Documentation

Rare Index Knowledge Base

Learn how the platform works, where our data comes from, how we calculate valuations, and how to get the most out of Rare Index.

Platform Overview

Rare Index is a market intelligence platform for collectible assets, offering real-time valuations, performance tracking, and ROI benchmarking against traditional financial markets. Think of it as the Bloomberg Terminal for collectibles.

Core Capabilities

  • Real-time valuations — Fair market value estimates for cards, watches, and toys
  • Category indices — RI Cards Index, RI Watches Index, RI Toys Index, and Global RI Index
  • Portfolio tracking — Monitor your holdings and compare performance vs S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow
  • RI Certified — Provenance registry linking third-party certifications to digital records
  • Market news — Curated news and trends from the collectibles industry

Data Sources

Rare Index aggregates pricing and metadata from trusted third-party providers. These external sources determine the accuracy and scope of our valuations.

Collectibles Data

🧱

BrickEconomy Live

LEGO set metadata, release/retire dates, new/used market values, forecasts, growth metrics, and historical price events.

⌚

TheWatchAPI Live

Brand lists, model references, market pricing from thousands of online listings, case materials, movements, and production years for Rolex, Omega, AP, Patek Philippe, and more.

🃏

Trading Card APIs Live

Pokémon, sports cards, and TCG pricing from curated APIs. PSA population data and eBay sold listings planned.

Financial Market Data

📈

Financial Modeling Prep Live

S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones, BTC, ETH, and commodities for benchmarking collectible ROI against traditional markets.

News & Market Sentiment

📰

NewsData.io Live

LEGO news, watch market updates, TCG drops, marketplace trends, and luxury goods commentary displayed in the News tab.

Valuation Methodology

Rare Index aggregates raw data, normalizes fields across categories, and computes fair market values using a weighted approach.

Fair Market Value (FMV)

Each item's FMV is calculated based on:

  • API market values from our data providers
  • Historical price trends and recent sales
  • Category-specific adjustments (condition, rarity, demand)
  • Normalization rules across multiple pricing sources

⚠️ Important Disclaimer

All valuations are estimates only and do not constitute financial advice. Values may differ significantly from actual sale prices. See our full Valuation Disclaimer.

RI Indices

Rare Index calculates category-level and global indices to track overall market performance.

Category Indices

  • RI Cards Index — Weighted performance of top trading cards
  • RI Watches Index — Median model price trends across major brands
  • RI Toys Index — Average weighted growth of top LEGO sets and collectible toys

Global RI Index

A composite index combining all category indices, weighted by market representation. Updated daily via our ETL pipeline.

Index Calculation

Indices are calculated using a curated universe of 128 high-value, high-liquidity items per category. This focuses on items collectors actually care about while respecting API rate limits.

Portfolio Management

Each user has their own secure portfolio stored in Snowflake. Add items, track performance, and compare against market benchmarks.

Portfolio Features

  • Add, edit, and remove items across categories
  • Auto-valuation using real-time API data
  • ROI calculations: (current_value - purchase_price) / purchase_price
  • Benchmark comparisons vs S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow, BTC, and ETH
  • Historical performance tracking over time

Asset Fields

Each portfolio item can include:

  • Name, category, model/set/reference number
  • Certification authority (PSA, CGC, Beckett, etc.)
  • Purchase price and date
  • Photos and notes
  • Current RI Value and ROI

RI Certified™

RI Certified is the collectibles world's version of Carfax — a provenance and certification registry that links physical items to verified digital records.

What's Included

  • RI Serial Number — Unique identifier (e.g., RI-CRD-2025-000123)
  • Verified certification — PSA, CGC, BGS, Chrono24 data preserved
  • Provenance timeline — Ownership and certification history
  • Digital COA — Certificate of Authenticity
  • RI Smart Card — Physical NFC/QR card linking to the digital record

Important Note

Rare Index does not grade or authenticate items. We record and display data from established third-party authorities. The presence of an item in the Registry does not guarantee authenticity.

Security & Authentication

  • All login/authentication handled via Auth0
  • Passwords are never stored by Rare Index
  • Portfolio and certificate data encrypted in Snowflake
  • API keys stored securely in environment variables
  • Nightly ETL pipeline for data freshness

API Reference Coming Soon

Public API access is planned for a future release. Below is a preview of the planned structure.

Authentication

The API will use API keys initially, with OAuth 2.0 support for third-party integrations.

x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

Base URL

https://api.therareindex.com/v1

Planned Endpoints

GET /items

Search items across categories. Query params: category, search

GET /indexes

Returns current values for all RI indices.

GET /indexes/{category}

Returns index time series for a specific category.

GET /certifications/{serial}

Public verification endpoint for RI Certified items.

Interested in API Access?

For early access, data licensing, or integration inquiries, contact us at support@therareindex.com.