How prices work

Every card on Altworth shows one number: the Altworth price. Here is where that number comes from, and how sure we are about it.

Where the number comes from

We look at what cards like yours actually sold for. Not what people hoped to get, and not what we would like the card to be worth. Finished sales.

Recorded sales: Completed sales of the same card in the same grade, collected from the sites collectors already buy and sell on. Auctions and buy-it-now both count.
Sales on Altworth: When a card sells here, that sale counts too. It is the cleanest evidence we have, because we held the card and we handled the money.
Asking prices, as a fallback: If a card has not sold recently, we look at what sellers are currently asking. That is weaker evidence, so we say so on the price itself.

What counts, and what does not

A sale has to match the card and the grade before it counts. A PSA 9 sale never sets the price of a PSA 10, and a holo never sets the price of a non-holo. Each grade is priced on its own, because each grade is its own market.

If we have no evidence for a card, we show no price. We would rather show you nothing than a number we cannot stand behind.

How sure we are

Every price carries one of three labels, so you always know how much evidence sits behind it.

Live: At least three sales in the last seven days. The price is current.
Recent: At least three sales in the last 90 days, but none in the last week. The price is sound, just not fresh.
Estimate: Not enough sales to go on, so the price is worked out from what sellers are asking. Treat it as a starting point, not a settled number.

What the words on a card page mean

The Altworth price and the for sale price are different things, and they often differ. Ours is what the evidence says the card is worth. A for sale price is what one seller decided to ask today.

Altworth price: Our number for the card, worked out as above.
Last sale: The most recent sale we recorded, and how long ago it was.
For sale: The lowest price a card is listed at on Altworth right now.
Best bid: The highest price someone has offered to pay for one.
Recorded sales: The sales behind the price. Each dot on the chart is one of them.

If a price looks wrong

Prices move and data goes stale. If a number looks wrong to you, tell us. Every card page has a "Report a data issue" link, and we read all of them.