Shops or Private Sellers on Cardmarket: Who Really Asks Less for Pokémon Cards?
Shop and private asks compared card by card, in five languages and four price bands. The cheapest copies make shops look dearer than they are; their typical asks tell a different story.
Data refreshed weekly · page generated on 2026-11-02.
On English cards, a shop's cheapest copy is +21.5% against a private seller's, but a shop's typical ask is only +6.8%.
"Shop": a professional seller on Cardmarket. Asking prices, Near Mint or better, on cards where both sides have at least 3 listings.
The gap you see, and the real one
Private sellers have 2.7 times as many listings as shops, and that alone makes their cheapest copy lower.
The cheapest of ten prices is lower than the cheapest of three, even when both groups ask the same. Comparing the two cheapest copies therefore exaggerates the gap. Each side's median ask doesn't depend on how many listings it has: that is the "typical" gap in the tables below.
By price band, English cards
| Card price | Cards | Cheapest against cheapest | Typical against typical | Shop cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under €1 | 2167 | +50% | +20% | 18% |
| €1 to €10 | 2844 | +25% | +7.4% | 33% |
| €10 to €100 | 1654 | +11.1% | +1.7% | 42% |
| €100 and up | 347 | +8.5% | 0% | 51% |
Last column: the share of cards where the shop's typical ask is the lower of the two. We describe the gap without giving its causes.
Language by language
- English: typical +6.8%, cheapest +21.5% (7012 cards)
- French: typical +7%, cheapest +18.1% (5877 cards)
- German: typical +5.7%, cheapest +13.9% (6340 cards)
- Spanish: typical +11.5%, cheapest +39.3% (5239 cards)
- Italian: typical +12.2%, cheapest +23.3% (5567 cards)
What it changes when you buy
- On a card worth a few euros, the cheapest copy will often be a private seller's; group your purchases to spread the shipping.
- On an expensive card, price no longer decides: look at the stated condition, the seller's rating and tracked shipping.
- The seller's country matters too: see our guide to seller countries.
What Cardmarket's lowest price, trend and averages measure is explained in our Cardmarket prices guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are shops more expensive than private sellers on Cardmarket?
A little, and less than it looks. Across 7012 English cards, a shop's cheapest copy is a median +21.5% against a private seller's, but a shop's typical ask is only +6.8% against a private seller's. Private sellers have 2.7 times as many listings as shops, which pulls their cheapest copy down.
For an expensive card, is it better to buy from a shop?
Above €100, a shop's typical ask is 0% against a private seller's on English cards: price is not what decides. Compare the stated condition, the seller's rating and tracked shipping instead.
Method and limits
- For each card and language (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian): the Near Mint or better listings recorded per language each week (each month under €0.50), split between professional and private sellers.
- Only cards with fewer than 50 listings are compared: above that Cardmarket may cut the list, and its upper half would be missing.
- The price band is the card's cheapest listing in that language. Asking prices, not sales.