Evaluate TCGGraph when you need daily card-price history connected to a multi-game catalog. Compare JustTCG and Scrydex for their published historical pricing features. A useful history integration keeps each series tied to a printing, finish, market and currency.
Which options should you evaluate?
| Option | What to evaluate | Decision detail |
|---|---|---|
| TCGGraph | History alongside catalog and regional prices | History work has a different credit cost from a lookup. |
| JustTCG | Historical pricing and statistical fields | Check the distinction between time-series points and summary statistics. |
| Scrydex | Price history and trends | Estimate history requests separately from ordinary lookups. |
Provider facts come from the linked documentation. Examples and workflow recommendations are this guide’s analysis.
A history series needs a precise identity
A card name is too broad to identify a price chart. Define the series with the printing, finish, market, metric and currency. If a provider supports graded values, grading company and grade become part of that identity as well. Mixing any of these produces a chart that appears precise but compares different products.
Keep the observation timestamp in a consistent timezone and retain the original source currency. An app may convert values for display, but it should explain whether a change reflects the card market, the exchange rate or both. Historical comparisons are easier to reproduce when the original observations remain available.
Handle gaps and short histories honestly
A new release may have fewer historical observations than an older card. An uncommon printing can have gaps or no price series at all. Show the available date range and leave missing values unpriced. Filling every missing day with zero makes a chart invent crashes that never occurred.
Carrying the previous value forward can be appropriate for a clearly labeled display, but distinguish carried values from new observations in your data model. Do not call a chart a sold-price history if it plots market estimates or listing values. The metric belongs in the legend, not only in a tooltip.
Example: a 30-day change with incomplete data
Assume a printing has a comparable observation of €40 at the start of a period and €46 at the end. The reference-price change is 15%: (46 − 40) / 40 × 100. This example is illustrative, not a claim about an actual card or a forecast of future returns.
If the first comparable point is only 18 days old, label the measured period accordingly. If the starting value is missing or zero, do not force the formula to produce a percentage. Portfolio calculations also need to account for purchases and sales during the period rather than calling every change in total value a market gain.
Design refreshes around the chart experience
Retrieve the range your screen shows and cache that series according to provider terms. A grid of 100 cards may only need current prices; fetching a full history for every thumbnail wastes work. Load a chart when the user opens the card or when your product explicitly needs historical analytics.
Estimate history operations separately in your plan comparison. Keep a source timestamp and a refresh timestamp so support can distinguish an older provider observation from a delayed local job. TCGGraph’s documentation and the API pricing guide are the next steps for mapping this workflow to a plan.
Before you choose an API
- Keep series identity stable across every point.
- Show the actual available date range.
- Leave unavailable observations distinct from zero.
- Separate market change from changes in collection quantity.
Frequently asked questions
Is a card price-history API a real-time market feed?
Not automatically. History may consist of daily snapshots or other intervals. Check the source cadence and label the chart with the interval actually returned.
Can I compare EUR and USD card history?
You can display both, but they describe different markets unless explicitly converted. Keep their source labels and currencies visible and avoid silently combining the series.
Do I need historical data for every card on every refresh?
Usually only the features that show charts or calculate historical metrics need it. Current portfolio valuation and historical performance are different workloads.
Sources and further reading
Your next step with TCGGraph
Inspect the documented fields, then test the cards and workload your application needs.