Trades

TopVault includes a trade tracker for recording exchanges that involve one or more items. Trades are especially useful at collection shows, conventions, or any situation where you are buying or swapping multiple cards at once.

Starting a trade

Tap Start trade from any page that supports it, including the Collection tab, Search tab, or a goal detail view. You can also start a trade from the Scan modal. Once a trade is active, the trade bar appears and stays visible as you navigate the app.

Optionally, you can pre-set a trader name when starting the trade if you already know who you are dealing with.

Adding items to a trade

A trade has two sides:

• Sending: items you are giving up.
• Receiving: items you are acquiring.

To add items to either side, browse or search for them while the trade is active. You can add items from your collection (owned items going out) or from the database (reference items coming in), or scan cards directly into the trade.

Each item in the trade shows an estimated value based on current market data. As you add items, TopVault calculates:

• The total estimated value of what you are sending.
• The total estimated value of what you are receiving.
• Whether the overall trade is above or below estimated market value.

This gives you a quick sense of whether a deal is fair while you are still at the table.

Trade details

Switch to the Details tab in the trade modal to record context about the exchange:

• Trader name: the person or vendor you are trading with.
• Trade code: an identifier for the trader, if they use one.
• Event date: when the trade happened.
• Location: where the trade took place (for example, a show name or shop).
• Description: freeform notes about the trade.
• Photos: attach photos if you want a visual record.

These details are saved with the trade and visible in your trade history.

Associating traded items with goals

Before completing a trade, you can choose to associate the items you are receiving with one or more goals. This means the received items automatically appear in those goals once the trade is finalized, saving you from adding them manually afterward.

Completing a trade

Review the sending and receiving lists, confirm the details, and submit the trade. When a trade completes:

1. Items you sent are recorded as transferred out.
2. Items you received are added to your collection.
3. If you associated goals, the received items are linked to those goals.
4. The trade appears in your transaction history.

Viewing trade history

From the Home tab, open the transactions list to see all past trades. Each entry shows a summary of what was sent and received. Tap a trade to open its detail page, which includes:

• Itemized breakdown of sent and received items.
• Per-item trade values.
• Trader information and notes.
• Links to any associated goals.

Trade history is a useful record for tracking spending, provenance, and where specific items came from.

Trade workflow example

A typical trade at a vendor table looks like this:

1. Tap Start trade on your phone.
2. Browse the vendor's cards. As you pick cards you want, scan or search for each one and add it to the receiving side.
3. Watch the estimated total update as you add items.
4. If you are trading cards from your collection in return, add those to the sending side.
5. Fill in the vendor's name and the show location in the details.
6. Confirm the trade when both sides agree.
7. Your collection updates immediately with the received cards.

For a detailed walkthrough of this scenario, see the Trade at a Show playbook.