Pokemon Card Price API: Complete Developer Guide to Real-Time TCG Data 2025

Building Pokemon TCG applications requires reliable, up-to-date pricing data. Our Pokemon Card Price API provides developers with comprehensive access to real-time market values, historical trends, and detailed card information—powering everything from mobile apps to investment platforms.

This complete guide covers API integration, best practices, and advanced implementation strategies for developers working with Pokemon card data.

Why Use a Pokemon Card Price API?

Real-Time Market Integration

Live Data Benefits:

• Instant price updates from multiple marketplaces
• Historical trend analysis for investment applications
• Market volatility tracking for risk assessment
• Cross-platform comparison for arbitrage opportunities
• Automated portfolio valuation for collection management

Development Advantages

Time-to-Market Benefits:

• No web scraping required - clean, structured data
• Reliable uptime with professional infrastructure
• Consistent data format across all endpoints
• Built-in error handling and fallback mechanisms
• Comprehensive documentation with code examples

API Overview and Capabilities

Core Endpoints

1. Card Pricing Endpoint

GET /api/v1/cards/{cardId}/price

Returns current market price, recent sales data, and price trends

2. Historical Data Endpoint

GET /api/v1/cards/{cardId}/history

Provides price history, volume data, and trend analysis

3. Bulk Pricing Endpoint

POST /api/v1/cards/bulk-price

Efficient pricing for multiple cards in a single request

4. Set Information Endpoint

GET /api/v1/sets/{setId}

Complete set data including cards, rarity, and market overview

5. Search Endpoint

GET /api/v1/search

Advanced search with filters for set, rarity, condition, and price range

Authentication and API Keys

Getting Started:

1. Create account at Pokemon Price Tracker
2. Navigate to API section in dashboard
3. Generate API key with appropriate permissions
4. Configure rate limits and usage alerts

Authentication Header:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
X-API-Version: v1
Content-Type: application/json

Detailed Endpoint Documentation

Card Pricing Endpoint

Request Format:

GET /api/v1/cards/sv3pt5-25/price

Response Structure:

{
  "card": {
    "id": "sv3pt5-25",
    "name": "Charizard ex",
    "set": "Pokemon 151",
    "number": "25",
    "rarity": "Double Rare"
  },
  "pricing": {
    "current_price": 89.99,
    "currency": "USD",
    "last_updated": "2025-07-15T15:30:00Z",
    "7_day_change": 5.2,
    "30_day_change": -2.1,
    "condition": "Near Mint"
  },
  "market_data": {
    "volume_24h": 47,
    "avg_sale_price": 87.45,
    "price_range": {
      "low": 82.00,
      "high": 95.00
    },
    "liquidity_score": 8.5
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "platform": "eBay",
      "price": 89.99,
      "volume": 23,
      "last_sale": "2025-07-15T14:22:00Z"
    },
    {
      "platform": "TCGPlayer",
      "price": 87.50,
      "volume": 18,
      "last_sale": "2025-07-15T13:45:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Historical Data Endpoint

Advanced Query Parameters:

GET /api/v1/cards/base1-4/history?period=6m&interval=daily&condition=nm

Parameters:

• period: 7d, 30d, 3m, 6m, 1y, 2y, 5y
• interval: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly
• condition: mint, nm, lp, mp, hp
• source: ebay, tcgplayer, pwcc, heritage

Response Example:

{
  "card_id": "base1-4",
  "period": "6m",
  "data_points": [
    {
      "date": "2025-01-15",
      "price": 1250.00,
      "volume": 12,
      "market_cap": 15000000
    },
    {
      "date": "2025-01-16", 
      "price": 1275.00,
      "volume": 8,
      "market_cap": 15300000
    }
  ],
  "statistics": {
    "min_price": 1180.00,
    "max_price": 1420.00,
    "avg_price": 1298.45,
    "volatility": 0.158,
    "total_volume": 2847
  }
}

Bulk Pricing Endpoint

Efficient Multi-Card Requests:

POST /api/v1/cards/bulk-price
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "cards": [
    {
      "id": "sv3pt5-25",
      "condition": "nm"
    },
    {
      "id": "swsh7-144",
      "condition": "mint"
    },
    {
      "id": "base1-4",
      "condition": "lp"
    }
  ],
  "include_history": false,
  "include_market_data": true
}

Rate Limit Optimization:

• Single request for up to 100 cards
• Reduces API calls by 99%
• Faster response times
• Lower bandwidth usage

Implementation Examples

JavaScript/Node.js Integration

Basic Price Fetching:

const axios = require('axios');

class PokemonPriceAPI {
  constructor(apiKey) {
    this.apiKey = apiKey;
    this.baseURL = 'https://api.pokemonpricetracker.com/v1';
    this.headers = {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    };
  }

  async getCardPrice(cardId, condition = 'nm') {
    try {
      const response = await axios.get(
        `${this.baseURL}/cards/${cardId}/price`,
        { 
          headers: this.headers,
          params: { condition }
        }
      );
      return response.data;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('API Error:', error.response.data);
      throw error;
    }
  }

  async getBulkPrices(cardList) {
    try {
      const response = await axios.post(
        `${this.baseURL}/cards/bulk-price`,
        { cards: cardList },
        { headers: this.headers }
      );
      return response.data;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Bulk API Error:', error.response.data);
      throw error;
    }
  }
}

// Usage Example
const api = new PokemonPriceAPI('your-api-key-here');

api.getCardPrice('sv3pt5-25')
  .then(data => {
    console.log(`${data.card.name}: $${data.pricing.current_price}`);
  })
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

Python Integration

Flask Application Example:

import requests
import json
from flask import Flask, jsonify

class PokemonPriceAPI:
    def __init__(self, api_key):
        self.api_key = api_key
        self.base_url = "https://api.pokemonpricetracker.com/v1"
        self.headers = {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
            "Content-Type": "application/json"
        }
    
    def get_card_price(self, card_id, condition="nm"):
        url = f"{self.base_url}/cards/{card_id}/price"
        params = {"condition": condition}
        
        response = requests.get(url, headers=self.headers, params=params)
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()
    
    def get_price_history(self, card_id, period="30d"):
        url = f"{self.base_url}/cards/{card_id}/history"
        params = {"period": period, "interval": "daily"}
        
        response = requests.get(url, headers=self.headers, params=params)
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

app = Flask(__name__)
price_api = PokemonPriceAPI("your-api-key")

@app.route('/card//price')
def card_price(card_id):
    try:
        data = price_api.get_card_price(card_id)
        return jsonify(data)
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        return jsonify({"error": str(e)}), 500

@app.route('/card//chart')
def price_chart(card_id):
    try:
        history = price_api.get_price_history(card_id, "6m")
        return jsonify(history)
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        return jsonify({"error": str(e)}), 500

React/Frontend Integration

Real-Time Price Component:

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

const CardPriceTracker = ({ cardId }) => {
  const [priceData, setPriceData] = useState(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const fetchPrice = async () => {
      try {
        const response = await axios.get(`/api/cards/${cardId}/price`, {
          headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.REACT_APP_API_KEY}`
          }
        });
        setPriceData(response.data);
        setLoading(false);
      } catch (err) {
        setError(err.message);
        setLoading(false);
      }
    };

    fetchPrice();
    
    // Set up real-time updates every 5 minutes
    const interval = setInterval(fetchPrice, 300000);
    return () => clearInterval(interval);
  }, [cardId]);

  if (loading) return Loading price data...;
  if (error) return Error: {error};

  return (
    
      ### {priceData.card.name}


      
        ${priceData.pricing.current_price}
      
      
        7d: {priceData.pricing['7_day_change'] > 0 ? '+' : ''}
        {priceData.pricing['7_day_change']}%
      
      
        Volume: {priceData.market_data.volume_24h}
        Liquidity: {priceData.market_data.liquidity_score}/10
      
    
  );
};

export default CardPriceTracker;

Rate Limits and Optimization

Rate Limit Structure

Free Tier:

• 1,000 requests per month
• 100 requests per day
• 10 requests per minute
• Bulk endpoint: 50 cards per request

Professional Tier:

• 50,000 requests per month
• 5,000 requests per day
• 100 requests per minute
• Bulk endpoint: 100 cards per request

Enterprise Tier:

• Unlimited requests
• Custom rate limits
• Dedicated infrastructure
• Priority support

Optimization Strategies

1. Efficient Batching:

// Instead of multiple single requests
const prices = await Promise.all([
  api.getCardPrice('card1'),
  api.getCardPrice('card2'),
  api.getCardPrice('card3')
]);

// Use bulk endpoint
const prices = await api.getBulkPrices([
  { id: 'card1', condition: 'nm' },
  { id: 'card2', condition: 'nm' },
  { id: 'card3', condition: 'nm' }
]);

2. Intelligent Caching:

class CachedPokemonAPI {
  constructor(apiKey, cacheTimeout = 300000) { // 5 minutes
    this.api = new PokemonPriceAPI(apiKey);
    this.cache = new Map();
    this.cacheTimeout = cacheTimeout;
  }

  async getCardPrice(cardId) {
    const cacheKey = `price_${cardId}`;
    const cached = this.cache.get(cacheKey);
    
    if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp  ({
      id: item.cardId,
      condition: item.condition,
      quantity: item.quantity
    }));

    const prices = await this.api.getBulkPrices(cardIds);
    
    let totalValue = 0;
    const detailedBreakdown = [];

    prices.cards.forEach((card, index) => {
      const quantity = portfolio[index].quantity;
      const cardValue = card.pricing.current_price * quantity;
      totalValue += cardValue;
      
      detailedBreakdown.push({
        name: card.card.name,
        quantity,
        unitPrice: card.pricing.current_price,
        totalValue: cardValue,
        dayChange: card.pricing['7_day_change']
      });
    });

    return {
      totalValue,
      breakdown: detailedBreakdown,
      lastUpdated: new Date().toISOString()
    };
  }
}

Market Analysis Tools

Trend Detection Algorithm:

def analyze_market_trends(api, card_list, period="30d"):
    trends = {}
    
    for card_id in card_list:
        history = api.get_price_history(card_id, period)
        prices = [point['price'] for point in history['data_points']]
        
        # Calculate trend metrics
        initial_price = prices[0]
        final_price = prices[-1]
        price_change = ((final_price - initial_price) / initial_price) * 100
        
        # Calculate volatility
        mean_price = sum(prices) / len(prices)
        variance = sum((p - mean_price) ** 2 for p in prices) / len(prices)
        volatility = (variance ** 0.5) / mean_price * 100
        
        trends[card_id] = {
            'price_change': price_change,
            'volatility': volatility,
            'trend': 'bullish' if price_change > 5 else 'bearish' if price_change  6) {
        opportunities.push({
          cardId: card.id,
          name: card.name,
          currentPrice,
          avgPrice,
          discount: ((avgPrice - currentPrice) / avgPrice) * 100,
          liquidityScore: priceData.market_data.liquidity_score
        });
      }
    }

    return opportunities.sort((a, b) => b.discount - a.discount);
  }
}

Error Handling and Monitoring

Comprehensive Error Management

Error Response Format:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "CARD_NOT_FOUND",
    "message": "Card with ID 'invalid-id' not found",
    "details": {
      "card_id": "invalid-id",
      "suggestion": "Check card ID format (set-number)"
    },
    "timestamp": "2025-07-15T15:30:00Z",
    "request_id": "req_1234567890"
  }
}

Common Error Codes:

• RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED: Too many requests
• INVALID_API_KEY: Authentication failed
• CARD_NOT_FOUND: Card ID not in database
• INVALID_PARAMETERS: Malformed request
• SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE: Temporary service issues

Monitoring and Analytics

Usage Tracking:

class APIMonitor {
  constructor(apiKey) {
    this.api = new PokemonPriceAPI(apiKey);
    this.metrics = {
      requests: 0,
      errors: 0,
      responseTime: []
    };
  }

  async monitoredRequest(endpoint, params) {
    const startTime = Date.now();
    this.metrics.requests++;

    try {
      const result = await this.api[endpoint](params);
      const responseTime = Date.now() - startTime;
      this.metrics.responseTime.push(responseTime);
      return result;
    } catch (error) {
      this.metrics.errors++;
      throw error;
    }
  }

  getMetrics() {
    const avgResponseTime = this.metrics.responseTime.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / this.metrics.responseTime.length;
    
    return {
      totalRequests: this.metrics.requests,
      errorRate: (this.metrics.errors / this.metrics.requests) * 100,
      averageResponseTime: avgResponseTime,
      successRate: ((this.metrics.requests - this.metrics.errors) / this.metrics.requests) * 100
    };
  }
}

Security Best Practices

API Key Management

Environment Variables:

# .env file
POKEMON_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
API_BASE_URL=https://api.pokemonpricetracker.com/v1

Secure Key Storage:

// Never expose API keys in frontend code
// Use environment variables or secure configuration
const apiKey = process.env.POKEMON_API_KEY;

// For frontend applications, proxy through your backend
app.get('/api/card-price/:id', authenticateUser, async (req, res) => {
  const price = await pokemonAPI.getCardPrice(req.params.id);
  res.json(price);
});

Request Validation

Input Sanitization:

import re

def validate_card_id(card_id):
    # Expected format: set-number (e.g., "base1-4", "sv3pt5-25")
    pattern = r'^[a-zA-Z0-9]+-[0-9]+[a-zA-Z]*$'
    return re.match(pattern, card_id) is not None

def sanitize_condition(condition):
    valid_conditions = ['mint', 'nm', 'lp', 'mp', 'hp']
    return condition.lower() if condition.lower() in valid_conditions else 'nm'

Production Deployment

Scalability Considerations

Connection Pooling:

const axios = require('axios');
const Agent = require('agentkeepalive');

const api = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.pokemonpricetracker.com/v1',
  timeout: 30000,
  httpAgent: new Agent({
    keepAlive: true,
    maxSockets: 100,
    maxFreeSockets: 10,
    timeout: 60000,
    freeSocketTimeout: 30000
  })
});

Load Balancing:

class LoadBalancedAPI {
  constructor(apiKeys) {
    this.apiKeys = apiKeys;
    this.currentIndex = 0;
  }

  getNextAPIKey() {
    const key = this.apiKeys[this.currentIndex];
    this.currentIndex = (this.currentIndex + 1) % this.apiKeys.length;
    return key;
  }

  async request(endpoint, params) {
    const apiKey = this.getNextAPIKey();
    // Make request with rotating API key
    return this.makeRequest(apiKey, endpoint, params);
  }
}

Conclusion: Building with Pokemon Card Data

The Pokemon Card Price API enables developers to create sophisticated applications leveraging real-time market data. Success with the API requires:

1. Efficient request patterns using bulk endpoints
2. Proper error handling for robust applications
3. Intelligent caching to optimize performance
4. Security best practices for API key management
5. Monitoring and analytics for production reliability

Key Benefits:

• Reduced development time with ready-to-use data
• Real-time accuracy for pricing applications
• Scalable infrastructure supporting growth
• Comprehensive documentation for rapid integration

Getting Started: Sign up for API access at Pokemon Price Tracker and begin building your Pokemon TCG application with professional-grade market data.

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Start building with our Pokemon Card Price API - comprehensive documentation, code examples, and dedicated developer support included.