TCGDelta

Collection Manger Hub
Single Card Search Hub
Game Hub
Card Detail Modal with Sell option
Card Detail Modal
Registered User Page view
Non Registered User view
Binder Overview
Singel Card Management in the Collection Manager
Landing Page
SET/EDITION Overview
Inventory overview
Inventory overview
Inventory overview
Docker Conteiners of that Build

From collector to builder

I moved from Germany to the Philippines and, of course, I brought my trading card collection with me.

Like many collectors, I wanted to keep buying, selling and trading cards just as I had done before.

It didn't take long to realize that the experience was very different. Most trading happened in Facebook groups, which worked surprisingly well most of the time, but everything depended on trust. There was no central marketplace, no structured inventory and no real protection if something went wrong.

After a while I caught myself thinking:

"There has to be a better way."

So I decided to build one.

At first, the idea was simple: create a safer and more organized marketplace for collectors in the Philippines.

I had no idea it would grow into something much bigger.

Listening to the community

As development progressed, I started showing the project to other collectors.

Again and again I received the same question:

"Can you also build a collection manager?"

Originally, I expected that to be a relatively small feature.

I was completely wrong.

It eventually became the biggest part of the entire project.

Since TCGDelta already supported multiple trading card games, building a collection manager for only one game never felt right. I wanted the same experience regardless of whether someone collected Magic, Pokémon, One Piece or any other supported game.

That decision changed the direction of the project.

Today, TCGDelta is becoming a complete ecosystem that combines a marketplace and a collection manager across multiple trading card games.

Building with AI

I'm not a professional software engineer.

Without modern AI, TCGDelta simply wouldn't exist in its current form.

For almost a year, GPT Codex has been my main development partner. I estimate that around 85% of the platform was built together with Codex, while Claude was mainly used for refactoring, reviewing code and improving existing implementations.

The biggest challenge wasn't learning a programming language.

It was learning how to communicate ideas.

Every feature started as an idea. Then came sketches, discussions, diagrams, prompts, revisions, failed attempts and countless iterations before it became working software.

Over time I realized that building with AI is less about writing code yourself and much more about learning how to explain your vision clearly enough for AI to help turn it into reality.

That has probably been the most valuable lesson of this entire project.

The vision

Today, TCGDelta is approaching its first public release as a web platform, with a native Android and iOS application planned as the next major step.

The goal has remained the same since the beginning.

Build one platform where collectors can safely manage, organize and trade their collections across the world's most popular trading card games.

The journey starts in the Philippines.

The ambition is to expand across Asia.

And hopefully, one day, become a platform used by collectors around the world.