ordicio

Collecting guide

How to Collect Trading Cards

Sports cards, trading card game cards and other collector cards.

A trading card’s value depends on details that are easy to miss: the exact set and print run, the parallel or foil, the serial number on the back and, above all, the condition. A record that captures these makes a collection easy to insure, trade and sell.

Getting Started

ordicio has three kinds of trading cards:

Most collectors chase a set, a player or a character. Decide early whether you collect raw cards to look at or graded cards to keep: the records and the budget differ.

What to Record

Condition and Grading

Raw cards are described in the market’s play condition terms: Near Mint (NM), Lightly Played (LP), Moderately Played (MP), Heavily Played (HP) and Damaged. Graders such as PSA, BGS (Beckett), SGC, CGC and TAG assign a grade from 1 to 10, and BGS and others add subgrades for centering, corners, edges and surface. PSA uses qualifiers such as OC (off-centre) or ST (staining) for cards that would otherwise grade higher. Always record the grading company, the grade and the certification number: the number lets anyone check the slab online.

Care and Storage

Put valuable cards in a penny sleeve and a top loader or semi-rigid holder, and store them upright in boxes made for cards. Keep them out of sunlight, which fades inks, and away from humidity, which warps them.

Mistakes to Avoid

Kinds of Trading Cards

The Data Sheet for Trading Cards

The 25 fields worth recording for trading cards, grouped as in the ordicio app.

Identification

Player / character Text
Player, character or subject on the card.
Set Text
Set or product, e.g. 1952 Topps, Prizm Basketball 2018-19, Base Set (Pokémon), Alpha (Magic).
Year / season Text
Year or season of the set, e.g. 1986, 2018-19.
Manufacturer Text
Card company, e.g. Topps, Panini, Upper Deck, Bowman, Wizards of the Coast.
Card number Text
Number on the card or in the set checklist, e.g. 57, 4/102, RC-12.
Parallel / variant Text
Parallel, insert or variant, e.g. Silver Prizm, Refractor, Gold /10, Shadowless, alternate art.
Serial numbering Text
Individual numbering printed on the card, e.g. 23/99, 1/1.
Reference link Link
Web page about this object or its reference entry (catalogue, database, sale).

Grading

Grade and holder of a graded card.

Grading service Choice, or your own
Service that graded and encapsulated the card.
  • PSA
  • Beckett (BGS / BVG)
  • SGC
  • CGC Cards
  • TAG
  • Not graded (raw)
Grade Number, 1 to 10
Numeric grade on the service's 10-point scale, e.g. PSA 10 Gem Mint, PSA 9 Mint, BGS 9.5 Gem Mint, PSA 8 NM-MT.
Grade qualifier Choice
PSA qualifier for a card that misses its grade in one respect, or 'Authentic' for ungradeable cards.
  • None
  • OC (off-centre)
  • ST (staining)
  • PD (print defect)
  • OF (out of focus)
  • MK (marks)
  • MC (miscut)
  • Authentic / altered
Subgrades Text
Subgrades of BGS or TAG, e.g. centering 9.5, corners 9, edges 9.5, surface 10.
Certification number Text
Number on the grading holder (slab) or authentication certificate, to look it up in the service's database.

Condition

Condition notes Text
Faults, wear and damage in detail.

Acquisition

How and when the object came into the collection.

Acquisition date Date
Date the object came into the collection.
Acquisition method Choice, or your own
How the object came into the collection.
  • Purchase
  • Auction
  • Gift
  • Inheritance
  • Exchange / trade
  • Self-collected / found
  • Commission
Acquired from Text
Seller, auction house (with sale and lot number), donor or place where it was found.
Purchase price Amount
Price paid including fees and premiums.
Provenance Text
Earlier owners and the object's history, oldest first, with sources (labels, invoices, sale catalogues).

Value

Estimated and insured value.

Estimated value Amount
Current market value as estimated.
Valuation date Date
Date of the current value estimate.
Valuation basis Choice
What the estimated value is based on.
  • Own estimate
  • Recent sales / auction results
  • Dealer offer
  • Catalogue value
  • Professional appraisal
  • Insurance valuation
Insured value Amount
Sum the object is insured for.

Collection record

Your own inventory data.

Inventory number Text
Your own number or label for the object, e.g. C-0042, as written on its label or album page.
Storage location Text
Where the object is kept, e.g. room, cabinet, drawer, album and page, box.

Standards and References

The data sheets follow the standards collectors, dealers and museums use:

Updated October 24, 2026