TCG Authenticity Verification is deepidv's check for trading card marketplaces. From a listing's photos it screens the card for counterfeit signals, estimates its grade, and, for graded cards, confirms the cert against the grader's record. From the same session it verifies the seller's identity and checks them against your ban list. Every result is sealed as a tamper-evident proof with no personal data on chain. One API call, one receipt.

Why this exists

PSA intercepted more than $200 million of counterfeit and altered cards in 2025, a 45.3 percent increase, and put the true figure at over a billion dollars. Fake Pokemon submissions rose 125 percent. The DOJ is charging card fraud rings that ran through online listings. InvestigateTV+ put counterfeit cards on local news across the United States in September 2026.

Grading companies verify cards that are sent to them. Marketplaces verify nothing, or verify sellers by email. The gap is the listing: the moment a photo and a price go live and a buyer decides to trust them. TCG Authenticity Verification closes that gap. The scam taxonomy it defends against is covered in the seven scams every card marketplace has to stop.

What it checks

The card. Photo-based screening reads print pattern, layer alignment, color profile, edge geometry and centering against a reference set for the card, and returns a counterfeit risk score with the signals that drove it. Listings above your threshold are screened before they go live.

The grade. An independent estimate of centering, corners, edges and surface from the listing photos. For raw cards it gives buyers a reference. For graded cards it is compared to the label, and a gap of more than a grade point flags the listing for review.

The slab. For graded cards, the cert number is confirmed against the grader's record, and the record image is matched to the listing image. A real cert number on a different card fails. A fake holder with a cloned QR fails.

The seller. Government ID with document authenticity checks, liveness, and a biometric match, run once at onboarding. One-to-many dedupe compares the seller's face against every banned seller on your platform. Step-up liveness fires when a high-value account changes payout, device or shipping origin.

The proof. Each check is sealed with a signed, Merkle-anchored proof at proof.deepidv.com. The proof holds the result, the time and the check type, and zero personal data. Buyers can verify it. Regulators can verify it.

How it fits your marketplace

• At listing: card screening and grade estimate on every listing above your value threshold, with a badge the buyer can see.
• At onboarding: seller identity, dedupe and payout verification. Meets the INFORM Consumers Act collection and verification requirements for high-volume sellers, and DSA Article 30 traceability for EU traders.
• At risk events: step-up liveness on account changes, so account takeover fails at the moment it would pay off.
• At dispute: the proof receipt shows what was checked and when, which settles most "was this verified" arguments before they start.

It runs beside whatever you already use for payments, escrow and disputes. Nothing is replaced.

Who it is for

Card and collectibles marketplaces, sealed product resellers, consignment platforms, grading submission services, live-selling apps and any peer-to-peer marketplace where buyers trust a photo. The same seller verification runs across every deepidv marketplace deployment, so a platform that sells more than cards is covered by the same integration.

Pricing

Seller verification, dedupe and authenticity checks are priced per check with term and volume discounts, and repeat proof checks are $0.05. Current list pricing is at deepidv.com/pricing. Startups get 500 free checks a month through the startup program.

Get started

Docs are at docs.deepidv.com. Book a walkthrough at cal.com/team/deepidv, or email shawn@deepidv.com. deepidv is SOC 2, ISO 27001 and PCI DSS certified, and a member of DIACC and AVPA.

Suggested read: Vibe-coded TCG grading: build a card grading app fast

Frequently asked questions

Can deepidv verify a trading card from photos?

For screening, yes. Print pattern, layer alignment, color profile, edge geometry and centering are assessed from the listing photos to return a counterfeit risk score and a grade estimate. Physical inspection remains the final word for high-value items, so photo screening decides which listings get physical review.

How does deepidv catch a fake slab with a real cert number?

By image match, not number match. The cert number is confirmed against the grader's record, and the record photo is compared to the listing photo at the pixel level. A cloned cert number on a different card fails the image match.

Does TCG Authenticity Verification also verify the seller?

Yes. The same flow runs government ID, liveness and a biometric match at onboarding, one-to-many dedupe against your ban list, and step-up liveness on risky account changes, which is what the INFORM Act and DSA require of marketplaces.

What is in the proof, and does it contain personal data?

The proof holds the check type, the result and the time, sealed as a signed, Merkle-anchored record at proof.deepidv.com. It contains zero personal data, so buyers and regulators can verify a check happened without exposing anyone's identity.

How much does it cost?

Checks are priced per verification with term and volume discounts, and repeat proof checks are $0.05. Current pricing is at deepidv.com/pricing, and startups get 500 free checks a month.