Collectors Value Guide Pokemon

How To Determine Pokmon Card Values

Whether youre just getting into Pokémon card collecting, or youve been collecting for a while, its only natural to want to know how much your Pokémon cards are worth!

Thankfully, the internet has provided and there are three useful resources we recommend checking out.

Naturally, these Pokémon card value databases are predominately made up from historical eBay data, as its the biggest Pokémon card marketplace online.

Collecting Pokmon: An Unauthorized Handbook And Price Guide

The Collecting Pokémon: An Unauthorized Handbook and Price Guide is a book about collecting Pokémon cards and merchandise. It has 128 pages.

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Pokemon Card Set Symbols

Use this handy guide to look up Pokemon card set symbols, set names, and set years.

The most common way to organize Pokemon cards is by set. To identify the set, look for a little symbol at the bottom of the card, next to the card number. There are a bunch of these set symbols 5-6 sets are released every year, each with a different set symbol, and theyve been printing cards since 1999!

The following table is a complete list of Pokemon card sets, sorted by date the newest sets are at the top the oldest are at the bottom. If I missed something, let me know if the comments! I want this to be THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR POKEMON CARD SETS!

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What Is Our Pokemon Card Values Chart

Our pokemon card value finder is the largest TCG lookup database that is updated on an hourly basis. Our online price guide tool helps users easily search and instantly find the price of any Pokemon cards. You can search by individual card, by Pokemon name, or browse our Pokemon card set list available for all TCG sets.

People of all ages love Pokemon! We know first hand, as we are major poke-fans ourselves. We grew up collecting Pokemon cards and playing the original games on the gameboy when they first came out. Heck, we remember trading our holographic Charizard card for a copy of Pokemon red for the original gameboy. We love Pokemon and the TCG so much that we dedicated our time to creating this website for other people who love it as much as we do.

Beginning your search is simple. You just type the name of the Pokemon you want to lookup, the Pokemon TCG set name, or the name of the rare Pokemon cards you want to see list information on. We will return you the results that we have in our database and you can easily jump to the next Pokemon, card, and set in line. We believe that browsing cards and finding prices should be simple and easy to do.

Why I Like Collecting Pokemon Cards

For me personally, as a kid the only set I ever completed in its entirety was the 2000 Team Rocket Set.

So, it was of great satisfaction to me when I rebuilt my binder 20 years later.

I didnt care about graded cards or values, I simply just wanted to flip through the pages and see that complete set again.

Tip: Theres a very handy resource called Pokellector, which shows you the full list of cards for each set. You can even log which ones you have, and which you still need to collect.

I then went on eBay and found listings of the individual cards I wanted.

I decided I wanted a minimum card condition of Near Mint, but for your collection this is up to you, and then I simply purchased the cards I was happy with.

And Ill tell you, opening up those parcels and seeing that old-school epic artwork again, was the closest thing to a time-machine Ive ever experienced!

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Welcome To The World Of Pokmon Card Collecting

Nothing brings back more nostalgia for me than Pokémon cards.

For the dedicated few, that passion stayed through tough teenage years and into adulthood. But for many, it slipped by the wayside.

lectrabuzz, sorry electric buzz of a holo pull was soon replaced by first kisses, house parties and underage drinking.

It wasnt until July 2016 that the flame was reignited for me. Thats right, the global phenomenon that is/was Pokémon Go dropped.

Instantly, I was teleported back in the world of Pokémon and it felt incredible!

Im not saying it wasnt without its glitches, dear god Niantic fix faster, but being able to catch an Onix on the streets of London was mind-blowing.

Within days I was on eBay trying to find those old cards I collected.

Holy crap a Holographic Machamp in terrible condition, only $100. I must buy this now!

Uneducated, I bought a load of random cards, overpaid a bunch, and although happy to have them in my hands again, that Pokémon itch wasnt quite scratched.

Fast-forward almost 4 years, and Im still just scratching the surface of the endless possibilities when it comes to Pokémon card collecting.

However, I know infinitely more about the hobby now.

Thats what brings us to this guide. Im going to teach you exactly how to get back in to Pokémon cards.

Whether you want to rebuild your old collections, invest in something that brings you joy, or perhaps like me, just from your past with your kids, this guide is for you.

How Much Are Old Japanese Pokemon Cards Worth

The Japanese Base Set was released in 1996, a solid three years before the English version.

Commended in the Pokemon community for their quality, old Japanese Pokemon cards are sought after items for any collector.

However, their value is affected by a couple of factors.

Unlike the English version where booster boxes contained 36 packs and roughly 12 holographic cards. Japanese Base set booster boxes contained 60 packs and the pull rates on holos are known to be as high as 50%.

As youd expect, this drives the value down compared to their English counterparts.

However, there is also a well-known printing error with Japanese base set, where they missed off the rarity symbol from the bottom right corner of the cards.

If youre lucky enough to own these cards, then they are extremely valuable and command a premium.

Pokemon then decided to print future vintage Japanese sets like Jungle, Fossil and Team Rocket with a holographic card in every pack.

Although these were fun to open, it also took away some of the excitement, rarity and value.

The main thing that combats this though, as mentioned above is the quality of the cards.

Card centering, print lines, and edge-wear is less common, therefore its easier to obtain a high score when getting Japanese cards graded. The higher the grade, the higher its value of course.

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Special Cards To Keep An Eye Out For

Aside from the various rares mentioned above, there are a few unique traits worth looking out for that can mean a Pokemon card has high value. These are often printing errors or limited distribution that led to a card becoming extremely precious to collectors. Sometimes these cards look no different than others of the same kind at first glance and require special attention to identify, so look carefully!

How Much Are My Pokemon Cards Worth

Did you just find a stash of your old Pokemon Cards in your attic that have been collecting dust for the last 20 years? Or perhaps you went to a yard sale and picked up a binder of some old-school cards?

Being able to put a price on Pokemon TCG cards can be incredibly difficult if you’re new to the hobby.

The Pokemon TCG cards were printed heavily, even in the beginning of the series, because it was so popular.

But, because the condition of cards is just as important as how rare the card is, most of the cards from back in the day are not worth very much. People just didn’t keep cards in sealed sleeves and cases, instead they were played with carelessly and in the process damaged.

The condition of a Pokemon Card is incredibly important a base-set Charizard that has its surface scratched to oblivion isn’t going to be worth as much as a pristine one that hasn’t been handled at all.

To know how good the condition of your Pokemon cards are, you can use Grading Services to give you a grade that buyers can trust.

You can of course, sell your cards without them being graded, but you could potentially be leaving hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the floor.

There are also many different “versions” of Pokemon cards, which can be very confusing to someone who just stumbled across a bunch of old Pokemon cards in their attic.

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Why Collect Pokmon Cards

If youre here, you probably dont need reminding, but lets do it anyway:

But if you need further convincing, PokeRev, a big player in community and prolific YouTuber recently opened up a sealed 1st Edition Base Set Booster Box thats valued around $90k! The excitement this box opening generated was off the scale! Credit to him for putting together such entertainment.

**Be sure to watch all the way through pack 20 belongs to Hobby Help, where he pulled a holo for us!**

Any Other Pokmon Sets A Beginner Should Consider Collecting

Wizards of the Coast, who produced the early Pokémon card sets, had a collection of promotional cards called the Wizards Black Star Promos. These would be used at special events, films, tournaments, etc.

In total there are 53 cards, containing a nice mixture of card designs and illustrations. Again, its quite a fun set for a beginner to collect, and may even bring back memories of your first Pokémon movie!

After Fossil and before Team Rocket, we also saw the introduction of 130 card Base Set 2.

It wasnt particularly popular at the time though, and was probably a bit too similar to the original Base Set, considering it was only released a year later.

With that being said, some collectors like to go for the full sweep of vintage Pokémon cards. Ill leave that up to you though!

At this stage, I also want to mention some other popular vintage sets like Gym Heroes, Neo Genesis, Legendary Collection and the e-Card Series. All of which are great options as your collection builds.

However, as a starting point, I think the four sets mentioned above are perfect for beginners.

Theres also one last set Id like to mention Evolutions from the XY Series. This is the 20th anniversary set released in 2016.

If you want a nostalgic throwback, without the price tag, this is the set for you.

It only contains the first generation of Pokémon, but mixes in some modern full-art card designs, a reverse holographic in each booster, and even five secret rares!

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Is It Too Late To Start Collecting Pokemon Cards

Absolutely not.

There is always an entry point, even with vintage Pokemon cards.

Ultimately, your budget will determine where yours is, and what type of cards you decide to collect:

• Classic or modern sets
• Mint, near mint, excellent, good or poor condition
• Rare, uncommon, or common cards

A common ungraded card in poor condition might cost less than a quid a 1st Edition PSA 10 card can cost tens of thousands of pounds!

You have to decide where to position yourself as a collector.

What Are My Pokemon 1st Edition Base Set Cards Worth

If you own any of the cards listed below, condition is the biggest factor in figuring out what your cards are worth. The prices below illustrate what these cards are worth after grading in mint condition as PSA 9’s & 10’s.

Important to note: It is very unlikely that your cards will grade this high if they have been played with. If you have these cards laying around in less than mint condition, it still may be worth getting them graded as long as they are in pretty good shape.

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Rare And Valuable Cards

Some of the older Pokémon cards have reached true collectible status due to their rarity. If youve been collecting since the 1990s, you might be surprised to find that a few of your cards are now worth astronomical amounts.

Check out this famous video below. Gary goes on Pawn Stars and shows off his insane collection of Charizards!

Which cards rank among the most desirable?

What drives the high prices of these and other super-valuable Pokémon cards? In a word: Rarity. The one factor uniting all of these cards is that they only exist in limited quantities.

Flip Graded Pokemon Cards

If you dont like the idea of waiting, you could simply try flipping graded cards.

As the value of Pokemon cards continues to surge, its likely that what you buy today will be worth more tomorrow.

Of course, you need an eye for spotting a good deal, but there are plenty of opportunities on eBay to buy graded cards, and simply relist them at a 10-20% premium.

From a purists perspective, its a bit of a soulless strategy.

But from a profit perspective, youve got to respect the hustle!

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Collecting Pokemon Cards To Make Money

With prices in the hobby so high, theres no denying it theres money to be made.

Especially at a time, where many people have lost their jobs, learning to buy and sell Pokemon cards online is a legitimate way to make some extra cash online.

So how do you acquire Pokemon cards, to then flip and turn a profit?

There are three basic ways to do this:

How To Cash In On Your Pokemon Cards

Now that youve gone through your cards and identified which may have value, its time to see how much theyre actually worth and put them up for sale.

As you might expect, one of the easiest ways to check the value of a card is to look it up on an auction site like eBay. Make sure to look at completed listings to see how much the card actually sold for.

Other useful sites are ones like TCGPlayer and TrollAndToad, which act as digital storefronts for game shops and individuals selling cards. Once you look up a card, you can check the Market Price for an idea of how much its currently worth. Like eBay, these sites allow you to sell your cards for a fee.

A snapshot of Charizard cards on TCGPlayer.

Once you know how much your cards are worth, you can either make a listing on one of these sites to sell them, or you could visit a card shop or flea market to haggle in person, whatever it takes to get the very best price for your Pokemon cards.

Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, youll want to follow him on and IGN.

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Gamble On Modern Pokemon Cards

Lastly, you could always gamble on pulling hyper rare cards from modern sets.

With multiple sets being released each year, how do you make sure Pokemon cards stay valuable?

You make the top cards harder to find of course!

Secret Rare cards like the Charizard VMAX Full Art from Darkness Ablaze or the Charizard VMAX Rainbow Rare from Champions Path are currently being sold on eBay for hundreds of pounds! And these arent even graded!

Its of course a gamble, but If you want the thrill of opening loads of packs, combined with the potential for a big payday, modern cards are the way to go.

Condition Of Pokemon Tcg Cards

If you kept your cards in a binder and only looked at them, chances are they might still be in good condition.

Back in the day, the Pokemon TCG was played by millions of children, who didnt care about keeping their cards in pristine condition or preserving their value. And how could anyone predict that the Pokemon Franchise would still be going 25 years later, let alone increasing in popularity and breaking sale records.

Thats not all- even if you kept your Pokemon Cards in great condition, they still can have other things wrong with them. The printing quality of Pokemon cards can also vary wildly, leading to cut corners, surface scratches, off-centering and lots of other issues which brings down the graded rating of a card.

The condition of your Pokemon Cards will play a lot into how much they are worth.

There are specialized grading companies who look at cards under a microscope and look for anything at all wrong with your cards. They give each card a grade and return them back to you. These grades are extremely valuable to collectors who want to buy the best conditioned cards.

It also drives up the cards rarity if a card is graded a 10 and every other card is only a 9, suddenly youre the one carrying the only graded-10 Pokemon card that all collectors want.

All of these factors are what keep the cards value going up, despite them being printed in their millions. Collectors want the best of the best, and theyll pay top dollar for them.

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