What Is The Most Valuable Pokmon Card
The most valuable Pokémon card is the Pikachu Illustrator. It is one of the rarest cards ever made because it was originally given to the winners of a CorCor Comic contest in 1997 and 1998. Only 39 copies were awarded, but an additional two were made. This means that there are only 41 cards in existence.In February of 2021, a Pikachu Illustrator card sold for $375,000. Before that, one of the cards sold for $195,000 in 2019.
Check For Valuable Characteristics
Not all cards with the rare symbol are equally rare, with some rare cards being rarer than others.
Other characteristics of a card such as whether its a holofoil or non-holofoil card or if its a card with special abilities, can make it rarer and more valuable.
An easy way to find valuable Pokémon cards is to look for holo cards.
Sometimes these are called:
There are a few different types of Holo Pokémon cards:
- Holo: The Pokémon image is holofoil
- Reverse Holo: The frame around is holofoil, but the Pokémon image itself is not.
- Full Art Holo: The entire card is covered in holofoil graphics.
Which Pokmon Cards Are Worth Money
You might not own any trophy-edition pieces unless you were an avid tournament participant. Still, your regular Pokémon cards can make you a fair amount of money if they have specific characteristics. Some collectors have earned hundreds of dollars if not thousands on a single Pokémon card exchange.
The first step toward making your little fortune is dusting off your old Pokémon cards and picking out the right ones to sell. Here are the most valuable Pokémon cards you might actually have:
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Some Pokémon cards have special value, including:
- Holographic cards: They have reflective and shimmery backgrounds.
- Shining Pokémon cards: They are inverse holographic cards.
- Full-art cards: Their illustrations extend over the entire front of the card.
- First-edition cards: They are among the first to be printed and display the edition 1 logo on the bottom left corner of the Pokémon illustration.
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What Influences Pokemon Card Prices
Before we get into how to sell Pokemon cards, we have to go over how Pokemon cards are valued and what makes expensive cards have such ridiculous price tags.
Generally, Pokemon cards are influenced by a few different factors:
Each of these 4 factors can have a dramatic effect on the pricing of the cards, with condition being the overarching factor that can obviously destroy your chances of ever selling a card.
Condition is determined by a few things such as scratches, creases, wear, tear, and liquid damage. You can view a more detailed guide here.
Rarity is determined by the symbols and numbers displayed on the bottom right corner of the card or the bottom right corner of the picture .
Circles or diamonds arent worth much, while stars and first edition symbols can be very rare.
Edition is determined by special types of cards that were made as part of a unique set. First edition cards are amongst the rarest Pokemon cards in the world.
Overall demand is pretty self-explanatory. If there is an abundance of a specific card, then it obviously wont be worth much. This somewhat ties in with the rarity of the card.
Ultimately, the goal is to find Pokemon cards that are first edition, rare, and have the highest grade possible: PSA 10 Mint, which basically means its a card that went straight from pack opening into a protective sleeve and has never been handled.
Understand Different Card Buying Strategies
With 1999-2000 Pokémon cards, the long term investing would be towards Mint raw cards and Near Mint graded cards. Graded cards have been on a blistering pace the last 12 months. Lower grades of the most expensive cards or PSA 8 and up for the rest of the 1999-2000 cards are great long-term investments.
Flippers will buy a card with the goal to make a profit on it ASAP. Education is what sets the flipper from the casual collector. They know the sales, population reports and what cards are coveted by monitoring the market. If a card takes off, flippers often look to capitalize. If you only know the main Pokémon characters and not much else about the cards, flipping is probably not for you. You have to study sets, know errors, sales, population reports and have a deep understanding of why cards/sets get hot. All of this is covered here.
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Best Places To Sell Pokemon Cards Online
While there are certainly options for selling your cards in person, the best places to sell Pokemon cards reside online. Most simply this is because online marketplaces have a far wider reach and theres more opportunity to find deeper pockets.
Our Picks:
- Troll and Toad: Best for Quickly Selling a Collection
Key Trading Cards And Rpgs Are Our Specialty
Brands such as Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons and Final Fantasy are some of the Trading Cards and RPGs we proudly distribute. As an authorised distributor, were well aware of the time sensitivity around these products and ensure your order is received in preparation for their much anticipated new release events.
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Charmander 1st Edition $300
Image credit: Jason Koeppel // ONE37pm
Charmander’s value has been all over the place in the last 12 months. After the 2020 summer of record sale after record sale, baby Zard’s value has taken a dip recently, but don’t be surprised if Charmander rebounds due to the power Charizard yields on the market.
PSA Pop: 652 – 661
Current Pokemon Card Value: PSA 10 $979 PSA 9 $300
How Do You Become A Pokemon Distributor
Alright. Lets assume that you want to buy Pokemon cards. You may want to buy them in bulk to crack open for singles so you can try and sell those at a profit, or you may want to be selling sealed products.
In order to do this, you need to find a company that deals with wholesale Pokemon cards. GTS is the largest distributor in the United States, but there are a few more too. We will discuss those in the next section.
Due to strict requirements from the Pokemon Company, these wholesalers will often only sell to you if you meet the following requirements:
- You run a legitimate business
- You have a reseller license
- You meet minimum order quantities
Now, the brilliant thing about the Pokemon Company is that they place fewer restrictions than other card retailers e.g. if you wanted to buy Magic the Gathering cards wholesale, Wizards of the Coast requires that you hold regular MTG tournaments. Pokemon doesnt have any requirements like this, but your wholesale prices and access to products can change if you run regular tournaments.
If you are not a legit business, no distributor will work with you. If they are willing to work with you, then they are not a legit distributor and you wont be paying actual wholesale prices.
Once you feel that you have all the requirements in place to work with a distributor, you can get in touch with them. That leads us neatly onto our next section.
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Take Advantage Of Fast
At VR Distribution, were always ahead of the curve at recognising the next big thing. Our retailer partners take advantage of fast-moving consumer trends of products within our kids toys, collectables and gaming ranges. Of course, some things never grow old and we stock a wide selection of age-old favourites such as yo-yos and jigsaw puzzles.
Organize The Cards By Sets
A good way to organize your cards is by sets. You can identify a set by a small symbol. On old sets, this symbol will appear in the bottom right corner of the Pokémon illustration.
On new sets, this symbol will appear on the bottom right corner of the whole card.
Read this list of Pokémon card symbols to check which sets your cards belong to.
Please note that Base card sets, which were one of the first three sets to be released in the USA, dont have a symbol on the card.
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Why Invest In Pokmon
Pokémon cards are the premier non-sports cards to invest in today. The original 1999-2000 sets have been on an upward trajectory for over 5 years, with 2020 being the mega increase, thus creating a cultural demand similar to the 1999 release.
High-End Pokémon cards are being viewed as modern art, with the price tag for a pristine 1st Edition Base Charizard currently at $433,000.00 and climbing if you can get one. Due to correlations to Magic the Gathering, the prices today could increase steadily over the next 5 years. Outside of the economy crashing, Pokémon would seem to be a safe play.
Demand for original cards has consistently increased since 2010, but due to awareness, and points mentioned previously, there has been a fearlessness from buyers to set records. All year, record sale after record sale for high-end Pokémon Cards. The fear of missing out on todays price is real.
Pokmon Japanese Base Set No Rarity Symbol Holo Venusaur
A very rare Pokémon card made ever more valuable by its artists autograph
Sold for $55,000 in November 2021
Image: PWCC
Many of the rarest Pokémon cards date from the trading card games early days, with first edition cards released in the 1990s ranking as among the most valuable Pokémon cards today.
While the first edition stamp on cards is highly sought-after in the English edition of the Pokémon card game, the rarest Japanese Pokémon cards are instead identified by their lack of a stamp. Specifically, a missing black star in the bottom-right of a Japanese-language card is whats known as No Rarity – meaning that the card is missing the common symbol used to signify a Pokémon cards rarity.
No Rarity Pokémon cards are among the rarest Pokémon cards in existence, and few come rarer than the Venusaur Pokémon card from the games first print run in 1996. Just five copies of the Bulbasaur evolution – famous for appearing on the original video game Pokémon Green – have been graded at a perfect Gem-Mint 10 by PSA, making a flawless copy of the card extremely rare.
While a No Rarity Venusaur card commands a high price by itself, a copy sold in November 2021 set a new record for the rare Pokémon card by fetching $55,000 at auction. Helping the record sum was the signature of the cards illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita – the legendary artist behind many Pokémon cards from the last 20-plus years – on the cards case, making the already rare Pokémon card truly one-of-a-kind.
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Where Can You Sell Pokmon Cards
The easiest place to sell Pokémon cards is on eBay.
Its by far the most user-friendly service to quickly list your cards and start earning cash.
You should be aware that many buyers will be wary of getting scammed.
Buying collectibles online involves sifting through a lot of scams and counterfeit products.
But remember that if you take the time to get your cards authenticated, youll have a much easier time selling them.
It shows buyers that your cards are the real deal and it will eliminate any arguments or skepticism that your cards are fake.
Creating an eBay listing is incredibly easy and convenient.
If youve never sold anything on eBay, make sure to check out our beginners guide to selling on eBay.
You can also sell your cards to an online or local card shop.
They may pay you less for your cards since theyll try to turn a profit off your cards, but its worth a shot if you arent having any luck on eBay.
You can even look into an auction house.
However, you should only consider this if you know you have a card that will go for thousands of dollars.
Where Can You Sell Your Pokmon Cards In 2022
Collecting Pokémon cards is very popular at the moment and many collectors go out of their way to get the rarest cards in their collection. Cards that are almost impossible to get can earn you a lot of money if you have them in your possession. Just to give you an idea of how much money is going on in this world: last year a Pokémon card was sold at auction for a whopping $360.000. An unprecedented amount.
We’re going to explain where you are Pokemon cards can start selling and of course we share the best tips with you so that your sales go even faster.
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Should I Get My Pokemon Cards Graded
Getting your Pokemon cards graded can take a while, and it can cost you about $20 per card. With that in mind, you should consider getting your card graded so long as its value exceeds about $20.
Some exceptions apply. For example, if you own an entire base set that youre looking to sell , getting each card graded may be worth it even if an individual card is worth less than $20 as having the entire set graded would enhance its overall value.
We Pay More For Your Old Pokemon Cards
Our Pokemon Card value guide is by far the most extensive one compiled on the internet to date. We collect all types of Pokemon Cards. First edition, base set, Pokemon has been our specialty since day one. If youre interested in selling old and rare Pokemon Cards then youve come to the right place.
Japanese and misprinted Pokemon cards are another huge interest of ours. Some of these types of Pokemon Cards can be worth thousands of dollars. In some instances, weve paid over $100,000 for a single card, it happens. Contact us today for a free evaluation.
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Where To Sell Pokemon Cards Near Me
Pawn Shops
A card collection can still be sold without having to go through all the trouble of selling it on eBay or Craigslist. In fact, there are many places near you that purchase Pokemon cards.
This makes it an easy process to transform your cards into cash. Just remember to double-check the value of your prized cards before selling them to avoid being taken advantage of.
Anyway, here are a few shops in your area where you may buy Pokemon cards.
If you live near a pawn shop, theres a good possibility theyll take Pokemon cards or at least consider them, especially if you have any rare cards and the manager is knowledgeable about the game.
For those who are certain of the value of their cards and who are skilled negotiators, the process is relatively simple.
A quick Google search for Pokemon cards pawnshops will almost certainly turn up a number of businesses in your area that accepts/offer card trading and exchange.
If I were you, I wouldnt go to any pawn shops that dont mention selling cards. They rarely purchase cards since they are unfamiliar with them.
At the absolute least, call around to see if any businesses in your neighbourhood buy Pokemon cards, and then go there with your book of cards to start bartering!
Comic book stores
Comic bookstores are a great choice for finding places to get Pokemon cards near you.
Almost all comic book shops sell their own cards. Local gamers benefit from buying cards from them because it allows them to grow their inventory.
What To Do Before Selling Pokmon Cards
Lets say you found a deck of Pokemon cards hidden somewhere at home. Dont touch the cards right away! Remember when Logan Paul that his card was pristine?
Buyers want their cards to be spotless, so those fetch the highest prices. Wear cloth gloves while handling them. Make sure you dont crease or fold the cards as you look at each one.
Write down details about the cards you have. You will still have to get verification from a professional. Your analysis just makes sure you have a rough estimate of your cards value.
Here are the details you have to check:
Heres how you can determine the condition of a Pokemon card:
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Pokmon Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9
A legendary Pokémon on a legendarily rare Pokémon card
Sold for $144,300 in May 2021
Lugia is one of the most iconic and popular Pokémon in the entire series, having starred on the front of early Game Boy game Pokémon Silver and its Nintendo DS remake SoulSilver. A legendary bird Pokémon from Gen II, Lugia is one of the most powerful and hard-to-find Pokémon that players can catch in the video games – so its only fitting that its Pokémon card is also extremely rare.
The Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9 Pokémon card is described by auction house PWCC as one of the most difficult Pokémon cards to grade, as the result of a number of errors and misprints that were included in the early runs of the Neo Genesis set for the Pokémon TCG. Later print runs were corrected, but many of the cards from the expansion remain more common in their earlier uncorrected forms.
As of May 2021, PWCC claims that only 41 Gem Mint 10 condition Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9 cards have ever been graded by PSA, with just three earning the maximum BGS 10 Pristine rating from grading company Beckett Grading Services. The Lugias rarity means that it ranks almost as highly as the legendary first-edition Charizard when it comes to the most valuable Pokémon cards.