I’ve always been a big fan of the Neo sets and the artwork and want to collect all the holos eventually, but my biggest dilemma is trying to decide whether or not to collect 1st edition or unlimited wotc in 9s or 8s, or get 10s in Japanese. As the prices of wotc 9s skyrocket and become out of reach, the Japanese are more appealing than ever. They also seem to be of better quality and the holofoil pops more imo. Also, their prices have grown more slowly and steadily over years, which I prefer. Needless to say, I’m leaning towards collecting the these.
But are there any reasons that maybe I’m not thinking of as to why old back Japanese psa 10s are so relatively inexpensive, or is it just that less people know about them and they’re underrated? I know they don’t have the exclusivity of the 1st stamp and that iconic yellow border, but the pop report is still crazy low on most of them and they are technically the originals.
Any thoughts, speculations? Pros, cons? Been having a hard time finding much in-depth info on this topic so would love to know everyone’s opinion.
Any time I’m just after the artwork I go after Japanese, because there are no words to distract me from it. I think it really is the sensation of only the visual parts of my brain being stimulated
If you don’t think a 1. Edition stamp should add a massive premium or it doesn’t do anything for you and you’re just collecting for yourself, go with Japanese. I for one just bought a mint “T17” in Japanese for 2$ last week.
I guess one reason for them being cheaper is that every(?) Neo booster contains a holo card (for Destiny that’s definetely the case) and they’re still very cheap.
Japanese are often much prettier! Maybe just get one in both English and Japanese of all your favorites (a strategy I use). Also, if price is an issue, focus more on actual condition than number grade—I’ve seen 9s and 10s that are much uglier than lower graded cards.
That’s an interesting point about the artwork, never thought of it that way. I’m torn because I mainly just care about the artwork and appearance, but I also have a nostalgic soft spot for wotc lol. Oh dang that’s right, they do have a guaranteed pull rate.That makes much more sense now.
I’ve always leaned more towards Japanese, been collecting about 10 years now. They’re just beautiful and usually cheaper. Prices are rising but not as much as English
If you don’t mind not being able to read the words, go Japanese. The reason they are cheaper is because they are easier to grade and each Japanese pack contains a holo, therefore more supply.
Yeah, easy graders and tons of supply doesn’t take away from the fun. Investment outlook? Generally you can forget about it not only because of them being all PSA 10s with tons more supply, but also because there’s no emotional attachment which is important if you have long term value expectations.
Didn’t realize there was so much supply still out there. Is it mostly sealed? My friends and I grew up opening the Japanese packs just as much as the English ones, so the nostalgia factor is there for me anyway, and I always assumed it was probably the same for a lot of people. They may never fetch huge prices, but I’m thinking there might be a healthy market for them as time goes on, especially for collectors who want the history but don’t want to pay the premiums as wotc becomes more scarce. But I definitely understand why the English will always have greater/more widespread appeal.
I have to disagree with you there, it always depends on the card, not every card is easy to grade, and older ones are extremely hard to find in mint condition raw. also, there is alot of emotional attachment on those cards, not only for native speakers. not every non-japanese collector needs to have exactly the same card they had in their childhood. most of the time, the same artwork is nostalgia enough. obviously most of the english cards will always be higher valued, but the japanese will catch up, the insane price gap makes no sense.
