Wanted to see people’s opinions about these 2 particular sets. I remember being a lurker on this site when these were released and there was so much hype and admiration for the overall sets. I loved opening them and had a blast collecting.
Now that time has passed, the prices on these cards seem to have plummeted. Given that the market has been super strong this year, I’m surprised the prices of these cards are still so low. Is this simply a case where there was too much of these cards printed? Is the Japanese market is just slow right now? Do these artworks not hold up to the newer alternate arts or special illustrations?
Short modern attention spans moving to newer product
In terms of market price, they’ll go up when they go up. Modern markets move largely on demand, so do not underestimate the power of that third bullet point.
These are two wonderful sets, vstar universe in particular for me. I don’t play the games anymore, so the trainer aspects of vmax climax don’t do much for me, but it’s a cool set all the same.
There are so many great modern sets and cards right now that one has to divide their attention. The volume of cards printed in the past few years is staggering.
Keep in mind that vstar universe is barely 2 years old, that’s really not that much time in the grand scheme of things.
If you like the cards/sets, and they seem cheap to you, buy them!
I think most of the more desirable VSTAR Universe and VMAX Climax singles have actually been increasing in value lately, as have sealed box prices. Special sets always have high prices on release, but Japanese printing is a slow and steady stream. Over time the supply brings down the prices of singles, but now that the printers are turned off for these sets you’re starting to see increases. Keep in mind that a $5 increase on something like a Charizard VSTAR SAR is actually a very significant shift when you consider how many of them are printed and how liquid the card is. Out of all the modern sets, I think VSTAR Universe and VMAX Climax will be very desirable in the future. Things won’t go insane because of the print numbers, but prices will likely see modest increases.
Both of these sets will do well long term because of their immense popularity and ability to evoke nostalgia for those who joined the hobby more recently. However, as others have said, large reprints and a never-ending supply of exciting upcoming sets have split the consumers’ fickle attention.
If you like the sets, go ahead and buy them. Whether they are as strong as more recent sets in terms of chase cards or art is largely irrelevant once they move out of print.
As for grading singles, I would be mindful about their enormous pop reports. These are two of the most graded Japanese sets ever. Sealed product is likely to diverge on a different path than the graded chase cards.
Just because something hasn’t increased a ton doesn’t mean it has plummeted. Boxes are over MSRP and these sets are only a few years old with tons printed. A question like this with newer sets around double MSRP would seem so weird pre 2020. I wonder if the majority short term mindset that has taken over the hobby since 2020 will ever have a shift back to how things were pre 2020.
Anyway, like others have said I think these sets will do well in the long term. Price changes will likely be more gradual because tons of supply, but they were just so much more fun to open than normal sets so I don’t see price ever decreasing much if at all in the future.
