Frequently Asked Questions

How the optimiser works

We look at your filtered wishlist items and find the best combination of retailer carts that minimises the total cost including shipping. The algorithm explores up to 10,000 potential moves to find a near-optimal result, so it completes in under a second even for large lists.

Which retailers are included?

We currently check Gameology, Good Games, Mint Collectables, Pokebox, and Fluke & Box. We aim to expand coverage as more retailers join our pricing network.

What happens if some cards aren't available?

Items that can't be sourced are grouped by reason: not in our index, currently out of stock, condition requirements not met, finishing preference not available, or a specific printing that isn't stocked. Each group shows you what to adjust on your wishlist item to improve your chances next time.

Do the outbound cart links track anything?

Yes. When you click "Open cart at a retailer", the link includes a ref=gradely.io and utm_source=gradely.io tag so retailers can see that customers are coming from Gradely. We also record the click internally so we can track which retailers are most useful to our community. We do not earn affiliate commission from these referrals.

Is this a Premium feature?

No. Cart optimisation is free for all logged-in Gradely users.

Which price do we show?

For each retailer we show the cheapest near-mint (or better) listing we last verified, with the condition labelled. We also show how recently we checked it (for example "checked 3h ago") so you know how fresh the figure is. We read retailer prices on a schedule rather than in real time, so always treat the retailer's own checkout as the source of truth.

Why might I see different prices for the same card?

Three numbers can all be correct at the same time, because they measure different things:

• The catalogue (market) price is an average across all the retailers and conditions we track, in other words what the card is broadly worth. It is not any single shop's price.
• The Where to buy price is the most recent price we recorded at that specific retailer.
• The price in the retailer's cart is their live price at the moment you click through.

For fast-moving cards the live price can change between our last check and your click, which is exactly why we show the "checked X ago" hint. If our figure looks off, the retailer's checkout is always the final word.

How does the eBay option work?

The eBay (AU) option runs a search (not a single fixed listing) built from the card's game, name, set, number, treatment and finishing, so it lands on the right card rather than unrelated merch. It is an affiliate link: Gradely may earn a small commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you. The deep links to other retailers are tagged so shops can see the traffic came from Gradely, but we earn no commission on those.

Basic search

Type any word to search card names and text. Multiple words are all required (AND). Use quotes for exact phrases, e.g. "Cloud Strife".

Filters

Narrow results with filter prefixes:

Searching names and rules text

A plain word searches everywhere: name, type line and rules text. To be specific, usename:bolt for the card name andx:flying for rules text (text: is the long form). Quote a phrase to require every word: x:"draw a card".

Searching card attributes

Attributes are the numbers and words printed on the card itself. Usecost:2 for an exact value, orcost>=2 for a range. Comparisons support >=, >, <= and <, and the key, operator and number must stay together with no spaces.

Word attributes work the same way: keyword:flying, or keyword:"double strike" when it is more than one word.

A comparison on its own covers a lot of ground, so pair it with a game or another word:tcg:mtg cost>=6 ordragon cost>=6. On your collection and in the deck builder the game is already chosen for you, so you can just type cost>=6.

The per-game attribute list could not be loaded just now.

Combining filters (AND)

Repeat the same filter to require all values:

• i:blue i:black - cards that are BOTH blue AND black
• t:ninja t:action - cards that are both ninja AND action type

OR filters

Use commas for alternatives:

• i:blue,black - cards that are blue OR black
• t:ninja,mystic - cards that are ninja OR mystic type

Excluding results (NOT)

Prefix with a dash to exclude:

• -i:red - exclude red cards
• -t:draconic - exclude draconic type cards

Putting it all together

• i:blue i:black -i:red - all cards that are blue AND black but NOT red
• t:ninja,mystic t:action - all actions that are ninja OR mystic
• luffy i:red s:op01 - Luffy cards with red identity from set OP01
• sword r:rare,mythic - all swords that are rare or mythic

Searching your collection

The search box on your Collection accepts everything above, and limits the results to cards you own. It also understands filters that describe your copy rather than the card itself, so you can tell your near-mint foil apart from your played one.

For example:

• t:dragon r:mythic c:nm tag:trade - your near-mint mythic dragons marked for trade
• -s:cmm f:foil - your foils from every set except CMM

The Sealed tab works the same way, with t: matching the product type (e.g. t:booster_box), plusc: and tag:.

The Market Index

The index answers one question: is this game getting more or less expensive overall? It follows the whole game rather than any single card.

• It is a level, not an amount of money. Every line starts at 100 at the left edge of the range you have selected, so 110 means prices across that game are up about 10% over that period and 95 means they are down about 5%. Change the range and the lines rebase to it, which is what lets you read two games against each other.
• It follows a fixed basket of cards. Each game has a set of constituents chosen from the cards we can price reliably day after day, and that set stays put until we periodically review it. This is what keeps the index responding to the market rather than to us adding or losing a price source.
• Every card in the basket counts the same. One very expensive card moving sharply cannot drag the whole index with it.
• Penny cards are left out. Most of any game is bulk worth a few cents, where a one cent tick is an enormous percentage move. Including them would drown out the cards people actually buy and sell.
• A card we could not price on the day is treated as unchangedrather than dropped, so the basket never quietly changes shape. If too much of it goes unpriced, we leave the day out instead of publishing a reading we did not really see.
• A single card with an obviously wrong price cannot distort the day, because how far any one card is allowed to move the index is capped.

Why is the index not shown in dollars?

Because it is a comparison, not a price. Expressing it as a level rather than an amount means it reads the same wherever you are and whatever currency you think in, and it lets you put two games side by side even when their cards cost wildly different amounts. For actual prices, use a card's own page.

Which market does it describe?

The caption under the chart tells you which markets the underlying prices come from. It is a blend rather than any single country, because we read prices from more than one market and convert them to a common currency before comparing them. Prices differ between countries, but the direction and size of a move tends to travel between markets far better than the absolute prices do, which is what makes an index useful wherever you shop.

Why does it sometimes say "still measuring"?

The index records one reading per game per day, so it needs a few days before there is anything to draw a line between. A newly added game, or one we have only just started pricing, will say so rather than show a chart built from one or two readings. Days where we simply did not have enough priced cards to be confident are left out altogether, which is why a line can have gaps.

What else is on the page?

• Movers: the cards whose prices changed the most recently, up and down. These are real cards you can click through to.
• Trending decks: community decks people are actually engaging with. You can order them by upvotes, by how often they have been copied, by recent activity, or by newest.
• Most Wanted: the cards that turn up most often in community decks. This is a measure of what people are building with, not of what they say they want. It stays hidden until enough decks have been counted for the ranking to mean something.

Why do I see more of it when signed in?

Signed out or on a free account you get a genuine slice: one game and a shorter window of history. A paid plan widens that to every game and the full history we hold. Where something is trimmed the page says so explicitly rather than quietly showing you less. See how to upgrade.

Found a discrepancy?

If you notice any errors in a precon deck list (wrong cards, incorrect quantities, missing entries), please let us know through our support portal.

To help us fix issues quickly, please include:

• The name of the precon and which set it belongs to
• A clear description of what's wrong and what it should be
• The GID (Gradely ID) of any affected cards - you can find this on any card's detail page using the copy button next to the card ID
• Screenshots or links to official sources, if available

What this changes for you

• Add to Wishlist still works, because it tracks what you want to get, regardless of the specific printing.
• Add to Collection is disabled on unverified decks. We don't want to record that you own a specific printing when the deck might actually ship a different one. You can always add the cards manually to your collection if you want to.
• You can still browse the deck, price it, export it, and compare it against your collection normally.

What is a deck assignment?

A deck assignment links a specific physical copy you own to a deck, so you can see where your cards actually live. Each physical copy can be assigned to at most one deck at a time, a copy that's in one deck isn't available to another until you release it. You can only assign a copy to a deck whose list already contains that exact card (printing); assigning never silently adds cards to a deck.

Where do I assign and see them?

• In the deck builder, open a card's "Variants and Assignments" drawer to assign, release, or move copies between decks.
• In your collection, open a card's detail and use the "Decks" section to assign a copy to any of your decks that already include it.
• Assigned cards show an amber deck chip in your collection (list and grid) that links straight to the deck.

Auto-assign owned copies when building decks

With this setting on (the default), adding a card to a deck automatically reserves a free owned copy for it, so you don't have to assign cards one by one. Turn it off in Profile → Decks if you'd rather assign manually. Removing a card from a deck always releases any copies that were assigned to it.

Reservation vs Informational mode

The Deck assignment mode (in Profile → Decks) controls how assignments affect the ownership badges shown on cards inside a deck:

• Reservation (default): copies assigned to other decks don't count as available here. If your only copy is reserved by another deck, this deck shows the card as still needed, useful when you don't want to double-count a single physical card across multiple decks.
• Informational: badges count every copy you own. A card you own still shows as "owned" in a deck even if your only copy is assigned elsewhere. Assignments are purely for tracking and organisation.

Either way the underlying data is identical, so you can switch modes any time without losing assignments.

Is it a Pro feature?

Yes. Programmatic API access is available on the Pro plan. You can create and revoke API keys, and track your monthly usage, from Settings → API Keys.

Where are the docs?

The full endpoint reference and authentication guide live at developers.gradely.io.

How do I import my collection?

There are three ways to bring your cards into Gradely:

count | name | set | number | finishing | condition | treatment | tags | price | date

TCG requirement: every import must target one TCG. Files containing cards from multiple TCGs will get an error at parse time.

Can I import sealed products?

Yes. Sealed products (booster boxes, bundles, precons and the like) go in the same file as your singles: start a @kind sealed block, then list them quantity first, the same way you list cards. This is also how you bring in their full acquisition and disposal history, purchase price, condition, sales, gifts, trades and more. See the sealed products reference for the full syntax.

Can a spreadsheet hold more than one game?

No. A spreadsheet is one game. A Game column that disagrees with the game you picked is rejected rather than silently mismatched, so nothing lands in your collection under the wrong game. Import one game at a time, or use the formula above to paste GXF instead.

How does Gradely pick the right printing?

We never pick for you. Every card shows a gallery of every printing that matches your entry. You choose the exact one you own, including foil, showcase, extended art, borderless, and any other treatment.

Bulk helpers let you resolve many cards at once:

• Prefer newest and Prefer oldest auto-select the most or least recent printing.
• Match my collection prefers printings you already own.
• All from set X selects every card from a single set (great for booster-box tracking).

If a card has 200+ reprints, the gallery supports infinite scroll and filtering so you can always find the exact one.

How does the import lookup quota work?

Looking up your card lines against our database is the expensive part of an import (we cross-reference set, name, collector number, treatment, etc. across millions of printings). To keep the platform fast for everyone, each plan gets a rolling 24-hour lookup budget:

We count lines, not card quantities. A line like 4 Lightning Bolt counts as 1 lookup, regardless of how many copies the line includes. Four separate 1 Lightning Bolt lines would count as 4. A sealed product line counts exactly the same way, one lookup, the same as a card.

Lookups are spent at resolve time, not import time. Once we've looked a line up, it's paid for, even if you later choose to skip it or fail to commit. Importing the resolved cards into your collection is free.

On the Free plan and hitting the cap? Upgrade your account for a higher limit.

Is my camera data private?

Yes, completely. Card recognition runs entirely on your own device, inside your browser. The live camera feed and the frames it captures are processed locally and are never uploaded, stored, or sent to Gradely or any third party. No photos or video ever leave your phone or computer. The only thing saved is the final card you confirm, recorded as a normal collection entry, exactly as if you had added it by hand.

How does it work?

Hold a card within the on-screen guide and Gradely matches what it sees against our catalogue, adding the best match to the tray automatically. Cards with look-alike printings are flagged so you can pick the exact one, and you can adjust quantity, finishing, condition, and price for each card before adding the whole batch in one go.

Which games can I scan?

Scanning works across the games in our catalogue: Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, One Piece TCG, Flesh and Blood, Sorcery, Riftbound and Lorcana. We'll keep working to improve overall quality as our catalogue grows.

Tips for the best results

• Scan one card at a time, laid flat against a plain background.
• Use even lighting and avoid glare on foils or sleeves.
• Fill the on-screen guide with the card so the artwork and set details are clear.