How to sell cards on TCGplayer: levels, fees and shipping
How to start selling on TCGplayer: the four seller levels, listing raw cards by condition, the fees TCGplayer lists, shipping rules and when payments go out.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 8 min read
Selling on TCGplayer starts with a seller account, a review of your application and Level 1, where you can list up to 100 items worth $1,000 in total and no single item above $500. You add each card from TCGplayer’s catalog, pick its condition on a five-step scale from Near Mint to Damaged, and set a price and a shipping rate. A sale costs 10.75% commission (capped at $75 per item) plus 2.5% of the order total and $0.30. You ship within 48 hours, with tracking on orders over $49.99 and a signature over $250, and TCGplayer starts seller payments twice a week.
How do you become a TCGplayer seller?
Sign up for an account, complete the seller registration and click the link in the verification email. TCGplayer then reviews the application before the store can go live. Selling is open to sellers in the US. A pilot for Canada is limited to shops with a physical store or a large online presence.
Before TCGplayer sends any payment, it asks every seller to complete a digital W-9 tax form, one per seller account.
Pro and Direct, two further programs, open only at Level 4.
What can you list at each seller level?
You move up by shipping orders that reach their expected delivery date (EDD) and by keeping your feedback above a set share.
| Level | Items for sale at once | Value listed at once | Most for one item | New items per day | To reach the next level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | $1,000 | $500 | 100 | 2 orders past EDD, feedback 80% or more |
| 2 | 500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 500 | 11 orders past EDD, feedback 85% or more |
| 3 | 50,000 | $100,000 | $20,000 | No limit | 51 orders past EDD, feedback 90% or more |
Level 4 is the top level, with unlimited items for sale at once.
A quantity counts item by item: four copies of one card use four of your 100 Level 1 items. Level 4 adds custom shipping options, price import and export, and listing by scanning cards in the TCGplayer app. It is also the gate for TCGplayer Pro. TCGplayer Direct asks for more: Level 4, 99.5% feedback over 30 days, about 3,000 Direct-eligible cards and 100 sales a month.
How do you list a raw card?
- Open the Inventory tab in the Seller Portal and search the catalog for the card.
- Check that the catalog entry matches your exact printing, then click Add.
- Enter how many copies you have in each condition.
- Type a price, or match one of TCGplayer’s figures: the lowest listing, the last sold price or the market price.
- Save. The card goes live straight away.
You must currently possess any card you list, and fees and shipping are yours to price in. Our guide to market, listed and sold prices explains those three figures, and how to price cards to sell sets out a method.
Some cards need a Listing with Photos instead: photos of the exact card, plus a description that gives its set, its condition and any flaws. That applies to graded cards, signed cards and most non-English cards. Japanese Pokémon cards in the Pokémon Japan catalog and Magic cards with language options are the exceptions. Our guide to selling graded cards covers slabs.
Which condition should you pick?
TCGplayer lists five conditions, each with a foil version judged by the same rules. It sells nothing above Near Mint, so its scale starts there.
| Condition | What TCGplayer allows, in short |
|---|---|
| Near Mint | Looks nearly unused: crisp corners and clean edges, with at most slight edge wear or a couple of minor surface marks |
| Lightly Played | Minor edge wear, scuffs or surface marks, nothing severe or in large numbers |
| Moderately Played | Edge and surface wear, scuffing, or bends with creases, as long as the card stays structurally sound |
| Heavily Played | Major wear, creasing and whitening, but the card can still be authenticated and is not structurally damaged |
| Damaged | Wear beyond the other steps: tears, splitting, major border wear, or anything that harms the card’s structure |
A few rules surprise new sellers:
- Defects and alterations. Crimping and big miscuts make a card Damaged whatever else it shows. So do stamps, signatures, paint and marker. As a Listing with Photos, you may list the card at the condition it would have without the defect or alteration.
- Foreign substances. A card with food, liquid or other material on it can’t be sold on TCGplayer at all.
- Oversized cards. They are 1.4 times the size of a standard card, so TCGplayer allows each flaw to be 1.4 times larger.
Our guides to card condition grades and card condition problems show what each flaw looks like.
What does TCGplayer charge?
A standard Marketplace seller at Levels 1 to 4 pays three things on each order:
- Commission on the cards: 10.75% of the item prices, capped at $75 per item sold.
- Commission on shipping: 10.75% of the shipping charge, with no cap.
- Transaction fee: 2.5% of the order total (items, shipping and tax) plus $0.30.
TCGplayer counts a transaction as everything one buyer orders from you at one checkout with one shipping method. It rounds each fee with banker’s rounding, sending an exact half cent to the even cent. There is no listing fee: you pay only when a card sells. Pro sellers pay a 9.25% commission plus a 2.5% Pro fee in place of the 10.75%.
Our seller fee calculator works out what you keep on TCGplayer and Whatnot for any price, shipping charge and tax rate. Our guide to where to sell cards online prices a $50, $250 and $1,000 card.
Why do small orders leave so little?
Because the $0.30 and the shipping commission come once per order. This worked example uses a $1.99 shipping rate and 7% sales tax on cards plus shipping. “Kept” is the card total less TCGplayer’s fees. The $1.99 goes on postage.
| Order | Card total | TCGplayer fees | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| One $2 card | $2.00 | $0.84 | $1.16 |
| Ten $2 cards in one order | $20.00 | $3.25 | $16.75 |
| Ten $2 cards in ten separate orders | $20.00 | $8.40 | $11.60 |
By Rip.fan’s arithmetic, the single $2 card pays $0.22 commission, $0.21 on the shipping and a $0.41 transaction fee. The ten-card order pays $2.15, $0.21 and $0.89, figured on the order subtotal. Ten separate orders also mean ten packages to post. A store with enough stock for buyers to combine items keeps more of each sale.
How should you set shipping?
You set one rate per size class, and TCGplayer’s four classes run from Small through Medium and Large to Extra Large. A buyer pays one rate per order, set by the largest item in it, not one per card. TCGplayer sorts listings by price plus shipping, so a lower rate moves your cards up the page. New sellers get fewer shipping rate options, and from Level 4 you can set the rate to nearly any value.
Set the rates before you list: TCGplayer warns that cancelling an order over wrong shipping settings can cost you the account.
What are the shipping rules?
TCGplayer’s packing steps are a sleeve, then a toploader or a stiff card backing, then a team bag or a little tape, in a bubble mailer or secure envelope. It says never to mail a card in an envelope with no protection. Then:
- Ship within 48 hours. Orders should also arrive by the estimated delivery date.
- Add tracking. TCGplayer recommends it on orders over $20 and requires it on orders over $49.99.
- Add a signature. It is required on orders over $250. The lines are also given as $49.99 or higher and $250 or more, so treat those exact amounts as covered.
- Use an integrated carrier. For protection against missing-order claims, US sellers must use USPS, UPS or FedEx, and the tracking must show the package left your hands.
Skip those steps and you give up any dispute over a package the buyer says never came. Coverage for untracked orders exists only for US sellers with 1,000 lifetime orders, on orders of $49.99 and under placed from August 17, 2026. Our guides to shipping raw cards and shipping a large card order go further.
When do you get paid?
TCGplayer marks a sale completed and pending payment 24 hours after the tracking confirms delivery. If delivery can’t be confirmed, or you shipped without tracking, it waits until 24 hours after the expected delivery date. TCGplayer then starts payments every Monday and Thursday, after fees, and a direct deposit usually appears about four business days later.
Three cases take longer:
- A buyer dispute. The money for that order is held until the outcome. If you were already paid, TCGplayer holds the same amount back from later deposits.
- International orders. Payment for an order sent outside the US comes later than for a US order. TCGplayer gives the wait in different ways, so check its payments page before you count on a date.
- Presales. These pay on the usual schedule, but only after the release date.
What happens when a buyer reports a problem?
Buyers have 30 calendar days after the estimated delivery date to ask for a refund or replacement, starting with a message to you. If you don’t answer within 24 hours, TCGplayer contacts you, and after 72 hours it escalates the case to its customer service team. A Listing with Photos order that matches its photos, title and description doesn’t have to be taken back.
A buyer who suspects a counterfeit card sends it to TCGplayer, which checks it and works with the seller. Counterfeits and proxies are banned outright. TCGplayer also blocks negative feedback over a late or missing package when you shipped within 48 hours, the tracking shows movement, and you resolved the order with a refund or replacement.
Our guides to selling a card collection and avoiding card scams online cover what to list next and the buyer’s side of these rules.
Frequently asked questions
Is TCGplayer's $75 fee cap per order or per card?
Per card. An order holding two $1,000 cards pays $150 in commission, $75 on each, as of October 27, 2026.
When does TCGplayer pay for an order shipped outside the US?
It becomes payable 21 days after it is marked as shipped, as of October 27, 2026. A payment that falls on a national holiday starts on the next business day.
Does TCGplayer charge more on an international order?
Yes. The transaction fee on an international order is 3.5% of the order total plus $0.30, as of October 27, 2026. A seller based outside the US and paid through PayPal also pays 2% per payment, at most $20.
Can you sell a Pokémon code card on TCGplayer?
Yes, as a physical card under a title that matches it, but a promo code sold without a physical card, such as one for the Special Delivery Charizard, can't be listed. Keep the code itself out of any photo.
What happens if a buyer says a tracked package never came?
TCGplayer covers a US seller in full on an eligible tracked order to the US or Canada when the carrier shows it Delivered or Missing in Transit. Under the untracked cover for sellers with 1,000 orders, refund the buyer and ask for the credit within 60 calendar days of the estimated delivery date.