From time to time I’ll find myself wondering why Worlds cards aren’t more popular and thought I’d make a poll here to see what others on E4 think. I’d include any card given out at a worlds event, top down, from 2004 #26 unstamped (fairly abundant) to some of the finalist cards with 1 or 2 graded examples (if that in some instances). I’m confident that it’s a mixture of all these options I’ve given and more but I’d love to hear what others think. I always learn a ton interacting and watching from afar on here. I’m confident this time will be no different!
Price point
Lack of availability for certain copies/years
Too niche
Psyduck sucks and is a meme
Not nostalgic for a portion of collectors
Lack of available information about the cards and their history
I agree, they are well above what I used to pay and just what they went for overall years ago. Maybe they mean the recent goldin dump? If so I feel like that is more of an outlier.
You’re right, prices have really increased. I don’t think I’d describe worlds cards as “extremely popular”, I’d save that for base set Charizard, or jungle Snorlax, and cards that are more like those, that you’d find in just about any collection. To be more specific, I’d wonder what of the poll options, or other reasons I was too smooth brained to include, would stop worlds cards from becoming more like those more recognizable and universally known cards.
There were like maybe 40-50 that sold in the last two weeks. Some had strong prices others ran low.
I do think that they’ve started to carve themselves out as a steady niche that is slowly growing but I think their lack of holo is one of the large things that hold them back to other comparable rarity trophy cards. It’s a reason I like them a lot because it’s a steady picture but I know I’m the minority
As a result of this, some years have lot less availability which makes the price point of sellers high and the hump for buyers larger. At a certain point you need to set a market precedent if you want a specific stamp but you may never know when that stamp comes again.
Idk I just finished a set paying basically $250 each for a PSA 9 German and I feel like that’s a competitive price.
As @kpod said, these have picked up. Its funny cuz back in the day 1999 Tropical Wind was my favorite Japanese card but I didn’t care for the remainder of the cards. Funny how our own personal demand changes.
It’s difficult to find all the information on the cards in one place. There isn’t a common and widely known gallery space to view them. I don’t think it can be overstated how important a Bulbapedia article is to introduce people to new cards and Bulbapedia sucks so bad when it comes to TCG organization, especially non-English TCG organization.
If someone Googled “Pokémon worlds championship promos” they do not get a conspicuous and obvious result that just shows you what all these cards are. This is a huge barrier for a collection of cards that people have no pre-existing relationship with. There’s no way to even encounter them or browse them. Even I couldn’t tell you what the majority of these cards look like, let alone any variants they have.
I think cards that require all that extra effort to discover, research, and categorize are only for especially dedicated collectors.
Worlds cards are very cool! I’d like to collect them, there are just so many other cards I’d want to buy first. Guess that would fall under the “too niche” bucket
They are already super popular. It would make sense if this question was asked 3 or 4 years ago, but now most collectors know about them. Prices right out the gate for 2022 and 2023 sealed packs are crazy compared to previous years. I bought a sealed pack of 2016 worlds promos in 2019 for $100. I graded and sold the Japanese 2016 world promo from that pack this year for over $7,500.
Like what the others said. I think more collectors are starting to get into them. I still think it is pretty niche and it is pretty daunting for new collectors who want to dabble in Worlds cards. So many nice artworks to choose from, further enhanced by great release history and rarity.
In general, I think not being full art definitely makes some of the stonkers pull back, plus some people just don’t care about the history they have with the tcg. That said, for me they are plenty expensive already, so it would be nice if people forgot about them again.
This is a great topic! I picked up the 04, 05, 06, & ‘08 tropical cards from the recent Goldin Auction.
Maybe because each card comes in like 5 variations (staff, unstamped, 32, 16, quarter, finalist, etc) not to mention the 9 language variants— it can be overwhelming as a collector. Almost like there’s too much food at the table, you don’t know what to start with.
Regardless, I’m a huge fan of the set and think its historical legacy will only increase with future years.
Any idea why the “Staff” promo is more desirable than the “Competitor” copy (no stamp on bottom)?
The gold stamp is definitely a nice extra layer that also makes them look better. I personally am collecting competitor copies, because, as important the staff are, I feel like it’s an event for the competitors.
One thing that does surprise me is that the other languages are so much further behind than English and Japanese. There’s definitely appeal to having a complete set of any given year.
It’s understandable that most people wouldn’t be as interested in other languages, but countries like Italy have a thriving collecting scene to the point where I’d have though there would be enough demand to carry them further. Some of these cards have only a few hundred copies.
I can see why people prefer the staff copies. Staff copies are easier to find compared to competitor stamps. It is pretty damn difficult to collect the competitor stamped copies and its variations for each year.
