partner playbook · v1

The Bind
Partner Guide.

Everything a Local TCG Partner needs to onboard, list, sell, and delight collectors on the Bind marketplace.

Pages

9 chapters

Read time

~25 minutes

Audience

Shop owners

Edition

2026

tap · trade · trust

contents

What's inside.

01
Welcome to Bind
What you signed up for, what to expect
02
Getting started
Install the app, log in, complete your store profile
03
Taploaders, explained
What the chips do, how to bind a card to one
04
Listing cards
From shelved to listed, pricing, descriptions
05
Online reservations
Buyers locking in cards for pickup
06
POS checkout
The cart, scanning items, customer ID, completion
07
Accepting payment
Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, Cash — and how the QR works
08
Daily routine
Opening up, restocking, end-of-day
09
Help & FAQ
Common questions, escalation, contact us

01

chapter one

Welcome to Bind.

Bind is a hyperlocal TCG marketplace, starting with Pokémon. Collectors in your neighborhood (default 15-mile radius) browse listings, reserve cards online, then walk into your shop to pick them up. You ring up the sale at the counter, take payment, and the card moves into the collector's vault — physically and digitally in the same moment.

The product is built around Taploaders: regular toploader sleeves with a small NFC chip embedded inside. Each one carries a URL on the chip. Anyone with a phone can tap a Taploader and see what card is inside, who currently owns it, what it's listed for, and where they can pick it up. As cards trade, the URL updates automatically — no rewriting needed.

As a partner, you're the trust anchor in your area. Collectors treat your shop as a verified pickup point. We send you the Taploaders, you bind your inventory, and you become discoverable to every collector who opens the Bind app within range.

02

chapter two

Getting started.

Once your application is approved, you'll get a welcome email with your invite link, a starter pack of 100 Taploaders shipped to your address, and a one-line instruction to download the Bind iOS app.

01
Download Bind on iOS
Search "Bind" in the App Store or use the link in your welcome email. Currently iOS only — Android is on the roadmap. iOS 16+ required for NFC.
02
Sign in with the email we approved
Use the same email address on your application. Tap "Sign in," enter the magic link we sent, and your TCG Partner account is live.
03
Complete your Store Profile
Tap You → Store profile. Enter your store name, address (used for the hyperlocal feed), hours, and a short bio. Collectors see this when they tap one of your listings.
04
Set your payment handles
You → Payment handles. Enter your Venmo username, PayPal.Me handle, and Zelle email/phone — whichever you accept. The POS shows customers a QR code with these baked in at checkout.
05
Open the box of Taploaders
Inspect a few. Each is a standard toploader with an NFC chip embedded near the top. They're ready to bind cards — no setup on your end.

03

chapter three

Taploaders, explained.

A Taploader is a Bind-issued toploader with an NFC chip inside. The chip carries a URL like tcg-bind.app/t/abc123. That URL is permanent — it doesn't change when the card inside changes. Instead, our server resolves the URL to whatever card and owner the Taploader is currently bound to.

To "bind" a Taploader means to associate it with one of your vault items in the app. Each sleeve can hold one card at a time. Customers tap it with their phone and instantly see exactly what they're looking at.

Binding a card to a Taploader

01
Add the card to your vault
Vault tab → Scan (the camera button) → photograph the card. The app identifies it. Confirm condition and any grade info, then save.
02
Find it in the Shelved tab
New cards land in Shelved (inventory you have but haven't listed yet). Each row has a Bind button next to List.
03
Tap the Bind button
iOS pops the NFC sheet. Hold your iPhone near the top of a fresh Taploader. The app reads the chip and links it to the card. You'll see "Bound" confirmation.
04
Slide the card into the sleeve
Slide the physical card into the Taploader. From this point on, anyone tapping that sleeve will see this card in the Bind app.

04

chapter four

Listing cards.

Listing a card means publishing it to the Bind marketplace. Collectors within 15 miles of your shop see it in their Discover feed. They can reserve it for pickup (Chapter 5) or just walk in (Chapter 6).

01
From Shelved, tap List
Every shelved row has a blue List button. Tapping it opens the price + description sheet.
02
Set your price
The app suggests a market price pulled from TCGplayer. Override freely — you know your market better than the database. We don't take a cut on listing price.
03
Add a short note (optional)
One line about condition specifics, recent grade, etc. Keep it scannable — collectors are skimming feeds.
04
Publish
Tap List. The card moves from Shelved → Listed in your vault. Within 30 seconds it shows up in the feed for nearby collectors.

05

chapter five

Online reservations.

A collector finds your listing on Discover, taps it, and chooses a pickup window from your published store hours. The card is now reserved for them. You get a notification. They show up; you ring it up at the counter.

What you'll see on your side

01
Reservation notification
Push notification fires the moment a reservation lands. Includes the buyer's name, the card, the price, and the chosen pickup time.
02
The card shows up in Vault → Reserved
Pull the card off your shelf and set it aside if you want. Reserved cards aren't visible to other buyers anymore — it's locked for this customer.
03
Buyer can message you
They can ping you in the in-app chat with delay notices or questions. Reply right in the thread.
04
Pickup window arrives
When the buyer shows up, jump to Chapter 6 — POS checkout. Reservations finalize through the same checkout flow as walk-ins.

06

chapter six

POS checkout.

The POS is where every sale closes — whether it started online (Chapter 5) or a customer walked in off the street. Same cart, same flow, same buttons.

01
Open POS
Dashboard → Scan tag. The iOS NFC sheet opens automatically.
02
Identify the customer (optional)
If the buyer has a Bind account, ask them to show their Customer ID QR (Bind app → You tab). Tap "Scan QR" in your POS to read it. If they don't have an account, leave it as Anonymous — it'll be a cash sale.
03
Tap each card's Taploader
Each tap adds the card to the cart. Reservations auto-recognize and add as "RESERVED." Walk-in cards add as standard. If a tag is reserved for a DIFFERENT customer, the POS refuses with a clear error.
04
Review the cart
Cart shows every item with its price. Tap a row to remove. Subtotal updates live at the bottom.
05
Tap Complete Sale
The payment sheet opens. Ask the customer how they want to pay, tap the matching button, show them the QR. Watch your Venmo/PayPal/etc. for the payment to land.
06
Tap "Customer paid"
Only after you've confirmed payment on YOUR phone. This closes the sale, transfers the card to the customer's vault, and (if Taploaders were used) transfers the sleeves to them.

07

chapter seven

Accepting payment.

Bind doesn't process payments. We don't take a cut. You collect money directly via your payment app of choice. The POS just helps the customer pay the right amount to the right person without typing anything.

How the QR works

You set up your handles once (You → Payment handles). When you complete a sale, the POS shows the customer a QR with the total amount and a "Bind sale · 3 items" note already filled in. They scan it with their iPhone camera. Their Venmo / PayPal app opens with everything pre-filled. They tap Send. You watch it land.

01
Venmo
Most common payment method for collectors. Set your Venmo username (without the @) in Payment handles. Customer scans → Venmo opens → they tap Pay.
02
PayPal.Me
Slightly less common but reliable. Your PayPal.Me handle is the slug at the end of paypal.me/<handle>. Customer scans → PayPal opens.
03
Zelle
Some banks treat Zelle as a contact, not a deep link. Bind QRs encode your Zelle email or phone — the customer scans, copies the contact, and pays via their bank app manually.
04
Cash
Always available, no QR needed. Tap "Cash" → screen shows a big "Cash received?" button. Confirm once the bills are in hand.

08

chapter eight

Daily routine.

Most partners settle into a rhythm within a week. Here's the typical opening, mid-day, and closing pattern that works.

Opening

01
Glance at the Dashboard
See overnight reservations, new messages, any pending pickups for the day.
02
Pull reserved cards aside
Anything in Vault → Reserved goes in a "ready for pickup" stack near the register. Saves time when the customer arrives.

During the day

01
Add new inventory as it comes in
Scan cards into the vault as you receive them. Bind a Taploader to anything you plan to keep on display.
02
List the new arrivals
Within a few minutes of scanning, the listing goes live on Discover. Aim to list within the same day.
03
Reply to messages within a few hours
Collectors expect a same-day reply. The faster you respond, the higher your conversion rate from inquiries to sales.

Closing

01
Check the day's sales history
Dashboard → Sales history. See your day's GMV and confirm payment landed for every sale.
02
Restock the case
Move any new Taploaders to the display, pull anything sold.

09

chapter nine

Help & FAQ.

Frequently asked

What does Bind take per sale?

During the launch period, $0. Zero listing fees, zero transaction fees. We'll introduce a small percentage later, only AFTER your shop sees a revenue lift.

What if a customer disputes a card's condition?

Bind sales are in-person — the customer inspected the card before paying. If a real dispute arises (PSA grade off, sleeve damaged), reach out to us at partners@tcg-bind.app and we'll mediate.

I lost a Taploader. Can it be reused?

Yes. Open the bound card's detail modal in your vault → Unbind. The sleeve becomes free again. We can also remotely revoke a Taploader if you ask us to.

What if my Wi-Fi goes down mid-checkout?

The POS won't be able to complete the sale. Take cash payment for the cart, write down the cards, and reconcile in the app when you're back online. We're working on offline support.

Can collectors haggle?

Yes. The in-app message thread supports offers — buyer proposes a price, you accept/counter/decline. Once accepted, the listing reserves at the agreed price.

How do I leave Bind?

Open partner support, tell us. You keep your Taploaders. Your listings come down, customer relationships are yours. No lock-in.

email support

partners@tcg-bind.app

Average response in under 4 business hours.

urgent issues

Direct line on request

Email us once and we'll share founder cell for emergencies.

welcome aboard

See you at
the counter.

Thanks for joining Bind. We're a small team. Every shop matters to us. Tell us what's broken, what's brilliant, and what should come next.

Back to partners.

bind · partner playbook · 2026 edition