Pokémon singles
Singles are individual cards, the way most collectors actually build a set. A single is only listable if you can trust the description, so before we list the first one we have written down exactly what each condition word will mean on this site. It is on the condition standard page and it does not change from card to card or seller to seller.
How a single will be described
Every single will carry four things: the set and number, the printing, the condition and a photograph of the card you will receive. The printing matters more than most listings admit. A Base Set card can be 1st Edition, shadowless or unlimited; a modern card can be the standard print, the reverse holo, or a promo with the same name and a different number. We will name the printing on every card and never list "Charizard" without saying which Charizard.
Condition will be one of five words: Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played, Damaged. Each has a written definition covering surface, edges, corners and centring, and a card that fails any one of the tests drops a step. We will not use "mint", "pack fresh" or "gem" on a raw card, because none of those is a condition.
Cards above a threshold we will set at opening will be photographed individually, front and back, and the photograph on the page will be the card you get. Cards below it will be pooled by condition, which we will say plainly.
How a single will be sent
Penny sleeve, then a rigid toploader or a semi-rigid, then a bubble mailer for small orders or a box for larger ones. Tracked where the order justifies it. The packing standard is written on the condition page too, because how a card travels is part of its condition when it arrives.
Asking for a card
Until the request tool is live, email is the way. Tell us the set, the card name and the number printed on it. If we end up with it, you hear once. We do not sell the list and we do not use it for anything else.
The set picker below goes to the fifteen sets we will fill first. Every other English set is on the set index.
Ask for a card
Until the request tool is live, email hello@tcgemporium.com with the set, the card name and the number on the card. We reply when we have it and not before.
Pick a set
Questions we get asked
Will you list bulk commons and uncommons?
Yes, pooled by set and condition rather than photographed one by one. The page will say so, and the condition standard applies to pooled cards the same as to photographed ones.
Do you take requests for cards you do not have?
Yes. That is what the email link on every set page is for. We will not promise to find a card, but a wanted list tells us what to go after.
What if a card arrives in worse condition than described?
You tell us, we look at the photo we took before sending it, and if we got it wrong we take it back and refund the postage both ways. The full policy will be written before the first sale and linked from every single.