How NearMintDeals works
A free price comparison for Pokémon cards on eBay. Here is what we show, how we calculate it and what you should check before you buy.
1. What we do (and don’t do)
NearMintDeals looks through public Buy It Now listings on eBay in five marketplaces (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy). We add the shipping costs and compare the total with a market price. Offers that are clearly cheaper than the market are shown as deals.
We do not sell cards and we do not handle payments. Every offer links to the original eBay listing. You buy from the seller on eBay, and eBay’s rules and buyer protection apply.
2. How the market price is calculated
The market price is our own reference value. It is the median of the cheapest current offers for the same card (total price including shipping). The median is the middle value, so a single extremely cheap or extremely expensive listing does not distort it. We only show a deal when the market price is based on several current listings, not on one single offer.
To keep the comparison fair, we filter the listings:
- Only fixed-price listings, no auctions.
- The card name and card number are part of every search, so a different card with a similar name is not compared.
- The language is part of the search, so you see offers in the card language you selected.
- Things that are not a real single card (proxies, replicas, custom cards, empty packaging, accessories) and obvious bundles are filtered out.
- Listings that are far below the typical price are skipped as suspicious, because they are often damaged, wrongly described or fake.
The market price is a guide, not a promise. It is not a price that a seller has to charge.
3. Deals, Graded Cards and Chase Cards
Deals
Ungraded cards that are at least 15% below the market price (and at least 5 in local currency cheaper), with shipping included. The country tabs show the offers on the eBay marketplace of that country.
Graded Cards
Cards that were graded by PSA, BGS or CGC and sealed in a slab. We compare identical slabs (same card, same number and same grade) and show the ones that are cheaper than the others. A market price is only shown when we find several identical slabs. Prices are shown in the currency of the marketplace.
Chase Cards
High-value cards (a market price of roughly 150 or more in local currency) that are listed at least 20% below the market price. Because these cards are popular targets for fakes, offers that are suspiciously cheap compared with the reference value are not shown.
4. How fresh are the prices?
We check eBay in the background, so you do not have to wait when you open the page:
- Deals: about every 30 minutes
- Chase Cards: about every 2 hours
- Graded Cards: about every 3 hours
While a new check is running, you keep seeing the previous results. The new list replaces the old one once it is complete. The note “prices checked X min ago” shows how old the data is.
Listings can be sold or changed at any moment, so an offer may already be gone when you click. The details in the eBay listing are always the ones that count.
5. Buying safely
- Read the listing. Check the photos, the description, the card number, the language and the condition before you pay.
- Look at the seller. Ratings, number of sales and return policy tell you a lot.
- Be careful with very low prices. A deal that looks too good to be true can be a fake or a damaged card. A very big gap to the market price is a reason to look twice, not to hurry.
- Pay through eBay. Stay inside eBay’s checkout so that buyer protection applies.
- Condition. “Near Mint” (NM) means a card that looks almost perfect, with only very light wear at most. Different sellers judge condition differently.
Our information is not advice on buying, investing or the authenticity of a card.
6. How we earn money
NearMintDeals is free. Links to eBay can be affiliate links (marked with *). If you buy after clicking such a link, we may receive a small commission from eBay. It does not cost you anything extra and the price does not change. The order of the offers depends on price and our filters, not on a commission. More details are in our Terms and Privacy Policy (German original, with English translation).
7. Questions
Why is the offer I clicked gone or more expensive?
Between two checks, a seller can sell the card, end the listing or change the price. Check again in a few minutes or use the search to find similar offers.
Why is a card I know not shown as a deal?
It may not be cheap enough, there may be too few comparable listings, or our filters removed it because of its language, number or an unclear description.
Can I get an email when new deals appear?
Yes. You can sign up for the deal alerts on the start page. We send a confirmation email first (double opt-in), and every email has an unsubscribe link.
Something looks wrong. Whom do I tell?
Please write to [email protected] and include the link or the name of the card.
NearMintDeals is not affiliated with eBay, Nintendo, Creatures Inc. or GAME FREAK inc. Pokémon is a trademark of its owners.