Scanner setup
Scan a box of cards and let them pair themselves
A document scanner is the fastest way in. Scan fronts and backs, point SportsCardBot at the folder, and each front finds its back, gets read, and gets priced. Two minutes of setup makes all of that automatic.
Your first 3 cards are free, then $14.99/mo for 500 cards a month.
Scan one of your cards free, no account needed
Scanner settings
Duplex (both sides) on, so every card comes out as front then back. Color. 300 dpi for raw cards; 600 dpi if you want the serial numbers crisp. One card per sheet, or a top-loader placed flat.
Save as JPEG, or as one PDF per batch: both work. On a ScanSnap, the default PDF is fine. Name the batch anything; the order of the files is what matters.
Flatbed scanners
Scan the front, then the back, before the next card, and keep the file names in order. Nine cards in a 3 by 3 grid is fine too: scan the grid of fronts, flip every card in place, scan the backs, and split the grid in your scanner software before uploading.
Getting the files in
On a computer: open SportsCardBot, press Upload on the Home page, choose A folder, and pick the scanner's output folder. Or drag the folder onto the page. Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and iCloud all keep a copy of their folders on your computer, so this works for every cloud.
Hands-off (Pro): connect Dropbox under Account → Uploads and point your scanner at the CardBot Inbox folder (Dropbox › Apps › SportsCardBot › CardBot Inbox). A Sync from Dropbox button then appears on the Home page; press it when a batch is done.
Where to set the folder: Ricoh and Fujitsu scanners in PaperStream Capture or ScanSnap Home (the Save to or Destination folder of the profile), Epson in Epson ScanSmart or Document Capture (Save settings), Canon in IJ Scan Utility or CaptureOnTouch (Save folder), Brother in iPrint&Scan (Scan to folder). Pick the CardBot Inbox folder inside Dropbox › Apps › SportsCardBot and every batch arrives on its own.
What happens next
Fronts and backs that were scanned back to back pair themselves. Anything less sure waits in Pairs for one tap. Every card is then read and priced, and shows up in Review as it lands. Nothing goes to eBay until you press List.
Questions
Which scanner should I buy?
Any sheet-fed scanner that does duplex and takes card stock: Fujitsu ScanSnap, Ricoh fi-8170 and Epson FastFoto are the common ones. A flatbed such as the Canon LiDE or Epson V600 works too, it is just slower.
Can I upload a PDF?
Yes. A scanned PDF is split into one image per page, in order, before pairing.
How many cards at once?
As many as the folder holds. Files go up in rounds of 200 and you can keep working while they are read.
Try it on one of your cards
Scan a card with no account and see what it is and what it sells for. Your first 3 cards are free, then $14.99/mo for 500 cards a month.
Scan a card free