It seems like a family member or friend asks me how much their vintage Pokemon cards are worth every other day due to the massive comeback of the Pokemon Trading card game. This post should be able to answer any questions you have regarding the worth of your vintage Pokemon collection.
Pokémon cards typically cost $1.20 each. The majority of “Rare” Pokémon cards have a price of around $10, and “uncommon” or lower-level cards sometimes have a value of under $1. On average, the value of older and promotional Pokémon cards is substantially higher; some of these cards are valued at over $300,000.
It’s crucial to comprehend every aspect that affects a card’s value in order to be certain of its value for a particular Pokémon card.
Some of the information below is crucial to understand if you want to decide whether it’s worthwhile for you to dust off your old Pokémon card collection and go through the task of finding a buyer.
The worth of my Pokemon cards – How should I gauge their value?
How valuable your Pokemon cards are depends on a variety of factors. It requires more than simply Pokémon card rarity to know the predicted worth of your Pokemon TCG cards, even if you have some of the rarest Pokémon cards in your collection.
Let’s go through some of the most crucial considerations when estimating the cost of Pokemon cards.
In general, Pokémon cards from the first printing of the base set are more valuable than cards from more recent sets. This is because older cards that are no longer in print are significantly difficult to obtain owing to supply and demand economics. The value of a card, however, is greatly influenced by the condition of the card.
The value of a card that is still in print is not likely to skyrocket anytime soon. On the other hand, older, out-of-print cards, particularly limited editions or promo cards, typically have a higher value.
When attempting to determine which of your Pokémon cards might be valuable, this can be a fantastic place to start – First, check your oldest cards.
If you really want to know if there is gold hidden in your card binder collection, you will need to know more than just the card’s age.
Are you aware of the current state of your Pokémon cards?
Examine the condition of the card you’re thinking about selling, to start.
The criterion is crucial, even for the most elusive Pokémon cards.
Cards with wrinkles, stains, or even rips command substantially lower prices from collectors. Cards that have been “lightly played” still have value and can be sold for a decent sum of money, while a card in “Gem Mint” is always the coveted ideal.
This suggests that you might be in luck if you were a neat child who took good care of their collection.
Even if your cards do exhibit signs of handling and gameplay, you might not have to give up hope right now.
Don’t expect life-changing offers of cash for cards in terrible shape, but in general, the rarer the card you’re selling, the more accommodating potential buyers will be with regard to its state.
Easy steps to find the Pokémon card values
The most typical way individuals are returning to Pokémon is by pulling their old cards out of storage and researching their current value.
Be sure to take the following actions when attempting to calculate the worth of your Pokémon cards:
#1: Find out the card’s name
The process’s simplest stage is determining the name. The name of the character will appear in the upper left corner of every Pokémon card. This character’s name is Charmander.
#2: Locate the year when the cards were designed
Find the year the card was printed by looking at the bottom of the card. That is the second important indicator for locating your card.
For instance, the Pokémon Base Set Cards have 4 different print runs with very identical designs. The UK 4th Print Base Set, which distinguishes those sets as dating from 1999 to 2000, is the crucial marker to distinguish those cards from the rest.
Neo-Genesis, Aquapolis, and Sky Ridge are a few of the most widely used sets ever created. Except for the incredibly rare promo and trophy cards, the most valuable cards are mostly from the 1999 first edition base set.
#3: Find out the set in which your cards belong
It’s Base if there isn’t a logo on the right side. There is an indicator on every other set.
Make sure there is a logo on the right side, directly beneath and to the right of the artwork, when determining what set a card is a part of. It’s probably a Base set card if there isn’t a symbol.
Make sure the year corresponds with the set because some error cards have appeared that lack a sign.
#4: Find the card with the number and name in the set
Lastly, locate the card on eBay by searching for its name and card number.
The name will be situated above the artwork on the top left of the card, as was mentioned in step one. The phone number is located on the card’s bottom right. This serves as the code for every year and set. For instance, the 1st Edition base set contains 102 cards. Since Charizard is the fourth card in the deck, its card number is #4/102.
Even if you don’t know the particular set a card is in, you should be able to recognize it after going through these three stages.
#5: Utilize the details to spot your card
The first four steps can be used as a kind of checklist. Write down all of that information so that you may compare your card to others by searching for them on eBay and other sites that specialize in Pokemon cards once you have the character’s name, the year, the set, and the card number.
Make sure that everything on the card matches exactly when you compare. Although it’s simple to overlook something, even the smallest change can make the difference between the card being essentially worthless or having a potential value of hundreds of dollars.
Do you think your Pokémon cards are rare?
There are four standard rarity levels for the majority of Pokémon cards that are important to note right now.
It’s also vital to note that I do not mean the card’s actual scarcity or how difficult it is to find when I talk about “Rarity” or how “Rare” a card is.
The Pokémon corporation itself has assigned various rarity ratings to Pokémon cards, and they may frequently be recognized by the symbol written on the card.
Due to the fact that most people use the term “rare” to refer to both the “Classification rare” and the “Monetary value rare,” this might be fairly perplexing to those who are new to the trading card scene.
You shouldn’t worry much about this since many cards that are “Monetary value rare” also fall under the category of “Rare,” which is why many players will use the terms interchangeably.
To determine the categorization level of a card, look for a little symbol in one of the card’s bottom corners:
- Usually a little black circle
- A diamond shape is unusual.
- A tiny star is rare.
Ask for the necessary PSA paperwork or the grading number when a seller of a card you want to buy claims that it is a certain grade. Every grade that PSA assigns has a distinct ID number that may be found on their website by anyone.
