I’m looking at putting some money into the hobby. I’m looking at purchasing 4 cards.
Raikou gold star (PSA 10)
Celebi gold star (ungraded mint)
Jolteon gold star (ungraded mint)
Coro Coro Mew promo (ungraded mint off centre)
Total:$685
Is that a healthy price for those cards?
And are gold stars a healthy investment option in general?
Hi Daanny, investments are speculative. Personally I wouldn’t invest in set cards if you’re trying to make money but that isn’t to say they won’t appreciate in time. Here is a good source for pricing out those cards you mentioned: www.pokemonprice.com/Sets
You can use it to look up any set card and track what it has sold for by the grade (so filter for psa10)
Thanks for the quick reply Chris. What other cards are there to invest in outside of set cards? Trophy maybe?
Hello,
As far as set cards go, First Edition Base, First Edition Neo Destiny Shining, and Gold Star. These cards are pretty safe from an investment standpoint because there are a lot of collectors out there trying to complete their sets that include these cards and there are enough sales throughout the year to reflect a price point which shows that there is a demand. When dealing with trophy and promo cards that are much more rare than set cards it can be a bit tricky to gauge the situation because there may not be a lot of sales happening due to the cards rarity or demand. I am still a nooby investor but this was my take so far in the hobby.
Thanks for your time. Its made things a lot clearer.
I wouldn’t pay that much even if they were all PSA 10s
3 Likes
Really? How come?
I’m loving the PSA 10 Black Star promo sets 1-53. There’s some real beauties in there. They aren’t crazy expensive and they can be got. Finally, not many have this set all in PSA 10s so you’d be unique;)
I can see them rising in value too.
1 Like
Trophy cards or limited print promotionals (lottery cards, competition cards, event cards, fan club cards). Older and smaller the print, the better - but other factors to consider are 1) Is it original art? 2)does it have a reprint? 3) if it has a reprint, is it the reprint different than the promo other than the number at the bottom right corner? (stamped, holo, etc).
Okay, I looked up the 10 prices and I guess I the value is actually there if they were all PSA 10. But they are not.
Assume the ungraded would get PSA 9s
$150 for raikou
$200 for celebi
$150 for jolteon
$100 for mew
$600 value. I would never pay more than a PSA 9 for ungraded cards myself, especially if I can’t see them in person. All three are pretty hard to grade in PSA 10 too.
I wouldn’t buy a mixed lot like this unless I was getting a decent deal. Also if the seller is claiming the cards are mint but they own PSA cards, that’s a pretty big red flag. Why aren’t they grading their mint goldstars themselves?
In terms of investing, the gold star raikou is probably one of the worst choices in the hobby. I’m sure someone will fill you in on that. The Mew is very popular but it’s actually very common so I would not bet on it personally. Celebi and Jolteon are the two that I feel have a little potential, assuming they grade 10. Maybe they could grow faster than inflation
There’s a lot of avenues to go down then. I should do some more research.
Unfortunately I can’t see the cards in person. I’ve got to rely on pictures only as the seller is over seas. I was counting on psa 10 Raikou to be worth $250 at least to make up for what I’m spending juts incase Celebi and Jolteon don’t make the 10 grade.
Someone already mentioned it but the gold star legendary dogs are generally not great investments due to someone who flooded the market with a ton of them
3 Likes
Someone that basically bought a giant stack of cards stolen from the factory and controlled the price/saturated the market
If he has one 10 and the other ones are not graded you have a small chance of them getting a 10. If 10 worthy they would have been submitted already I think.
Good luck on finding some nice cards!
There is a ton of posts about investing in cards on this site. Take some time to get a good read 
.
2 Likes
From an investment point of view, I’d recommend 1st edition base set holos in PSA 9.
They are some of the most iconic cards in the hobby and are currently at a really cheap price point IMO.
You could pick up 2 for your budget - or potentially 3 of the cheaper ones if you were very patient.
Ex cards from 03-08 would be my tip. Not investment advice but I think they will go well from here. Alternatively, skyridge is a great set but prices have already run a lot in those. Set cards will continue to do well in the long term, promotional cards are more speculative and less liquid.
Curious to your mindset on this? My understanding is the Ex series is low supply but this was due to low popularity which takes away most of the nostalgia that is paramount for increasing prices and a larger buying pool
1 Like
I’ll take a stab at it; The only way is up for that era?
From an investment standpoint the later WOTC sets seem to be a good move. The price of the later sealed WOTC product is very disproportionate to the price of graded cards. Just look at the price of PSA 9/10 holos from Skyridge and compare them to the cost of one pack. My two cents are that Skyridge is slightly overrated, but it also had its print run cut short. Scarcity + Hype = Profit.
Why?