I have recently gotten back in to collecting pokemon cards, as I took a break when I was “too cool” for them. I now love browsing through efour to absorb as much knowledge about the hobby as I can.
An odd pattern that I have noticed is how much more English WOTC cards are valued compared to their Japanese counterparts. Can anyone explain the reason for this? Were Japanese cards produced much more abundantly? Are there just more English speaking collectors?
Sorry if there is a really obvious answer, but it baffles me.
This topic has been discussed before but the collector market for English cards has a larger audience and nostalgia then the Japanese counter parts. Just one explanation but I am sure you will get more insight.
You collect memories so unless you were brought up in Japan chances are you opened English packs so that’s where your memories lie. Waaaay more people opened english packs so the demand will be waaaay higher.
This is a very Important thing to consider if collectible value matters to you. Over time English will climb and Jpn will fade.
@mrmilk
Speaking of holofoil cards, most of the japanese booster packs always contain holos whereas the ratio for english booster packs is 1:3. Makes perfect sense that english versions are more desired/expensive.
There is alot more English cards produced than Japanese. And both are quite hard to grade for different reasons
I think ultimately comes down to demand. Alot of newer and younger collectors still new to the hobby within the last 2 years are all fixated on the old nsotalgic English cards.
Eventually they will want to collect more Japanese, and we will see some boom in Japanese items. It’s already starting to get more expensive here in Japan now.
That’s interesting! I know I’ve seen many more Japanese sellers on ebay, even some selling PSA graded cards in Japan. I wonder how much effect the trickle over from US, EU demand has had vs. Japanese collectors actually rejoining the Pokemon collecting hobby.
I think it’s the same reason that not many people collect the German, Italian and other language cards. The artwork looks identical but if the collector doesn’t speak the language - then why not go with the English set? Japan got to be “first”, but for me the English will always be far more desirable because that’s what I opened growing up and there is a bigger market for them in the United States.
Difference in market sizes as well - As mentioned there are more English in existence because the English market has always been the largest market for the Pokemon TCG. More people, more memories, more money/nostalgia invested in English cards. There is a reason worlds is (essentially) every year in the US as well for example - because thats where the main market lies.
As others have indicated nostalgia is definitely a factor. Also, old Japanese holos were in every pack (except base) and were better made than their WOTC counterparts, so raw mint copies are easy to find.
I really like japanese cards and prefer them in some ways. When pokemon cards hit I was in elementary school and I remember that japanese cards were considered much more rare and prestigious at my school.
As a collector today I really like that I can get them at a much lesser price. I’ve been considering buying the 3 original starters from 1996 in japanese and displaying them in the house because I can get a graded set for very little relative to their english counterparts despite being the true rookie cards for these pokemon.
I agree that its what you grew up with and a lot more people grew up with the English pokemon cards so there is more demand for them, but I also think if you are a new collector and start to become a serious collector the natural progression is to either start with new product if you have no clue then move to WOTC spend a lot of time collecting here until you reach most of your goals then you need the next challenge and the Japanese side of things is just that, a whole new world. I also think the Japanese cards will never fade! its where it all began and quiet frankly some of their artworks are better and the print quality is way better than English, they also have decent promos etc… I been loving the Japanese cards lately but will always collect WOTC too
Did they print a lot more Base packs in Japan than they did in English? I just picked up my first sealed pack of 1996 base set Japan cards for $38 dollars (including shipping). You can’t even get an English Fossil pack for that price…
I rather fancy that Japanese cards will hold their value (gradually increasing in value as time goes on) and may see surges in value every now and again, if certain cards/sets become “hot” for a period.
While the WOTC stuff is always going to be valuable, sought after and continue to go up in price, I think that people are going to discover some of the fun nuances of the Japanese sets (just as a few examples, the awesome VS sets, copious “Japan-only” promos and having 1st Ed. variants for the Gold Star/“Crystal” cards), and those wanting to collect the high end stuff have plenty of trophy cards, lottery promos and low release cards to get their teeth into.
In addition, the earlier Japanese sets are certainly more attainable and affordable than the WOTC sets, and, in my humble opinion, a good place to start for those just embarking on collecting Pokemon cards. That being said, I think the WOTC stuff is a good bet for increasing (and certainly holding) value in the future, if that’s the aim.
