Method & evidence contract
How Lens TCG compares listings
Lens TCG helps a buyer who already knows the card decide which active raw-single listing is best supported — or whether the available evidence is too weak to recommend one.
1. Confirm the exact print
Catalog identity comes first. Name-only searches pause for confirmation; an explicit name and collector number can auto-confirm. Same-number artwork variants and reprints are kept separate whenever the catalog can prove that distinction.
2. Check bounded sources
eBay Browse supplies active seller listings. TCGCSV/TCGplayer supplies an aggregate market reference only — it is never presented as a seller listing. A user-pasted public HTTPS listing may be fetched once within the stated access limits. Other sources remain manual checks until an approved provider is connected.
What the market reference means
The reference is an item-only aggregate market price for the confirmed print and seller-stated condition context when comparable. Lens TCG compares item price to that item-only reference. Shipping and estimated tax remain visible in the separate checkout-cost breakdown; they are not used to manufacture an above-market warning.
3. Calculate comparable checkout cost
Comparable cost is item price + stated shipping. When the buyer supplies a tax rate or ZIP-derived estimate, estimated tax is applied to item + shipping. If tax is unknown, Lens TCG says pre-tax total. If shipping is unknown, the listing cannot win the Cheapest or Best Value recommendation.
4. Rank by the chosen lens
Best Value combines item-price position, condition compatibility, seller-track-record signals, and reviewable listing evidence. Cheapest uses comparable checkout cost. Safest emphasizes seller history and evidence. Best-documented emphasizes item-specific photos and explicit details. These lenses are independent and may select the same listing.
Why listings are excluded
The receipt lists excluded rows and their reasons. Common causes include the wrong print, an unsupported condition, unknown shipping, non-USD pricing, inactive inventory, slabs or lots, novelty/proxy language, or a price far below the exact-print reference without enough identity proof.
What Lens TCG does not do
Lens TCG does not grade cards from photos, authenticate cards, detect counterfeits, predict prices, claim unverified sold history, or call a seller a scam. Marketplace condition remains the seller’s claim. Missing seller data is labeled unverified, not automatically risky.
Saved receipts and privacy
A stable receipt is an immutable 30-day snapshot, not a promise that the listing is still available. It shows when the comparison was saved and offers a live refresh. Lens TCG only creates these receipts for server-verified card searches, removes the buyer ZIP, and never publishes pasted or manually entered listing facts through this route.
Freshness, failures, and abstention
Every report carries an observation time, source status, assumptions, exclusions, and warnings. TCGplayer feed freshness is shown and flagged when stale. Source failures remain visible. When no listing has compatible identity, condition, and complete cost, Lens TCG returns Next Moves instead of demo inventory or a guessed recommendation.