When it comes to WOTC, the Team Rocket set has generally always been the cheapest. Save for Dark Charizard, the set just doesn’t seem to have the oomph of Base, Jungle, Fossil, the Gym sets or the Neo sets.
But, even then, it is STILL a WOTC era set featuring the first Dark cards, which served as a precursor to a set that some consider the best of all-time in Neo Destiny.
So why are the cards still so cheap?
I am seeing PSA 10 1st Edition Team Rocket HOLOGRAPHIC CARDS for under $50!
How is this possible? Like, I understand that species like Weezing, Arbok and Hypno are not all that popular, but these are PSA 10 1st Edition WOTC holos.
Because they have some of the best WotC artwork out there! Oh shoot, that’s not a valid reason. Just one of the many sleeper sets, I’d say. Enjoy picking them up cheap while you still can. I for one really like the “Dark” Pokémon.
If I had to take a guess, the short answer is that the print run of Jungle, Fossil and Team Rocket are all comparable but the demand for Team Rocket isn’t as deep. Probably partially due to the fact that the original 150 can all be obtained from Base, Jungle, Fossil
hmm I think it is overlooked as of now. It has a lot of nice artworks on top of fan favorites like Charizard and Blastoise. There is also a secret rare (the first one in the history of Pokemon TCG).
Maybe it’s cause they changed the holo pattern and people didn’t get used to it til the gym or neo sets. Or perhaps maybe folks didn’t like the bold printed R as the set symbol, since all other wotc sets have a cool picture! Or perhaps for the fact that in the cartoon the rockets had a victreebell and the card set did not?
Jungle and Fossil have the highest cost and that’s without a Charizard in either set. Then there’s a drop off. I’d say if Team Rocket and Gym Challenge didn’t have a Charizard they’d be sitting closer to $2500.
Objectively speaking, the set doesn’t seem to be underrated.
I was born in 1991. I was the “perfect age” when Pokemon EXPLODED in the U.S. I remember going CRAZY over Pokemon back when I was a kid with the T.V. Show, GameBoy Games, and Cards (Base, Jungle, and Fossil). Everyone at school was OBSESSED with Pokemon! However, upon the release of the Team Rocket Set that interest really started to die-down for myself and many of my friends. The “Pokemon Hype” wasn’t nearly as strong as with the release of Base, Jungle, and Fossil - we “grew-up” and moved onto Video Games.
I actually remember the release of the Team Rocket Set. My Mom and I were shopping at Walmart and I stumbled upon some Team Rocket Booster Packs! Being the angel of a child I always was (LOL) my Mom purchased 2x Booster Packs for me. I remember opening those Booster Packs in the car on our way home; I HATED those cards! They were just so different from the cards that I was used to enjoying - really didn’t like them at-all. Those were the last Booster Packs I opened during my initial interest in Pokemon. That’s really the point when I stopped collecting the cards and began my transition into Video Games.
Now, if you fast-forward a couple years to 2018 - I really enjoy the WotC-Era Pokemon Sets!!! I have the complete line-up in 1st Ed. from Base through Neo Destiny. Personally, nothing will ever come close to those 3 OG Sets! I’ve grown to appreciate Team Rocket; however, it’s definitely still towards the bottom of my list in-terms of “likability”. If I had to order the WotC-Era (Minus eReader) from Least Favorite today, it would have to be Base Set 2, Legendary Collection (Regular - Not Reverse), and Team Rocket. Base 2 and LC are fairly obvious as they’re both considered “re-prints” in my opinion. However, Team Rocket is still towards the bottom of that list as that was the set that initially turned me off of Pokemon as a child. I don’t really have any other explanation as to why I dislike Team Rocket, just not that appealing to me.
And, I am sure I’m not the only person who has this opinion - lot of “casual collectors” I know stopped collecting as a child around this time as well. I’m sure that plays into account with the lower price-points.
After looking at the Neo sets, you can argue Team Rocket is underrated, but if that’s the case you need to include the Gym sets as underrated as well. Also, the price of a set is much more complex than how people feel about it. If the pop is higher on the PSA 10 cards that could be one explanation for a lower price that has nothing to do with popularity of the cards.
I think the whole set is underrated. Weezing and Arbok are DIRT cheap, but a good portion of the holos can all be picked up for under $80, which is crazy to me.
And again, even though Weezing and Arbok aren’t popular, the fact that some of them are going for around $40 is mind-boggling when you consider the fact that they are WOTC PSA 10 1st Edition holos.
the second set based charizard ever released and available in 1st edition print is from the team rocket set *checks price* *wtf why so cheap* *BRB while i blow all my money on them*
Team Rocket is one of my favorite sets of all time. As others have mentioned, it came out just after Jungle and Fossil when the hype was starting to go down. The print run of this set was therefore probably quite high relative to its popularity back then, and probably much higher compared to the later Wotc sets like the neo and e-reader expansions. A good indicator of this is the high PSA pop report for Dark Charizard. Perhaps the cards simply are not rare enough to warrant a higher price currently.
I love this set, hence my name, and I am glad people underrate it. I see raw cards being sold or trying to be sold for more then their graded counter parts lol.
Check out the Japanese version of this set, its absolutely gorgeous. The holos are so much more reflective and better looking then English even though I have the full set. I will take a couple pictures for comparison.
The fact that this set was the first set to have “Dark” Pokemon and the 1st to have a card outside of the norm of card numbering (Dark Raichu) makes me love it more. The only thing I wish they did better is make the cards appear “darker” like Ex Team Rocket Returns did.
I’ve paid close attention to this set the last couple years. I haven’t paid attention to prices but to demand for purchases and offers for me to buy. I had a big team rocket collection listed just to help me gauge their standing. www.ebay.com/itm/122704807764
I started getting serious inquiries so since I didn’t want to sell yet I closed the listing. Even now, about twice a week I’m getting a lot of interest in that closed listing or at least big chunks of it.
