Midnight Merchant is an Australian marketplace connecting trading card collectors. We provide a platform where individual sellers can list their cards and buyers can purchase directly from them. We support all major TCG brands including Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Disney Lorcana, and more.
No. Midnight Merchant operates as a Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) marketplace. We connect buyers with independent sellers but do not hold inventory or sell cards ourselves. Each seller manages their own listings, pricing, and shipping.
Our Discord server gives you direct access to the platform owners and developers, plus a vibrant community of collectors. You can troubleshoot issues, discuss market trends, raise bugs, vote on new roadmap features, and stay updated on platform changes. Join us to connect with fellow collectors and help shape the future of Midnight Merchant.
How does shipping work on Midnight Merchant?
Midnight Merchant is a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace where independent sellers fulfill all shipping directly. Each seller has the flexibility to set their own shipping costs based on their chosen shipping preference model.
Shipping is currently available within Australia only. We do not offer international shipping at this time.
When an item is sold, the seller is responsible for handling, packaging, and dispatching the item within 2-5 business days. The buyer will be able to provide feedback to the seller based on their shipping and overall transaction experience.
How much does shipping cost?
Shipping costs are set by individual sellers and vary based on their chosen preference model. The exact shipping cost is always clearly displayed on each product listing and at checkout before you complete your purchase.
Typical shipping costs on our platform:
Note: These are typical rates observed across sellers. Actual costs may vary. Always check the specific listing for exact shipping charges.
What shipping preferences can sellers choose?
Sellers can select from three flexible shipping preference models when configuring their account:
🚚 Bulk Rate Shipping
📦 Per-Item Shipping
📝 Per-Listing Rate Shipping
Override Shipping Preferences:
You can override your default Shipping Preference for any individual listing. For example, if you have enabled Bulk Rate Shipping across your account, you can exclude a specific item and manually set a fixed shipping cost. To do this:
This custom rate will be added as a separate charge during checkout.
For more details, visit our Shipping Policy page.
How long does shipping take?
Total estimated delivery time is 5-12 business days from order placement:
Most sellers dispatch within 2-3 business days, with delivery to metropolitan areas typically faster than regional or remote locations.
Can I choose my preferred shipping carrier?
As a seller, you have the freedom to choose the shipping carrier that best suits your needs. Australia Post is the recommended carrier for reliable and timely delivery throughout Australia.
Can I provide tracking information for shipped items?
Yes - tracking is highly recommended for the best buyer experience. When an item is sold, sellers can add tracking information in the "Sold Items" section of their Account page within the Transaction Hub.
We also recommend adding tracking information to the corresponding PayPal transaction for added buyer protection and transparency.
What if I encounter issues with shipping or delivery?
If you encounter any issues with shipping or delivery, such as delays, damages, or lost packages, please:
Buyers have the option to open a dispute through PayPal Resolution Center if issues cannot be resolved directly.
What fees are involved for Sellers when listing items on your platform?
When listing an item for sale on Midnight Merchant, there are two types of fees applicable to sellers:
💵 Midnight Merchant Platform Fee
💳 PayPal Fee
💡 Why Sell on Midnight Merchant?
How are the Midnight Merchant Platform Fees and PayPal fees deducted from my earnings?
Once your item is sold, the platform fee of 7.5% will be automatically deducted from the listing price sold, and the PayPal Fee is then charged based on the total amount paid.
Example Calculation:
If your item sells for $100 + $10 shipping:
💡 Pro Tip: Worried about fees? Try adjusting your listing price to cover Platform & PayPal fees so you maintain your profit margin. Also check out our Fee's calculator at the end of our homepage!
Are the fees subject to change?
As a transparent platform, we will always strive to provide a clear view of the profit we are making. If there are any changes made to PayPal fees in future, we will need to align to those changes, and may need to add additional costing and fees to run and maintain the platform.
Are there any additional charges on-top of the listing price during checkout?
In some cases, the buyer may be required to pay for:
How does Tax work?
As there can be different tax rules based on the location of buyers and sellers, we have broken down some different scenarios as a guide, based on only accepting Australian sellers:
How can I become a seller on your platform?
To become a seller on our platform, you can sign up using various authentication services (for example: Gmail, Facebook) or provide a valid email address. Once you have registered and logged in, you will be able to start the seller onboarding process.
We currently have two restrictions based on our alpha phase:
Why is a PayPal account required for selling on the platform?
Having a registered PayPal account is essential to facilitate buyer and seller transactions. PayPal is a widely trusted and reliable payment processor, and also provides buyer/seller protection insurance to ensure that you are protected against any scammers, damaged or lost goods.
How do I link my PayPal account to my seller account on the platform?
On your Account page (or during the Listing Creation process) you will be asked to sign in and authenticate your PayPal account. If you already have a registered PayPal account, simply log in using your PayPal credentials. If you don't have a PayPal account, the onboarding process through PayPal will guide you through creating one.
What type of PayPal account do I need for selling, personal or business?
As a seller, you can use either a Personal or a Business PayPal account for transactions on our platform. Just choose the account type that best suits your needs and business model.
How do I know when I've connected my PayPal Account to start selling?
On your "My Account" page, we will indicate to you if we have your information and are ready to sell! If the connection was not successful, a PayPal sign-in box will still be visible to sign in.
A listing has sold, what do I do now?
Congratulations first of all!
When a listing is sold you will receive an email notification first. From there you can navigate to the "My Account" section and "Sold Items" where you can proceed with these steps:
What is the Transaction Hub?
The Transaction Hub is your central management area where you can view, edit, and manage all your listings and sold items. Access it from your Account page under "My Account" → "Transaction Hub".
Managing Listings: All Items vs. Selling
Editing Listings: Single vs. Multiple Edits
In both All Items and Selling, Listings are displayed in a row-based table. You can edit Listings individually or in bulk using the Actions menu.
📝 Editing Multiple Listings
💡 Pro Tip: For the best experience, especially if you're managing 20+ products, we recommend using Desktop. Use the column headers (e.g., Status, Game, Price, Condition) to quickly sort and filter your listings.
✏️ Editing a Single Listing
⚙️ Edit Options in Transaction Hub
Here are the available edit actions:
Edit
Opens the single-item Sell page to update all listing details
Update Price
Change the listing price
Update to Market Price
Automatically set the price based on our market data
Update Quantity
Adjust the number of copies available (includes condition + quantity)
Edit Images
Upload up to 8 images. Listings without images will use a default stock image
Change Currency
Changes the currency of the listing price
Update Shipping Cost
Modify the shipping cost per item or override bulk shipping rates
View Listing
Preview the listing or view it live on the Marketplace
Make on Marketplace
Make the Listing visible to buyers
Hide from Marketplace
Remove the Listing from public view (it stays in All Items)
Delete
Permanently remove the listing from both the Marketplace and Transaction Hub
⚠️ Note: The following options are available for multiple select edits: Update Price, Update to Market Price, Change Currency, Update Shipping Cost, Update Quantity, Show/Hide from Marketplace.
All other options are only available when editing a single listing.
📧 Notifications
👀 Viewing Sold Transactions
📦 Postage & Shipping Status
💡 Pro Tip
Aim to ship items within 2-3 business days after purchase.
If you may be unable to ship promptly, use the Message Buyer option to let them know about the delay. This builds trust and reassures buyers.
What can I currently buy on your platform?
At the present time, sellers are only able to list English Pokemon cards. We are currently in the process of adding more languages, and eventually other TCGs.
How do I find a card on your platform?
On the Marketplace page, you will be able to see a number of cards listed from various sellers. If you are searching for a specific card, use the Search Bar at the top of the page and type in some of the card details. It can be either the card name, card number or even set names. For broader searches, you can use the Filter Panel on the left of the page to navigate through specific card details.
What is important information I should consider before purchasing?
If you have found a card you are interested in purchasing, make sure that you consider these factors:
How do I purchase on your website?
Click on the listing that you are interested in purchasing. This will take you to a page with more detailed information on the listing, and there you will see a "Buy Now" button.
Once clicked, you will be navigated through to our checkout screen.
You will be required to use the PayPal checkout process, where you will have the option of choosing from various payment methods to suit you. PayPal will also handle your shipping address. Once the purchase is confirmed, the order details will be sent to the seller.
Please see our topic on "Fees, Tax and Charges" to know more about additional costs.
When will my purchased item be sent?
Sellers are required to handle and dispatch items within 2-5 business days of purchase confirmation. Most sellers aim to ship within 2-3 business days. The seller will confirm when they have posted the item, along with any tracking information, which is then passed on to you.
What happens if the Seller hasn't posted the items after 5 business days?
If the seller hasn't posted the item/s within 5 business days, we first recommend that you contact the seller through the Transaction Hub messaging, in case there are any issues preventing the postage and to see if a resolution can be reached.
If you are still not happy with the outcome or response of the seller, and you want to request a refund, go to "Purchase History" on your Account page and click "Report Seller". From there we will begin our report process. For purchase refunds, you will be able to request a refund via PayPal. Please see our Returns & Refunds policy for more information.
What do I do once I have received my item?
Congratulations, you have made an excellent addition to your collection!
The final step of the purchasing process is to provide seller feedback. This can be found in "Purchase History" on your Account page. While providing feedback is optional, we highly encourage this step, as this helps to build our community and provides confidence in our buyers.
When dealing with trading cards, there are several different condition types that are commonly used to describe the state and overall quality of the card. Understanding these condition types is crucial for both buyers and sellers to ensure transparent and fair transactions.
Main ungraded card condition types:
It is important to note that card grading is subjective, and opinions of condition can vary between individuals. When listing or buying trading cards on our platform, we encourage sellers to provide clear images and accurate descriptions of the card condition to ensure a fair and positive buying experience for all users. Buyers will also have the ability to provide feedback on the accuracy of your condition description.
Graded cards are cards that have been professionally evaluated and assigned a numeric grade by a reputable grading company. These companies will assess the condition, authenticity, and overall quality of a card, and then provide a standardized and objective rating that will then help collectors and players assess the card's value.
Supported Grading Companies:
Our platform accepts all grading companies, but will also specifically allow you to select the below services:
Grading Scale & Assessment Types:
A grading company will assign your card a score ranging from 1 (Poor) to 10 (Mint). Here are the 4 assessment types:
Some grading companies also offer sub-grading, which breaks down all 4 condition types and provides a score from 1 (Poor) to 10 (Mint) displayed on the slab. Each score is then weighed together to give your overall grade score.
We gather various data points from all over the world wide web to determine the aggregate price of a card. We believe this a better approach to give you an average estimate of an item, as different marketplaces, websites or ecommerce sites can show various different prices for the same card, and we want to make it as simple as possible to know the average price out of all of them.
As of now we are refreshing the data once a month, ideally around the end of the month. This cycle may change in the future.
We would like to refresh once a week, but we will need to gather more sample data. This can be achieved when we see more transactions sold on our website so we can use it to update our data more frequently.
Join the Midnight Merchant community on our Discord server to connect with fellow collectors, get support, and help shape the platform's future!
Join here: https://discord.gg/mGGDspK8YG
What you'll find in our Discord:
Please note that the Discord server has its own set of rules, enforced separately. For more details, refer to the Midnight Merchant Discord rules channel.
Our goal in Midnight Merchant is to make a platform for the community, encouraging buyers, sellers, collectors and players to submit feedback so we can prioritise and grow as a group. We are a relatively small team, so to keep our platform a safe environment for all we love if you can report listings or sellers to keep the streets safe!
Our Discord will house the majority of our communication, polls and interaction with our customers. It's free to join and we love you to be a part of it :)
It is our sellers responsibility to ensure the details of their listings are accurate and honest. Midnight Merchant will enforce remediation on any and all fraudulent seller activities.
Seller responsibilities include:
We do not tolerate listing spamming. If you are a buyer, seller or community member and notice duplicate listings that could indicate fraudulent activities, please use our Report Seller function. We will conduct a case-by-case review to determine the legitimacy of these listings.
Please be aware that sellers may have multiple identical listings due to ownership of duplicate products.
If Midnight Merchant finds listings that do not comply with our Terms and Conditions, we will take appropriate actions to address the issue. This may involve communication with the involved parties and necessary steps to remediate or remove the non-compliant products from our platform.
If you are unhappy with your purchase you have the option to dispute the purchase and potentially receive a refund from the Seller or via PayPal. You need to have valid reasoning for this dispute, as reasons such as "I change my mind" or "I purchased the wrong item" may not hold up for some Sellers.
Valid reasons that will likely receive a refund request:
How do I dispute a purchase?
Initially, you will need to attempt contact with the seller to inform them of the issue. If a refund is negotiated between you and the seller, they can perform this via their PayPal account in order to reverse the payment of your purchase.
If you are still having no luck with the seller (you have received no response, or you feel you still have strong reason to request a refund), you can instigate a dispute via your PayPal account. Please see the PayPal article to help you.
How do I report a seller?
We firstly value our community helping us find inappropriate or scammers on our site. We do however encourage a free market, so Sellers may list items and prices as they wish as long as it doesn't break our community guidelines.
If you find a Seller you wish to report there are 2 areas you can navigate to:
Once you have clicked on "Report Seller" a pop up menu will appear which you have the option to categorize the reason for the report. This is to help us understand what the issue is about.
A notification will come to the Midnight Merchant team to review the reason and the Seller's previous history. It may take us some time to review the issue and contact the seller to get the other end of the story.
Potential outcomes once we review the evidence:
