How to Trade Pokémon Cards Fairly

To trade Pokémon cards fairly, both of you agree the exact cards by set, collector number and printing, inspect them to the same condition standard, and settle the terms in writing before anything changes hands. A fair trade is one where each person knows precisely what they are giving and getting. It does not need the two sides to come out level, as long as both of you can see where they differ.

Agree the cards and the goal of the trade

A card name is not enough to identify a card. Popular Pokémon have been printed many times across many sets. Within one set, the same card usually comes in a standard print and a reverse holo. Promo versions are released separately, outside the normal packs, and carry a black star with the word promo in place of a normal rarity symbol. Each of these is a different card for trading purposes.

Identify each card by three things. The set symbol tells you the expansion. The collector number, printed as two numbers with a slash between them in a bottom corner next to the rarity symbol, tells you which card in that set it is. The printing tells you which version you are looking at: on a reverse holo the foil runs across the whole card except the picture box. Our guide to set symbols shows where to look.

The easiest way to start is with want lists. Each side writes down what they want and what they are offering, using those identifiers rather than names. Then say what the trade is for. Someone finishing a set and someone building a deck will judge the same offer differently, and saying so early avoids a misunderstanding later.

Compare condition and authenticity

Inspect both sides of the trade by the same standard. Describing your own card generously and the other person's card strictly is the quickest way to an unfair trade, even when nobody means it.

Agree which scale you are using before you start. We use five words on our condition standard: Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played and Damaged, each with a written test. Cardmarket uses seven: Mint, Near Mint, Excellent, Good, Light Played, Played and Poor. The two scales do not line up word for word, so do not assume a card described as Excellent on Cardmarket matches any one of our words.

In person, take the card out of its sleeve with clean, dry hands. Look at the corners and edges for whitening. Tilt the surface under a lamp to show scratches and dents. Then check the back as carefully as the front.

Remote trades need photographs instead. Ask for the front and back of the actual card, out of the sleeve, in flat light, plus one angled shot of any holo surface. A stock image tells you nothing about the card being offered.

Check authenticity on both sides too. Our guide on how to spot fake Pokémon cards covers the checks for raw cards. For a slabbed card, look up the certificate number on the website of the company that graded it. CGC's lookup, for example, confirms the card's description and grade in its database. Make sure the label matches the card in the case.

Use comparable evidence when discussing value

If you talk about what the cards would sell for, use evidence you can both see. Compare like with like: the same card, the same collector number, the same printing, and the same condition or grade. A heavily played copy and a near mint copy of one card are not the same comparison.

Use what cards actually sold for, not what sellers are asking. Completed sales on venues such as eBay or Cardmarket show what someone paid, while an asking figure only shows what a seller hopes for. Use the same source and the same date range for both sides of the trade, and show the other person where the figures came from so they can check them.

Treat the result as an estimate, not a guarantee. A card that rarely changes hands may have only a few comparable sales, and those may be months apart. Say that plainly rather than picking the one sale that suits you. Our guide on how to value Pokémon cards explains the method in more detail.

An uneven trade is fine if both people choose it. Someone may happily give more to finish a set or to get a card they love. What is not fine is pressure, such as a deadline that does not exist or a refusal to let the other person check the figures.

Agree the details and write them down

Before either side hands over or posts a card, write the trade down in one message that both of you reply to and confirm. This checklist covers what that message should contain.

For a trade by post, agree the packing as well as the service. For a single card, a penny sleeve inside a rigid toploader, sent in a bubble mailer, is a common way to post it. Both sides should keep the proof of postage and any tracking number until the other confirms the cards have arrived. Our guide on how to post Pokémon cards goes through it step by step.

A direct swap by post usually happens outside any selling site, so there is no platform standing between the two of you if a card does not arrive. With someone you do not know, consider meeting in a public place such as a card shop or a League event, or starting with a smaller trade.

Trading with children or at an event

The parents' page on Pokémon's organised play site describes League as a place where there will be chances to trade and battle in the Pokémon TCG. It says League locations and Professors are subject to background checks, that local tournaments are segmented by age division, and that supervising adults will always be present. It also says every League can be a little different. Neither that page nor Pokémon's general parents' page sets out rules for the trade itself, so any trading rule you meet at a table is the organiser's, not Pokémon's. Ask the organiser what their house rules are before a child brings a binder.

Parents can make trading easier with a few habits agreed at home. Keep a separate trade binder, so a child only offers cards they have already decided they are happy to part with. Agree that any trade involving a card they care about waits until a parent has looked at it. If a child makes a trade in a rush and regrets it, it is reasonable for the two families to talk it through and undo it.

If you are an adult trading with a child you do not know, talk to their parent or guardian first. A trade that would be fair between two adults can still be unfair to a child who does not know how to compare cards.

Know when to pause a trade

Stop and wait if the cards cannot be identified. If the other person cannot or will not give you the set, collector number and printing, you do not yet know what you are being offered.

Stop if the condition cannot be confirmed. A refusal to send photographs of the actual card, out of its sleeve, is a reason to step back. So is a card that looks different in person from its photographs.

Stop if the expectations keep moving. Terms that change after you agreed them are one sign. A sudden request for you to post first, or to add money to what was agreed as a straight swap, is another.

Pausing is simple. Say that nothing is agreed until both of you confirm the written details, and that you need more time. If you are holding someone's card while you look at it, hand it back. A trade you step away from can be picked up again once the details are clear.

If you are unsure how to compare the cards on offer, read our guide on how to value Pokémon cards next. It explains how to find comparable sales and what weight to put on them.