What Makes A Pokemon Card Valuable
The Pokemon card market is just like any other open market: everything depends on supply and demand.
- Older cards â especially those from the first ever sets â are generally more valuable than newer cards.
- The condition of a card is critically important. A perfect card can be worth 2â10x more than the exact same card with a tiny imperfection that can only be seen with a magnifying glass.
- Generally, how rare any specific Pokemon card is often has a lot of influence on its’ market price. I am referring specifically to how rare a card actually is in the world, not its rarity .
- Cards that are highly playable are often valuable, but only for a short period of time… when newer, better cards come out they usually lose a lot of their value.
The Popularity Of The Pokemon Franchise
Since its origin in 1996, the Pokemon franchise has maintained a steady if not slowly growing popularity. It’s had its “explosions” of attention with the releases of e.g. new video games , but has never severely declined in popularity.
If Google Search data is anything to go by, on average, Pokemon is about as popular as the NBA.
Are There Any Other Methods For Finding Rare Pokemon Cards
The latest rumor which we have heard is that some players are using handheld metal detections in order to determine if rare cards are present. So, does this work? We cant say yes or no for sure, but many handheld detectors are sensitive enough to catch trace amounts of metals in dirt. This is an expensive location hack, however, so we dont know that this will catch on as the latest rare-card finding trend.
Only time will tell.
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The Value Of The Pokemon Franchise
The Pokemon franchise as a whole is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, having grossed over $90B in revenue.
For comparison, the Hello Kitty, Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises have grossed $86B, $70B and $32B respectively.
Think of all the Star Wars, Hello Kitty and Harry Potter merchandise, licensed products, movies, etc. that have hit the market…
Pokemon has out-sold them all.
… and keep in mind, Pokemon is not the oldest media franchise â not by a long shot. The first ever Star Wars movie was released about 20 years before anything from the Pokemon franchise ever even hit the consumer market.
Only about 10% of the Pokemon franchise’s revenue has come from its trading cards. The Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game was released the same year as the Pokemon trading card game and has grossed roughly the same amount.
Why People Still Weigh Pokemon Cards
Weighing cards is a good way for someone to spend as little money as possible whilst still collecting some of the more valuable cards. It can save them having to spend a lot of money to purchase the cards second-hand.
This can be an ideal situation for someone who appreciates and enjoys collecting Pokemon cards but may not necessarily have the money to be able to spend a lot purchasing second-hand desirable cards or waste a lot of money attempting to find one in a pack from the store.
Similarly, if you have already spent a lot of time trying to find a holo Pokemon card then you may not be in the mood to spend much longer searching for it. Weighing cards can help to save you time.
Typically, there is a one in three chance that you will end up with a holo Pokemon card. Although many can afford to take these odds, some collectors, even younger collectors, do not have the funds available. So, weighing cards can turn these odds in their favor.
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Can You Still Weigh Yugioh Packs
It is still possible to weigh newer generation packs, but the odds are a lot smaller as it will be harder to pinpoint which packs have Ultra and Secret rares. You will need to do a lot of trial and error testing until you get a good enough system to have the highest chance possible for pulling a valuable foil card.
Weighing Is Generally Frowned Upon
A lot of people say weighing booster packs is bad for collectors, players, and hobbyists because it ruins the “chance” aspect of pulling a good card.
If one person weighs all the packs in a booster box and buys all the good packs, everyone who comes after them will just unknowingly get packs of weak cards.
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How To Weigh Pokemon Sword And Shield Packs
While things have gotten more complicated since the Sun and Moon cards standard of including code-cards caught on, the weighing of the Sword and Shield packs is still just a matter of trial and error. You can go with the booster boxes if you dont want to practice weighing the cards, but otherwise you will just need to get a sampling and start taking notes.
Weighing Pokemon cards is all about developing a sharp eye for weight deviance and mixing that up with your experience of what is inside. Numbers dont lie, so by documenting what the individual packs weigh as well as what you actually got from them, you can easily develop a base that will give you the edge with weighing.
Simply put, if you invest the time, you can get the skill.
of the Sword and Shield Booster Box on Amazon.
Can Pokemon Cards Be Weighed
The good news is that weighing Pokemon packs is not, indeed, illegal. That said, if you are going to try this for yourself then you will likely want to do this at a large, local store which carries them, such as Wal-Mart or Target. If you try to do it at a local comic book or gaming store then you may be asked to stop.
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What Are The Biggest Scams To Look Out For
I won’t go too deep into these topics right now, but these are the biggest things to look out for if you want to get into buying Pokemon cards.
Loose booster packs
This is not really a scam, but as mentioned in the section about weighing booster packs: buy individual booster packs at your own risk. You should assume they were weighed or measured in some way and that means there is a good chance there are no special cards in them.
Booster boxes that are not sealed
Something that really could be a scam is an unsealed booster box. Original booster boxes come sealed in see-through plastic wrap.
If you buy what should be a brand new, unopened booster box but it isn’t wrapped in clear plastic wrap, it should be a huge red flag. Somebody could have weighed all the packs, taken out the good ones and replaced them with other dud packs.
Fake cards
As inevitably happens with things that are as popular and valuable as Pokemon cards… there are a lot of fakes on the market.
The safest way to get real cards, booster packs, booster boxes etc. from the latest sets is to buy directly from the official Pokemon store. If you don’t live in the US, you will have to find a trusted reseller.
For individual cards and older booster packs and boxes, you will just have to gain a lot of experience and learn the nuances of real Pokemon products and then make educated purchases, ideally with a means of recourse if it turns out you were scammed .
More Useful Details: Art Box Text Box Borders
Now lets look at some of the componentsthat make up the card itself. The art box, borders, and text box! Before wejump into that, though, how do MTG cards compare to regular playing cards?Well, we mentioned already that they have a similar construction. For size,theyre spot on when compared to regular playing cards at 2.5×3.5. Now, on to more measurements!
Originally, the art box measured 2.1×1.8, but the border size was decreased in Magic 2015 to allow for a slightly bigger picture. This brought the art box measurements up to approximately 2.3×1.8, or 59x45mm. The text box for its part measures about 2.3×1.28, or 59×32.5 mm.
The border has a couple of different measurements around the card, so buckle up. First, well talk about the border that we know and love today, first introduced in Magic 2015. The black border on the top and sides of the card is about 2mm. On the bottom, the black border thickens to about 6mm.
On the tops and sides of cards, though, theres a second, colored border. On the top and left side, this colored border is about 1mm thick, while the right side is about 2mm thick. This ups the total border size on the top and left side to 3mm and the right side to 4mm, not accounting for the slight pop-out of the text bars that show the cards name, type, and set symbol.
Distorting Lens | Engineered Plague
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What Is Weighing / What Does It Mean To Weigh A Pokemon Booster Pack
Holo cards are usually more desirable than standard cards.
Also, due to what they’re made of… holo cards also usually weigh more than standard cards.
This means that if you weigh booster packs, you can usually tell which ones have holo cards in them.
So you can go to a store, bring a pocket-sized scale with you, weigh all the booster packs they have, and buy only the heavy ones… and you will basically be guaranteed to pull some very good cards.
… that is, you could: but The Pokemon Company claims* to have solved the problem by placing 2 different types of code cards into booster packs. The different code cards weigh different amounts and are supposed to compensate for the weights of the other cards in the pack… and ideally: make every booster pack weigh the same amount.
The Pokemon Company claims* they solved the problem. But people on online forums, Reddit, etc. claim the system does not work very well, and the weight of booster packs can still tell you whether or not a good card is inside.
I am doing my own research on the topic and plan to report back with a blog post or video in the near future.
Use A Sensitive Digital Pocket
This is information which you can use but you will need to have a sensitive enough scale at your disposal. To this effect, a nice digital pocket-scale is going to be a good idea for weighing the packs. Choose a scale that can weigh in hundredths . This decision is based solely on Accuracy.
If you are trying to weigh Pokémon cards we recommend using a scale like this one, which can be found on Amazon, since it is pocket sized and weighs in .00g.
You can try with a hand-postal scale, but generally the digital models are capable of a much finer precision.
Since you are looking for tiny aberrations in pack weight then that digital scale is simply going to be the best tool for the job.
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How Much Does A Pokemon Card Weigh
The average standard pokemon card weighs anything between 1.67g and 1.73g. However, holographic pokemon cards weigh approximately 1.91g.
Holographic Pokemon cards are highly sought after, with many collectors spending a large amount of money in the chase for one. However, given the addition of the holographic design to the card, this means that they weigh ever so slightly more than the average pokemon card.
For this reason, many enthusiasts have taken to weighing packs of cards before purchasing them. They use the average of the weight to determine the chances of the pack contained a holographic card, as opposed to solely standard cards which can be lower in value.
How Much Does A Genie Lift Cost
Genie lift hire prices vary depending on size, load capacities, age, and maximum height. Moreover, there are better deals available if you rent for longer periods. But why would a company rent a Genie lift rather than buy? The average purchase price for a 19ft scissor lift ranges between $10,000 and $16,000.
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How To Identify Base Set Pokemon Cards
Every set of Pokemon cards has whats called an expansion symbol. This is some kind of small visual identifier to help you assign a card to a particular set.
However! As Base Set was the first ever set, it doesnt have an expansion symbol.
This is how you can identify Base Set Pokemon cards!
- Here is a really useful list of all the sets and their expansion symbols.
- Here is a handy visual guide to all the Base Set cards if you want to cross-reference your cards.
Ask Permission To Weigh Cards
However, before you begin weighing all of the packs in a shop, many consider it best practice to ask the store owner or manager if they would mind you weighing the packs. It is entirely up to their discretion and so depending on them you may receive different answers in different shops.
Even if you are allowed to weigh the Pokemon card packs in the store and have the time and equipment to do so it does not necessarily guarantee that you will receive a holographic card.
In fact, because the average standard weight can vary significantly when multiplied to make up a pack you would need to ensure that the weight of a pack is significantly heavier than the average to have any guarantee of buying a holo Pokemon card.
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Mtg Card Size: The Fun Stuff
Weve covered basic and detailed MTG carddimensions, sleeve sizes, and proxy printing. What more could there possibly beto talk about when it comes to Magic cards? Well, the fun stuff that you dontreally need to know but the curious side of you wants to know.
Whats the volume and weight of a card,and what kind of crazy stuff have people done with them? What about awesomenovelty cards from tournaments and events? Weve got you covered!
What Is A Heavy Booster Pack
Basically, some smart Alec realised a long time ago that packs with a holographic card weigh more!
Generally speaking, the pull rates of a holo are 1:3 packs, therefore you can simply weigh the packs, extract the valuable items and flog the rest.
Not exactly fun or ethical right?!
But, thats the game I guess when a lot of money is at stake.
Its important to know this for two reasons:
Anyway, lets get into the different pack variants
1st Edition Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £5k £10k
- Easily identifiable by the 1st Edition logo on the foil
Shadowless Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £1k £3k
- Harder to identify. This helpful article explain the different Shadowless booster pack variants
Black Triangle Error Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £1k £5k
Unlimited Base Set Booster Packs
- Estimated current value £300 £600
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How To Preserve The Condition Of Your Cards
I plan on releasing a more in-depth guide in the future, but these are the biggest things to do, in order of priority:
Is Weighing Pokemon Packs More Cost
Arguably, yes, weighing Pokemon cards is most cost effective but its not guaranteed. If you are purchasing 10 packs, individually selected after weighing, then you are spending around $4 plus the tax on each for a ballpark figure of $50. If your weighing technique is good then you might be able to get 7 -10 Ultrarare cards.
Now, if you purchase a Booster box then you are looking at around an $85 investment and this is going to guarantee the following:
- 108 uncommon cards
- 36 rare cards
- 216 common cards
So, as you can see, a lot is going to depend on your talent for weighing the cards and this does take practice. Dont expect results overnight, but if you work on it the general consensus seems to be that it is a cost-effective hack for getting Ultrarare cards without having to break the bank. If spending the extra money is not a problem, however, then you might want to consider going with the guaranteed option.
It boils down to a question of whether you want to invest the time or just spend the extra money, but as many players find that hunting rares this way is a bit like a treasure hunt you might want to give it a try first to see for yourself. Its just another way to play your favorite game!
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Video Of Me Looking Up How Much My Pokemon Cards Are Worth:
If you get too many results that include cards NOT like yours, use the checkboxes to pick the ones just like yours. Choosing a few comparable items by using the checkboxes gives you a much more accurate estimate of what your Pokemon card is worth.
What to do next:
Once youve gone through and searched for what your Pokemon cards are worth using mavin.io, you have several options:
If your Pokemon cards are worth a lot of money You could hold onto the cards and collect them, as most collectors do, and hope they appreciate in value over time. It may be a good investment to get them professionally graded by PSA, this will dramatically increase their value.
You could sell your Pokemon cards to a local card shop, knowing full well what theyre worth . Keep in mind dealers will buy them from you at wholesale prices they have to make a profit after all, and selling a large collection takes a considerable amount of time and resources so dont expect to get 100% of what youd get online.
Selling your Pokemon cards online will get you the highest prices, but it can be time consuming: taking pictures, writing descriptions, responding to customers, packing, shipping, returns its a lot of work. If you have the time and patience, selling them online is a great way to make money. Read our guide to selling on eBay.
