Direct by TCGplayer Checklist for Sellers

About

This guide is a reference sheet for sellers in the Direct by TCGplayer program.

Your Direct by TCGplayer Checklist

• ✅ Review the Direct Seller Agreement and Direct by TCGplayer Frequently Asked Questions.
• ✅ Stock up and be prepared for sales! Direct can boost your sales significantly, so you’ll want to be ready for a sudden increase.
• ✅ Familiarize yourself with TCGplayer’s Card Conditioning Standards. This will reduce the amount of discrepancies in your Reimbursement Invoices (RIs) and ensure smooth authentication and review of your products.
• ✅ Price your Direct inventory knowing a product may sell via Direct or the Marketplace. Products sold through Direct do not have a shipping cost applied, so you may need to account for this in your pricing strategy. Most Direct sellers find that including the cost of shipping in the price of their cards is an effective strategy. Any shipping fees you have applied will still be included in your non-Direct orders.

• ✅ Monitor your account for RIs to generate. RIs generate three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when you have $300 in Direct sales, OR when 14 days have passed since your oldest Direct sale, whichever comes first.
• ✅ Pull, pack, and apply tracking to your RIs in the Direct tab of the Seller Portal within 24 hours of generation. We ask you to ship your material as soon as possible in order to keep Direct inventory available for all buyers and sellers utilizing the program. For shipping requirements and suggestions, see TCGplayer Shipping Guidelines: Direct by TCGplayer and Store Your Products.
• ✅ Be sure to apply accurate tracking to your RIs in the Direct tab of the Seller Portal. Tracking allows us to monitor for incoming material, confirm receipt of products, and help you problem-solve if there is a shipment issue. If you have a low value RI that is not cost-effective to ship with tracking, you must contact us for approval to use an alternate shipping method.
• ✅ Pack the products in your RIs in the order listed on the RI packing slip. Shipping your products in the correct order is key to the timely and accurate authentication of your incoming material!
• ✅ Contact TCGplayer if you have a need to combine RIs into a single shipment. We require you to give us a heads up so we can ensure a smooth and error-free check-in process for combined shipments. The preferred method is to ship them separately, but we understand this is not always possible. For more information on combined RI shipments, see the RI Shipment Requirements section of the Direct Seller Agreement.
• ✅ Include a printed copy of the RI packing slip within the RI package itself. This helps us identify and process the shipment as efficiently and accurately as possible.
• ✅ Make sure your RI is with a delivery service within 4 days of generation. Payment is released after the estimated delivery date (EDD) only if we have received the associated RI, so the sooner you get the RI to us, the sooner you get paid! For more information on payment schedules, please see When does TCGplayer issue payments? Additionally, buyers and other sellers in Direct rely on the timely return of products to TCGplayer’s Direct inventory in order to keep products available for purchase.
• ✅ Monitor the delivery of the RI in case of a complication with the delivery service. We monitor for incoming material to the best of our abilities, but if material is taking longer than 30 days to arrive, it may be canceled regardless of its shipment status.

• ✅ Ensure your store’s address information is correct in your “My Details” page in the TCGplayer Admin Panel. This address is needed so we can ship back your Seller Extra Inventory and process important tax forms.
• ✅ Inform TCGplayer if you know you will have a delay with an RI or need to pause your Direct store while you have products listed in your pending RIs. You can view your pending RIs in the Admin Panel by navigating to the TCGplayer Direct tab, selecting “Reimbursement Invoices (RI),” and viewing the information in the “Pending Reimbursement Invoice” section.
• ✅ Monitor your store’s email inbox for messages from TCGplayer regarding issues with shipments. Ensure that you are accepting messages from sales@tcgplayer.zendesk.com so you don’t miss messages about your RIs!
• ✅ If you see a purchase from Direct by TCGplayer, do not ship the order; instead, ship the product(s) in the resulting RI just like normal!

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback you have!

You can download this guide as a PDF here.

Direct by TCGplayer Tips

1. Pro by TCGplayer
   If you are a Pro Seller:
   
   1. Use Quicklist to quickly add your digital inventory with our collectible card scanning software powered by intelligent image recognition.
   2. Use MassPrice to maximize margins with scheduled price updates for your store’s sales channels based on our industry-leading price data.
2. Store Your Products (SYP)
   1. Sellers with multiple RIs generating every week may want to consider applying to our Store Your Products (SYP) program, which allows you to ship your inventory of eligible products to TCGplayer on a cadence of your choosing. Our experts in the Authentication Center pull and ship the orders on your behalf –– all you have to do is ship your cards to us for processing, price your cards, and get paid! For more information on the SYP program, see What is Store Your Products?

Change Log

• 7/23/24 - Removed Buylist information.