Is this PSA 10, 1st edition pikachu worth it for $1600? I want it, but I dont wanna overspend.
First of all: have you checked to see if it was real?
Its real.
@rayray123 any reason why you want that specific one? A quick ebay search shows one for $1400 buy it now and thats without checking sold comparisons if thats what they normally go for.
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I guess I’m just a noob. my mentality is that Ive gotten to a point where I can finally start buying the things I want. And I feel as if these cards will only rise as time goes on, plus I love pikachu. what do you think about this? I can keep looking as well, as the PSA website says its value is $1400.
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You dont need to justify it, Im of the mindset that you do whatever you want with your money. I asked because theres 3 listings cheaper than the one you posted but sometimes people like specific sellers, or location matters, or even the specific card scans matter. Looks like they sell for between $1100-1500 normally. Good luck.
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I really like this website from the magician that is @TCGFish
https://tcgfish.com/product?id=16d7820db8321d8662d75bbdeacc666c&cardNumber=3c846198-17f8-46c6-bf4d-b0d45e55b38c
If you scroll to near the bottom it’ll show the last few sold are around $1250, so I think you could save a little bit by waiting for one to pop up for around that price or submit offers on the higher price listings and see if you can save some dollars.
But if you want it right now - you do you! I think it’s a great card
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Im seeing alot of sold offers nearing 1,000. Might be worth buying if you like it, but only time will tell if the interest will keep going up. I feel like there should be a fine line between age/rarity/population for things like this unless its a promo. Im happy you have the money to buy the things you enjoy though.
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I think at the $1600 price point it’s really more about making sure you are happy with the actual card you are buying and that it fits your personal eye appeal. If you want a 10 to have a 10 then there are other options as listed above.
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how come the shadowless are so much cheaper?
1st Edition Base Set is more coveted than Shadowless, so that is reflected in the value of the chase cards.
I would recommend setting some clear collection goals before buying anything huge. Would a PSA 9 satisfy this collection goal? It’s significantly cheaper and looks almost identical to the PSA 10. For Vintage cards, PSA 9s are excellent buys if you want close to PSA 10 quality but at a fraction of the cost. Just my two cents - good luck!
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Don’t take this the wrong way at all but asking a question like this signals to me that you don’t fully understand what you’re buying. You also mentioned “Ive gotten to a point where I can finally start buying the things I want”, which indicates to me this will also be a large purchase for you.
I would recommend figuring things out more before buying this card. Figure out why you really want it, what are all the other options, how does it fit into a larger collection goal?
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Solid advice from pfm. I’m new to the forum but I would recommend hanging out here more and soaking up all the knowledge. There’s a lot to learn.
Here’s a tool if you’d like to look at recent sales of the slabs you’re looking for at a glance.
https://www.psacard.com/auctionprices/tcg-cards/1999-pokemon-game/pikachu/values/745575#g=10
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there are holes in my knowledge of trading cards. However, I am aware of the rarity of the card, and the love I have for pikachu lol. I feel that in the future I would like to increase my PSA 10 collection, but the big cards I would settle for a 8 or a 9, I just want a perfect pikachu.
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How many vintage PSA 10s do you own? I don’t want you to get your hopes up for nothing - (vintage) PSA 10 cards are almost never perfect. They are close, but Gem Mint is not synonymous with perfection.
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This would be my very first PSA card. Wouldn’t a PSA 10 Gem Mint be as perfect as you can get?
No one’s knowledge is perfect but when interacting with base set the differences between 1st edition, shadowless and unlimited are basically ground level information. There are loads of information on this forum for example about that topic that i suggest you to check before making big purchases or forming collection goals. It is very common to enter the hobby, do a lot of impulse purchases before finding your thing and then regretting your earlier purchases. You can always sell to regain some money if you aren’t happy with your purchases but it’s a lot more simple to give it a bit time and study the topic first, these aren’t any one time opportunities after all that you miss if you aren’t buying now, it’s at least here a somewhat common saying that with set cards there’s always another copy to buy.
If you want to learn more about exactly base set pikachu, this for example is an excellent thread
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Everyone makes mistakes when they are starting out. You don’t know a lot and you also don’t know what you don’t know. Not just about the cards but also about yourself and what cards you want.
The issue is that, depending on your finances, you are leaving little room from mistakes. And you will make mistakes. If you tie up too much money in one card, you are putting yourself in a position where you may be forced to sell it when your collecting preferences start to shift.
I just did a quick ebay search and found this as an alternative
It’s shadowless (not 1st ed) but it’s red cheeks which is arguably more iconic. It’s CGC but that’s probably why it’s at a pretty discounted price relative to the PSA copies.
I’m not telling you to buy this or to not buy the 1st yellow cheek PSA 10. My point is that you can save yourself $1400 by just making tiny compromises, and that money can be put into other cards. And if it turns out you regret the purchase in the end you have a $200 liability instead of an overpriced $1600 liability.
In the future you do decide you want the pinnacle base set Pikachu, you can buy the PSA 10 1st ed (red cheek) copy. But you’ll be in a better position to know you really want it and how much you should be paying.
And yeah, your 10s will almost certainly still have flaws. See below. It won’t be much different with PSA.
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I don’t want to come off as rude, nor do I want to offend someone by any means, but if you’re seeking validation from other collectors to make a purchase, I don’t think you should make said purchase.
Hang around the forum, dig deeper into the hobby as if you were a Diglett, meet and engage with other collectors, take a look at their collections (you can find some awesome collections on E4!) …
And soon you’ll find out which cards you would love to collect!
I also wanted to add that here’s no reason to rush collecting Pokémon cards, Pokémon cards will always be out there. Collecting is a marathon, not a sprint. With enough patience you can build an awesome collection!
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Sounds a bit high. Most auctions I’ve seen $1000-$1300. If it’s a BIN listing, that could be why it’s higher. In addition, it’s a new cert # which for whatever reason can add a premium these days.
Anyway, I got mine for 40-50% less than this at auction, so it may be worth looking for a deal. Regardless, it’s a timeless classic card to own, but I do think you could get one cheaper than this. It will hold value well I think.
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Looks like that pika sold 
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