How much is my card worth? Read it like a collector

You found a binder in a drawer, or your child wants to know what their best card is worth. You type the card's name into a search engine and get twenty different prices, from a few cents to a few hundred euros. They are not all wrong: they are simply not about the same card.

The name is the least useful clue

The same character is printed again and again: in dozens of sets, in a dozen languages, in normal, holographic or full-art versions. Two cards with exactly the same name can be worth a thousand times more or less than each other.

What really identifies a card is printed in small type at the bottom:

• the collector number and the set total, for example 199/165 — a number higher than the total usually signals a secret, rarer card;
• the set symbol or code, which tells two sets with the same total apart;
• the language of the card, because a Japanese printing and a French printing of the same card do not sell at the same price.

A price is always an estimate

Market sites publish reference prices: a trend computed from recent sales, a range between the lowest and highest offers. They are useful, but they are estimates — not a buyer's offer, and not an official appraisal.

Three questions help you read any price:

1. Where does it come from? A trend price from a European marketplace and a market price from an American one can differ, if only because of the currency.
2. When was it updated? A price from last year says little about today.
3. Is it the right edition? Some Asian printings are not sold separately and are priced on their Japanese twin.

CardNugget shows the source and the date next to every price, and labels a price that belongs to another edition. When no reliable source has a price, it says "price unavailable" rather than inventing a number.

Condition matters, and no scanner sees it

The prices shown by market guides are generally for cards in good condition. A bent corner, a scratch or a faded colour can lower the actual value considerably. Keep that in mind before selling or buying: the estimate is a starting point, not a verdict.

In short

• Read the number, the set and the language before the name.
• Always look at the source and the date of a price.
• Treat a total as an estimate, especially for a whole collection.