Finding the right card version

The six spots on the card

Checked in this order, the version is almost always unambiguous.

• The set: as a symbol or as a code in the small print. Same picture, different set means a different version.
• The collector number: usually at the bottom edge. It separates versions that otherwise look identical.
• The language: in some games it sits in the code, in others you only see it in the card text.
• The finish: foil or reverse holo is its own version with its own price, not a condition attribute.
• Stamps and additions: first-edition marks, promo prints and prerelease stamps turn the same card into a different product.
• The artwork itself: alternate illustrations and special frames are their own entries. When in doubt, compare the artwork, not just the name.

Each game needs its own glance

The spots are the same everywhere, but every game writes them onto the card differently.

• Yu-Gi-Oh: the card code at the bottom carries set, language and number in one, and the edition sits as a print next to it. There is a separate guide for it here.
• Pokémon: number in the set plus set symbol; reverse holo shines outside the picture; old sets carry an edition mark.
• Magic: set code and collector number sit in the small print at the bottom edge; promo and prerelease versions carry their own stamps or symbols.

The price hangs on the version

The price references on Cardmarket, average, lowest, trend, apply per version and are explicitly independent of condition. They work as an order of magnitude, not as a selling price. What matters is the direction of the mistake: list a special version as the regular one and you often only notice when a quick buyer is very pleased.

Good images decide

Everything that determines the version sits small at the edge: codes, numbers, marks. Those spots need pixels. Get closer, use enough light, focus; a camera that cannot resolve the small print turns every later match into guessing, whether a human guesses or software does.

What CardEntry takes over

CardEntry proposes a specific Cardmarket version for each photo and puts the price references next to it. The review view shows what was recognised, and you confirm or correct. The decision stays with you, but you make it with the small print already read instead of with the card mountain in front of you.