Card sorting machines compared

Published specs and costs

These are manufacturer listings checked Sep 8, 2026. “Up to” speeds are claims, not measured throughput in a Hoard test. Prices below exclude tax, delivery, and any additional software unless stated.

Recognition percentages are not interchangeable with condition grading or successful listing rates. Ask each vendor how it measures accuracy and what happens to unidentified cards, ambiguous printings, and condition decisions.

Which sorters should you shortlist?

There is no defensible single winner from published speed claims. Start with the job your store needs the machine to finish, then narrow the demonstrations you request:

This is a shortlist for demonstrations, not a purchase recommendation. A machine can win on cards per hour and still lose once staff must identify rejects, correct variants, grade condition, or file the output.

Roca Sifter: price, subscription, and availability

TCGplayer lists Roca at $799 with a $25-per-month service billed as $300 annually, per machine. Hardware plus one year of service is $1,099 before tax and delivery. Its Roca Sifter FAQ describes initial shipments in fall 2026; confirm the delivery estimate for your order.

Roca includes card identification and listing functions. If you are looking for a “Roca Sifter review,” distinguish manufacturer demonstrations from an independent test of the games and card conditions your store processes.

PhyzBatch-9000 price: what to ask for in a quote

The TCG Machines website lists throughput and recognition features, but we did not find a public purchase price on the page checked. Do not substitute an old forum estimate for a current quote.

Request an itemized quote covering hardware, software or service fees, freight, training, warranty, and support. For a used PhyzBatch-9000, confirm the serial number, service eligibility, and any account or license transfer requirements with the manufacturer before paying.

Ask for a demonstration using a representative sample of your cards and an export you can inspect. The published hourly rate does not establish how quickly your staff can handle rejects, approve matches, or file the output.

SortSwift and CardMill: account for the whole setup

SortSwift's Super Sorter listing separates the $199 monthly machine-scanning fee from its software plan. The Mini's hardware plus twelve scanning payments is $11,387; the larger model is $27,387. Add the applicable software plan, tax, delivery, and operating costs to those figures.

CardMill's late-backer listing estimates December 2026–January 2027 delivery and about 800 cards per hour. Treat both as estimates. It supports bare cards and perfect-fit sleeves, but not regular sleeves; include any de-sleeving work in your comparison.

Calculate payback using labor you actually save

Monthly net savings = labor cost avoided − recurring machine and software fees − added operating costs. Divide your upfront cost by positive monthly net savings to estimate a simple payback period. If savings are zero or negative, there is no payback under those assumptions.

For example, suppose a machine saves 10 staff hours a month at $20 an hour, costs $25 a month in service, and adds $25 a month in supplies and maintenance. Net savings would be $150 a month. A hypothetical $900 upfront cost would take six months to recover. This is an illustration, not a forecast for any machine above.

Measure the whole task: loading, identification review, condition checks, reject handling, export cleanup, and filing. Do not treat unattended machine throughput as staff hours saved. Include cash paid annually when planning cash flow even if you spread it monthly for comparison.

Run the same store-specific demo with each vendor

Bring a mixed sample from the cards you really process: common and premium printings, foils, different games, duplicates, worn cards, and anything sleeved. Ask each vendor to show the entire route from unsorted stack to sellable inventory, including the steps before and after the feeder.

• Time the full pass: loading, machine run, rejects, match approval, condition review, export cleanup, and physical filing. Record staff minutes as well as machine minutes.
• Audit the output: count correct product and printing matches, unresolved cards, duplicate quantities, and locations you could actually use to pull an order.
• Price the first year: hardware, required subscriptions, software, freight, supplies, training, and support. Ask what renews in year two.
• Check failure handling: have the vendor demonstrate a misread, a jam, and a card their system cannot identify. Ask what staff must do next.

Run the same sample through your current manual process. The number to put into the payback calculation above is the difference in staff time and usable output, not either vendor's peak hourly figure.

Make the sorted cards findable and sellable

Some machines identify, catalogue, and sort in the same workflow. The next question is whether the output preserves the printing, condition, quantity, and physical location your selling process needs.

Ask for a sample export before buying. Hoard supports location information in supported inventory formats, but that does not guarantee compatibility with every sorter's CSV. Check the inventory import workflow and choose a chaos-sort or alphabetical filing system your staff can use.

When intake is the bottleneck, review buylist and intake workflows. When finding sold cards is the bottleneck, look at Hoard pull sessions before assuming more hardware is the answer.

Compare usable output, not feeder speed

Illustrative demo: both methods start with the same 200-card sample. Manual intake takes 50 staff minutes and produces 190 verified listings. A machine-assisted pass takes 30 staff minutes, but reviewing rejects and fixing the export takes another 15; it also produces 190 verified listings. The measured saving is five staff minutes per batch, not 20.

Record cards submitted, correct printing matches, unresolved cards, staff minutes, and verified listings. Keep rejected cards in the denominator. Take those results to the payback calculation above before signing a hardware contract.

Common questions

How much does a PhyzBatch-9000 cost?

We did not find a public purchase price on the manufacturer page checked Sep 8, 2026. Request a current itemized quote including recurring fees, delivery, and support.

How much is the Roca Sifter subscription?

TCGplayer lists service at $25 per month, billed as $300 annually per machine, in addition to the $799 hardware price. Hardware plus one year of service is $1,099 before tax and delivery.

Is this a hands-on sorting machine review?

No. This compares manufacturer specifications and published costs. We have not independently measured these machines' speed, recognition accuracy, or labor savings.

When does a sorting machine pay for itself?

When actual labor savings exceed recurring fees and added operating costs. Divide upfront cost by positive monthly net savings. Include loading, review, reject handling, and filing time.

Which card sorting machine should my store buy?

Shortlist by the job you need done, then run the same mixed sample through each vendor's full workflow. Compare usable inventory, staff time, first-year cost, and reject handling, not advertised peak cards per hour alone.

Sources: Roca Sifter · Roca FAQ · SortSwift Super Sorter · TCG Machines · CardMill. Checked Sep 8, 2026.