How to trade cards on Amber Road, step by step

Amber Road Trades help you find who has the card you want and wants one of yours. They are free, with no fees and no middleman: you agree between collectors, and we moderate. Here is the whole path, from the first card you offer to the review.

In short

A trade on Amber Road has five steps. None of them asks you to pay anything on the site.

  • Add your cards to your collection and press “Trade” on the ones you want to give away.
  • Add the cards you want from their page in the catalog.
  • Open Trades, choose a card and press “Propose a trade”: choose which card of yours you give in exchange.
  • Agree in chat on condition, photos and shipping, then ship.
  • When you both received the cards, mark the trade as concluded and review each other.

1. Prepare your collection

Open a card in the catalog and add it to your collection with its print, language and condition: be precise, because that is what the other person expects to receive. If you like, upload photos of your real card, front and back.

Only you see your collection. Only the cards you switch “Trade” on for become public: you find the switch on the card's page and in “My collection”. You can withdraw one at any time.

2. Say what you want

Every card page has the box “Looking for this card in a trade?”: add it choosing variant and language, or leave “any”. Your list appears on your profile and in Trades → Wanted.

Trades → For you shows who offers exactly the cards you want. The “Mutual trade” label means that person also wants a card you offer: those are the easiest trades to close.

3. Make the proposal

Press “Propose a trade” on the card you are interested in. A page opens with two lists: your collection on the left, the cards the other person offers on the right. Choose the card you give and the one you want: at the bottom you see the two market values and the difference.

Values are for Near Mint cards and are indicative: a worn card is worth less. They help you judge whether the trade is balanced, not set a price. If the gap is large, propose a different card or talk about it in chat.

Once the proposal is sent the chat opens, with the two cards on show. The other person gets an email and sees only the card you proposed, not the rest of your collection.

Whoever receives the proposal can accept or decline it with a button. Once it is accepted, the chat shows the steps to follow: addresses, photos, parcel, shipping, opening.

4. Agree in chat

Before shipping, settle everything in writing, in the chat: that is where the record of what you decided stays.

  • Ask for photos of the real card, front and back, in good light: corners, edges and surface.
  • Confirm the condition on the same scale (Near Mint, Excellent, Good…): Cardmarket's has example photos.
  • Decide how to ship (tracked is better), by when and who ships first. A trade always happens by post: addresses are required.
  • Look at the other person's profile: reviews, completed trades, how long they have been a member.
  • With people you don't know, start with low-value trades.

5. Ship well

Put the card in a soft sleeve and then in a toploader or between two pieces of stiff card, held with paper tape that does not touch the card. Use a padded envelope and write the address legibly.

Photograph the card and the closed parcel before shipping, and keep the receipt with the tracking code: enter it in the trade (step 4 in the chat) as soon as you have it, so the other person can track the parcel. They are your evidence if something goes wrong.

Addresses are not written in the chat: after the acceptance each of you enters yours in the trade. You see them only when you both entered yours, on a label ready to print and stick on the parcel, and they are deleted when the trade is concluded.

6. When the card arrives

Open the parcel calmly and, if the card is worth something, film or photograph the opening. Check that it is the agreed card (print, language, number), that the condition matches and that it is genuine: the guide on fake cards lists the checks.

If something is off, write it in chat at once with photos and look for a solution between you: it is often a misunderstanding about condition.

7. Confirm and review

The “Trade concluded” button becomes active 24 hours after the proposal is accepted: the cards cannot have arrived before. When you both received them, one of you presses it in the chat and the other confirms. Only then can you review each other, one to five stars with a comment: it is public on the profile and cannot be edited.

Reviews are what makes a profile trustworthy: always leave one, and make it honest.

If something goes wrong

Amber Road does not receive the cards, does not check them and handles no payments or shipping: the trade is an agreement between the two of you and each answers for what they promise and send. We moderate.

If the other person does not ship, sends a fake or different card, or disappears, press “Report” on their profile or in the chat, choose “Scam” and write what evidence you have. While the report is open, staff can read the chat between you. With concrete evidence (chat, photos, receipt, tracking) the scammer's account is closed at once and for good.

We cannot recover cards or force anyone to ship: for that, in serious cases, you can also turn to the authorities.

Go to Trades →

Frequently asked questions

Does trading on Amber Road cost anything?
No. Trades are free, with no fees: no payment takes place on the site. You only pay for your own shipping.
Does Amber Road guarantee the trade?
No. Amber Road puts collectors in touch and moderates, but it does not receive or check the cards and is not a party to the trade. That is why reviews, photos, tracked shipping and starting with small trades matter.
Who ships first?
You decide in chat. Usually the member with fewer reviews or the newer account ships first; or you both ship on the same day and send each other the tracking code right away.
The cards are not worth the same: can I add money?
Trades are card for card: even out the difference with another card. Don't send money to people you don't know: Amber Road handles and protects no payment.
Do other people see my whole collection?
No. They see only the cards you switched “Trade” on for, the cards you want and the card you propose in a trade. The rest of your collection and its value are seen by you alone.
What happens to scammers?
If the report is backed by concrete evidence, their account is closed at once and for good, with no warnings. Anyone who believes the decision is wrong can contest it by writing to support@amberroadtcg.com.

Sources

Sources last read on October 8, 2026. Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are trademarks of their respective owners. Amber Road is an independent site: it is not a party to trades between users and does not guarantee their outcome. The full rules are in the Terms and conditions.