I remember a few years ago I could buy 4 packs for $60. Now I see 1 pack going for $150 on eBay (I’ve probably opened 10-15 a few years ago, oops). And some of the holos go for more than Base Set 1 holos ($100 Vaporeon?)Yes the set has the Crystal cards but just curious what fundamentally has changed in the market in the last 4 years or so to justify this? Pokémon Go making people miss Pokémon more? Just wondering if you guys think it’s a bubble or if it’ll keep going up.
Low print run
Boxes being opened a lot
Hyped set
Beautiful artwork and cool looking cards
This was all happening long before Pokemon GO came out. People overestimate how much of an influence Pogo has had on TCG collecting overall.
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One of the reasons:
A 'zard with great artwork
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The regular holos are going for 100.00? Seriously?
Don’t start looking at buying the Playboy Mansion yet Gary 
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Lol. But is he right?
First off, there is no Vaporeon in Base Set If there is a $100 one out there, it’s probably Jungle No Stamp.
And not sure if he talking about Base Set 1 or Base Set 1st Edition. But just Base Set holo rares even a Charizard you can pick up for under 50$
Wasn’t he talking about the skyridge Vaporean?
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Misread the sentence xD
eBay sold listing range from 80 to 120$ for a Holo copy. But limited supply listed so maybe just some guys needing to complete their set willing to overpay. Other holos from the set go for 30-40, which is reasonable for a set with a print run as small as Skyridge
I’ve seen Umbreon and Vaporeon regular holos go for over $100
Has anyone been keeping track of the individual prices for PSA 10s? Holo prices are going higher than other e-series holos and the POP on Skyridge cards is higher.
That vaporeon looks amazing and hardly ever comes up for sale in decent condition so I’m not surprised at all about the price. As to why skyridge is on the rise, it’s probably because all the new collectors that returned since pokemon go have started branching into sets besides base.
Yes that’s correct. I was referring to the Skyridge Vaporeon. Some other ones too, such as Alakazam (https://www.ebay.com/itm/292275060633). Wow.
And I meant I was comparing them to Base Set 1st. Ed. You can get a lot of the ex condition holos from Base Set 1 for 50ish. So the fact that Skyridge, which is a lot newer and presumably has more copies around, sells for more/as much seems odd to me.
I looked through my emails and I bought 4 Skyridge packs plus an empty box for $49.99 in 2013. Looking at the recent various sold prices that’s roughly a 10x increase in price since 2013. I’m pretty sure you could get a Base Set 1st. Ed. booster for around $220 back then. I (think) it goes for maybe $500 now. So just a 2x increase. Granted Skyridge started from a much lower base, but still, it seems there’s been an uptick of interest in specifically Skyridge since 2013. Not sure why.
pkmncards.com/wp-content/uploads/golem-skyridge-sk-148.jpg
And that’s my favorite card art from that set, though Raikou is a close second 
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I actually think a lot of people are underestimating the influence of PoGO.
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I for one think we are all estimating the influence of PoGo
sincerely,
Goldielocks
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People use Pokemon Go as an invalid excuse to complain about prices. The game was released in July of 2016; when has enough time passed where people can stop using it as an excuse?
IF PoGo were a temp boost, it would have a similar pattern of the people playing the actual game. The massive fall off with PoGo happened about a month or so after launch. If you actually quantify the growth in TCG, the patterns don’t line up at all with the patterns of PoGo.
As for Skyridge and the E series at large, it is simply more scarce than say team rocket. The irony of the E-series being the least popular equates to less product availability.
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The game doesn’t need to have big numbers for a long time. Fact is, the game was a global phenomenon and brought Pokemon back into a lot of people’s heads. Tons of people played the game, and got (understandably) quickly bored of it. A lot of those were trying to scratch that Pokémon itch in other ways, some turned to the main games, some to the TCG.
Here is a Trends Graph to give you an idea of how Pokémon GO influenced the popularity of the TCG: imgur.com/a/JJqC0
Prices are higher today than 3 months after Pokemon Go. Charizard sold for 20k at the lowest point on that chart. I am not denying that Pokemon Go was advertisement and an entry point. But people incorrectly use PoGo as an excuse for why prices are higher, and propagate that prices will magically return to 2014.
It reminds me of when people arrived in 2011-12ish from social media. We now accept that was an entry point and not a “bubble”. Hell even the actual Gold Star bubble was an entry point. There are people today still collecting who entered because of the Gold Star bubble.
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How do prices being higher now detract from the fact that Pokémon GO has/had influence over TCG popularity? By default, provided consistent popularity, prices would always rise because older cards are no longer produced. But Pokémon GO gave a huge boost of popularity, thus also boosting the prices faster than they normally would have. Makes sense to me.
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I am making the distinction that this isn’t temporary. No one denies that Pokemon Go was advertisement for the hobby & brand. I am only highlighting that this wasn’t a flash in the pan scenario.
PoGo basically said, “hey guys, remember pokemon”. What happened after that is pure market activity. Some people are full throttle and fell in love with pokemon, some may be fickle, but those are the general patterns of any hobby market.
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