Getting Out of the Game, Card Selling Questions

StormbringerGT

StormbringerGT

Aspiring Trainer
Member
As I turn 33 later this year I find myself finally selling off my collection. I still play the heck out of the Pokemon Video games, but I don't have the time or passion to play the card game anymore. As indicated by my activity here. :/

I haven't played in over a year. My current collection goes up to Next Destinies and then stops. It starts with Base Set.

What I'm asking for here is advice on how to handle this transition. I want to sell the cards, most likely on ebay I'd imagine. (NOT HERE. I'm not trying to get banned or anything so just looking for some advice) I went through the entire collection this past week and finished today. There was a lot of time times and I almost said F-it. And stuffed them under the box. A LOT of fond memories with my much younger brother (who is turning 20 this year) at Pokemon league. I remember being a league gym leader for a while at KB Toys before they closed. Very good times.

But its time to let them go. Planning on moving soon and the cards are only getting older.

Anyway, there are about 16,600 cards in my collection. I went through them and got card counts for each rare or better and each reverse holo and promos etc and made a spreadsheet here on google docs:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj6tFt4DAoKzdDR3TGNVUDBfLUlBSkZPUVV3ZWVYLVE&usp=sharing

1,600 of the cards are energy. 5,000 of them are rare or reverse holo. The bulk come from the very beginning and the end of my Pokemon card career as the middle was supplemented with garage sales and and such while I was in high school.

What I am trying to figure out here and what I need help with is how I should sell these and how much value am I looking at here?

I was browsing around ebay and couldn't find any listings similar to my collection here. Which is where I hit a wall. I was hopping some old buddies and pros here could help me figure out a fair asking price for this beast.

I also have the original deck boxes, some play mats a ton of coins, and binders from HGSS and on for each set. I got a ton of Pokemon paraphernalia here to sell through as well.

Oh here is an older video I made last year when I was going to sell then but couldn't muster up the courage to do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eV4q-pH9Wk

Any tips, advice and opinions would be mega welcome. Thanks!

EDIT: In hindsight I might sell that tropical beach separately. I can't really find it on ebay they all look different or are in different languages. Its probably the single most valuable card in the set but again I can't find a fair price for it. Ideas for that one?
 
Re: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

well first of all i would sell the energy in bulk on ebay such as 50 water energies for something like £5 which i think is around $10, especially dark and steel energies as there the hardest energies to obtain but put those in bundle of 5 or 10 depending on your preference, then with your rare holo's i would also suggest putting them in bundles but get bundles of all from the same set such as all of the one's you have from next destinies, this will make it easier for collectors. Then if you have any ultra rares like EX's they can be single sold.

Hope this helps:D
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Thanks, someone else also said I would make more money breaking them up in lots, but it would take a LOT longer to sell through 16k cards.

Also I have no idea how to do those lots fairly. I see the 20 cards lots with no guaranteed duplicates and at least 3 rares etc. How the heck do they randomly put those together? It was a nightmare sorting through these and getting them in order to begin with lol.

I would love to see my collection go to a huge collector or someone that missed the early cards, but realistically I know that is not gonna happen, lol.

Interesting on the energy though, I would assume those would have been the most useless cards. I gave out so many energies from friends, that I never got back. Hundreds of them lol.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

I've gotten out of the game myself as well. While what I did isn't exactly profitable - I gave away all my bulk commons/uncommons/extras to a friend of mine who likes collecting, keeping some rares for myself - it is a possible way to go about it, and by that, I mean get a bunch of bulk you don't want or need, package it together, throw in a few foils you don't want or need either, and sell them in packages. I hear those go pretty well on eBay.

Selling energy in bulk is probably a great idea as well. People HORDE those.

As for the catch cards that could go for a lot more, I'd probably handle them one at a time, OR if you want to appeal to the competitive fanbase, you could build a deck from scratch and sell it for ~$150, though that really only applies with newer cards.

Unfortunately I'm not as good with prices as other people might be, so I cannot help in that department, but I can offer a suggestion of how to go about it. Having quit the game myself, the only cards I own now are the bare minimum - a single deck, remnants of decks from formats past, and a few cards of old favorite Pokemon, and that's it. I probably own only about 400 cards now, if that.

Whatever you do end up doing, however, I wish you nothing but the best of luck.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Thanks man, I did it with a heavy heart, but I don't want the cards to get ruined here. 99% are Mint or Near but over time that may change and someone else may end up taking better care of them.

Yeah I never knew energy was so valuable. I have tons of it 1,600 to be close lol.

Yeah I was never great at the game myself, only ever placing once during an official tourny and that was with a lame Zekrom deck I built because I couldn't come up with my own cool competitive concept in time. I hated using those very common power decks.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

For any individual cards that may be worth a decent price on their own (current format metagame games, URs/SRs, etc), you can always ask in our "How much is this card worth?" thread for help with pricing. For example, things like your Shinings, exes, gold stars, Lv. Xs, etc. are probably worth selling on their own.

Good luck! <3
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Thanks for the tips. Seems like maybe selling it as one large collection is against everyone's advice at this point.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

If I could afford this I would be there but I don't think I could even save up enough got back into the game January and spent £400 already I'm terrible lol I was going to say sell it on a set by set basis I'd hate to break up a set I put together

Wish you luck keep us informed please!
Btw watched the video very impressed you have what I aspire to get :)
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

StormbringerGT said:
Thanks for the tips. Seems like maybe selling it as one large collection is against everyone's advice at this point.
Click to expand...

The main problems with selling it as one huge lump is that it would be difficult to price properly and you probably wouldn't get many takers. I guess it's a decent option if you just want to get rid of everything easily and quickly and don't mind getting a worse deal than you would otherwise. You'd get the most bang for your buck by splitting things into smaller lots and selling some things separately, like the UR/SRs.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Athena said:
StormbringerGT said:
Thanks for the tips. Seems like maybe selling it as one large collection is against everyone's advice at this point.
Click to expand...

The main problems with selling it as one huge lump is that it would be difficult to price properly and you probably wouldn't get many takers. I guess it's a decent option if you just want to get rid of everything easily and quickly and don't mind getting a worse deal than you would otherwise. You'd get the most bang for your buck by splitting things into smaller lots and selling some things separately, like the UR/SRs.
Click to expand...

I agree. Not many people would buy so many cards at once, most people look for a smaller lot or individual cards.
 
Re: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

yeah energies have become more valuable since the start of HG & SS i would say, as they are now only available in the base set for each new generation or in theme decks and elite trainer boxes which cost a fair amount. I'm actually currently looking to buy metal and darkness energies myself. For the build a deck then sell it, that is a great idea and alot of people still enjoy using past format decks to battle with so that could be a good idea.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

1. Sell them on eBay in lots
2. Sell them all off as a bulk lot (you'll get 60-70% of the individual price)

Let's do some math (I'll make an example then you can follow the base to work stuff out which cards are viable to sell this way don't take the values I'm using too seriously)

Auction (7day) = 10 (Cards in the lot)
=(16,600/10)= 1660 Auctions (10 listings per day)
10 of these listed per day so =(1660/10)=166 Days (just an example for the base equation)

The last 7 days the last ones run so 173 days to sell. Now keep in mind you could sell on a bunch of other websites. Personally I would sell the most expensive cards first then sell complete sets then a few holos and energys then a bulk lot.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Noooo but the TCG is life. :'c If you're going to get out of it though, I'd recommend ebay for the best prices on all of your cards. Remember to sell specific cards, you'll get way more money.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Just my personal opinion but I jumped back into playing during HGSS era then as I kept playing and stopped around Next Destinies. The format felt very lifeless and the leagues and tournys I went had the samey feeling to them deck wise, generally 3 or 4 decks were used and came down to randomness with who could draw their best hand quicker.

I'm not sure if that is the case but my time is more limited today. Money isn't an issue, if it was I wouldn't have started a money eating hobby lol. I Got, a ps3, ps4, xbox 360, xbox one, wii u, a couple 3ds and ds and a super computer and such a back log of video games and fantasy novels it is not even remotely funny anymore. The cards sat by old anf forgotten.

Still even today at the store I saw some packs of cards and got that itch. I was always a collector more than a player and that was the more expensive half.

I miss being a kid though. Opening a pack and looking through each card admiring the art and marveling at your favorite pokemon. Nowadays you flip right to your rares and the rest get tossed to the side without even a look. I guess that is just change that comes with age you know?

Remember when you first played red and blue and your team consisted entirely of pokemon you thought were cool and you played against you friends and had fun?

Today your team has to be selected from a small pool of "usable" pokemon. Is rapidash your favorite pokemon? Too bad, be prepared to loose. With EVS and IVs being more public, it comes down to teams of 6 mathematical formulas vsing each other and see who had the better math.

I mean that is not bad, its how we shift in thinking from kid to adult. You become more efficient with your thinking, and if you and your friends are not competitive then its fine, but if they are, your favorite team will get decimated by a OU team.

Anyway I digress, I still love the pokemon game, and pokemon in general but there is some insight why I'm getting out of the TCG. :3
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

Listen to the man, you all. He speaks the truth. (and I've been saying that since the first ex came out. Except for gardevoir ex, that card was perfect).

But with so many cards couldn't you just make a hundred or so decks with your favorites and play against yourself every once in a while? it's what I do, for the aforementioned reasons and more (but I can barely scratch two decks simutaneously).
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

professorlight said:
Listen to the man, you all. He speaks the truth. (and I've been saying that since the first ex came out. Except for gardevoir ex, that card was perfect).

But with so many cards couldn't you just make a hundred or so decks with your favorites and play against yourself every once in a while? it's what I do, for the aforementioned reasons and more (but I can barely scratch two decks simutaneously).
Click to expand...

I could, but my friends interest has also waned as well as they got older. So I would only just play against myself.

Between video games and a growing board game hobby not to mention outdoor activities I just don't have time for the little buggers anymore. I'm hoping I can find another kindred collector who will take care of my babies.

Oh I also changed permissions on the google docs so anyone can comment, in the event you see a more valuable card I should for sure sell on its own.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

On the Base set cards you should list which edition they are. http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/thread-index-of-guides-for-collectors?pid=2233071#pid2233071
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

omahanime said:
On the Base set cards you should list which edition they are. http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/thread-index-of-guides-for-collectors?pid=2233071#pid2233071
Click to expand...

Great Idea i'm doing it now.

Question though, all 5 my Machamps are 1st edition with a shadow border. One of them is 1st edition without a shadow and the skinny font for HP. Whats up with that? You seem to know your pokemon card stuffs!

EDIT:

Oh also, I'm trying to find it now but one of my electrodes from a later series, like base from jungle or fossil I think, uses artwork from base set, that's a misprint right?

EDIT EDIT

And.... how do I tell the difference between shadowless and regular versions of the trainer cards? I assume all mine are Unlimited, but I had a few shadowless rares it looks like.
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

they released the Base Machamp card in a 2 player starter box for Base set and again for Base set 2

the very first print runs for Base set didnt have the shadow
 
RE: Getting out of the game, questions about how to go about it.

StormbringerGT said:
And.... how do I tell the difference between shadowless and regular versions of the trainer cards? I assume all mine are Unlimited, but I had a few shadowless rares it looks like.
Click to expand...

Right here is a wonderful guide to tell you which edition your Base Set cards are. :)

Also, according to this thread, your Electrode card is, indeed, a known error.

Jungle First Edition 2/64 Electrode A number of cards from the First Edition printing of Jungle had the Base Set Electrode artwork instead of the Jungle artwork Limited Error
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how much this changes the value, but it might be worth selling separately to a error collector.
 
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