How to check trading card sold comps
A “comp” is useful only when it is actually comparable. One strange sale—or one ambitious asking price—is not a market.
Match these details first
- Year and product/set
- Card number
- Parallel, refractor, variation or print
- Autograph/relic designation
- Raw vs. graded
- Grading company and exact grade
- Visible condition for raw cards
Use a group of sales, not one sale
When enough relevant transactions exist, use several recent comps. Extremely high or low results deserve investigation rather than automatic inclusion. Auction timing, poor listing titles, shipping, card eye appeal and unusual bidding can all affect a single result.
IQCardGuide method: for a card-level raw or graded reference, we prefer the median of several good comps when enough sales exist. That reduces the influence of one unusual transaction.
Asking price is not sold price
A seller can ask almost any amount. For valuation, completed transactions generally provide stronger evidence of what buyers recently agreed to pay. If a Best Offer was accepted but the actual accepted amount cannot be verified, do not treat the original asking price as the sale price.
Watch the date
Card markets move. A sale from yesterday may be more informative than one from a year ago when demand, player performance, a new release or grading population has changed materially.
Document your evidence
For important cards, note the date checked, exact comparable, sale price and why you included or excluded it. That makes your estimate easier to update later.