Short answer: TCGplayer calls it hiding your inventory. In the Seller Portal, find Inventory Status in the upper right and click Edit to switch from live to hidden. Sync sellers do it at the bottom of the My Details tab. Hiding stops new sales; it does not ship the orders you already have, so ship those first and keep answering messages.
How to hide your TCGplayer inventory
TCGplayer's Hiding Your Inventory page: "If you're going on vacation or planning on being away from your store for any reason, you can temporarily deactivate your store's inventory at any time". How you do it depends on how you list.
Marketplace sellers who list by hand (non-sync):
- Log in to the Seller Portal.
- In the upper right corner, find your Seller Level, Inventory Total and Inventory Status.
- Click Edit next to Inventory Status to switch from live to hidden. Do the same to switch back.
Sync sellers (a third-party store platform such as CrystalCommerce): log in, open the My Details tab for your store, and go to the bottom of the page to deactivate your inventory. Reactivate it from the same place.
The New Seller FAQ points to the same page for "I'm going on vacation. How do I temporarily pause my inventory?" There is no separate vacation setting in TCGplayer's help center.
What buyers see while you're away
From TCGplayer's Seller Storefront FAQ: when your store is inactive, your "storefront Shop tab will hide the product grid and display a message stating the seller does not currently have any items available, and any listing pages would be treated the same as out of stock." When you switch back, "if they have Marketplace inventory the experience will revert to showing those products again."
Before you hide: ship what you already sold
Hiding stops new orders. The help pages don't say it does anything to orders already placed, so treat those as normal orders. TCGplayer's Seller Guide to Refunds and Returns says it can step in and resolve an order for the buyer if the seller:
- "does not respond to the customer within 2 business days of their inquiry"
- "does not ship an order out within 48 hours of receipt"
A simple order of operations:
- Hide your inventory a day before you stop working, so nothing new comes in while you pack.
- Ship every open order and mark each one shipped.
- Keep checking messages while you're away. Buyers who report a missing order still expect an answer within 2 business days.
Late replies cost feedback too. TCGplayer's feedback page calls failure to reply within 48 hours "The most common, and preventable, cause of negative feedback".
If you have to stop suddenly
For storms, power outages and other emergencies, TCGplayer's page on natural disasters and weather delays says: "As a first step, we suggest that you place your inventory on a temporary hold so you don't receive new orders that you might be unable to ship." For orders you already have, it says to "message the buyers and let them know of your situation, asking if they would like to wait for the order to be shipped or if they would prefer a refund." TCGplayer adds that "many customers are very understanding once they are notified of hardships sellers are experiencing."
The same page applies to an unplanned trip or illness: hide first, message every open order, and refund anyone who doesn't want to wait.
Turning sales back on
TCGplayer's one warning: "When you're ready to resume sales, please make sure your inventory is current and correct before reactivating your inventory for sales." If you sold cards at a show or in your shop while you were away, take them out of your TCGplayer inventory first. Otherwise a card you no longer have turns into an order you have to cancel.
Do you still get paid while hidden?
The New Seller FAQ says payments "are initiated for sales listed as 'Completed - Pending Payment' by TCGplayer every Monday and Thursday after TCGplayer fees have been deducted," and direct deposits "usually appear in accounts after four business days". Hiding your inventory is not listed as changing that. Orders you shipped before you left keep moving toward payment.
TCGplayer Direct and Store Your Products
The Hiding Your Inventory page covers Marketplace and sync sellers only. If you also sell through TCGplayer Direct or Store Your Products, ask TCGplayer support how a pause works for those listings before you rely on it.
Clear the backlog before you go
The night before a trip is when a big batch is most likely to slip. Export the open orders with TCGplayer's Export Shipping and upload the file to TCG Speed Shipper. It prints address labels for the whole batch. Combine puts a buyer's multiple orders into one package, the pull sheet lists every card to pick, and the Print filter lets you print only the envelopes or only the tracked orders. Add your tracking numbers and it builds the TCGplayer upload file, so the whole batch is marked shipped in one upload before you hide your store.
FAQ
Does TCGplayer have a vacation mode?
Not by that name. TCGplayer calls it hiding or deactivating your inventory. In the Seller Portal, click Edit next to Inventory Status in the upper right and switch from live to hidden. Sync sellers use the bottom of the My Details tab.
Do I still have to ship orders if my TCGplayer inventory is hidden?
Yes. Hiding stops new orders; orders already placed still need to ship. TCGplayer says it can step in for the buyer if a seller does not ship within 48 hours of receipt or does not answer within 2 business days.
What do buyers see when my TCGplayer store is hidden?
TCGplayer says your storefront's Shop tab hides the product grid and says you have no items available, and your listing pages show as out of stock. Your products come back when you reactivate.
What should I check before I turn my TCGplayer inventory back on?
That your inventory is current and correct. TCGplayer asks for this before you reactivate. Remove anything you sold elsewhere while you were away, so you don't have to cancel orders.
Do I still get paid while my TCGplayer inventory is hidden?
TCGplayer's New Seller FAQ says payments go out every Monday and Thursday for sales marked Completed - Pending Payment, and it does not list hiding your inventory as changing that.
Sources
- TCGplayer Help: Hiding Your Inventory (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: New Seller FAQ (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: Seller Storefront FAQ (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: Seller Guide to Refunds and Returns (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: What do I do in the event of natural disasters and weather delays? (checked November 1, 2026)
- TCGplayer Help: Your Feedback Rating (checked November 1, 2026)