Wednesday, April 17, 2024

How To Appraise Pokemon Cards

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Holographic First Edition Machamp: $6000

FAST & EASY – How To Find The Value Of Any Pokemon Card!

The Kanto starters and legendaries aren’t the only original Pokemon to boast high-value shadowless holographic cards. Nearly any holographic first edition rare card from the original set can grow immensely in price compared to other rare Pokemon cards, but since they arent as actively hunted, their prices can vary far more wildly based on their quality.

Machamp is one of these. According to PSA Cards range of auction prices based on the cards quality classification, perfect mint condition Machamps of this kind can land between $800 and $6000, while dropping just one rating down will result in prices around $200 and $900. This card in particular truly proves how important it is to keep your trading cards safe through the years, as you never know just what will become valuable twenty years later.

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!

Things To Value Your Pokemon Cards

Logan Paul just bought a PSA 10 first edition Charizard from the worlds biggest Charizard Card collector for $150,000 and now a lot of people are wondering how much their cards are worth. If youre wondering how much your Pokemon cards are worth youre in the right place.


How to value Pokemon cards? Pokemon card price values range from $0.05 to over $200,000 and the final price depends on factors such as rarity, condition, shape centring, proxies, type, set, year, print, edition, errors, language, and grading. In the end, a card is worth how much someone is willing to pay for it.

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In this article were going to cover 14 things that you need to look at if you want to estimate the value of your Pokemon cards, and at the end of this article you will find out how to know exactly how much your cards are selling for today.

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Best Channels To Buy Pokmon Cards

1. eBay:


The safest online marketplace to buy and sell Pokémon cards. Check sales for a quick look at where cards are at price wise. Check seller reviews and buy with confidence from high rated sellers. eBay is the largest online marketplace and is your best chance to locate inventory. When searching for cards, look at items nearest you, and contact nearby sellers, potentially creating a local network. It saves on shipping and more. Load up your watch list to get faster alerts when cards sell or are pulled.

2. Facebook groups & Instagram:

Look for feedback from sellers to check legitimacy, these are great places to score deals and build relationships within the collecting community but beware of scams.

3. COMC:

4. Mercari:


Popular marketplace to buy and sell cards. When hunting for low population cards, its important to utilize all options.

5. Card Shows & Stores:

If you can find a show or store with vintage Pokémon cards, go. You get the chance to look at cards in person, check sales online, network and decide whats of value. You never know what you can walk away with.

Store Your Cards In Self Storage

Top 5 Rare Pokémon Card Values

Central Self Storage is the perfect place to store your Pokémon cards and other collectibles. Thats because our climate controlled storage units are perfect for storing temperature sensitive belongings. With storage units across the United States, you can easily find a storage unit near you. Rent your climate controlled storage unit today.

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The Pokemon On The Card

The final factor that drives price comes down to Pokemon popularity. Its no secret that Charizard is king! But other well-liked Pokemon such as Pikachu, Blastoise and Venusaur also command a premium.

As you can imagine, there are cases where a brand new Charizard from a modern set can be worth more than a 20+ year old 1st Edition Base Set PSA 10 card.

These four factors drive Pokemon card values in different ways, but if they all come together beautifully, its the perfect recipe for an extremely valuable Pokemon card.

Tournament And Promo Cards

Not all Pokemon cards come from booster packs. Some of the rarest Pokemon cards were only given out as tournament prizes or promotional giveaways. These cards usually bear a stamp on the art to identify where they came from or have a special promo star in the bottom corner, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for these sorts of markings on your cards.

Some of these special cards were quite commonplace back in the daysuch as the promotional Mew card given out in 1999 to those who bought tickets for Pokemon: The First Movie so theyre not worth more than a few dollars now.


Card image courtesy of PKMNcards.com.

But some, like the 2011 and 2012 Tropical Beach card from the Pokemon World Championships, can easily fetch hundreds of dollars.

Card image courtesy of PKMNcards.com.

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How Much Is A Complete Set Of Pokemon Cards Worth

If youre holding a complete set of Pokemon cards , then you definitely have an asset collectors will be interested in.


For some, gotta catch em all literally means owning every card, from every set ever produced!

Now the actual value of your complete set will be determined by its age, condition and set popularity.

But whats interesting is that even newer full sets can be worth quite a lot of money. Sometimes as much as the older ones!

This is because, the regular introduction of reverse holographic cards, and secret rares, means full/master sets can contain over 300 cards.

The cost of pulling all of these cards naturally could cost £1000s in booster boxes. So for some, buying a full set outright simply works out cheaper.

Ultimately though, whether your complete set is old or new, is absolutely has value, and most likely, a market of interested buyers.

Take The Time To Study Their Worth

*ARE YOUR POKEMON CARDS VALUABLE?* How To Find Value!

As Pokemon re-enters mainstream culture with the release of new video games and movies, expect to see an uptick in buying and selling activity of old cards. But interest doesnt pick up overnight.

Its not binary in that sense, Pratte says.

Instead, its a more gradual process where each new Pokemon-related release reminds twenty- and thirty-somethings of their childhood: the crinkling sound of ripping open a new pack of cards followed by a strong whiff of ink as they shuffle through the set, hoping to find something rare.

But as you rummage through your collection, remember that theres no rush to purge now. Spend some time with your cards. See if theyre valuable. Consider getting them authenticated. Then decide if theyre worth selling.

After two decades, Pokemon and its card-collecting hobbyists arent going anywhere anytime soon.

Adam Hardy is a former staff writer for The Penny Hoarder and specializes in stories on the gig economy. Hes a University of South Florida graduate, who studied magazine journalism and sociology.

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How Should You Use The New Appraisal Feature

The new Appraisal feature is a great way to quickly discover how powerful your new Pokemon are. Finding out that an old favourite has a three star rating is incredibly gratifying.

It’s especially useful for when you’re comparing a bunch of the same Pokémon, as you can keep the stat appraisal screen open as you move between Pokémon. This allows you to quickly compare stats and star rankings as you try to decide which Pokémon to keep and which ones to release.

You can even search for Pokémon by their specific star tier, just like how you can search for them by name. To do this, you’ll need to search:

  • 0* = 0 Stars
  • 3* = 3 Stars
  • 4* = 3 Stars with a red background / 100% Pokémon

The new ranking system makes it a lot easier to decide which Pokémon are worth investing your Stardust and Candy in. Though it’s still important to remember a Pokémon’s rarity and whether it’s one of the best Pokémon in the game.

Though by and large the closer to 100% this is the better, depending on the Pokémon, some individual stats are more important than others – so it isn’t the be all and end all.

For example, if you have a Snorlax – one of the best creatures to put in a gym with its high health – with a low HP stat, that makes it a less attractive proposition. But then again, because it’s rare, you might not have any alternative Snorlax to rely on. Of course, an average Snorlax will still perform better than others in its field, so it could still be worth Powering up.

Best Pokmon Card Storage Methods And Ideas

No matter if youre interested in selling your Pokémon cards or keeping them, its important to know how to store them. If youre interested in the former, properly storing your cards will maintain their value. And if even if youre not interested in selling, you dont want to ruin your belongings by improperly storing them.

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Most Old Pokemon Card Collections Arent Worth Anything

The only rare Pokemon card I can distinctly remember having was a holographic Blastoise, which I destroyed in the YMCA pool.

I cringed when that memory resurfaced. Surely that card is worth more than a used car today

Turns out, you can actually buy a collector-condition Blastoise on Amazon for about $100.

In fact, holographic Charizards arent selling for much more than that:

So what gives? Why are some Charizards worth $100 and others worth $200,000?

Well, unlike the $110 eBay Charizard, Logics prized Charizard is a:

  • First Edition.
  • Shadowless.
  • PSA Gem Mint 10.

Any card falling short of those high standards wont be worth even 5% as much. So whether youre looking to start investing in Pokemon cards or simply selling your old collection, lets cover how to spot and appraise valuable Pokemon cards!

Do You Have Any First Editions Pokmon Cards

A Guide to Collecting Valuable Pokémon Promo Cards

First edition cards tend to be worth more than other cards, so if you have some of those in your collection you might just be in luck.

For the most part, first edition cards are easy to spot as you will often see Edition 1 printed next to the bottom left corner of the cards art frame.

For example, take a look at a first-edition holographic Charizard that can get you, depending on the condition, anything from $2,000 USD to several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

While other editions still may get you around $100 USD on average, having a good condition 1st Edition card is always a good place to start if you are looking to sell cards from your collection.

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Reasons To Invest In Pokemon Cards

Here are four compelling reasons why a small investment in Pokemon cards this year may pay off down the road:

  • Supply is dwindling and demand is rising. Economics 101 tells us that when demand for an asset outstrips supply, prices rise. Nobodys making new 1st Edition Pokemon cards and demand is rising at the moment, so its reasonable to suggest prices will rise in the short term as well.
  • Theyre easy to buy and sell.Compared to real estate or rare cars, Pokemon cards are among the easiest forms of property to buy and sell. No surprise leaks or expensive brokers you always know exactly what youre buying or selling.
  • Theyre easy to store. Similarly, trading cards are perhaps the single easiest physical investment to store and maintain. Pokemon cards dont need cleaning, climate-controlled storage, or even insurance just a plastic sleeve and a safety deposit box.
  • The upside could be huge.In 2017, if youd invested $500 in an S& P 500 index fund youd have about $1,500 now. If youd put that money into a PSA 9 Charizard instead, youd have $5,500.

Whether The Pokemon Card Has Been Professionally Graded

You dont need to have your Pokemon cards professionally graded in order to sell them. Often, its not worth the cost of getting them graded, unless you have an extremely rare card in perfect condition.

However, if a card is graded by a company called PSA and gets a good score, it may be worth a lot more than if the card wasnt graded.

The amount a PSA grade will improve the value of the card depends mostly on the score. If PSA gave the card a 9 or a 10, then this can increase the value by 3-4x or even more, depending on the rarity of the card.

On the other hand, if they only gave the card a 6, 7, or 8, then it might be worth only a bit more than an ungraded card.

If a card is PSA graded, it will be encased in plastic with a red PSA sticker at the top specifying the grade.

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What Pokemon Has The Highest Base Stat Total

is the smartest Pokémon in terms of stats. Arceus even has the second highest overall benchmark score. Mega Rayquaza has the highest base amounts.

How to change your name on pokemon goWhere can you change your Pokemon name? There is no way to change your name in Pokemon Go through the app. Instead, you need to go here and fill out a support ticket directly on Niantic. You can request a name change here, but keep in mind that there are certain criteria.How do I change a Pokemon’s nickname?Highlight the Pokémon you want to rename and press A. Scroll to Rename an

Espeon And Umbreon Gold Star Pop Series 5

How to value Pokemon Cards! Pokemon Cards Worth 2020!

A pair of Gold Star Pokémon cards from one of the most valuable Pokémon sets of all time

Sold for $22,000 in February 2021

Gold Star Pokémon cards are among the most valuable sets of Pokémon cards in existence and command an incredibly high value as a result. The cards are named after the gold star that appears next to the Pokémons name at the top of the card, which signifies that the card features alternative-colour artwork different from the common version. Only 27 Gold Star cards were released from 2004 to 2007, making them some of the rarest Pokémon cards available.

While all of the Gold Star Pokémon cards are rare, only appearing once in approximately every 88 booster packs for certain Pokémon TCG expansions, the very rarest are the Eeveelutions – the many evolutions into which basic Gen 1 Pokémon Eevee can evolve. And the rarest of the rarest are the original Japanese-language versions of the cards offered to members of the Pokémon Players Club, who could spend points earned by participating in official organised play and tournaments to obtain exclusive cards.

While Eeveelutions Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon could be acquired in the EX Power Keepers set released in 2007 via the Pokémon online store, their psychic and dark elemental siblings Espeon and Umbreon could only be picked up by players who collected enough Pokémon Players Club points. The Espeon 025/PLAY card required 40,000 EXP points earned, while Umbreon 026/PLAY was even most pricey at 70,000 points.

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Is Your Pokmon Card A Misprint

It may sound counterintuitive that an error would make something more valuable, but then, it also makes something more unique and therefore rarer.

Keep in mind mention that a misprinting of a card, doesnt automatically make your card worth more money. As mentioned before, a misprint of a card will generally result in a lower score from a professional card grading service.

However, there is a market for misprints, and certain well-known misprints, in particular, can drive up the price of a Pokémon card and sell for a decent amount of money.

One such printing error is the much desired first edition base set Red-cheeked Pikachu, which is currently worth more than $10,000 USD provided that it is in Gem Mint condition.

Even lower graded version of this card can be seen to be sold for several hundreds of dollars.

Bulbasaur 1st Edition $450

One of the most popular Pokemon, Bulbasaur delivers long term. Previously third in the pecking order for PSA 9’s, Bulbasaur is currently higher than Squirtle and Charmander. With low populations, be sure to make Bulbasaur a top priority.

PSA Pop: 783 – 237 – 416

Current Value: PSA 10 $3200 PSA 9 $450

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The Authenticity Of The Pokemon Card

Fake Pokemon cards have become increasingly prevalent in recent years as the Pokemon TCG has become more popular. Theyre commonly found on eBay, at flea markets, and in dollar stores.

Fake cards are not worth anything. Theyre illegal for use in tournaments and collectors will not buy them. Therefore, its important to determine that you have genuine Pokemon cards before you try to sell them.

You can use our guide to fake Pokemon cards to tell if your cards are fake.

How To Research Pokmon Card Prices

POKEMON TRADING CARDS (HIGH VALUE CARDS)

If youre looking to maximize your return on selling your Pokémon cards, you will need to do your research. Blindly selling individual cards without doing the legwork on Pokémon card value could end up selling yourself short and giving a collector a great deal.

The best way to research Pokémon card prices is to look at real life selling history. After all, Pokémon cards are only worth what someone is willing to pay. Check out these three resources to see what your Pokémon cards are worth:

  • eBay has the largest collection of Pokémon cards for sale online
  • com is regularly updated with eBay and Amazon card selling data to reflect the average price of specific cards
  • TCGPlayer is an online store for buying and selling trading cards, with card prices that reflect the average sale price of said cards within the TCGPlayer store

If you have a lot of Pokémon cards but dont want to go through the hassle of selling individual items, there are places where you can sell Pokémon cards in bulk. Just know that youll be leaving money on the table if you choose to go this route.

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