many qualifying sold comps we have, how tightly they cluster, and whether the price guide agrees with them. Sales that sit far outside the rest of the market are excluded from the range and shown as excluded. A figure built on a guide value alone is always labelled a low confidence estimate.
Why do you sometimes decline to give a figure?
Because we would be guessing. If we cannot identify the card confidently, or none of the three sources returns usable data for it, we show no price and no range and say why. Where we have only asking prices we show those and label them clearly as asking prices, not a valuation. We also ask our data providers to add the missing card so the gap closes for the next scan.
What if one of the sources is unavailable?
Each source runs independently, so one failing does not stop the others. Where a source did not return data we say so on the report, so a figure built on two sources is never presented as though all three were consulted.
Why are prices converted from US dollars?
Most recorded sales and price guide data are priced in US dollars. We convert to pounds at an indicative exchange rate and show that rate and the date it was taken against every valuation, along with any UK market adjustment applied. The converted figure is an estimate, not a quotation.
Is the valuation an offer to buy my card?
No. Every valuation is indicative and non-committal. It is not an offer, a guarantee of sale price, or a professional appraisal. If you submit a card to us we confirm a final figure in writing after a physical inspection.
Valuations are indicative only, are not an offer or a guarantee of sale price, and are not a professional appraisal. Third-party market data may be incomplete or out of date and we accept no responsibility for decisions taken on the strength of it. See our Terms of Use and Disclaimer.