How to read card price changes, and what they miss
What a card price change measures, how Rip.fan's price changes page picks the cards it lists, and the checks to run before you trust a rise or a fall.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
A card price change is the gap between two readings of one price on two dates: the same card, the same printing, the same condition. To read one, check four things: which figure moved, which two dates it compares, how big the move is in dollars as well as percent, and whether real sales stand behind it. Rip.fan’s price changes page lists the English Pokémon cards whose NM market price rose or fell the most between two of its weekly checks. It counts only cards priced at $5 or more at both checks, and only moves of at least 10% and at least $1.
What does a price change measure?
It measures a figure, not a sale. A market price is a number a site builds from sales by its own method, so a change in it means the method’s result moved. TCGplayer’s Market Price is built from several recent sales on its site, ignores outliers and updates as sales complete. Each week Rip.fan checks the NM market price of all English Pokémon cards and keeps a record of every check, but its pages don’t describe how that figure is worked out.
So a change can’t tell you three things on its own: how many sales stand behind it, whether those sales match your copy, and what happens next. Rip.fan’s price changes page makes the last one plain: its figures are past market prices, and they say nothing about where prices go next.
How does Rip.fan’s price changes page pick its cards?
The page compares each card’s NM market price at two of Rip.fan’s checks, and its section on how it measures sets out three rules:
- A price floor. A card qualifies only if its price was $5 or higher at both of the checks compared.
- A move of both sizes. A card makes the list only when its price changed by 10% or more and by $1 or more.
- A cap. Each list holds at most 25 cards, ranked by the size of the move in percent.
There are two comparisons. The shorter list sets each card’s price against its price at Rip.fan’s previous check, as the card’s own page does. When Rip.fan has a check from 28 or more days before its latest one, a longer list also appears. It compares a single printing of each card with that same printing at the most recent check old enough to qualify. A table broken down by series covers the same cards as the shorter list.
Which moves make the list?
The figures in this example are made up.
| First check | Second check | Move | Listed? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4.80 | $6.00 | Up $1.20 (25%) | No | Under $5 at the first check |
| $5.00 | $5.80 | Up $0.80 (16%) | No | Less than $1 |
| $8.00 | $9.00 | Up $1.00 (12.5%) | Yes | Meets every rule |
| $300.00 | $320.00 | Up $20.00 (6.7%) | No | Less than 10% |
| $300.00 | $331.00 | Up $31.00 (10.3%) | Yes | Meets every rule |
| $60.00 | $45.00 | Down $15.00 (25%) | Yes | Meets every rule |
The two size rules do different jobs. The dollar rule keeps a move from $5.00 to $5.80 off the list, however large its percent. The percent rule keeps a $20 move on a $300 card off it. And because each list is ranked by percent, the $8 card that rose $1 (12.5%) sits above the $300 card that rose $31 (10.3%). Read the dollar figure beside every percent.
Why read the dates before the number?
The heading above each list names the two checks it compares. Moves are measured between Rip.fan’s own checks, so read the two dates before you assume a span. A move between checks four weeks apart and a move between neighboring checks are different readings, and the longer list appears only once there is a check at least 28 days older than the latest.
The same care applies on other sites. TCGplayer’s volatility rating, for one, looks at a 30-day window.
What can’t a price change tell you?
Whether it covers your copy
The page tracks one figure: the NM market price of a raw English Pokémon card. A card’s own page has a low and a market figure for each raw condition, from NM to DM, printing by printing. Graded cards sell for different prices, which the card price lookup does not cover. So a move in the NM figure says little about a Lightly Played copy or a slab. If a card has more than one printing, check which one the price is for.
How many sales stand behind it
A move built on many sales and one built on two look the same in a list. TCGplayer gives three signals for its own prices:
- Volatility. Its rating looks at sales volume and how widely prices vary over 30 days. It counts each order once, so four copies bought in one order count once, and a product without enough sales in 30 days is marked Indeterminate.
- Printing and language. Foil and non-English cards sell less often than their non-foil or English versions, so their Market Price tends to update less often.
- Price level and rarity. In its advice to sellers, TCGplayer calls Market Price a good basis for pricing fast-moving products, such as new sets, and less useful for slower, higher-value items that sell fewer times a month. It adds that prices among higher rarities tend to be a bit more volatile than among lower ones.
Whether a sale happened at all
Some figures move with no new sale. Card Ladder ties a card’s last sale to an index, so its CL Value shifts from day to day as the index does. Our comparison of card price sites shows which figures come straight from sales and which are moved by an index.
Where the price goes next
Nothing in a past move says where a price goes. Treat every figure as a dated record of what was.
How do you check a move before you act on it?
- Match the card. Open the card’s page and confirm the set, the number and the printing named beside the price. Our guide to looking up a Pokémon card’s value covers the details.
- Read both dates. Note the two checks the move spans.
- Weigh dollars and percent together. A large percent can be a small sum, and a small percent on a costly card can be a large one.
- Find the sales. Look up individual sold listings for the same printing and condition. Our guide on how to find what a card sold for sets out the method: drop the mismatches, take the middle sale, and date it.
- Write it down. Record the figure, where it came from and the day you checked.
What if the price changes after you buy?
On TCGplayer, the sale stands. There are no refunds or returns when a product’s price changes after you buy it: a seller can’t ask for more when a card’s market price rises, or refund you when it falls. It also cites the swings of the singles market as the reason sellers take back single cards only for a condition problem, a wrong card or a missing card, reported within 30 calendar days of the estimated delivery date.
The same logic applies when you sell: price from recent matching sales, and never from a single move. Our guides to pricing cards to sell and judging a trade-in offer show how, and what to check before you buy a card puts price checks alongside the other research.
Where do price changes appear on Rip.fan?
- The price changes page lists the largest rises and falls between checks, under the rules above.
- Card pages compare a card’s price with its price at Rip.fan’s previous check, and state the date the prices were checked.
- The card price lookup finds an English Pokémon card by name, set or number and gives its NM market price and the printing it applies to.
Browse every set from the Pokémon card prices index. Our guide to market, listed and sold prices explains each label, and the glossary defines comps, Near Mint and a raw card.
Frequently asked questions
Why can a big jump take a week longer to reach Rip.fan's price changes page?
A rise of more than 300% or a fall of more than 75% appears only once two checks in a row show the changed price.
How many Pokémon cards moved between the October 14 and October 21, 2026 checks?
Of 5,928 English Pokémon cards priced at $5 or more at both checks, 215 rose by at least 10% and at least $1, and 60 fell by as much.
What is the middle change in the table by series?
It is the median move of a series' cards between two checks: from October 14 to October 21, 2026, 1.6% for 739 Scarlet & Violet cards and down 0.5% for 216 Mega Evolution cards.
Can a TCGplayer seller's prices follow Market Price automatically?
Yes. TCGplayer's MassPrice rules can run on a schedule, and a seller can set them to skip any update that would cut a price by more than a set share. MassPrice leaves Listings with Photos untouched.