Investments in Pokemon cards became popular in late 2020 and maintained good notoriety through mid-2021, until the market physiologically collapsed.
The bubble was born out of a combination of factors, chief among them clearly the lockdown and Logan Paul who began to go on a spending spree in this area, creating a wave of incredible notoriety for the brand.
The influencer has in fact purchased for $150,000 an English first edition Charizard card in perfect condition (source his YouTube channel)
At the time these figures were considered absurd for this industry, but in those months everything grew exponentially except for returning to normal levels in recent months.
Those who bought at the highs are holding cards that may never again reach the value that the market gave them.
In this article we are going to understand how to invest in Pokemon cards, what to look for and what to watch out for in order to maximize your return.
- How to invest in Pokemon cards
- Where to buy Pokémon trading cards
- How to grade a card (and what it means)
How to invest in Pokemon cards
In order to invest in Pokemon cards, you need to be a fan of this world and you need to comply with 5 basic points:
- Knowing the market
- Knowing where to buy
- Deciding in which language to purchase
- Grading the paper
- Know when to resell
When you can manage these aspects (in part common to all investments) to the best of your ability, you can move with confidence and begin to bring home attractive gains.
Conoscere il mercato
Knowledge is everything when it comes to investing. The value of a paper or any other asset is decided by the market, so what we need to go study is the history of this brand to especially how the human mind works.
In fact, humans always react the same way to similar stimuli, so if we can schematize this behavior, we can get to make huge profits.
Trivially, the market during the summer freezes because people go on vacation and have no money for this kind of activity.
In winter, on the other hand, we are forced home by the cold weather and Christmas puts a consumerist streak on us!
If we can buy in summer and resell in winter, we can bring home some profits.
Clearly there are many other thing to consider, and this was an oversimplification, but you have to thing this way.
The reliable sources
In order to understand market sentiment, what people think, and what products are coming out, we need to stay up-to-date and we need to follow as many sources as possible to get first-hand information from which to draw our thoughts.
I personally follow several people on YouTube, on Twitter and on Instagram.
If you start following some of them, join their Telegram groups and read the news from the blog, you will definitely have a good initial knowledge.
When you feel ready and sufficiently educated, it will be time to start making some investments in Pokémon cards (rare and otherwise).
Where to buy Pokémon trading cards
Pokemon trading cards can be bought in two places:
- in stores
- online
Each of the two options has pros and cons.
Physical Stores
The advantage of going to physical stores can allow us to find, if we are lucky, random pieces at a ridiculous cost.
If, by any chance, the shopkeeper happens to find a box of cards from the basic set in the first edition (the rarest ever) in the basement and displays it thinking that they are worth the same as the new ones, we can make a very good deal.
These tips, by the way, also apply to cards Lorcana, Disney’s new TCG that can earn you a lot of money if you buy the right products.
In addition, by being able to touch the goods with our hands, we are assured of buying something in perfect condition.
Online
Online we can take advantage of more competitive prices (not always) and we will certainly have a wider assortment and a better stocked warehouse.
As far as I am concerned, the good old newsstand, if well stocked, always wins.
Best sites to buy Pokemon Cards
We also need to understand whether we want to buy new or used items, in the latter case it goes without saying that we need to refer others to the correct sites.
If you want to buy online, here are the 5 most reliable sites to buy Pokemon cards:
- Gamenerdz
- Full Grip
- Tcgplayer
- Cardmarket
- eBay
Gamernerdz
On Gamenerdz, you’ll find an extensive selection of trading card games for purchase, such as Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, LOTR, Dragonball Z, among others.
You have the option to pick from booster packs, booster boxes, card tins, single cards, and more. Additionally, trading card essentials like deck boxes or card protectors are also available for purchase.
Gamenerdz boasts some of the most competitive pricing on the market for cards, and there are ample opportunities to find sales on various items.
Explore the Deals section on their webpage (highlighted in red) to discover the best offers, maybe you can catch a product that you want with an high discount.
Full Grip
Full Grip is a treasure trove for card game enthusiasts, housing an expansive collection of Pokemon, Magic, and Digimon cards, along with necessary accessories such as deck boxes and sleeves. The site offers both single cards and sealed packs across various game.
The variety of Pokemon cards available is especially vast, encompassing everything from the earliest base sets to the latest releases.
Predominantly catering to Pokemon and Magic card collectors, Full Grip provides an enormous assortment at sensible prices, making it an outstanding platform for card hunters.
Tcgplayer
Though not widely recognized, Tcgplayer.com is one of the premier destinations for purchasing Pokémon cards, particularly given its focus on trading card player values.
Operating out of the United States, they ensure dependable and precise pricing for every card in their inventory.
Cardmarket
In addition to being the site of reference regarding prices and market trends for Pokemon products and beyond, Cardmarket offers the ability to buy items between users.
In this case, therefore, we will not be getting a package from a store but from another person. We are entering the world of used goods, and we need to be very careful.
eBay
The platform of eBay is famous for being an e-commerce where you can find anything and in fact it is very much used also for buying and selling Pokemon cards online.
I personally still use it now and am doing well both as a buyer and seller.
The users are intelligent collectors and I have never found myself in any uncomfortable situation, so I recommend it.
Some additional suggestions
Vinted is catching on as a site to buy and sell Pokemon cards because of its low commissions.
The search filters are great and this can enable you to locate the right offer in no time.
In any case being a new platform (and not designed for it) you might face malicious or unpleasant people.
Finally, I advise you to use Amazon. Mostly because of the high sales commissions, you are unlikely to find competitive prices.
If the item is sold and shipped by Amazon it might be, but if it is sold by a third-party seller you might want to go directly to their ecommerce.
What language to buy
Sets from the Pokémon Company are produced in a lot of languages, each for its target market.
Two are recognized globally while the third varies from country to country.
Depending on the type of investment you want to make and your reasoning, you may want to select one language rather than another.
The three languages in which it makes sense to buy Pokemon cards to invest are:
- English
- Japanese
- Your country language
English
By going to purchase an English-language Pokemon product, we will have the confidence that we can resell it to a worldwide audience.
This gives us a great advantage in the availability of items, as the print run is larger and we can then go out and resell it to a larger pool of users.
Japanese
Japanese is the native language of these items, consequently it has an immortal fascination. Clearly, we will never understand what is indicated on the cards, but we will be assured that the market will always appreciate them.
In addition, certain cards are issued only in the Land of the Rising Sun, so we have no alternative to this language if we want to own one because we know it will be an excellent investment.
Your country language
In my case, my country language is Italian.
They are, of course, only available only in Italy and this might lead us to think that their value is less than that of English because they have a lower threshold and affect a very small part of the world’s population.
Instead, such reasoning is flawed in that fewer pieces often means that there will also be less supply.
And this, by market logic, will raise the price.
How to grade a card (and what it means)
If we find ourselves in possession of a valuable collectible card or cards (such as the Charizard 1 edition), grading them might be the right solution to increase their value and to avoid running into problems or disputes when selling them.
What it means to grade a card
The process of grading a card involves examining its condition in great detail in order to assess its originality and state of preservation.
Once this is certified, it is placed in a sealed plastic box with a label indicating its grade from 1 to 10.
The better it is preserved, the higher its grade will be.
The conditions of the paper, however are not the only aspect that is taken into consideration. There are objective aspects that can doom it right from the printing stage.
In fact, if this were to come printed not centered (with the edges of different sizes) or with some defect, the vote would be affected.
How to Grade a Pokemon Card
If we want to grade a charter, we have to go to an appropriate body.
Currently there are 2 famous one worldwide.
During the lockdown, they received so many orders that their wait times stretched from a few weeks to more than 10 months, just to give an idea of the surge the market experienced during those months.
The 2 most important graders are:
- PSA
- BGS
All costs and waiting times that we are going to look at are excluding shipping, which may affect the final price.
PSA
PSA is a U.S.-based historical grading body that analyzes, evaluates, and certifies the condition of a Pokemon card that is sent by the purchaser.
After that it is encapsulated in a plastic case with a grade ranging from 1 to 10 as a testament to its characteristics.
The 10 represents perfection in all respects.
In fact, saying “I have a PSA 10” is synonymous with owning a perfect paper in a condition that no one else can have better.
A complete set of papers graded at such a high level has a high value, just look at this insertion on eBay selling a complete set for nearly 50,000 GBP (65,000 $).
Within its database we can check how many cards of a certain type received a particular grade.
If I see that PSA has graded 10 only 5 cards of Charizard V, I know that I have a rare and valuable card in my hands.
If not, I need to do more thinking.
What collectible cards can we send to PSA
At PSA we can send all papers in English and Japanese, while for Italian only first edition papers are accepted.
What are the grading costs
The grading has a cost that varies according to the stated value of the paper, below is a table summarizing the various prices.
| Card value | Cost per card | Waiting time |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 999$ | 50$ | 45-90 days |
| Up to 1.499$ | 100$ | 15-30 days |
| Up to 2.499$ | 150$ | 14 days |
| Up to 4.999$ | 300$ | 7 days |
In case of higher value cards, it will be necessary to contact the company directly for a customized quote.
BGS
BGS (Beckett Grading Services) is less widely used than PSA but is perceived to be of higher quality elegance and class than its competitor.
It adds some additional goodies by changing the color of the label based on the grade the paper took and also the grades of the individual aspects being considered.
Thanks in part to these aspects, it stands out from all others.
Labels can be:
- Black Label – rated 10 on all aspects
- Gold Label – overall grade between 9.5 and 10, but a few sub grades are below 10
- Silver Label – overall grade between 8.5 and 9
- White Label – all other grades
Below we can see the detail of a Charizard GX Black Label from BGS.
As we can see all the subgrades are 10 and consequently the final grade is the maximum achievable.
For example, if the centering had been 9.5, the final grade would have been equally 10 but would have been gold labeled.
What collectible cards can we send to BGS.
At BGS we can send all Pokemon cards in English and Japanese, while for Italian cards we have to limit ourselves to the first editions.
What are the grading costs
The graduation costs of BGS vary according to the waiting time we want to have. In the table below we are going to summarize them in detail.
| Service | Cost per card | Waiting time |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | 25$ | 25-45 days |
| Standard | 40$ | 10-20 days |
| Express | 100$ | 5-10 days |
| Premium | 200$ | 2-5 days |
How to send cards to a grading body (PSA and BGS)
Our papers should be packed with extreme care, otherwise we run the risk that they will be ruined in transit or even rejected by the recipient.
The 3 degrees of protection that absolutely must be applied are:
- A soft sleeve
- A Hard Sleeve (Toploader)
- Of the rigid cardboard to protect
A soft sleeve
These are soft plastic sachets that can be found easily (each ETB contains 65).
A hard sleeve
Toploaders are the essential protection for the cards we want to protect at all costs. They are hard plastic cases inside which we can put our card (already inside a soft pouch).
Of the rigid cardboard to protect the whole
To cover it will require cutting out two pieces of rigid cardboard that we will place on top and bottom of the protected paper and tape them together.
At this point we will be sure that nothing will happen to our object.
In addition, for extra security, we can ship it in a box with additional packaging instead of using a plain envelope.
Knowing when to sell
When we see the value skyrocket, it is hard to say enough is enough. We think the party will continue forever, while the market does not grow indefinitely.
So we have to be good and cold-blooded enough to stick to our plan and sell when the paper reaches a certain value.
This is precisely why my advice is to decide beforehand how we want to organize, that is, when we make the reasoning about buying we must in parallel also make the reasoning about selling.
I buy it at 50€ because it will reach 110€. Perfect, once it reaches that threshold I sell it and cash the profit.
It matters little what the price will do next, changing strategy on the fly is never a good thing unless there are upheavals within the industry that rarely happen.
We also have to be careful about any reprints that might cause the price of the card to collapse. In fact, if it is rare, but the Pokémon Company decides to print more of it, there goes our dreams and earnings.
Concluding
I hope this guide on how to invest in Pokemon cards has helped you and that you found it interesting.
This is a fascinating world that is constantly evolving, which it would be nice to be a part of even without thinking about making money.
If you are on this site, however, you are interested in this and as a result I am sure you will use all the tips and tricks to become a smart investor ready to seize the right opportunities.
If you liked the article and found some interesting information, please write to me in the comments or send e-mail to info@diventeromilionario.it.
Also let me know if you have any observations or suggestions for improving this content that is constantly evolving.
Disclaimer
This article is only informational and NOT for professional or educational purposes. The topics covered must not be understood as financial advice.
Do not sell or purchase of the financial securities covered.
You must always think with your own head and act only if you understand what you are doing. If not, better stay still.
In any case, only invest capital that you are willing to lose, because that is what could happen!
The author and the website disclaim all responsibility for any action taken or not taken based on the content of this article.
FAQ section
Yes, the rarest and most desirable Pokémon cards can be great investments.
Limited supply and increasing demand make Pokémon cards a profitable investment.
The value of Pokémon cards is determined by factors like nostalgia, rarity, demand, and supply.
For the best return, consider investing in rare and sought-after Pokémon cards. Charizard and Pikachu are evergreen cards that will not disappoint you!