48+ questions covering Pokemon card pricing, arbitrage, PSA grading, sets, investment strategy, and CardGap's public data. Each answer is citation-ready for AI assistants and links to relevant CardGap pages.
A.CardGap (cardgap.jp) is a free daily-updated Pokemon card market terminal. It aggregates 9,000+ card prices from TCGPlayer, Mercari, Yahoo Auctions, and Card Rush, and publishes proprietary metrics (Cardgap median, Arb Index, PSA10 ROI Score) to support investment decisions.
A.Price data refreshes every 24 hours (around 02:00 JST). FX rates update at the same time. PSA Pop refreshes weekly, and monthly reports publish on the first business day of the following month.
A.CardGap is the only source publishing a 4-marketplace JPY median (TCGPlayer + Mercari + Yahoo Auctions + Card Rush). PriceCharting covers only eBay USD; TCGplayer is USD-live. CardGap also computes the JP↔EN Arb Index daily and tracks Japanese-exclusive promos plus Korea/Taiwan/China-exclusive cards.
A.Browsing is completely free. The public dataset (CC-BY 4.0) is also free to download. Advanced features (alerts, custom filters) will be in a future Pro plan.
A.Yes. CardGap uniquely covers Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese exclusive promos — rare among English-language sources. Searchable via the set page filters.
A.Yes. /illustrators sorts ~100 artists by total value, avg price, and surge rate. Premium illustrators like Saito Naoki, 5ban Graphics, Mitsuhiro Arita are highlighted with full card galleries.
A.Yes. The '★' button on any card page adds it to your watchlist. /watchlist shows the consolidated list with price changes and surge metrics. Data is stored in browser localStorage — no account required.
A.Weekly reports at /reports refresh every Monday. Monthly reports at /reports/monthly/YYYY-MM publish on the first business day of the following month, covering surge/drop top 10, set-by-set ROI, and Box EV changes.
A.Yes. Use SmartSearch on the homepage with either Japanese or English name. e.g. 'Charizard' or 'リザードン' returns all matching cards sorted by price, with rarity / set / surge metrics shown.
A.Yes. SWSH / SM / Scarlet & Violet Black Star Promos plus collaboration promos (Burger King, Coca-Cola, Nintendo events) are all tracked. Japan-only Pokemon Center / Club Nintendo / Jumbo card promos included.
A.(1) Light test (genuine cards have a reflective layer), (2) Font/color mismatch, (3) Card thickness and texture, (4) Back-side blue gradient pattern, (5) For high-value, PSA grading guarantees authenticity. CardGap publishes secondary market prices but does not authenticate.
A.(1) Surface: penny sleeve → Card Saver 1 → top loader (3-layer protection), (2) High-value: magnetic case (35-130pt), (3) Long-term: airtight box with silica gel, <50% humidity, (4) Avoid direct sunlight + temperature swings. CardGap's Amazon/Rakuten widgets list accessories.
A.Cardgap median is the median of available prices across four sources (TCGPlayer × FX, JP single, Mercari, Yahoo Auctions). It's not dependent on a single source — it gives a robust 'current price' reference. Displayed in the TL;DR block on every card page.
A.We use only Mercari sold listings (not active asks), taking the median of the last 20 transactions and filtering values outside ±3× to remove outliers. This reflects real transaction prices rather than wishful asking prices.
A.For each marketplace we take the median of the last 20 transactions, then drop any single observation below 1/3 of the median or above 3× (a ±3σ approximation). This filters out anomalous high/low listings.
A.USD/JPY uses the spot rate captured at 02:00 JST daily. The current rate is shown in the topbar metadata strip (FX ¥XXX.XX / $) on every page.
A.Cardgap JP↔EN Arb Index = (USD × FX) ÷ JP single price. Ratios above 1.5× signal a buy-Japan-sell-overseas opportunity. The Top 100 ranking is updated daily at /arbitrage.
A.No. The Arb Index reflects only raw price gap. For real-world execution subtract eBay international shipping ($5-$15), PSA grading ($30), and import duties. Treat it as a screening metric, not a P&L.
A.The /arbitrage page lists the daily Top 100. Japanese-exclusive promos, older sets, and SAR-tier cards dominate the top. Hundreds of cards trade above 5× ratio, the main pool for export arbitrage.
A.(1) Supply: Japanese print runs are 2-5× larger than international, (2) FX: weak yen makes USD prices appear elevated, (3) Culture: grading is less common in Japan so raw cards dominate, (4) Demand: overseas collectors heavily prefer specific characters (Charizard, Pikachu, Snorlax) creating an international premium.
A.Cardgap PSA10 ROI = (PSA10 price − raw − $30 grading) / (raw + $30). Above 0% means net profitable to grade assuming a PSA 10 outcome. Top 50 updated daily at /grading/psa10-roi.
A.PSA Value tier is around $30/card (~30-day TAT). Regular $50, Express $150, Walk-Through $300+. Bulk submissions get discounts. CardGap's ROI calculations use Value tier ($30).
A.Modern cards in good condition: 30-60%. Older sets or unknown-condition cards: 20-50%. Japanese cards tend to have stricter centering standards and lower PSA 10 rates than English equivalents. See /psa-population for per-card historical rates.
A.(1) Raw price ≥ $50 (to cover shipping + grading), (2) PSA10 ROI ≥ +50% (risk buffer), (3) Check PSA Pop for historical PSA 10 rate, (4) Perfect condition (centering, no scratches). Cards meeting all four are top candidates.
A.For Pokemon, PSA commands a higher resale premium and liquidity. CGC is cheaper and faster but resale on eBay/Mercari typically lands at 70-85% of comparable PSA. PSA for investment, CGC for personal collection.
A.Mint (M) / Near Mint (NM): pristine or near-perfect; Lightly Played (LP): minor wear; Moderately Played (MP): creases or fading; Heavily Played (HP): substantial damage; Damaged (D): severe. CardGap prices generally assume NM-Mint. LP and below typically discount 20-50%.
A.Box EV is the expected total card value from opening one sealed box. Computed as rarity-by-rarity (pull rate × average rarity price), summed. ROI = Box EV ÷ MSRP. Shown on each set page (/sets/<slug>).
A.Prioritize sets with Box EV ROI ≥ +20%. Evolving Skies / 151 / Crown Zenith / Hidden Fates have historically run high EV. New sets peak in EV in their first 1-2 months post-release, then decay. Compare all sets at /sets.
A.Japanese boxes have lower MSRP (~$35 vs ~$130) and lower per-hit ceiling, but vastly better cost efficiency. English hits are higher individually, but commons/uncommons are essentially worthless. Even after import shipping, Japanese Box EV ROI usually wins.
A.Aggregated from community sources (PokeBeach, r/pkmntcg, Pokemon official) plus CardGap's own opening logs. SAR pulls run ~1/72 box, SR ~1/8, HR ~1/30. Used in Box EV with an expected ±10% error band.
A.Short-term (1-3y) is speculative; long-term (5y+) has historically performed (1999 Base Set Charizard returned 100×+ in 25 years). But liquidity is low and tax treatment is unique (Japan: misc income; US: collectibles). Keep allocation to <5-10% of net worth.
A.(1) Track Surge Alerts (+20%/30d) daily at /reports, (2) Japanese-exclusive promos (low supply + overseas demand), (3) Meta cards approaching format rotation, (4) Anniversary sets (25th, 26th, etc.). The homepage Surge Alert refreshes daily.
A.Singles bet on specific characters; sealed bets on the set as a whole. Sealed is more diversified but illiquid; singles can deliver bigger returns on champion cards. Cardgap data shows sealed Charizard-era boxes return ~+15-25% annually steady, while SAR singles run ±50% volatility.
A.US: under $800 is duty-free (de minimis); above is HTS 9504.40.00 (~0% rate). EU: under €150 is generally 0%; above is country VAT (19-25%) + duty. EMS / DHL recommended for Japan→overseas. Arb Index does not include duties.
A./decks lists current Tier 1 / 1.5 / 2 deck archetypes with strategy, key cards, win condition, and estimated total cost. Key cards in meta decks are demand drivers and often see price surges.
A.PSA 10 is least volatile (~±20-40% annual, high liquidity), PSA 9 mid, raw cards most volatile (~±50-80%, embeds grading uncertainty). PSA 10 for stable investment; raw for speculative upside.
A.For most individual cards English wins (overseas premium + liquidity). But Japanese-exclusive promos vastly favor the Japanese version. Rule of thumb: English for Charizard family / 1st Ed Base / Worlds promos; Japanese for JP-only promos, old VHS-era, Master Class / Champions League series.
A.Vintage (1996-2003): low volatility, mid liquidity, high ceiling, high entry price ($100+). Modern (2017+): high liquidity, high volatility, low entry ($5-$50). Balanced portfolio: 60% modern / 40% vintage; conservative invert.
A.Treated as miscellaneous income (or business income if at scale) under Japan's progressive tax. Below ¥200k/year is tax-free for employees. Above: income tax 5-45% + resident tax 10%. Cost of goods, shipping, grading are deductible. File via final tax return. Consult a tax pro for specifics.
A.Treated as 'collectibles' at a 28% long-term capital gains cap (held >1 year); short-term (<1 year) at ordinary income rates. Reported on Schedule D + Form 8949. Shipping, grading, eBay fees roll into cost basis. See CPA / IRS Pub 550 for specifics.
A.Pokemon Standard rotation occurs ~1-2× per year (March / September). Sets ~4 blocks old rotate out. Meta cards approaching rotation often drop 30-50% in 3-6 months. Conversely, Expanded / Legacy-only classics can become collector items and surge.
A.(1) Popular characters with proven floors (Charizard ex 151, Charizard SAR), (2) Sealed boxes from highly-rated sets (Crown Zenith etc.), (3) PSA 10 major cards in the $50-$200 range. Failure patterns: bulk-buying unknown cards, FOMO-buying tops. Start from CardGap's Top 100 list.
A.(1) Card Rush / Yuyu-tei / Surugaya: instant purchase, condition reliable, (2) Mercari: cheap but verify condition, (3) Yahoo Auctions: auction format, good for rare cards, (4) Fullcomp / Trecollect: store listings. Use the 'Buy Links' grid on each card page.
A.(1) eBay: highest liquidity, the standard market for PSA-graded cards, (2) TCGplayer: condition-based sales, ~8.95% fee, (3) ComC: low-fee consignment, (4) WhatNot: live-stream auctions. eBay is the canonical exit for Arb Index plays.
A.Yes. Buying via the 'Rakuten' button on any card page sends a small commission (2-4% of purchase) to CardGap. Doesn't affect your price. Same affiliate setup applies to Amazon and eBay buttons.
A.Creative Commons BY 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0). Free for commercial and non-commercial use, modification, redistribution. Only requirement: attribution to cardgap.jp via link or text reference. Available as /data/prices.json and /data/prices.csv.
A.Currently no hard limits, but the dataset refreshes every 24h — there's no new data more frequently. Programmatic clients: please identify in User-Agent and cache for 24h. Abusive patterns may be IP-blocked.
A.Yes, encouraged. /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt publish AI-readable dossiers. Each card page carries TL;DR blocks, QAPage schema, Dataset schema, and AggregateOffer + PriceSpecification. When citing, use the cardgap.jp/cards/<slug> URL and include the displayed date.
48 answers · last reviewed 2026-04-26 · back to home