TCGplayer Shipping Guidelines: Direct by TCGplayer and Store Your Products

Below are step-by-step shipping instructions for Direct by TCGplayer and Store Your Products (SYP) to ensure your packages arrive safely and correctly for each program. These steps contain the information you need to successfully prepare, package, and ship to TCGplayer.

Direct by TCGplayer

Store Your Products

Shipping Materials

Direct by TCGplayer

Direct is our authentication and fulfillment service that handles every aspect of your online orders. Our team of experts takes on the logistics, verification, shipping, and customer service for all eligible orders. When you join the Direct by TCGplayer program, we ship cards on your behalf and generate a Reimbursement Invoice (RI) that lists all cards sold. You then ship the items included in the RI straight to TCGplayer’s world-class Authentication Center in Syracuse, NY to replenish our inventory.

Step-by-step:

Access your RI. RIs are generated weekly by TCGplayer every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and will be pushed to a seller when you’ve made at least $300 in Direct by TCGplayer sales or TCGplayer has completed an order on your behalf that is more than two weeks old. New RIs will contain only items sold since your last RI, and can be found in the “Reimbursement Invoices (RI)” page of the TCGplayer Direct tab or as an alert in your Seller Portal message center. These orders are denoted by the blue Direct by TCGplayer symbol.
Print it. Print the packing slip from the “Reimbursement Invoices (RI)” page of the TCGplayer Direct tab in your Seller Portal and keep it handy for steps 3 and 4. Cards worth $25+ are underlined on your RI. Cards valued over $25 may be sleeved before shipping. Please do not sleeve any cards below $25 in value in your RI shipment to help expedite our receiving process.
Pack it. Pack your cards in the order shown on the RI packing slip, with the slip included in the package. If you need to use multiple team bags or boxes, it is required that you label them in numbered order. If you have empty space in the box, fill the space with packing material such as packing peanuts or packing paper, and ensure the material used doesn't put stress on the cards that can cause damage in transit. See below for proper packing materials. Please note, we do not accept graded cards in cases. Please do not use trading cards that aren’t on your RI to fill extra space.
Ship it. Once you receive an RI, you must ship all listed items to TCGplayer within 24 hours. If you are unable to ship your RI within this timeframe, contact us via the “Message TCGplayer” button on the RI page. Please use the following address and indicate whether it is a RI or Store Your Products order. These must be shipped separately.

TCGplayer RI
5640 E TAFT RD #3267
SYRACUSE NY 13220

Please note: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are not able to accept any “Drop-off” RIs or Store Your Products inventory. Additionally, UPS and FedEx packages may experience an additional 1 – 3 days delay from delivery scan to be received by TCGplayer.
Track It. Tracking your package is a critical step that lets you know when we receive your package and expedites the process in the case of a lost or missing package. At this time, our system only allows for one tracking number to be added per RI. If you need to ship your RI in multiple packages, please contact us via the “Message TCGplayer” button on the RI page and include all of the tracking numbers. Please note: TCGplayer reserves the right to cancel any RI that does not have tracking added, is not in the possession of a mailing service provider within four days and/or is deemed a non-tracked RI (RIs we’ve not been notified have been shipped without tracking), and replace the cards in that Reimbursement Invoice following the method below.

Navigating RI Errors and Discrepancies

In the event of an error or discrepancy with your RI, we will purchase a replacement of the impacted card(s) and charge you the cost of the replacement, which we calculate based on the price you charged for that card from the order in question or the average price the card has sold for in its 50 most recent transactions on the TCGplayer Marketplace.

Errors or discrepancies can include missing cards, condition inconsistencies, and incorrect card or card versions included in an order. Charges associated with any discrepancies can be viewed through the Payment tab of your Seller Portal by clicking into the payment that contains the RI.

When there is a discrepancy in an RI that results in extra cards, wrong versions of a card, or cards that don’t meet our condition guidelines being shipped, we add them to your Seller Extra Inventory (SEI) list. The list of cards in your SEI can be viewed by clicking on “Extra Inventory” in the TCGplayer Direct tab of your Seller Portal. We ship the cards in your SEI to you automatically, free of charge, if your SEI contains 160 or more cards or you have not received your SEI within the past 3 months. Additionally, you may request your SEI to be sent to you at any time.

Store Your Products

Store Your Products is a service provided through Direct by TCGplayer where our team of experts receives your sorted Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon cards and prepares them for sale on your Store Your Products (SYP) account. Our team of experts handles the physical inventory management, fulfillment, verification, shipping, customer service, and fulfills orders on your behalf.

With SYP, you can send products to TCGplayer before waiting for them to appear in a Reimbursement Invoice (RI). TCGplayer will manage all orders from your SYP account, so you don’t have to worry about shipping costs, packaging materials, or labor needed to ship cards after sending your inventory to TCGplayer. This helps open up space in your store, and allows you to manage prices remotely, while we take care of the rest.

Step-by-step:

Download SYP Pull Sheet. The SYP Pull Sheet (a list of cards currently being accepted in SYP) is available for download in the Direct tab on the Seller Portal. You can also upload a file containing your current inventory to generate a list of cards that you currently have that are being accepted (i.e. Match List).
Fill out the SYP Shipment Approval Form. This allows us to review your shipments before arrival. Rejected or unscheduled shipments are subject to refusal by our Authentication Center. Your shipment must have a match rate of 100% to the SYP Pull Sheet. The full requirements for SYP Shipments are listed here.
Fill out the SYP Shipment Scheduler Form. This will be emailed to you when your shipment is approved. This allows us to properly track your package as it travels to our Authentication Center, as well as properly identify it once it arrives.
Pack it. Pack your cards (must be 1000+) in the order shown on the SYP Pull Sheet: Condition (NM-LP-Foils), Set, Alphabetical by Card Name, Condition (NM-LP-Foils). Cards valued over $25 may be sleeved before shipping. Please do not sleeve any cards below $25 in value in your SYP shipment to help expedite our receiving process. If you need to use multiple team bags or boxes, it is required that you label them in numbered order. If you have empty space in the box, fill the space with packing material such as packing peanuts or packing paper, and ensure the material used doesn't put stress on the cards that can cause damage in transit. See below for proper packing materials. Orders of 5,000 cards or less must be shipped in a singular package. Please note, we do not accept graded cards in cases.
Ship it. Ship your SYP Shipments as soon as you submit to the Scheduler Form. Please use the following address and indicate whether it is a RI or Store Your Products order. These must be shipped separately.

Please indicate the Store Name associated with the shipment on the tracking label (either in the return address or as a C/O in the mailing address).

TCGplayer SYP
5640 E TAFT RD #3267
SYRACUSE NY 13220

Shipments must be received by TCGplayer within 10 business days of SYP approval notice.

Please note: Freight shipments can be accommodated but must be arranged as we are not able to accept them at the address above. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are not able to accept any “Drop-off” RIs or Store Your Products inventory.
Track It. Tracking your package is a critical step that lets you know when we receive your package and expedites the process in the case of a lost or missing package.
Inventory Return Requests:
1. You may make 1 return request per traditional calendar quarter. Any additional requests will result in removal from the program.
2. If requesting to remove more than 50% of your SYP inventory, you will be removed from the program.

Shipping Materials:

Below are recommended shipping materials to best secure your package, but we do accept generic packaging.

Padded Flat Rate Envelope.
Medium Flat Rate Box. Be sure to fill the extra space in the BCW box to keep the cards from shifting and use team bags to provide additional protection. Team bags protect the edges of the cards and give them a combined strength in support of each other.
Team Set Bags.
Forever Stamps. We recommend getting Forever versions of each stamp so you don't have to deal with changes to postage charges.

If you're submitting a Trade-In or Reimbursement Invoice, check out our shipping guidelines for best practices on how to package the cards.

Change Log

7/13/22 - Added link to Trade-In and RI shipping guidelines help file.
8/11/22 - Updated SYP shipment required amount to 500 cards.
11/17/22 - Small edit to Store Your Products Pack It instructions.
2/16/23 - Added note about shipping RIs, Sort, and SYP shipments separately.
5/5/23 - Updated Sort and SYP guidelines.
5/8/23 - Updated Sort guidelines.
6/26/23 - Added information about not using sleeves for cards in RI and SYP shipments.
9/12/23 - Updated Sort guidelines.
12/11/23 - Updating info about sleeving cards in RI and SYP shipments.
5/10/24 - Removed information about Sort due to program suspension
5/21/24 - Added information about upcoming SYP program changes.
6/20/24 - Updated SYP program requirements.