FAQ

Getting started

What am I actually buying?

A sealed digital pack backed by real, individually identified cards. Opening it allocates one specific card to you — keep it with us, sell it back for store credit, trade it, list it, or have it shipped home.

Is my card already sitting in your vault?

Sometimes, and not always — and we would rather tell you plainly than imply otherwise. Every card in a pool is a real, identified card at a real market price, and it is yours from the moment you pull it. We buy the physical copy and place it in the insured vault either when you ask us to ship it, or when its buy-back window closes, whichever comes first. Cards we already hold are vaulted from day one.

Why: it means we are not sitting on tens of thousands of euros of stock you never asked us to buy, which is what keeps pack prices where they are. What you own is a claim on one specific card, and if we ever cannot source your exact card we tell you and either substitute an equivalent copy or refund you in full — your choice, never ours.

What if you cannot get my card?

We buy raw cards on Cardmarket and graded slabs from the PSA vault store on eBay. If your card is not listed on either when you ask for it, we tell you and you pick: an equivalent copy where one exists, or store credit for the card’s full market value at that moment — if it has gone up since you pulled it, you get the higher number, not the old one.

To be clear about what this does not cover: a card that is available but has become expensive is still your card and you still get it. “We cannot source it” means nobody is selling it, not that we would rather not pay.

How long can I sell a card back?

Three days from the moment you pull it. Inside that window we buy it back instantly at the published percentage of its market estimate, paid in store credit. After three days the card is still 100% yours and nothing about it changes — you can keep it vaulted for free, list it on the marketplace, trade it, or have it shipped home — we just stop being the buyer.

The exact percentage and the time left are shown on the card itself, and that figure is what you get. We say it here because three days is short and you should know it before you buy, not after.

What condition are the cards in?

Every raw (ungraded) card we sell is Near Mint. Slabs are sold at the grade printed on the label.

Centring is not a condition fault: cards come out of the factory off-centre and that is part of the print, not damage. It is reflected in the market price we value the card at.

If a card turns up outside this standard, send us photographs within 14 days of delivery. We pay the return postage, and you choose between putting it back in your vault at full value, an equivalent replacement, or a refund — your choice, not ours.

How do I pay?

Top up by card or iDEAL and you get store credit in euros, which buys packs, cards and shipping. Anything you top up and don't spend can be sent back to the card you paid with, any time.

Is there a signup bonus?

When the banner shows one, yes — the amount lands in your store credit the moment your account is created. It is spend-only credit, like anything you earn in the shop. One per person; farming it across accounts gets all of them closed (§11 of the Terms).

Fairness

How do I know packs are fair?

Before a pack goes on sale we publish its complete card list and seal the pool: the card order is fixed, one draw seed is generated per card, and the fingerprint of every seed is published up front. Your card is picked by the seed for your draw, which is revealed to you with the result. We can't choose your card, because the seeds were fixed before you bought; you can't predict it, because your seed stays secret until you open the pack. Every opening gives you a draw certificate you can recompute in your own browser.

Can TCGBoxes or a streamer get better pulls?

No. Every draw comes from the sealed pool and its pre-published seed, and the certificate proves which seed was used. There is no mechanism to steer a card to anyone — that is the entire reason the pool is sealed before sale.

What does the certificate actually prove?

Three things, each checkable with plain SHA-256: that the seed you were shown is the one whose fingerprint we published before the pack went on sale; that the draw number came from that seed and your own client seed; and that your card is the one that number points at among the cards still in the pool. The full pool file and the recipes are public.

Cards & vault

Where do the physical cards come from?

Graded slabs are PSA-graded, sourced from PSA's official eBay store; raw cards come through the Cardstand catalogue. Cards are sourced just-in-time when you request shipping — that is what keeps selling back instant for everyone else.

Can the certificate number of my slab change?

Yes — because slabs are sourced on demand, the exact cert shown can become unavailable. You then get an equivalent copy: same card, same grade, same grading company. If none exists, you get a coupon for the card's full value. See the Refund Policy.

What is the watchlist?

Tap the ♡ on any card page and it appears under Watchlist — including cards that aren't up for sale.

Money

What is my balance exactly?

Store credit in euros, held in your account and spendable here. It comes in two parts and the screen shows both: credit you paid for, which you can have back at any time on the card you used, and credit you earned in the shop, which buys anything here but is never paid out.

Why can't I cash out what I earned?

Because TCGBoxes is a shop, not a place to turn cards into money. Selling a card back to us is a sale for shop credit — that is what you are agreeing to when you accept the quote. Money you topped up and haven't spent is a different thing entirely, and that always comes back to you on request.

What happens when I sell a card back?

You are credited instantly at the published rate for your card's type (shown on every pack page and on the card itself), and the card returns to our vault.

How do offers and trades work?

When the marketplace is open, collectors can bid store credit, cards from their vault, or both. A new bid must beat the current best bid and our own sell-back quote. The credit behind a bid is reserved until it resolves, and accepted trades settle instantly with no fees.

What are coupons?

Compensation vouchers — issued when a card cannot be sourced, or by support. They sit in your account and redeem into store credit with one click.

Shipping

What does shipping cost?

The live carrier rate at request time (PostNL, DHL, UPS via Sendcloud), multiplied to cover the sourcing leg — the exact price is quoted before you confirm. No hidden fees; import duties on international orders are yours.

How long does it take?

Cards are sourced just-in-time, so allow sourcing plus carrier transit. You get a tracking number the moment the parcel leaves, and delivery updates land automatically.

Trust & safety

What limits protect me?

A default monthly deposit cap (raises always take 24 hours — support cannot override), optional packs-per-week caps, pacing reminders, and the option in Settings to pause your account or close it for good. The full pool and pull rates are published on every pack.

Is TCGBoxes affiliated with Pokémon / Wizards / Disney / Bandai?

No. We are not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by any card maker. All card names and artwork are trademarks of their owners; we sell the physical cards only.

Something looks wrong — who do I tell?

[email protected] — one business day, usually much faster. Suspected security issues are read first.