Should I Sell My Old Pokmon Collection Or Hold On To It
It depends on your feelings about money versus nostalgia.
The value of Pokémon cards has been increasing steadily over the past few years. So, if youre planning on selling your collection, now might be a good time to do it.
If youre not in a hurry to sell and are a fan of the Pokémon franchise, you might want to hold on to your collection. Who knows, it might be worth even more in the future!
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Collecting Pokemon Cards Its Like 1999 All Over Again
Aside from when they were first released in 1999, collecting Pokemon cards has never been so popular.
Sure, the Pokemon Go craze of 2015 reignited that spark for many, but it wasnt until the world plunged into lockdown in 2020, the masses returned to the hobby.
Bringing with it a wave of celebrity endorsements , the value of Pokemon cards continues to skyrocket.
So the question is, how do you start collecting Pokemon cards?
Well, firstly, we need to look at your reason for collecting.
How To Get Your Tcg Pokmon Cards Graded
In order for a Pokémon card to be worth a lot of money, the TCG collectible needs to first be scored by a grading company. A cards value can literally jump up by thousands of dollars depending on its grade. Because it costs money to send Pokémon cards in for grading, players should first determine whether the card is actually worth submitting. The easiest way to do this is to examine the card under a good source of light. The TCG collectible may not be worth submitting if it has scratches on the holographic, whitening on its corners, or the artwork is off-centered.
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Players can use graded Pokémon card databases such as Pokémon Priceand Price Chartingto get an idea of what the TCG collectible has been selling for graded in past auctions. Fans looking to buy graded TCG collectibles can also take advantage of eBays Pokémon cards Authenticated service, which confirms the authenticity of both the Pokémon card and its grading slab. Below are the steps on how to get your Pokémon cards graded.
- Go to a card grading company such as PSA, Beckett, or CGCand look at the services pricing.
- After choosing a grading company, the website will then give players instructions on how to ship cards to them.
- Once cards are shipped off, there could be a long wait time due to increased demand in grading.
- Eventually, the graded Pokémon cards will be sent back with a score.
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List The Pokmon Cards On Sale
When you have everything in order, its time to make an ad. Here is how to go about it:
- Register the Pokémon cards you are selling at the site. Describe your offer in the templates if the site provides them. However, most sites have similar template descriptions so that you can use the exact text.
- Create your ad. In the ad, be specific about the card number in the set, the sets name, condition, grading, and rarity. Include the card titles and names in the description to ensure the buyers are clear.
- Upload photos. Take good-quality pictures of the cards. The photographs should clearly show both sides of the cards. Dont edit the images. Instead, include and mark the imperfections on the cards. Avoid Photoshop and using available photos on the internet as it lowers confidence in the buyer. Be ready to take additional pictures at the clients request.
Tips For Selling Pokemon Cards
- Organize Your Card
Make sure to organize your Pokemon collection. Keeping your cards organized will help make things easier when it comes time to sell your collection. This will also help keep everything together once you are ready to sell.
- Find out the value of the Pokemon cards
Make sure to research to find out the value of your Pokemon cards. To find out more information on how to tell the value of your Pokemon cards, check out the video by Pokemon expert by
- Make sure they are in good condition
One of the most important factors in selling Pokemon cards is making sure they are in good condition. So take some time and look through your cards to see what type of condition they are in.
The selling price of the card depends on the quality and condition of the card. If you believe you have any cards worth more than $1000, you can get the cards graded on the Professional Sports Authenticator website. This site grades all types of trading cards, including non-sport cards such as Pokemon cards.
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How To Sell Pokemon Cards Tips For Sellers
It doesnt matter if youre wondering how to sell Pokemon cards online or want to sell Pokemon cards near you there are several selling tips to help make your life easier.
A lot of this has to do with simplifying organization, which helps you sell faster and also ensure you get fair prices for your cards.
Some tips for how to sell Pokemon cards more effectively include:
Thats a nutshell guide on how to sell Pokemon cards for cash.
Hopefully, our list of the best places to sell Pokemon cards help you make some extra cash with your old collection of cards!
Organizing Option #2 Rarity
This method is more suitable if you are planning to own a large stack of cards, or you will want to maximize profit by selling specific card bulks in the future.At the bottom of each card there are several icons that represent what rarity that card is, common , uncommon , rare , amazing rares , there are high rarity cards like: V , Vmax, EX, GX, golden, Rainbow cards, and so on .Sort the cards to their specific set icon and just stack them depends on their rarity.
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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.
Variables That Can Affect A Cards Value
1. The Grading Company
PSA is the king of Pokémon card grading with BGS a close 2nd. Both companies command top $ for their graded cards and have proven that grades do matter in the Pokémon realm, with a BGS 9.5 1st Edition Charizard selling for nearly $73,000.00 in July of 2021.
2. Supply of the card
Pokémon cards have low populations compared to sports cards. The number of graded cards can be the biggest indicator of value, but some cards, such as Pikachu or Charizard, have insane demand regardless of populations. Supply is outmatched by current demand, and after two decades since these cards were produced, that wont change. Check the PSA 1999 Pokémon Game Population report to get more info on how limited the Base set cards are.
3. Buying Raw vs. Graded
Thanks to modern technology, getting clear photos of cards is easier than ever. That said, until you hold a card, you dont know how clean it really is. Graded cards are the safest indicator that youre getting what you want. When buying graded cards, think of the price paid for the grading and that there is no wait time besides shipping. There is much less risk buying graded cards, but raw can be the best bet to make profits faster. You never know what you can find in a binder someone is selling, but be careful and do your best to inspect those cards.
4. Surface, corners, edges, creases & centering
5. Your negotiation tactics
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Best Places To Sell Pokemon Cards For Cash
posted on July 20, 2022This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more information.
Chances are, if you grew up in the late 90s/early 2000s or had a kid around the time, youve owned Pokemon cards at one time or another.
With over 800 different Pokemon species and millions of fans around the world, theres no doubt that Pokemon is one of the defining shows and card games of multiple generations.
Plus, with thousands of cards and a variety of different sets and expansions, the world of Pokemon trading cards has a pretty insane amount of depth to itand a ton of monetary value.
Some Pokemon cards are worth nothing, some are rare, and some are extremely valuable.
In fact, if you can get your hands on cards like a first edition, perfectly rated Charizard, you might be looking at over $300,000 in value with just that single card!
The point is, the world of trading Pokemon cards is insanely valuable, and many collectors view Pokemon cards as both a piece of history and lucrative investment opportunity.
So, if you have any cards saved up from when you were younger or if you still collect, you could potentially be sitting on hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Of course, theres a lot you should know in order to avoid undervaluing your Pokemon cards.
Where do you sell them? How do you price them? And what else can I take advantage of?
Stick around until the end to find the answers to all those questions including the best place to sell Pokemon cards!
Sorting And Orgenizing Pokemon Cards:
There are many ways to organize the cards in your collection, I will try to give you the best ways to make the most of your cards.Usually when opening many packs you will have several copies of a single card , you keep one copy of every card for your personal binder set, and in the end you have a stack of duplicates in your possession that you need to sort and keep protected.
Below you can access recommended pokemon cards protective gear by ultrapro , it is a must to have in order to protect your cards for the long run.
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Organizing Pokemon Cards Using Binders For Beginners
Binders are a fantastic way to get started collecting Pokémon cards as a beginner.
I recommend if youre just getting started to get a hold of a small 4×4 binder.
Chances are when youre just starting out, you wont have a large amount of Pokemon cards to organize, and having something small to take with you to local events is handy.
When organizing your Pokémon cards, keep your highest rarity cards that you are interested in trading away at the front of your binder, and keep the cards you want to hold on to at the back.
Pro Tip:Place the cards you want to keep upsidedown in your trade binder. Its a simple way of telling people that look through your binder that you arent interested in trading those specific cards away.
Chances are, if youre a beginner, you may already have a deck or two built for casual or competitive play. Just leave those cards as they are together in a deck box and keep the rest in your trade binder, with the exception of basic energy cards.
When you are just starting out, you typically wont have a good sense of what cards do and dont hold value when I started playing TCGs, I often left cards at home that people wanted to trade for missing out on cards I wanted in return.
Basic energies can be left out of your binder for the most part its pretty rare that you will meet someone looking to trade for energy even if theyre foils.
My general rule when buying binders to organize Pokemon cards is go big or go small Goldilocks isnt welcome here.
Know Whats In Your Pokemon Card Collection
Chances are you dont just have one Pokemon card. You may have hundreds or even thousands! The truth of the matter is that if your collection is worth a small fortune, the vast majority of that value is going to be concentrated in a few cards. If you cannot identify which cards hold the most value or which cards are the rarest and most sought after within your collection, a prospective buyer may not be able to justify paying a high price because they must price in the odds of your collection not containing anything valuable to them. Eliminate uncertainty from prospective buyers by knowing whats in your Pokemon card collection!
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How To Distinguish Between Fake And Original Pokmon Card
To spot a fake Pokémon card, you just need to view the card, and then ask yourself: does anything looks abnormal?
Read through and check if there are any simple errors in the card.
Here are some features to check on the card:
- Check if the Pokémon exist
- Check if the card has an accent over every single e in Pokémon
- Check if the card is free of spelling mistakes and obvious grammar errors.
- Check if the card has the year it was printed.
- Check if the card has the number of elemental symbols in all the correct places of the card.
- Also, check if the Pokémon has a reasonable amount of HP . For example, if you have an Eevee with over 1,000 HP, that card is possibly fake.
- If you are uncertain as to whats unreasonable, you could look up the card on the Pokémon trading card game database to get an approximate range of where its HP is usually placed.
How Much Do Pokmon Cards Sell For
The amount you can sell cards for all depends on the type of card youre selling. Rare cards in fantastic condition will sell for much higher prices. Ungraded cards have a lower selling price from as low as $1 to $100. The rarest, holographic cards can sell up to $100,000 or more if they are graded. However, nowadays common cards are sold at very low prices.
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Look For Rare Pokemon Cards
Some cards could be worth more than others because they have unique features like holofoil or a special symbol. Other cards may not have many copies.
Heres how to identify rare Pokemon cards.
Rarity Symbols
To determine how common or uncommon a card is, you can look for rarity symbols.
Most Pokemon cards have one of three rarity symbols:
- Diamonds: Semi-rare
- Circles: Common
Cards with a star icon on the back are the rarest and can be worth the most money. You will want to pay closer attention to these rare cards and look for additional special features that add value.
Holofoil
If you collected Pokemon cards as a kid, you likely got excited when a pack of cards contained a holofoil card. They just looked cooler than all the other cards.
Now theres another reason to be excited about holofoil cards. These cards are more valuable than a standard card thats ink-only. The entire Pokemon image may be holographic or only the reverse side.
Rare Letters
Certain card series have rare letters stamped on the front.
Some examples include these stamped letters:
These letter stampings can be for recent releases with the United States version of the Sun & Moon set launching in 2016.
Secret Numbers
Some cards may have a secret number that is higher than the actual number. For example, you might have card number 123 of 100 printed cards.
It can be worth your time to have a professional card grader verify the authenticity and condition of rare cards.
Most Valuable Pokemon Card Sets
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:
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Why Do People Collect Pokemon Cards
This is often broken down into two categories:
1. Those who collect for happiness and nostalgia
2. And those who collect, then sell, to turn a profit
But of course, these two schools of thought can work together. Many people sell cards, to fund the purchase of others.
Its important though to identify your reasoning, because it will dictate where and how youre going to start.
