Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about TCGAPIs, our trading card game API, and how to get started.
General
What is TCGAPIs?
TCGAPIs is a comprehensive API service that provides real-time pricing data, live marketplace listings, and sales history for 80+ trading card games including Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more. Our API enables developers to build applications with accurate TCG market data.
What trading card games does TCGAPIs support?
TCGAPIs supports 80+ trading card games including Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Flesh and Blood, One Piece TCG, Disney Lorcana, Star Wars Unlimited, Digimon, Dragon Ball Super, Weiss Schwarz, Cardfight Vanguard, and many more.
Where does the data come from?
Our data is sourced from TCGPlayer, the largest trading card marketplace. We aggregate pricing, live listings, and sales data to provide comprehensive market information updated hourly.
Is the data accurate?
Yes, our data reflects real market activity on TCGPlayer. Prices are updated hourly, and live listings are updated in real-time. We provide multiple price points (low, mid, high, market) so you can understand the full market picture.
API & Technical
What endpoints are available?
TCGAPIs provides endpoints for card pricing, live marketplace listings, sales history, product search, set information, SKU-level condition pricing, and card recognition. Full documentation is available after signup.
How do I authenticate API requests?
API authentication uses API keys. After signing up, you'll receive an API key that you include in your request headers. Our documentation provides examples in multiple programming languages including JavaScript, Python, PHP, and more.
What is SKU-level pricing?
SKU-level pricing provides prices for specific card variants including condition (NM, LP, MP, HP), printing (foil, non-foil), and edition (1st Edition, Unlimited). This granular data is unique to TCGAPIs and not available from other API providers.
How often is the data updated?
Pricing data is updated hourly across all supported games. Live marketplace listings are updated in real-time as new listings appear on TCGPlayer. Sales history is updated multiple times daily.
Can I make bulk requests?
Yes, our API supports bulk requests allowing you to fetch data for multiple cards in a single call. This is more efficient than making individual requests for each card.
Is there a sandbox/test environment?
Our demo page lets you test the API with live data before signing up. Once you have a Hobby plan or higher, you get full access to the API for development and testing.
What is the Card Recognition API?
The Card Recognition API identifies trading cards from images. Upload a card image and receive matching product IDs with confidence scores. It supports all 80+ games in our database and is included with all paid plans (Hobby: 1,000/month, Business: 5,000/month, Unlimited: 50,000/month, Lifetime: unlimited recognition calls).
Pricing & Plans
What plans do you offer?
TCGAPIs offers Hobby, Business, Unlimited, and Lifetime plans. Hobby is £99/mo with full catalog access. Business is £199/mo and adds live pricing, sales history, and all multi-marketplace sources (Cardmarket, Cardtrader, Cardsynced, Manapool, CardKingdom, Cardsphere alongside TCGPlayer). Unlimited is £499/mo and adds live TCGPlayer listings, SKU-level pricing, and removes the API call cap. Lifetime is a one-time £4,999 payment that mirrors Unlimited but with uncapped card recognition (Unlimited is capped at 50,000 recognition calls per month) and no recurring fees ever.
What are the rate limits?
Rate limits depend on your plan: Hobby (10,000 calls/month), Business (50,000 calls/month), and Unlimited (unlimited). Calls are counted per request.
Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?
Yes, you can change your plan at any time from your dashboard. Upgrades take effect immediately, and downgrades take effect at the end of your billing cycle.
Do you offer an Enterprise plan?
Yes, we offer Enterprise plans with unlimited API calls, dedicated support, custom SLAs, and additional features. Contact us at admin@tcgapis.com to discuss your specific needs.
Can I download data as CSV?
Yes, Business plan subscribers have access to CSV bulk downloads, allowing you to export pricing data for entire sets or games for offline analysis.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) and debit cards through our secure payment processor.
Data & Coverage
Do you support all card conditions?
Yes, our API provides pricing for all TCGPlayer conditions: Near Mint (NM), Lightly Played (LP), Moderately Played (MP), Heavily Played (HP), and Damaged (DMG).
Do you have foil pricing?
Yes, we provide separate pricing for foil and non-foil versions of cards, as well as other variants like 1st Edition, Unlimited, Reverse Holo, Extended Art, and more.
How far back does sales history go?
Our sales history data goes back several years, allowing you to analyze long-term price trends and market movements for any trading card.
Do you support new releases?
Yes, we add new sets and products as soon as they become available on TCGPlayer, typically on or before release day.
Do you support graded cards?
Our API surfaces pricing for raw cards across the standard TCGPlayer conditions: Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played, and Damaged. Per-grade pricing for PSA, BGS, or CGC graded slabs is not currently part of the API. We expose PSA certificate verification (subject, brand, year, grade, population) via the PSA Checker endpoint, but per-grade market pricing is on the roadmap rather than live today.
Still Have Questions?
Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out to our support team and we'll help you out.
Quick Links
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