RE: Collector's Showcase - Please try to post a picture!
@omahanime
From an online supplier called AmiAmi. eBay isn't the end all for JP cards, thankfully. Another good and viable option is to use a middleman and purchase direct from Amazon.co.jp, Bigweb, Cereza, or other major JP online stores. The middleman fee for those services are honestly cheaper than the middleman fee you'll get from most eBay sellers.
The standard retail price for these boxes is 3,000円 (about $37USD.) I scored mine on sale for 2,671円x4 + EMS Shipping to Australia. I used to be sucked into the buying on eBay only thing, but having done some research, I've found a number of places that are out there selling the boxes for a much more wallet-friendly price.
@shadoworganoid
I work, and collecting is my major hobby, so any spending money I have that doesn't go to food/bills etc goes towards cards in my budgeting. The thing that helped was the payment plan, since I paid it off over two months, not all in one hit.
Honestly, I'm not too sure on the values on the english versions, but I'm sure someone in the pricing topic could help you there a lot better than I. They seem to vary quite a bit on the market from what I've seen. It's mainly because they're an 'eeveelution' and thus are in high demand for collectors who like them.
Have an old photo from when I got a huge auction load of cards through (read: 20,000 cards to sort, 200 holos alone, around 42kg in weight shipped over four boxes.) I had a plethora of Shining Mew to play with before I sold them all.