Skyridge PSA 9 Master Set Value

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Hi all,

New member/first post, but I have often dropped in to read posts in recent years!

I’m hoping to get some opinions on Skyridge - I started collecting PSA 9 cards from the set a few years ago and I decided a couple of years ago to attempt a PSA 9 master set of all 332 cards. I was very much a generation 1 kid here in the UK back in the late nineties but after getting back into the TCG in late 2019, I found myself drawn towards Skyridge after stumbling upon an old collection that contained a few cards.

I currently have just over 100 cards from the set in PSA 9, so still a very long way to go! I have about half the holos, about 50/60 reverse holos and the rest non holos and I’m wanting to know people’s thoughts on it as an investment long term. As much as I enjoy collecting the cards and don’t want to get too wrapped up in value, there are economical factors to take into account and the combination of some big price dips + big pop report increases since 2020/2021 made me question whether I’m doing the right thing currently, given that I’m not exactly made of money!

For context, I’m based in the UK which means supply is a little scarce and collecting is fairly slow. I mostly only target cards listed for auction on eBay rather than buy it now. It’ll take me a few years to get close to completing the set and I’ve not yet started buying the real heavyweights, though I have a fair few PSA 10s (Skyridge and otherwise) that I will probably sell in order to reinvest.

I love the artwork and I thoroughly enjoy collecting the cards but I’m wondering what people think of Skyridge as a long term investment given population increases, the relatively low popularity of the set vs variants of Base Set, whether its best to hunt down the ‘premium’ cards now or wait and finally I’m interested in opinions on the current and potential long term value of a complete PSA 9 Skyridge master set - all 332 cards including all crystals, holos, reverse holos and non holos. An ungraded master set sold at auction here in the UK a couple of months back for £18,000 - I have no idea what sort of price difference could be expected either way for a complete PSA 9 set?

Thanks in advance!

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Welcome to e4!

When considering the total value of a large set like Skyridge, I would focus primarily on the holos and the Crystal Pokemon. These will have the greatest liquidity because they are always in demand and are the most difficult to obtain. If you were to sell in the future, not as many people would be interested in the non-holos and reverse holos, so expect none to very little appreciation there. Of course like anything in this hobby, sentiment can change at the drop of a hat if a large influencer begins a Skyridge reverse holo collection.

As you know, prices have come down considerably since 2020/2021. In my opinion, it’s a great time to get mint-gem mint holos for so little in 2024.

Do I expect to see growth in the population of these cards?

Definitely. Although Skyridge boxes are expensive and difficult to come by, the cards grade pretty easily compared to other vintage sets. PSA is pretty stingy with vintage chase card 10s, so the PSA 9 pop is likely to grow at a greater rate.

Are vintage PSA 9s “investable”?

As a grade, PSA 9s remain affordable to a large portion of the collector base. Most are 1/3rd - 1/5th the price of their respective vintage holo/crystal PSA 10s, but look shockingly similar at a glance. Additionally, PSA 9s will fluctuate less dramatically than PSA 10s, for better (i.e., less aggressive drops) or for worse (i.e., less aggressive jumps). This lessened variability is attractive to people who don’t want to put $2,000-$10,000 into one PSA 10 that may fluctuate ±20%-2,000%.

What might be the value of a master PSA 9 set in 2024?

Somewhere between $30,000-$45,000 USD? I have no clue, but that sounds rightish to me. Given that you are subject to Europe’s higher prices and lower availability, I might expect the number to be closer to the higher end.

I hope that this helped!

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Not the same, but sets from a similar era in PSA 9 are estimated at 20,000 USD

https://tcgfish.com/setvalue?setname=2003%20Aquapolis%20(English)

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The main question would be: are there buyers for a complete graded set?
The pool of potential buyers able to dish out +20k is limited.

In Europe Eseries are not that populair. I have been selling graded and ungraded cards through Cardmarket and on shows and almost nobody wants them.
Compared to when I go to an USA show, overthere they always sell.

In all honesty if you are only collecting to sell in the future you should do raw.

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Very warm welcome to the forums @jimmypage92 . Glad to have you on here. Just want to wish you success on your undertaking. Completing a master set of such a large set in high grades can be challenging but also very fulfilling. Hope you will find all of the resources and advice from fellow collectors to help you out on this journey on E4.

Have a wonderful time here. Looking forward to seeing some of the cards you already have in a collection showcase thread.

Cheers!

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Welcome! Skyridge is a moderately pricey set, and I agree with the other estimates, but after acquiring the most popular cards shouldn’t be too bad!

It will surely be a rewarding journey, the art of those cards is simply amazing. Good luck!

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:point_up:
Basically buying this set for future value is not where I would choose to put my money. The primary issue is that its low demand, expensive and a bit of a compromise (PSA 9 vs PSA 10). The people who have the resources to pay out a large amount for the convenience of the complete set will want PSA 10. People go with PSA 9 because it’s way more reasonable and affordable to put the set together piece-by-piece. So finding that one person who is willing to spend a wack load of money to buy a complete 9 set is very hard.

On the flip side, you’re buying mint cards at near-raw prices so you’re close to the floor of how much cheaper these cards can get. If you liquidated them all as individual cards, you’d probably get back the majority of what you spent on them.

So in my opinion, the primary motivation here should not be future value, but rather you just wanting the set. But the benefit is you can get back most (or all depending on the price you’re paying for each card individually) of the value back if you suddenly need to liquidate.

Mostly I’m talking about the reverses and non-holos. For holos and crystals, there’s more potential for upward price movement.

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Welcome @jimmypage92! Always great to see new members join and even better when the post has substance!

I view the low popularity as a positive in terms of growth potential for the set.

Coming across Ereader cards is relatively uncommon so naturally less people are aware of them & pursuing them. As more people stumble across them (as you & others have) the buyer pool will increase overtime and likely drive up the price.

That’s not to say the value will ‘explode’ but I do believe ‘niche’ sets are better insulated on the downside as they are less exposed to market hype cycles as time marches on.

As mentioned above niche sets are ‘less exposed’ to hype cycles but they aren’t impervious to them. IMO Skyridge did experience a healthy dose of 2020 hype (certainly more than other Ereader sets) and the price dip/pop increase is a result of that.

Assuming a PSA 9 Skyridge set is your primary goal I would recommend focusing your attention on the premium cards you are missing, tracking the prices, taking your time, and picking your shots.

Happy hunting :smiley:

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