TCG Price Lookup launches real-time price API for trading cards

TCG Price Lookup has launched a real-time pricing API that covers more than 300,000 cards across eight trading card games, giving developers and collectors live market data without scraping marketplaces. The release adds condition-based values, graded card pricing and price history through a single REST endpoint.

Why it matters: - Trading card prices move fast, and developers have lacked a single normalized source for live values across major marketplaces. - The new API is aimed at marketplaces, collection tools and collectors that need current pricing data to value cards more consistently. - The launch targets a collectibles market where cards are increasingly treated as an alternative asset class.

What happened: - TCG Price Lookup launched a real-time price API covering more than 300,000 cards across eight trading card games. - The platform returns live market prices from TCGplayer and eBay. - The API is available now with a free plan for testing and paid plans for commercial use. - The company also offers a free card value checker for non-developers.

The details: - The API includes per-condition values from Near Mint to Damaged. - The platform also provides graded card values for PSA, BGS and CGC. - Price history and trend data are included. - Data is refreshed daily. - The supported games are Pokemon, Pokemon Japan, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Disney Lorcana, Star Wars: Unlimited and Flesh and Blood. - The product uses a single REST endpoint and returns clean JSON. - The API has a documented REST interface with a free tier. - The free card value checker lets users look up card values across conditions and grades without writing code. - The company's contact page includes more information.

Between the lines: - The launch is designed to remove the need to scrape marketplace listings, a common pain point for pricing tools. - Normalized data across conditions, grades and marketplaces can make it easier for platforms to compare card values consistently. - Daily refreshes suggest the product is built for broad market tracking rather than high-frequency trading.

What's next: - Developers can test the API on the free tier before moving to commercial plans. - The platform will likely compete on coverage, data freshness and ease of integration as more collectibles tools add pricing features.

The bottom line: - TCG Price Lookup is pitching a one-stop pricing layer for the trading card economy, with live marketplace data, grading support and price history in one API.