Every card price in your store is built the same way: Synq starts from live TCGplayer market data, applies the strategy you chose, adjusts for the card's condition, converts to your currency, and then enforces your price rules. The result is saved to Shopify. This page owns that pipeline end to end, plus how to pick a strategy that protects your margins.
Where the price comes from
Every price starts from the TCGplayer market price for that exact card, matched by set, printing (for example Normal or Foil) and condition. Synq reads this live, so you are always working from current market data rather than a stale number you typed in months ago. This covers the games you sell, including Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon and Disney Lorcana.
The pricing pipeline
Synq turns the market price into the price your customer pays in a fixed order. Each step takes the number from the step before it:
- Market price. Start from the live TCGplayer market price for the card and printing.
- Pricing strategy. Apply your strategy: at market, a percent above, or a percent below.
- Per-condition adjustment. Discount the price for the card's condition, so a Lightly Played copy is priced below Near Mint.
- Currency conversion. Convert into your store's currency if it is not USD.
- Price rules. Apply your floor, ceiling and rounding so the final number is one you would have set yourself.
By default there is no floor, ceiling or rounding, so the price is simply your strategy plus the condition adjustment, in your store currency. The order matters: rules are applied last, so a floor always wins, even over a deep condition discount.
Choosing a pricing strategy
Your strategy decides where your prices sit compared to the TCGplayer market. You set one default for the whole store under Settings, then Pricing, and can override it per card.
- Market price. Price at the TCGplayer market price. Competitive and the simplest place to start.
- Market + %. Price a set percentage above market to add margin, for example plus 10 percent. Enter a whole number such as
10. - Market − %. Price a set percentage below market to undercut, for example minus 5 percent.
Which one to use:
- New or unsure: start at Market price, then adjust once you see how it sells.
- Want margin: Market + % works well on singles when you back it with fast shipping and accurate grading. Buyers will pay a little more for a copy they trust will arrive as described.
- Moving bulk: pair any strategy with a price floor so cheap commons never sell below your handling cost.
Avoid the race to the bottom. Undercutting with Market − % wins sales but erodes margin for everyone, and chasing the lowest price is a fight you cannot win for long. A common alternative is to price at or near market and compete on what the card alone cannot offer: accurate grading, quick dispatch, bundles and trust. Use a ceiling so you do not chase short-lived spikes, and a floor so you never sell below your costs.
You do not need to wait after changing your strategy. Once you save it, re-price your whole store in one click.
How condition changes the price
After your strategy is applied, Synq adjusts the price down for the card's condition, measured against Near Mint. The defaults are:
| Condition | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Near Mint | 0% |
| Lightly Played | −10% |
| Moderately Played | −25% |
| Heavily Played | −40% |
| Damaged | −60% |
Every one of these is tunable. If your local market values played copies higher or lower, change the percentages under Settings, then Pricing, and they apply across your store.
Currency conversion
TCGplayer prices are in USD. If your store sells in another currency, Synq converts the price after the condition adjustment, so the floor, ceiling and rounding you set always operate in your own currency. For how rates are sourced and applied, see currencies and conversion.
Price rules: floor, ceiling and rounding
Price rules are the last step and exist to protect your margins, so automation never produces a price you would not have set yourself:
- Floor. No card is priced below this amount. Applied last, so it overrides even a deep condition discount.
- Ceiling. Caps the price, so you do not chase a short-lived spike.
- Rounding. Ends prices cleanly, for example at
.99.
Set these under Settings, then Pricing. For the full behaviour, including how rules interact and per-game limits, see price rules.
Overriding the price for one card
The strategy and rules above are your store defaults, but you are not locked into them. When you add a card, you can override the strategy for that single listing or set a specific fixed price. Everything else keeps following your defaults.
Keeping prices current
Market prices move, so a price set today drifts over time. You have two ways to stay current:
- Automatic repricing runs once a day at an hour you choose, in your store's timezone, on the Pro and Scale plans. See plans and what is included.
- One click, any plan: re-price your whole store yourself, which updates every card that has drifted from current market data and applies your strategy and rules.
A price changes whenever the new number differs from the one in your store, even by a cent, so there is no minimum change to configure. For how to set up daily repricing and review changes before they go live, see keeping prices current.