The SplitShot Blog
Guides to valuing, buying, and selling trading cards with confidence.
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September 2026 Card Prices: Old Games Rose, Promos Fell
Our September 2026 report across 21,513 cards: Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic up, most newer games down, and promos behind 9 of the 10 biggest drops.
Read →Market Price vs Listed Price vs Sold Price for Trading Cards
Why the same card shows three different prices, which one reflects what people actually pay, and how to use each without overpaying or underselling.
Read →Card Price Tools Compared: TCGplayer, PriceCharting, Collectr & More
Where each trading card price tool gets its numbers, what it's best at, and where it falls short — including ours. An honest comparison as of October 2026.
Read →Buying Trading Cards as a Gift Without Overpaying
Sealed packs or a single card? How to pick a card gift they'll want, check the price is fair, and avoid fakes and resealed product.
Read →When to Sell a Trading Card: Reading Price Trends Without Guessing
Timing a sale is mostly about avoiding obvious mistakes, not calling the top. How to read a price trend, what a spike really looks like, and why a forecast without error bars is worthless.
Read →What Actually Makes a Trading Card Go Up in Value
Scarcity, demand, condition and timing — the four forces behind every card price move, and why most of what people believe about card appreciation is survivorship bias.
Read →How to Grade Your Own Card's Condition (NM, LP, MP, HP)
Condition can swing a card's value by 80% or more. Here's how to assess corners, edges, surface and centring the way a grader does — before you buy, sell or pay for certification.
Read →How to Identify Any Trading Card: Set Symbols, Numbers and Print Runs
Two cards with the same artwork can be worth $2 or $2,000. Here's how to read the set symbol, collector number, rarity mark and print run so you know exactly which printing you're holding.
Read →Buying a Graded Card: What to Check Before You Pay
A slab removes most of the risk from an expensive card — but not all of it. The six checks to run before you buy a graded card, from verifying the cert number to reading qualifiers on the label.
Read →PSA vs BGS vs CGC: Which Slab Actually Holds Its Value
The number on the label isn't the whole story — who printed it changes what the card sells for. An honest comparison of the major grading companies on liquidity, premium, and when each one makes sense.
Read →How to Spot a Fake Slab
Counterfeiters have moved on from faking cards to faking the cases they come in. How to check a cert number properly, read the label, inspect the case, and recognise the listing patterns worth walking away from.
Read →How to Display Your Best Cards Without Ruining Them
A card you never see is a card you don't enjoy — but display is where collections quietly lose value. How to show off your best pieces while protecting them from light, heat, and humidity.
Read →Where to Buy Trading Cards Without Overpaying
eBay, TCGplayer, or Amazon? A buyer's guide to where each marketplace wins, how to tell a real deal from a trap, and the one number that stops you from overpaying for any card.
Read →Add a Live Value Badge to Your Card Listings and Posts
A free, auto-updating badge that shows any card's current market value — drop it into forum signatures, blogs, Discord, or your listings. Here's how to use it, including the one place you shouldn't link it.
Read →How to Spot a Fake Trading Card
Counterfeits get better every year. A practical, no-equipment-needed guide to telling real cards from fakes — the light test, weight, print quality, edges, and the listing red flags that should make you walk away.
Read →How to Store and Protect Your Trading Cards
The cards you keep are only worth top dollar if they stay mint. A practical guide to sleeves, toploaders, storage conditions, handling, and keeping an inventory.
Read →Are Trading Cards a Good Investment? How to Buy Smart
Trading cards can be a rewarding alternative asset — or an expensive mistake. A clear-eyed guide to what holds value, how to buy below market, and how to manage the risk.
Read →How to Sell Your Trading Cards for the Most Money
You know what your card is worth and whether to grade it — now get top dollar. A practical guide to where to sell, how to price, and how to keep more after fees.
Read →Should You Grade Your Card? When a PSA 10 Pays Off
Grading can multiply a card's value — or quietly lose you money. Here's the simple math on when sending a card to PSA, BGS or CGC is worth it, and when it isn't.
Read →How to Know What Any Trading Card Is Really Worth
A clear guide to reading a trading card's true market value — condition, grading, the buy/sell spread, and why a single listing never tells the whole story.
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