Hi
I just wanted to introduce myself, I’m Jimmy and I’ve recently got back into pokemon.
I’ve been playing XY and ORAS on and off on the 3ds over the past few months. This has inevitably sparked off a nostalgic reinterest in the TCG. I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to familiarise myself with all the sets and releases after the original pre 2000 WoTC era. Suffice to say I’m absolutely blown away by the sheer amount of ‘new’ content since that era.
The biggest thing which struck was how expensive the cards have now become. £200+ for a very tidy Charizard looks to he the current going rate, I can remember they could be had for around £15 in the mid noughties.
It wasn’t long into my research that I discovered graded cards by PSA and BSG. Seeing some of the asking prices for 10/9 holos has really shocked me as an “old new collector”
So theres no chance I can justify the price of the 10 mint condition cards for my collection so I would be looking at 8-7 at this stage. Alternatively in ungraded but really clean looking cards through ebay and the like. What are peoples opinions of going for this tact?
I’ve made a couple of purchases of ungraded base set holos with the aim of completing my original base set as I was missing around 30 cards from completion. I figured it was a good start in the hobby and then take it from there.
I’ve seen several posts already comment on the current state of the hobby and how prices
have really run away this year. Am I making a mistake with the timing of everything in trying to acquire these cards?
I really welcome people’s views and ideas and thank you for taking the time to read through my post!
I am recently back into collecting myself and feel your pain. The prices for older cards have jumped hugely. I have just started to dip into graded cards and have decided to collect 9s (7s and 8s for certain cards) as the 10s are out of my price range.
i would say that the advice i was given and has helped me is to just buy the cards you like and not worry too much about the grade.
Welcome @jimmy, good to have you here
Regarding your question for the best ‘tactic’ of collecting, there are a few easy basic principles that I think many collectors (myself included) follow.
Buy what you enjoy. Focussing only on potential monetary gain takes away a lot of the fun.
Take your sweet time to look into the Pokemon card universe, there are countless niches and avenues to choose from. Don’t throw all your money on the first best thing you see, only to discover something more enjoyable for you a week later.
Set yourself collection goals and try to focus on them, nobody can have everything.
Once you have set a goal for yourself, try to buy the most expensive items first. That way, price increases are less likely to completely eliminate your goal.
Don’t overextend your wallet, especially in the beginning. There are almost always cheaper options: lower grades, ungraded, unlimited, Japanese. → There is absolutely nothing wrong with lower grades and many collectors find binders even more satisfying than PSA cards.
Have fun. If you have to constantly stress yourself about your spending, it isn’t really enjoyable, is it?
And if you have any questions on your journey, here is the best place to ask
Your timing question is a complex one. The market is in flux and unstable right now in terms of price points. For the rarest cards, the timing is when you see it, and you will see more once you become more familiar with other places to purchase and after you’ve built some connections. For the cards that are popular and for which demand far exceeds supply, my personal opinion is even if you are buying high now, you stand a fair chance of those cards holding or increasing value over time and buying high now may actually be cheap later. if your goal is to keep the cards, that won’t matter but you’ll feel better. Buying English versions of cards that have a much cheaper Japanese counterpart may get you thinking getting a 10 in Japanese rather than a 7 in the (English card I presume) you are looking to buy. You sound like a binder collector—decently graded cards you enjoy, Depending on the set, your ungraded options may be few, and still expensive, but less so. You can always buy them in PSA then crack them out. And since you mention WOTC, obviously first edition, shadowless, etc can have a huge impact on the price point. You will find many different collecting goals, preferences, philosophies on this site, so there’s not one tact and very few are scorned. Your collecting goals should match your best thinking (or the funnest road!) approach, and others can certainly help with that. New “collectors” that aren’t all short term flippers are good for the hobby, but collectors who hold long term can also organically push up prices through reducing supply as demand/new demand continues. Both co-exist, many people are even both types. This infers you’re “timing” question. Read the Great Market thread for more on that. Have fun and Good Morning.
Focus on your collection goals and stick with it. I started out the same way by finishing my original sets as a kid. Then I delved into other newer sets and PSA cards. It will take time but that’s the fun part!
Some fantastic advice given! much appreciated and thank you for being so welcoming!
I’ve been looking a some of the later (still vintage?) sets after Base such as Neo Destiny/ Revelation and the Ruby Saphire era sets. Mainly as I was a huge fan of the games back in the day on the GB/GBA and I am familiar with the 2 and and 3rd generation pokemon, even more so recently since getting back into XY and ORAS.
I absolutely love the artwork on the some of these older cards and they have some beautiful vintage vibes. One thing I have noticed is that fully completed sets appear to be extremely uncommon.
Looking on ebay there are many base series completed sets but maybe the odd few from the 2nd and 3rd generation and then they usually incomplete. Is there a reason why these era sets are so scarce?
Secondly what are the general views on the Japenese cards? Muk did mention them being a viable option as an alternative to the higher graded cards which may be out of my budget. Is there a level of disdain towards them? I personally like the look, I cant read Japanese unfortunately which is a slight negative.
The reason why Gen 1 sets are more abundant is that the Pokemon franchise’s popularity was just through the roof. They printed and sold cards like crazy.
After the initial craze, there was a steady downturn in popularity and demand for TCG products. Accordingly Nintendo/Pokemon printed less cards of later Generations, which is now reflected by lower supply on the secondary market.
Regarding Japanese cards, they are perfectly acceptable for many collectos like myself. For languages in terms of demand and pricing it’s always been English>Japanese>everything else.
Japanese will probably always be cheaper than English and therefore easier to collect. One nice thing about Japanese cards is that they are the original cards, often released months or even years before the Western versions. There are also many exclusive artworks on cards that were never released outside of Japan in any other language. And lastly, for old cards, the card quality is way better on the Japanese side, which means you’re more likely to get a gem mint condition card from a pack.
In the end it’s just a matter of preferance. Both English and Japanese seem to have a very stable fanbases.
Japanese cards are great for private collections. They’re well made and same artwork but most of all, they’re super cheap, the downside is they really don’t hold up value wise but that’s okay if you’re only collecting.
