Pokémon cards – popular on the secondary market
If you have a large collection of Pokémon cards in your basement and are thinking of giving them to a younger relative, you might want to reconsider – they could be a real goldmine. The first Pokémon cards were released in 1996 and whenthe mobile game Pokémon Go was launched in 2016, Pokémon products of all kinds took off. Just over ten years after their launch, they accounted for over 80% of the European card game market. Pokémon is the world’s fastest growing media franchise, which means that old cards from the 90s and 00s can be worth a fortune. And passionate collectors of Pokémon cards seem to abound – sometimes single cards and sets/boxes sell for tens of thousands and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars here on Tradera.
How to estimate the value of Pokémon cards
Pokémon cards may look more or less the same to the uninitiated, but are still valued differently. As a rule of thumb, the more unique the card, the higher the price. In most cases, cards from the earliest series are more expensive than new cards, but there are exceptions. The rarity of the card in the packs also has an impact, often there are a few gems in each series that are rare and hard to find. In addition, there are other factors that affect the value of Pokémon cards, such as condition, edition and demand.
Grading of the condition of the card
There are several companies that grade Pokemon cards, the largest of which is called PSA. You can send your cards there to have them graded based on surface, edges, corners and centering. The scale used ranges from 1-10, with 10 being the best, an extremely difficult grade to achieve. It is not even certain that a card coming straight out of a pack will achieve it. This is the rating used when you see ads for cards with “PSA10” in the text.
Different editions
The edition a card belongs to also has a big impact on the price, although in some cases the layman can hardly tell them apart. There are four different editions to be aware of, the first thing to look for is whether the card has a “1st edition” symbol in the lower left corner. If there is, it is important to distinguish whether the card has a shadow to the right of the image box. These two variants are called “First edition” and “First edition (Shadowless)”.
If the card lacks the “1st edition” symbol, you can look for a shadow directly, if it is missing the edition is called “Shadowless” and if it is present it is called “Unlimited”.
If you don’t have any rare cards in your collection, there are still many collectors who are looking for complete collections or Pokémon boxes. In these cases, you can sell the cards together instead of individually.
The highest value Pokémon cards
Holographic Base Set First Edition
The Base Set cards were the first English Pokémon cards to be published. Of the 102 cards in the original 1999 edition, 16 of them were holographic. These are still highly sought after today, and if you were to find a Pikachu or Charizard card in your collection, you have a good chance of making money on a single card.
Shining card
The Shining cards were released in 2001 and 2002, as secret cards in the Neo Revelation and Neo Destiny editions respectively. The probability of getting a shiny Shining card was 1 in 300, making them extremely rare and thus very exclusive. If your card is in good condition, you can earn as much as €1,000 – €5,000.
Pikachu Illustrator
In 1998, the Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro organized a drawing contest where the winners each won a Pikachu Illustrator card. At the time, only 41 copies of the card existed. In 2019, a single Pikachu Illustrator card sold for $224,250, making it the most expensive Pokémon card in the world.
20th Anniversary 24-karat Gold Pikachu
But it’s not just old Pokémon cards that are valuable. To celebrate Pokémon’s 20th anniversary, a special Pikachu card was made – from 24-carat gold. The only way to get a copy of the golden card was to participate in a lottery held in 2018 and the winner had the chance to buy the card for €20,000. Unfortunately, the card cannot be used in regular Pokémon tournaments, as it is made of gold.
Individual valuable Pokémon cards sold on Tradera
Some of the most expensive Pokémon cards sold on Tradera fall into the first two categories above.
- A “Crystal Lugia” PSA10 was sold in October 2020 for 80,000 SEK
- A German 1st edition “Charizard” (Glurak) holo PSA9 was sold in November 2020 for 65,000 SEK
- A first edition base set Charizard, PSA7 was sold in September 2020 for 60 000 SEK
Valuable sets/boxes sold on Tradera
- An unopened first edition box from the set “Neo Destiny”, released in 2002, was sold in January 2021 for 450 000 SEK
- A complete first edition Pokemon Shining set (11 cards), PSA 9, and 10 Skyridge holographic cards were sold in February 2021 for 195,000 SEK
- An unlimited booster box from the “Gym Heroes” set (36 packs, 11 cards in each) was sold in February 2021 for 115,000 SEK
- An unopened box of 36 booster packs (11 cards in each) from the 2002 “Neo Destiny” set was sold in May 2020 for 112,100 SEK
What to consider when selling your Pokémon cards
When you’re selling your Pokémon cards, it’s important to give a clear description of the card in the ad, as this will make it easier for potential buyers to find it. Feel free to define the card’s condition, edition, and which Pokémon is depicted. In addition, upload several pictures of the card or collection, so the buyer knows what to expect.
How to store valuable Pokémon cards?
There are special binders to put the cards in. However, be careful not to put them in pairs, as this can cause them to rub against each other and scratch the cards. Also make sure to protect them from dust and moisture. Really valuable cards are sometimes kept by collectors in safe deposit boxes.
