Search the identity you confirmed
Use the card name, set, collector number, language and finish. Add the variant when relevant. For a graded card, include the grading company, grade and qualifier. Compare raw copies with raw copies, and graded copies with the same company and grade.
Check that a sale happened
Use the marketplace's sold filter and open individual results. An active asking price is an invitation to buy, not evidence of a completed sale. A listing marked completed may have ended without selling. Check the sold status and sale date rather than relying on the search headline alone.
On eBay, Product Research can show actual accepted Best Offer prices where the ordinary listing may not reveal them. If you cannot establish the amount paid, label the result “price unknown” and leave it out of a numeric comparison. Research access and available data are controlled by the marketplace.
Keep only useful matches
Check the photographs and description against your identity and condition notes. Exclude different languages, finishes, grades and printings. Keep bundles, multi-card lots, sealed products and proxies out of a single-card comparison. Record why you excluded a result so you can explain your decision later.
Keep a small evidence table
For each usable result, record: source or listing reference; sale date; exact version; condition or grade; item price; currency; shipping; and anything uncertain. Try to find at least three genuinely comparable sales. Do not count a suspicious relisting as a separate confirmed sale without checking it.
Keep currencies separate unless you deliberately convert them using a dated exchange rate. Record shipping separately before comparing totals; destination taxes and your own delivery cost may differ. A total with missing shipping is incomplete, not automatically cheaper.
Describe the sample honestly
Look at the range and the middle result rather than selecting only the highest price. With an even number of observations, the median is the average of the two middle prices after sorting. Keep all the underlying rows so one unusual sale does not become the whole story.
Three sales are a research starting point, not a valuation rule. If you find one comparable sale, report one. If you find none, say “no comparable sold results found in this search.” Broader searches can provide context but should stay separate from exact matches. Past sales do not promise your future selling price.
Decide what the evidence supports
Use the result to ask a better question, compare an offer's all-in cost or decide to wait. Your spending limit, the seller's terms and how much you enjoy the card still matter. Keep the date with your note because available evidence changes over time.