I’m new to collecting Pokémon cards and collectibles as I’ve stated in a previous post. I’ve also already shared and discussed the fact that I bought these boosters, but now that I have a good photo of them I’d like to draw on the insight of the more experienced as to what I should do with these. I definitely plan on opening up one for fun pack opening nostalgia, but otherwise I’m mostly wondering if packs in general are worth grading, or just shelving until unlimited maybe becomes more rare? I bought them primarily due to how pretty and nostalgic they are, but also figured they’d be an okay investment. pretty sure these are unlimited packs.
Can only speak for german booster but i think its the same for english too.
if you have light packs and want Money, grade them.The Plastic gives a good Premium.
if you like to display them i would grade them too. → New Case by Psa looks much better/ less likely to damage Booster.
unlimited is a ton out there. You need a long breath if you see it as investment aka better Options out there
Whatever you plan to do, check if you have a light pack or not. Just make sure you stay honest if you sell them, Trust is Key.
Good luck!
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I now know what I must do- weigh them, open the heaviest pack, grade the rest. Display them for as long as I feel like and then forget about them until I have kids. Thank you, your information is a great help.
Hopefully you bought from a reputable source that didn’t weight them already.
The base set packs sold via live auction booster box break, so I received three random packs from the box unweighted no doubt. As for the jungle packs I suppose I’ll find out!
Note the difference in the jungles.
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If you send packs to PSA to grade, sometimes they open them and then send them back ungraded because they were opened but still charge you for it.
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The base set packs sold via live auction booster box break, so I received three random packs from the box unweighted no doubt. As for the jungle packs I suppose I’ll find out!
What differences? Could just be the lighting, but I’m curious if you noticed anything specific. Looking at them now they seem all the same.
I suppose it could be the camera angle, but to me it looks like the font is different on the pack on the right of the picture. The “11 Additional Game Cards” bit looks off.
I’m no expert and just a mere observer. That being said, I see a couple of differences between the first two and third jungle booster pack:
- There’s a bit more space under “TRADING CARD GAME”, which makes it not touch borders unlike the other packs.
- Different contrast levels on the colours. For example, look at the shadow and lighting of the Pokéball. Another one, Scyther’s wings.
- TM* is printed in black on one and black on the others. Right of the Pokémon logo.
- “11 Additional Game Cards” font is bold on two and not on the other one.
Again, I’m not saying one or the others is fake but there’s a visible difference. Good luck and enjoy your openings!
- The font weight and border are different on the “11 Additional Game Cards” text.
- Colors are different. Notice the colors/shadowing of Sythers wing.
- Noticeable gradient banding on the Pokeball (not a seamless gradient).
If you can’t really decide what is best, maybe do a mix. Could open one, grade one of each artwork and keep two in the pack.
In this case it qlso comes down to preference; for example im a sealed collector so I would never dare destroy the beuty of an unopened pack 
but some people value the opening experience more which is totally fine too. And as some people mentioned here you are currently able to potentially net more profits if you open and grade them. HOWEVER, what people haven’t quite mentioned yet is this may not always be the case.
I’m a sealed collector not just because I have a soft spot for the look and feel of factory sealed, there is a method to the madness from an investment standpoint too. What alot of sealed collectors like me are banking on is waiting on sealed supply to decrease to a point where the desirability, rarity and value of the sealed product eventually exceeds the card values that would be inside. We have seen this happen with magic and pokemon could be next reach these new premiums for sealed. Its a risk 
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I’m a sealed collector turned sealed investor/opened collector. I have opened many packs/boxes in my day and I am rarely satisfied by what happens. I’d set them back, label (safely) which one is the heaviest, and then see what happens. Similar to the above, you may not get the value out of them = to the pack. You may also find that opening them is dis-satisfying, as I have, and why I collect clean opened packs. Allowing me to sell (eventually) the sealed ones.
Vintage Japanese pack never disapoint as mosty all of them contain a holo .
They also got expensive though, so maybe even that ship has sailed.
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Thumbs up to this plan. This is what I would do as well, at least with the Base packs (unless you got unlucky and they’re all light.)
When it comes to loose boosters I only keep light packs sealed.
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+1
The (hopefully) holo you get out of the heavy pack will end up having some personal significance to you. Some would say that financially it’s a waste versus keeping the pack as an investment, but seeing as you’re also a collector you’ll appreciate that it’s tough to place monetary value on self-pulled cards that create personal sentiment. If this is something you might not get to do too often, it might also be worth recording the opening so you can enjoy the moment again in the future with your kids.
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I wouldn’t want to live with the uncertainty after selling it, I would be forever imagining the gem Zard that could be in there. 
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Heh Schrödinger’s Zard
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Ironically, I started with JP. In fact, I didn’t open english for quite a while, and so, I think that only added to the disapointment. My first 3 rares: holo Dark Hypno, Holo D. Golbat, Holo Erika’s venusaur. My first 2 english rares: devolution spray, computer search. 
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