Is it worth it to buy a Base Set booster box?

M

montdog95

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hi!

I'm wanting to get a Base Set booster box and I found a few on ebay. All around $700. I am willing to buy it. I will have to sell some of my old school sets like Team Rocket, Gym sets to get up to the $700, which i'm ok with doing. But is having one worth it? I mainly want it just to say that I have one lol and also the prices for them keep going up! I remember a few years ago they were only about $100-$300 and look now, it's tripled nearly. So it would be a good investment. Or I might open a few packs (knowing me) But what do you guys think? :)
 
Money-wise, it's only worth it if you plan on keeping the box sealed and selling it later.

However, collection wise, it is smart because you can either add it to your sealed collection, or open the packs and make your own pack-fresh mint Base set.
 
If you really want one only to have one and say you have one, and it's something you will continue to want until you have it, you're likely best buying one as soon as possible. The prices for old sets have risen quite a lot over the past few years. They will likely rise in the future as well, and at worst stay the same.

From a collector's standpoint, it's nice to have a sealed box because you can open the packs yourself and be assured of pack-fresh fulls, instead of not knowing the condition of cards if you buy them as singles.

I don't really know how good of an investment it would be, though. Yes, prices have risen and will likely continue to rise, but it's hard to know much they will rise and how quickly. I'd say in general that older sets are a better investment than newer sets when it comes to boxes, but other things could be better.

tl;dr: if you want one, you may as well get it before the price rises even more, but whether you want it enough to spend $700 on it is a choice only you can make.
 
I'd recommend you wait a bit, 700$ is way too much for a base booster box. You should wait for an auction and nab one in the 400-500$ range. Just my two cents.

Investment wise base set is probably one of the best boxes to own overall though.

Collector wise it is one of the worst sets to own because you will want to open it badly ;)
 
bagoly14 said:
Investment wise base set is probably one of the best boxes to own overall though.
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But will you be willing to sell at a later date?
 
@Daelum, I probably might open it lol but i'm not sure. I could resist and keep it sealed for a while and see if the value goes up a bit. Hopefully it does.

@ Artemis Yeah! If I don't get one it will keep eating at me and I need it! lol And I want to get one now before they get over $1000.

@Bagoly14 I don't want to wait really... lol. The prices will just keep increasing. Also I don't like auctions. Usually for me it gets to the point where the bid is over what the usual price is. And I know as a collector it will be a pain to keep sealed >.< but i'm not sure. I might have a strong enough will to keep it sealed :p

@omahanime You make a good point! If I do manage to keep it sealed it might be hard to give it up later... especially if there were like only a few in the world left...

@Daelum (2) I wish I could afford two of the box. That would be great! So much money though haha

Thanks for all the replies guys! :D This is fun! I'm still saving.....got around $250. If my complete old school sets sell I will be at the $700 mark in no time!
 
Yes the prices will keep increasing, but I have never seen a base box sell for 700$. I'll win one on auction for you for 550$ and sell it to you for 650$, sound fair? LOL

For me personally, making a smart investment is buying low and selling high. If you want to make a profit, buy it at auction and sell it for more in 1-2 years. That being said, the amount it increases by in 1-2 years will not make up for the money you lost because of time (does that make sense? The value of your dollar next year < value of your dollar now)

It is pretty obvious that you want to open the box, which would make buying one for 700$ more justifiable, but I cannot agree with paying 700$ for the box and thinking it is a good investment. At that rate you might as well save up some more money and buy a PSA 1st Edition Charizard when a good opportunity comes up and then re-sell it. I saw someone buy it for 1k once and sell it for double that quite a while ago...now THAT'S an investment. :cool:
 
I would not buy unless it was for future investment or unless you want to PSA the whole set as the cards would be mint or even gem mint.
you could buy a set cheaper than the box.
 
One good aspect of opening a base set box is that there are no ultra rares, which leaves little room for disappointment. You know you're gonna get 12 pack fresh holos and a (hopefully) complete, mint c/uc/majority of a rare set.

Contrast this to say a Skyridge box, which cost around the same, but you can end up being super disappointed if you pull 0-1 reverse holo Crystal.

Both of these boxes though also provide lots of cards that will resell easily, which is good if you're looking to make some money back.
 
salmoncannon said:
One good aspect of opening a base set box is that there are no ultra rares, which leaves little room for disappointment. You know you're gonna get 12 pack fresh holos and a (hopefully) complete, mint c/uc/majority of a rare set.

Contrast this to say a Skyridge box, which cost around the same, but you can end up being super disappointed if you pull 0-1 reverse holo Crystal.
Click to expand...

You still are not guaranteed to pull the holos you want, such as a Charizard or Blastoise. You may get 4 Hitmonchans. There's still a risk.
 
Hah, I bought one back in 2015 for around ~$1K to open and I'm kicking myself wishing I bought more/kept 1 sealed. I did pull a Blastoise and Venusaur though so pretty happy with that. 😏
 
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