How to price Magic cards on Cardmarket: trend, low and averages explained
Price a Magic card on Cardmarket by comparing it only with offers of the same language, condition and finish — and, if you like, from sellers in the countries your buyers usually order from. The overall lowest price and the price guide mix all languages and conditions, so on their own they are rarely the right price for your copy.
What Cardmarket's numbers mean
A product page on Cardmarket shows several figures. They answer different questions:
| Figure | What it is | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| From (lowest price) | The cheapest offer currently listed | Seeing the floor of the whole market |
| Price trend | A trend value calculated from recent sales | A quick, stable reference |
| 30-, 7- and 1-day average | Average sale prices over that period | Seeing whether a card is rising or falling |
The important detail: these figures are calculated across all offers and sales of the product, regardless of language and condition. Cardmarket's downloadable price guide has the same structure — one set of values per product, without a split by language.
Why the lowest price misleads
The cheapest offer for a card is very often not a copy like yours. It may be:
- in another language (Italian, Spanish, Japanese …),
- in played or poor condition,
- from a seller in a country with different shipping costs,
- a seller clearing bulk at any price.
If you have an English or German near-mint copy and match the overall lowest price, you sell below what buyers of your kind of copy actually pay. The price guide does not fix this either: its values are an average over every language and condition.
Compare like with like
The useful number is the cheapest offer that is comparable to your copy. On the product page, filter the offers by:
- Language – the same language as your card.
- Condition – the same condition or better.
- Finish – foil and non-foil are different markets.
- Seller country – optional, but useful: buyers often prefer sellers from their own country because shipping is cheaper and faster.
Now look at the first few offers. If one seller is far below the rest, it is usually an outlier — pricing at the second or third cheapest comparable offer avoids racing a single seller to the bottom.
Example
A German near-mint card. The product page shows:
- From: 0.80 € — an Italian, lightly played copy.
- Price trend: 1.10 €.
- Cheapest German near-mint offer from German sellers: 1.40 €, the next ones at 1.45 € and 1.50 €.
Pricing at 0.80 € would give away almost half the value. Pricing at the trend still undersells. Something around 1.40–1.45 € is what this copy is actually competing with.
Which basis to use
- Cheapest comparable offer (or the second or third). Best for cards with many offers. It reacts to the market immediately.
- Trend or the 7-day average. Better for cards with few offers, where a single listing would set your price.
- 30-day average. Smooths out spikes — useful after a sudden jump, when you suspect the price will come back.
A common approach is a rule like "second-cheapest comparable offer minus 1%, but never below the trend" — and a separate rule for cheap cards.
Set a floor
Whatever basis you use, add a minimum:
- A minimum price per card type, so commons and uncommons are not listed for a few cents that do not even cover your work.
- Never below what you paid plus the commission, so a falling market does not quietly turn sales into losses. See how to calculate your real profit for what that cost includes.
Check prices again
Prices move with reprints, bans and new decks. Prices you set months ago drift away from the market in both directions. Re-check your listed cards regularly — especially the expensive ones.
Doing it on Cardmarket's own pages
The CardTradeMate add-on does this comparison on the product page you have open: it reads the offers, keeps only those with the same language, condition and finish (and the seller countries you choose), applies your price rule and floor, and fills the suggested price into Cardmarket's sell form. You can change the price before listing, and it shows what you paid for the card. Price rules are part of Premium.