Parse Title API: Fuzzy Matching for Pokemon Cards

The Problem with Card Data

Users describe cards in countless ways:

• "base set charizard holo"
• "Charizard 4/102 Base Set Unlimited"
• "1999 Charizard Holo Rare"

All refer to the same card! The Parse Title API uses fuzzy matching to find the correct card from natural language descriptions.

Why Parse Title API?

Unique to PokemonPriceTracker: No other Pokemon card API offers fuzzy matching with confidence scoring. This is a competitive advantage for:

• ✅ eBay listing enhancement
• ✅ Marketplace scrapers
• ✅ Bulk card imports
• ✅ Natural language search
• ✅ Collection management apps

Quick Start

curl -X POST https://www.pokemonpricetracker.com/api/v2/parse-title \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "base charizard holo"}'

Response:

{
  "matches": [
    {
      "card": {
        "name": "Charizard",
        "setName": "Base Set",
        "tcgPlayerId": "...",
        "prices": { "market": 450.50 }
      },
      "confidence": 0.95
    }
  ]
}

Use Case: eBay Listing Enhancement

Automatically add pricing data to eBay listings:

const axios = require('axios');

async function enhanceEbayListing(listingTitle) {
  const API_KEY = process.env.POKEMON_API_KEY;

  // Parse the listing title
  const response = await axios.post(
    'https://www.pokemonpricetracker.com/api/v2/parse-title',
    { title: listingTitle },
    {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      }
    }
  );

  if (response.data.matches && response.data.matches.length > 0) {
    const match = response.data.matches[0];
    const card = match.card;
    const confidence = match.confidence;

    return {
      cardName: card.name,
      setName: card.setName,
      marketPrice: card.prices.market,
      confidence: (confidence * 100).toFixed(0) + '%',
      suggestedPrice: (card.prices.market * 1.1).toFixed(2), // 10% markup
      priceRange: {
        low: (card.prices.market * 0.85).toFixed(2),
        high: (card.prices.market * 1.15).toFixed(2)
      }
    };
  }

  return null;
}

// Example
const listing = "Pokemon Charizard Base Set Holo 4/102";
enhanceEbayListing(listing).then(data => {
  console.log(`Suggested Price: $${data.suggestedPrice}`);
  console.log(`Market Price: $${data.marketPrice}`);
  console.log(`Confidence: ${data.confidence}`);
});

Use Case: Bulk Card Import

Process CSV files with card descriptions:

import pandas as pd
import requests

API_KEY = "your_api_key"
API_BASE = "https://www.pokemonpricetracker.com/api/v2"

def parse_bulk_cards(csv_file):
    df = pd.read_csv(csv_file)
    results = []

    for idx, row in df.iterrows():
        card_description = row['Description']

        response = requests.post(
            f"{API_BASE}/parse-title",
            json={'title': card_description},
            headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'}
        )

        if response.ok:
            data = response.json()
            if data['matches']:
                match = data['matches'][0]
                results.append({
                    'Original Description': card_description,
                    'Matched Card': match['card']['name'],
                    'Set': match['card']['setName'],
                    'Market Price': match['card']['prices']['market'],
                    'Confidence': f"{match['confidence'] * 100:.0f}%"
                })

    return pd.DataFrame(results)

# Process file
df = parse_bulk_cards('my_cards.csv')
df.to_csv('matched_cards.csv', index=False)
print(f"Processed {len(df)} cards")

React Marketplace Form Component

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';

interface ParsedCard {
  name: string;
  setName: string;
  marketPrice: number;
  confidence: number;
}

export function CardPriceChecker() {
  const [description, setDescription] = useState('');
  const [result, setResult] = useState<ParsedCard | null>(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);

  const handleCheck = async () => {
    setLoading(true);
    try {
      const response = await axios.post('/api/parse-card', {
        title: description
      });

      if (response.data.matches?.[0]) {
        const match = response.data.matches[0];
        setResult({
          name: match.card.name,
          setName: match.card.setName,
          marketPrice: match.card.prices.market,
          confidence: match.confidence
        });
      }
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Error parsing card:', error);
    } finally {
      setLoading(false);
    }
  };

  return (
    <div className="card-checker">
      <input
        type="text"
        value={description}
        onChange={(e) => setDescription(e.target.value)}
        placeholder="Enter card description..."
        className="input"
      />
      <button onClick={handleCheck} disabled={loading}>
        {loading ? 'Checking...' : 'Check Price'}
      </button>

      {result && (
        <div className="result">
          <h3>{result.name}</h3>
          <p>Set: {result.setName}</p>
          <p>Market Price: ${result.marketPrice.toFixed(2)}</p>
          <p>Confidence: {(result.confidence * 100).toFixed(0)}%</p>
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Confidence Scoring

The API returns confidence scores (0.0 - 1.0):

• 0.9 - 1.0: Excellent match, use with confidence
• 0.7 - 0.9: Good match, likely correct
• 0.5 - 0.7: Moderate match, verify manually
• < 0.5: Poor match, request clarification

Best Practices

1. Always check confidence: Don't blindly use matches below 0.7
2. Handle no matches: Provide user feedback when card isn't found
3. Use specific descriptions: Include set name when possible
4. Batch processing: Group requests to stay within rate limits
5. Cache results: Store successful matches to reduce API calls

API Costs

• Free tier: 100 credits/day
• Parse Title: 1 credit per request
• Perfect for small-scale apps

Upgrade to API tier ($9.99/mo) for 20,000 credits/day.

Related Tutorials

• Python Pokemon Price Automation
• React Native Card Scanner

Get Free API Key →