Collecting Casual Collector Looking for Card Selling Advice

[Hutchie91]

Hi all, newly registered just to get some decent advice.

Back in the day when I was little, I was heavily into Pokemon, mainly the games and the cards. Unfortunately I just missed the original base set, and when I started buying I think it was the Fossil and Team Rocket sets that were out in the UK, while I always continued playing the games, I stopped buying the cards somewhere near the end of the second Gen of expansions, I think they were the Neo sets?

Anyways, after heavily getting into the 6th Gen of games these past couple years, and getting back into the anime too, it made me start reminiscing of the good ol' days of Pokemon cards when I was a child. Now that I'm in a position where I've got some decent disposable income and don't have to rely on parents/pocket money like I did when I was a younger, about a month ago I decided to buy a couple booster packs of the newer sets of Pokemon cards just for the sake of it. However, due to the luck I've had, it's slowly starting to turn into something I might take up a bit further, to some degree. Now, unless they are going to make a half decent profit, I'm not interested in completing all of the 6th gen sets and I'm no longer interested in playing the actual game and building a deck, I'm quite happy playing the online TCG. What I am interested in is rare cards of my favourite Pokemon that have awesome art work.

So for this reason, I've been targeting the Ancient Origins series and the base XY series, with the odd Primal Clash pack for the Kyogre's, but I think I'll be starting to buy the odd Flashfire booster pack too for Charizards.

Now, on to the main question, for someone like me who isn't too bothered about building decks and playing, or isn't bothered about completing sets, when is the best time to be selling single cards if I ever wanted to? Are they only valuable during the period they are in print and are legal for the TCG season or can they still hold their value over the next 5 years or so? And of the cards that may hold their value after no longer being able to use, will it be worth having them graded to try boost the sale price?

I'm quite happy on keeping some of my favourite cards just for the sake of having them, however not all valuable/ultra rare cards are to my taste and I'm not that bothered about, although I may consider selling the cards/Pokemon I actually like if there is some value to them.

I've never bought any any booster boxes, just 2-4 packs here and there over the past month. I believe I've spent around £50 and here are the main cards I've been able to get.

XY Base set:

Yveltal EX Full Art 144/146
Mega Blastoise EX 30/146
Rhyperior Holo 62/146
Vivillon Holo 17/146

Primal Clash set:

Trevenant EX Full Art 145/160
Aggron EX 93/160
Excadrill Reverse Holo Half Art 97/160
Whiscash Reverse Holo Half Art 41/160
Medicham Reverse Holo 81/160

Ancient Origins set:

Hoopa EX 36/98
Sceptile EX 7/98
Virizion Holo 12/98
Regirock Holo 40/98
Goodra Holo 60/98
Entei Reverse Holo Half Art 15/98
Vespiquen Reverse Holo Half Art 11/98
Jolteon Reverse Holo 26/98
Gourgeist Reverse Holo 26/98

Roaring Skies set:

Shaymin EX 77/108

 

[Athena]

Hey, welcome!

Your story actually reminds me a lot of my own TCG collecting habits from a couple years ago. I collected cards way back in the Base-TR days and then got away from it somehow. I "recently" picked the TCG back up again right around the release of HGSS Triumphant back in late 2010 when I had a lot of disposable income. I dabbled in playing against at first, but eventually devoted my time/money to collecting and now I'm primarily a Japanese card collector.

In terms of your question, most of the value of English language Pokémon TCG cards is indeed a result of their competitive value. The easiest example to point to right now is Shaymin EX, a single card that can cost you around US$40 in the secondary market. Compare this to a much lesser competitive card of the same rarity and from the same set, Gallade EX, which is going for US$3-5.

If you're looking to make money from English-language cards, it'll be important to follow along with the current metagame so that you know which cards are most valuable and how long they'll be good for. For example, if a card is going to go out of rotation, try selling it before Worlds since that's the last time competitive people will be needing the card and the value will be likely to drop a lot after it's no long in rotation. That said, the existence of the "Expanded" format does change things a bit, since BW-era cards can still be used in some tournaments. It can be a tricky landscape to follow, but it can pay off if you're smart.

That said, competitive value is not the only worth that goes into cards. EX, FA, and SR/UR cards will always hold a collector's value, though it may not be much compared to the competitive value. Cards of more popular Pokémon (eg., Charizard, Rayquaza) are more likely to keep their value even if their cards aren't useful competitively. A good example of this is the SR Shiny Charizard from Plasma Storm. As far as I know, this card has no competitive value and is only available in tghe Extended format, but is still selling for US$40+ on eBay.

Another option to consider aside from selling is trading, such as in our very own PokéBeach Marketplace. If you have cards you don't want and other cards you do, sometimes it's nice to just trade them directly instead of selling and rebuying, and this also saves you on eBay fees and the like.

If you'd like to learn the value of your current cards, the best place to look is on eBay sold listings. Look up the particular card whose value you want to know, then check the "Sold Listings" box and you can see directly how much other people have been willing to pay for that card and when, so that gives you a good ballpark on the current value of your cards.

Best of luck!

 

[Hutchie91]

Hey, welcome!

Your story actually reminds me a lot of my own TCG collecting habits from a couple years ago. I collected cards way back in the Base-TR days and then got away from it somehow. I "recently" picked the TCG back up again right around the release of HGSS Triumphant back in late 2010 when I had a lot of disposable income. I dabbled in playing against at first, but eventually devoted my time/money to collecting and now I'm primarily a Japanese card collector.

In terms of your question, most of the value of English language Pokémon TCG cards is indeed a result of their competitive value. The easiest example to point to right now is Shaymin EX, a single card that can cost you around US$40 in the secondary market. Compare this to a much lesser competitive card of the same rarity and from the same set, Gallade EX, which is going for US$3-5.

If you're looking to make money from English-language cards, it'll be important to follow along with the current metagame so that you know which cards are most valuable and how long they'll be good for. For example, if a card is going to go out of rotation, try selling it before Worlds since that's the last time competitive people will be needing the card and the value will be likely to drop a lot after it's no long in rotation. That said, the existence of the "Expanded" format does change things a bit, since BW-era cards can still be used in some tournaments. It can be a tricky landscape to follow, but it can pay off if you're smart.

That said, competitive value is not the only worth that goes into cards. EX, FA, and SR/UR cards will always hold a collector's value, though it may not be much compared to the competitive value. Cards of more popular Pokémon (eg., Charizard, Rayquaza) are more likely to keep their value even if their cards aren't useful competitively. A good example of this is the SR Shiny Charizard from Plasma Storm. As far as I know, this card has no competitive value and is only available in tghe Extended format, but is still selling for US$40+ on eBay.

Another option to consider aside from selling is trading, such as in our very own PokéBeach Marketplace. If you have cards you don't want and other cards you do, sometimes it's nice to just trade them directly instead of selling and rebuying, and this also saves you on eBay fees and the like.

If you'd like to learn the value of your current cards, the best place to look is on eBay sold listings. Look up the particular card whose value you want to know, then check the "Sold Listings" box and you can see directly how much other people have been willing to pay for that card and when, so that gives you a good ballpark on the current value of your cards.

Best of luck!

Hey thanks for the thorough reply. See, cards like the Shaymin EX I've got, I have no real interest in, so maybe I'm better off selling/trading it now while there is a market for it? Do you know how long this season/rotation will be lasting for?

The crack is, I'm after the likes of Full Art/EX versions of Pokemon like Hoopa, Yveltal, Xerneas, Geritina, Reshiram, Weather Trio and Gen 1 starters, which is why I've been buying the XY base sets and Ancient Origins, and now I'll be buying the odd pack of Flashfire booster packs in the hope of pulling a decent Charizard.

The cards I'm really cherishing is the full art Yveltal EX which I still cant believe I got without resorting to buying it separately or investing in a booster box as that was one of the cards that got me into buying them again when I saw it online as it's one of my favourite Pokemon of the newer gens and the artwork is amazing. I know that regular holos of newer cards arent worth that much at all, but do you still think the rare Full arts/EX's of popular Pokemon such as Mega Charizards and Shiny Primal/Mega Weather Trios will still hold their value if I ever wanted to sell any singles in a few years time?

Like I say it's not a complete deal breaker if they aren't worth as much, as I'm only buying packs from sets that contain artwork/Pokemon that I actually like and want to have for the sake of having them, but it would be nice if I was able to sell off any doubles or rare Full Arts/EX's that are still somewhat desirable but I'm just not personally fond of or have interest in.

 

[Athena]

Hey thanks for the thorough reply. See, cards like the Shaymin EX I've got, I have no real interest in, so maybe I'm better off selling/trading it now while there is a market for it?

If you've got any ROS Shaymin EX, now is probably a really great time to sell while it's worth a lot. Of course, its price may rise and lower based on new cards printed if they affect its usability, which is part of why speculating on card prices can be a gamble, but if it's not a card you want, that's $40 or so to pocket and spend on more packs or other cards that you do want.

Do you know how long this season/rotation will be lasting for?

The current Modified/Standard Format is XY-on and this started just recently after Worlds 2015 in August. This format will last until approximately August of 2016, though no one will know for sure what the new format will be until it's announced.

There's also the Expanded Format that allowed all BW-on cards and is used for some tournaments. This format was started a little over a year ago and remained the same even after this year's rotation. Because the Expanded Format is still a rather new thing, no one's certain how it will work in the future.

If you plan to make money on cards, it would likely be a good idea for you to follow along with the tournaments and metagame format scene at least a little bit, since it will give you some edge on which competitive cards may raise or lower in price and when.

I know that regular holos of newer cards arent worth that much at all, but do you still think the rare Full arts/EX's of popular Pokemon such as Mega Charizards and Shiny Primal/Mega Weather Trios will still hold their value if I ever wanted to sell any singles in a few years time?

Full Arts (and other SR/UR cards) of popular Pokémon will likely keep a decent chunk of their value in the future, yes. It's hard to predict exactly how the market will work out, but based on previous data, it's likely.

 

[Purrloin]

To add to Athena's tips:

If eventually selling your cards for high value is your plan, you may want to consider getting the rarer cards graded. PSA Grading is the most popular (and also tends to be the most valuable of all grading services), but it can be quite expensive. It's more of an investment to start, with hopes that you get good grades and thus good return. Highly sought after cards like holos, ultra rares, and secret rares increase in value significantly with a high grade. Beckett offers a cheaper grading service, but they are also a bit less valuable than PSA's, and also quite a bit more strict in their judgement.