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Methodology

How we source and check a number

Every figure on RipsChart has a source link and a checked date. This page explains which sources we use, how we record them, and how often we look again.

Last updated November 12, 2026

The sources we use

We use the most direct source available for each kind of figure, in this order of preference:

  1. Publishers' own pages. Release dates, set lists, product details and announcements come from the game publisher or sports card manufacturer.
  2. Grading-company reports. Monthly grading volumes for PSA, CGC, Beckett, SGC and TAG come from the companies' population reports, as compiled by GemRate and reported by trade press that cites it. Where a company's figure isn't reported for a month, we leave the cell empty and mark it "not reported".
  3. Auction records. Record sale prices come from the auction house's own result page (lot number, hammer or final price, and date). A news story about a sale is used only to find the record, not as the record.
  4. Official statistics. Business counts, police and court figures and trade data come from government statistical agencies and official publications.
  5. Our own public-records requests. Where a figure isn't published, such as reported card thefts, we request it (see below).

We don't use forum posts, social media screenshots, fan wikis or unattributed price aggregators as sources for a figure.

How we record and date figures

  • Each figure is stored as the source states it, in the source's units and currency. Any conversion we make is labelled.
  • Each row has a source link and a checked date: the day we last opened that source and confirmed the number.
  • Monthly series (such as the grading tracker) are updated when the next month is published.
  • Everything else is re-checked at least once a quarter, and whenever we learn a source has changed.
  • If a source disappears, we keep the figure only if an archived copy confirms it, and we link the archive.

Freedom-of-information and public-records requests

Some of our most useful numbers aren't published anywhere. For those we file requests with public bodies: Freedom of Information Act requests in the UK, access-to-information requests to Canadian federal and provincial bodies, and FOIA and state public-records requests in the US.

  • Requests are made in the name of Aashish Khakhar, for RipsChart, and replies go to [email protected].
  • We ask for anonymised, aggregate figures only. We never ask for personal data.
  • On the investigations page we list what we asked, of whom and when, and publish results once replies arrive, including refusals and "information not held" answers.
  • When a body's figures aren't comparable with another's (different date ranges or definitions), we say so next to the numbers.

Corrections

If you think a figure is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] with the page and, if you can, a link to the correct source. We re-check every report. When we change a figure, we update the checked date and add a note on the page saying what changed and when. See the editorial policy for more.

Sources