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. HiMarket pulls this from Scryfall, which in turn syncs from TCGplayer every 24 hours.
- Compare prices: see if HKD prices are good deals
- Stay updated: reference prices refresh daily
- 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 the Marketplace 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.