Market Tape
No black boxes. Here’s exactly where the data comes from, how often it updates, and what the numbers on each page actually mean.
Snapshots and verified solds don’t go straight to the page. Each price has to clear three gates — a lone fantasy ask, a graded-sale mix, a wrong-variant feed — and what doesn’t clear is held back with the reason printed on the card.
Card pages disclose whether the headline price comes from a reference snapshot, published market metric, or modeled bridge when coverage is incomplete.
The platform stores daily observations rather than live intraday bars. “Latest” means the latest comparable snapshot, not a real-time market tick.
Deal scores, grading outcomes, and Pokémon sealed EV are scenario tools. They are useful comparisons, not guarantees of execution.
Use the quick links to jump straight to the section you need. The goal here is not marketing copy; it is a readable contract for what the product means when it shows a number.
CardIntel primarily uses scheduled catalog reference snapshots and published market metrics from integrated providers (including TCGPlayer and Cardmarket where applicable). Historical charts may blend archived aggregates or modeled bridge points when daily coverage is incomplete. Completed-sale layers are on the roadmap where provider coverage exists; most headline prices in this release are snapshot-based. Each card page shows the active source, methodology, and as-of timestamp.
Public market coverage is currently live for Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering. Sports and Yu-Gi-Oh! are not exposed as active public markets in this release.
Fresh catalog snapshots and derived fields are updated on scheduled jobs. The “As of” timestamp on each card page shows when that headline price was last refreshed.
Price history is stored on daily dates, not true intraday bars. Older ranges can blend verified snapshots, archived aggregates, or modeled bridge points depending on coverage. Completed-sale-derived history is limited today and is not the default headline source.
The Deal Finder’s Value Score identifies cards priced below their historical averages using three weighted signals:
The default Deal Finder filter starts at 5%, but the UI can be lowered to 3%. Higher scores mean a stronger blend of discount vs 30-day average, 90-day average, and 30-day high. The Highest 30D Activity sort uses observed 30-day activity volume, not live intraday trades.
Set EV is a modeled estimate for comparing sealed opening value versus buying singles. The formula is:
EV = Σ (card price × pull rate)
The live sealed model currently applies to standard Pokémon booster packs only. Pull rates follow a simplified Pokémon distribution: 1 guaranteed rare (or better), 3 uncommons, and 6 commons per 10-card pack. The rate for each individual card is normalized by the count of cards at its rarity tier, so the output should be read as a modeled scenario rather than observed sealed-opening odds.
CardIntel does not publish MTG sealed EV yet. Draft, play, collector, gift, and promo products use materially different slot structures, so showing one generic MTG box model would be misleading.
The Grading ROI tool estimates whether sending a card for professional grading (PSA, BGS, or CGC) will increase its net value. It factors in:
The output includes a modeled ROI percentage, upside/downside scenarios, and the largest modeled grade bucket. It is a scenario tool, not a card-specific grading guarantee.
We believe in transparency. Here are the main caveats: