TCG PowerTools vs Card Companion for larger card stores

You've got a collection waiting to be checked, prices that need attention and orders to pack before the post goes. Somewhere in the middle of that, you're trying to decide whether different software would make the day easier.

A useful comparison should help you picture doing those jobs. Where would you add the cards? What would happen when one sold? Could the person packing the order find the right copy without calling you over?

TCG PowerTools gives you tools for listing cards, managing inventory and setting prices. Card Companion connects card-specific work to a store running on Shopify. There's overlap, and the right choice depends on which parts of your day need help. Here's how we'd work through it.

Start with a card list from your own shop

Bring something familiar to the demo: a recent delivery, a collection you've bought or a list your team still needs to put online. Include a few cards that usually need a second look.

PowerTools' product overview describes bulk listing, keyboard shortcuts, CSV imports and tools for finding and editing inventory. If listing and maintaining stock takes up most of your time, those are good reasons to try it.

With Card Companion, the job includes creating the products you'll sell through your store. It uses the card catalogue to prepare Shopify products and matches incoming stock to existing linked products. If the product is already linked, quantities go to the matching variant. If it's missing, you can create it from the card record. Our inventory walkthrough shows that process, and the catalogue page explains how printings and variants are organised.

Try a foil and a non-foil copy, a different language, and a card you've already got in stock. Check the quantities, SKUs and locations afterwards. Then ask what happens to a row the software can't match, or a file someone uploads twice. Those small details will matter when you're working through a much bigger pile.

When a card sells, follow the order

Suppose a customer buys your last copy on Cardmarket. You'll want the other listings updated, the order somewhere your team will see it, and enough detail for the picker to find that exact card.

PowerTools' FAQ discusses multiple connected sales channels. It says publishing changes can take seconds to hours depending on volume, and receiving and processing a Cardmarket order can take up to 25 minutes. Ask its team which channels it currently supports and how orders would reach your existing store setup.

Card Companion connects Cardmarket, CardTrader and Mage Cards directly, with eBay connected through Shopify Marketplace Connect.

For a Shopify store, the useful part is where the orders end up: connected marketplace orders arrive alongside online-store orders in Shopify. Your team can work through the same fulfilment queue, using the card records and stock locations. At the counter, Shopify POS handles checkout; Card Companion provides the card records and barcode-label workflows.

Ask both teams to follow a test sale through the whole process, including a delayed update or cancellation.

Try the prices you'd normally check yourself

You probably have cards you're happy to price by a rule, and others you'd rather look at yourself. A good demo should make room for both.

PowerTools describes custom strategies for different groups of inventory. Its enabled pricing bot runs nightly, according to its FAQ; the Pricing Programs guide introduces the configuration.

Card Companion applies your rules to card variants, taking account of details such as condition, language and finish. You can use minimum prices and set individual prices manually. The pricing walkthrough explains how those decisions sit alongside the automated work.

Take a cheap card with a minimum price, an unusual finish and something you've deliberately priced by hand. Ask why each result came out as it did. Check which market data is being used, how often it refreshes and what happens when a reference price is missing. For the manually priced card, ask to see what happens on the next automated update.

Follow a customer buy all the way into stock

Buying a collection gives you another useful way to compare the work. The first offer is only part of it. Someone still has to check the cards, agree what you're taking and make the accepted copies available to sell.

Card Companion's optional Buylist module lets customers submit cards through your store and see estimated offers. Your team reviews condition and quantities, agrees the final offer and moves accepted cards into inventory. Cash and store-credit offers are part of that workflow.

During the demo, change one card's condition and decline another. Follow the accepted lines into stock, and ask how payment or credit is issued. You should leave knowing who does what, and when those cards become available to buy.

Work out what you'll actually pay

Put the costs beside the work you've just seen. Include the software you'll keep using as well as the software you're considering.

Card Companion costs €59 EUR per month plus a percentage-based fee on eligible sales. The fee applies when eligible singles or sealed products created through Card Companion sell. It doesn't apply to unsold stock, accessories, supplies or products not created through Card Companion.

After your demo, we'll confirm the exact rate and work through the cost with you before you decide to start. Our pricing page explains the fee basis and optional modules.

Add Shopify, payment processing, marketplace charges and any migration work to your comparison. Allow for currency and tax differences. If a lower-cost setup does the jobs you need, that's a sensible choice.

If you're paying more to save staff time, write down where that time goes today. An hour less spent correcting stock is useful, but be clear whether it saves overtime, avoids another hire or gives someone time to do another job. If you expect extra sales, work out what remains after the costs of making them.

Try the move before you move everything

Your existing catalogue represents a lot of work. The product links, locations, barcodes and prices your team has built up deserve a careful move.

Card Companion supports PowerTools-format imports. That gives you a way to bring in a card list; it doesn't mean the two systems will stay synchronised, or that every part of your current setup transfers automatically.

Start with a sample you can check by hand. A suggested starting point might be 200 mixed lines, including existing products, missing products and a few uncertain matches. Compare the result with your original list, resolve anything unexpected, then agree a larger test that reflects a busy day in your store.

Before changing over, get clear answers to a few practical questions:

• Who prepares the export and checks the imported stock?
• Which system can change prices and quantities during the move?
• What happens to orders that arrive while you're changing over?
• How do you pause the move or restore the agreed stock position?
• Who can your team contact, at what times, if they need help?

Also ask about staff permissions, training, data exports and the terms for leaving. Put the agreed support and migration responsibilities in writing so the people doing the work have something clear to follow.

Let your team have a go

Bring the person who adds stock, the person who checks prices and someone who packs orders into the conversation. Let them try the jobs they know. Ask where they still need to stop, look something up or call someone over.

If most of the work you want help with is listing and repricing, give PowerTools a proper look. If you want buying, product creation, connected marketplaces and fulfilment to fit around your Shopify store, we'd be happy to show you how Card Companion handles them.

By the end, you should be able to picture your own team using the software. That's a much better place to make a decision from.