How Bartr prices cards

Every price on bartr.cards says where it came from and the day it carries. This page explains what that line means, step by step.

Where prices come from

Bartr’s prices come from daily market data, which Bartr reads once a day into its own price table. That table is the “daily market snapshot” named next to every price on this site. Raw cards get one market price a day. In the app, graded cards also get a market price for each grading company and grade.

A raw price is the Near Mint price when the data has one. When it does not, it is the best condition the data does price.

Japanese cards are priced in US dollars. Their data carries a dollar figure and a yen figure, and Bartr shows a Japanese raw price only when the two back each other up. When they differ noticeably, the lower one is used. When they are far apart, the card shows no price. A Japanese raw figure over $5,000 is never shown, because a number that size has almost always been read in yen.

In the app, slabs also show their recent verified sales, and cards show live listings. The price pages on this site show the daily table only.

When prices update

Once a day. Bartr’s daily price runs are scheduled between 10:23 and 11:23 UTC, which is 3:23 to 4:23 AM Pacific while daylight time is on, and an hour earlier on the Pacific clock in winter.

Until today’s run has landed, a page shows the most recent day it has and says which day that is. A price is never shown without its date.

What a price is, and what it is not

A Bartr price is an estimate of what a card sells for in the market. It is not an offer, a quote or an appraisal, and nobody owes you that number.

Dealers and vendors usually pay a percentage of market so they can resell. That is why the app lets you apply a buy rate before it gives a verdict.

Printings

Every card number in every set has its own page and its own price, so an alternate art or a secret rare never borrows the price of the regular card.

When one card number comes in more than one finish, such as a reverse holo, the page’s raw price is that card’s main market price.

Graded prices

The price pages on this site show raw prices from the daily table. Graded prices are in the app: a market price for each grading company and grade, and for a slab, the last verified sale of its exact grade, with averages one tap away.

In the app, graded prices come from four grading companies: PSA, CGC, BGS and TAG. Smaller graders are left out on purpose. Many of their “markets” rest on a single sale, and a single sale is not a market. Each graded row is one company and one grade, labelled exactly as the data names it, so a BGS 10 Black Label stays its own row.

Unusual and unpaid sales

Some headline auction sales are never paid. Bartr does not let one surprising sale become a card’s price.

In the app, a sale far above a card’s other verified sales, with no sale on another marketplace to back it up, is listed as Unconfirmed and is not used as the card’s value. The card’s value is taken from its next verified sale instead.

The fair rule

A trade reads fair when the gap between the two sides is under 3 percent of the larger side. A perfectly even trade reads No gap.

Both sides are priced from the same daily data on the same day. A dealer buy rate, if you set one, applies to the side or sides you choose, and the verdict shows the exact percent so you can see where the gap sits.

Limits

Some cards have no price: a new set before its first run, a card that rarely sells, or a printing the data does not cover. A missing price stays missing. Bartr never fills it with a guess, and never counts it as zero.

Thin markets move. A price built on one or two sales is a hint, not a market.

Condition matters. A played or damaged copy usually sells for less than the price shown, and this site does not show prices by condition.

Not financial advice

Bartr explains the arithmetic of a trade. It never tells anyone what to buy, sell, hold or grade, and a trade is always your call.

Quick answers

Where do Bartr’s prices come from?

From daily market data that Bartr reads once a day into its own price table. Raw cards get one market price a day. In the app, graded cards also get one per grading company and grade, and slabs show their recent verified sales.

How often do prices update?

Once a day. The daily runs are scheduled between 10:23 and 11:23 UTC, which is 3:23 to 4:23 AM Pacific while daylight time is on, and an hour earlier on the Pacific clock in winter. Every price shows the date it comes from.

Is a Bartr price what a dealer will pay?

No. It is an estimate of what the card sells for in the market, not an offer or an appraisal. Dealers usually pay a percentage of market so they can resell, which is why the app lets you set a buy rate.

How does Bartr decide a trade is fair?

A trade reads fair when the gap between the two sides is under 3 percent of the larger side. Both sides are priced from the same daily data, and the verdict shows the exact percent.