Market prices & deal badges
How the TCGplayer USD reference price works, how the price ratio is calculated, and what the Hot / Great / Good deal badges mean.
What is "Market Price"?
The "Market Price (USD)" is the TCGplayer market price — the actual price each card is selling for in the US TCG market. For MTG, HiMarket pulls it via Scryfall; Riftbound reference prices come from TCGplayer via dedicated card databases. HiMarket refreshes both several times a day.
- Compare prices: see if HKD prices are good deals
- Stay updated: reference prices refresh several times a day
- Make informed decisions: based on real sales, not list prices
USD prices are for reference only — all actual trading on HiMarket happens in HKD.
How is the price ratio calculated?
For a listing, the ratio is HKD selling price ÷ USD reference price. A lower ratio means a better-value listing. Since the Hong Kong dollar is pegged at around 7.8 to the US dollar, a ratio near x7.8 roughly equals parity with the US market price — anything meaningfully below that is a discount.
Color-coded badges make good listings easy to spot:
| Badge | Ratio | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 🔥 Hot Deal | below x4.8 | Excellent value — far below the US reference |
| ⭐ Great Deal | x4.8 – x6.4 | Very good value |
| 👍 Good Deal | x6.4 – x7.2 | Fair value |
| — | x7.2 and above | Regular pricing — no badge shown |
Tip: you can sort and filter by deal hotness in any browse view — start from All Cards — to quickly find the best-value listings.
How do deal badges work for buylist offers?
Buylist badges use the same ratio (offer in HKD ÷ USD reference) but inverted logic — higher is better for the seller: 👍 Good from x7.5, ⭐ Great from x8.5, and 🔥 Hot from x10.
What are condition-adjusted reference prices?
The TCG market price reflects Near Mint (NM) condition only. Because SP and MP cards are inherently worth less, their deal ratio is calculated against a discounted reference price:
- NM: 100% of TCG market price (no adjustment)
- SP: 85% of TCG market price (~15% discount)
- MP: 70% of TCG market price (~30% discount)
This means an SP card at the same HKD price as an NM card will show a less aggressive deal score — giving you a fairer like-for-like comparison. See the card condition guide for what NM/SP/MP mean.
How are Riftbound Chinese cards priced?
The reference price for Riftbound comes from the English-language US market (TCGplayer), but Chinese Riftbound boosters sell for much less than English ones — so Chinese cards are naturally cheaper. To keep deal badges and pricing tools fair, Riftbound cards in Simplified or Traditional Chinese are judged against 60% of the English reference price.
You'll see this everywhere prices are compared: the card page shows the Chinese fair value next to the English reference, pricing dialogs show the adjusted reference for Chinese versions, and deal ratios divide by the adjusted price. English Riftbound cards (and all MTG cards) are unaffected. Buylist offers only get the adjustment when every accepted language is Chinese.