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Are Pokemon Cards the new collectible like comics?
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119 posts in this topic

14 minutes ago, AmazingComics413 said:

Nostalgia :luhv:


I remember the early days of Pokémon coming to the US. The video game and cartoon were instant hits, no doubt.  The craze really began once kids went to their local stores and couldn’t find Pokémon trading cards.

It’s sometime in the second half of 1998 and friends at school told me about this quirky new tv show called Pokémon. I had seen some other US released anime like Sailor Moon and Dragonball, but this was definitely different than anything else I had ever seen. Kids were instantly hooked, whether they liked it or loathed it everybody at school knew what Pokemon was. I was also a video game fan, mostly Nintendo. I had read several positive reviews and the kids at school said the game was awesome. I remember the day I bought the game I didn’t want to put it down. Christmas of 1998 Pikachu was everywhere. And yes there were comics, but from what I remember they only brought about 5 issues over that first year.


Flash forward to quarter 1 of 1999. Pokémon is super popular, and now trading cards have hit the market, but the stores can’t keep them in stock. They were literally selling out overnight or in some instances, before they even hit shelves. The big box stores weren’t getting them, specialty stores were. I was a comic shop regular most of my childhood, so hitting up numerous LCSs in my area was nothing new to me. The LCSs were some of the only places you could find Pokémon, and I know that Pokémon cards helped those shops during a tough time for comics.
The cards were selling out so often that stores even brought in import Japanese cards. These also sold out because they were scarcer and in most cases weren’t released in the US(yet). During the initial first edition release my sister pulled a Charizard from a booster pack. Being a collector who knew about paper collectibles, I urged her to keep it in good condition, because “what if someday...” So into a sleeve and top loader it went.
My parents occasionally setup at a local flea market around that time. I was able to resell doubles and triples in order to complete my sets and buy more cards. I didn’t expect to sell any on my first setup, but came home with a nearly empty binder lol. When the movie came out they gave away “Limited edition” trading cards with ticket purchases. Wizards of the Coast had to pull some sports cards out of production that year because Pokémon cards were selling so much. Pokémon trading card tournaments were happening almost weekly, and Toys R Us gave away limited edition cards and promotional items monthly. 

But like all crazes, Pokémon died down quite a bit in 2002-2003. Big box stores now had the best prices on new cards, and you could find them everywhere. As I got to be a teenager I stopped collecting Pokémon cards, but I’ve always kept a close eye on the franchise. Pokémon kept going strong and as I got out of the initial 151 monsters (now 251? Now 351? 800?!) the tv show, video games, and toys continue sell and now I’m buying cards, games and toys for my own children (thumbsu

Regardless of numerous grownups telling me the cards were worthless, or that I should sell now (2000), I held onto my complete sets and numerous first edition cards. As did my sister, and she graciously put her 1st Edition Charizard into my first wave set.
And now as 30 somethings, here we are pondering whether or not to sell off this shiny piece of paper. The memories of chasing those cards, trading, playing the game, and being with friends and family are timeless.

357BCD46-F313-4E95-B15C-CA1781DD1392.jpeg

Holy moly.  What condition is that?

Why is that so special? Just really powerful?

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15 minutes ago, Wolverinex said:

Holy moly.  What condition is that?

Why is that so special? Just really powerful?

I’m not familiar with trading card grading, but I think it could get a 6?

Charizard was always a fan favorite Pokémon. 1st edition base set Charizards are the holy grail for Pokémon TCG collectors.

He does have a very strong attack, but I prefer Hitmonchan and Elektabuzz for quick & early KOs (thumbsu

Edited by AmazingComics413
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7 hours ago, valiantman said:

5 years ago, that  PSA 10 sold for 5k.  That's a 44,000% increase in 5 years. This is way more explosive then comics... Trying to think of a comic issue that has had the same trajectory...  I don't think TMNT first print has increased that fast...

 

.

Edited by Wolverinex
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7 hours ago, AmazingComics413 said:

Nostalgia :luhv:


I remember the early days of Pokémon coming to the US. The video game and cartoon were instant hits, no doubt.  The craze really began once kids went to their local stores and couldn’t find Pokémon trading cards.

It’s sometime in the second half of 1998 and friends at school told me about this quirky new tv show called Pokémon. I had seen some other US released anime like Sailor Moon and Dragonball, but this was definitely different than anything else I had ever seen. Kids were instantly hooked, whether they liked it or loathed it everybody at school knew what Pokemon was. I was also a video game fan, mostly Nintendo. I had read several positive reviews and the kids at school said the game was awesome. I remember the day I bought the game I didn’t want to put it down. Christmas of 1998 Pikachu was everywhere. And yes there were comics, but from what I remember they only brought about 5 issues over that first year.


Flash forward to quarter 1 of 1999. Pokémon is super popular, and now trading cards have hit the market, but the stores can’t keep them in stock. They were literally selling out overnight or in some instances, before they even hit shelves. The big box stores weren’t getting them, specialty stores were. I was a comic shop regular most of my childhood, so hitting up numerous LCSs in my area was nothing new to me. The LCSs were some of the only places you could find Pokémon, and I know that Pokémon cards helped those shops during a tough time for comics.
The cards were selling out so often that stores even brought in import Japanese cards. These also sold out because they were scarcer and in most cases weren’t released in the US(yet). During the initial first edition release my sister pulled a Charizard from a booster pack. Being a collector who knew about paper collectibles, I urged her to keep it in good condition, because “what if someday...” So into a sleeve and top loader it went.
My parents occasionally setup at a local flea market around that time. I was able to resell doubles and triples in order to complete my sets and buy more cards. I didn’t expect to sell any on my first setup, but came home with a nearly empty binder lol. When the movie came out they gave away “Limited edition” trading cards with ticket purchases. Wizards of the Coast had to pull some sports cards out of production that year because Pokémon cards were selling so much. Pokémon trading card tournaments were happening almost weekly, and Toys R Us gave away limited edition cards and promotional items monthly. 

But like all crazes, Pokémon died down quite a bit in 2002-2003. Big box stores now had the best prices on new cards, and you could find them everywhere. As I got to be a teenager I stopped collecting Pokémon cards, but I’ve always kept a close eye on the franchise. Pokémon kept going strong and as I got out of the initial 151 monsters (now 251? Now 351? 800?!) the tv show, video games, and toys continue sell and now I’m buying cards, games and toys for my own children (thumbsu

Regardless of numerous grownups telling me the cards were worthless, or that I should sell now (2000), I held onto my complete sets and numerous first edition cards. As did my sister, and she graciously put her 1st Edition Charizard into my first wave set.
And now as 30 somethings, here we are pondering whether or not to sell off this shiny piece of paper. The memories of chasing those cards, trading, playing the game, and being with friends and family are timeless.

357BCD46-F313-4E95-B15C-CA1781DD1392.jpeg

Ladies and germs, The Rule of 25!

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I bought a holographic Charizard for ~$30 at a local comic show maybe 18 months ago. I love the original set of Pokemon, and could easily see myself buying up those cards to replace the ones I got rid of 10-15 years ago. I won't pay huge prices for Gem Mint condition, but as long as it looks nice enough I'll happily take them on.

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Pokemon sets are HOT right now, and even the current market is seeing some action. Certain sets are being released and selling out in stores minutes after release and commanding 2-3x on EBay and other secondary markets. In all honesty all sports cards minus Hockey are going wild. Go to Target or Walmart and try to buy basketball, football, or baseball cards. Aint happening. I watched my local target sell through in 45 minutes, about 3K worth of cards.

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15 hours ago, rsouxlja7 said:

Base set non-shadowless or 1st ed. Looks to be worth $600+ on ebay

It's not from 1st edition, as it lacks the "1st edition" stamp to the left of the Pokemon Power description.

Here is a first edition example:

Charizard-Holo-1999-Pokemon-Base-Set-1st

Edited by namisgr
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Rule of 25 doesn't seem to apply to the awesome marvel x-men cards that came out between 93-96, those things were the pinnacle of collecting back then, kids cared more about collecting the cards than the actual comics of the characters they were based on.  
Depending on some of the brands you can get complete sets of '94 fleer ultra x-men for example for $20-30.  Pokemon was just a few short years later, I was around during the peak of that as well, and it wasn't too different.  "1st edition" packs were artificially rare, they weren't super exclusive like everyone thinks, if you're pegging the entire safety of your investment on that then good luck.  It's easy to blame 90's x-men cards failure as being over-produced/too much supply and while that's true to think Pokemon is somehow different or immune to that well I don't know what to say really.  The concepts were the same, the production was the same, they printed those things out like money with no cares to give.  Same thing, different property.

FleerUltraX-men94.jpg

 

Edited by 90sChild
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8 minutes ago, 90sChild said:

Rule of 25 doesn't seem to apply to the awesome marvel x-men cards that came out between 93-96, those things were the pinnacle of collecting back then, kids cared more about collecting the cards than the actual comics of the characters they were based on.  
Depending on some of the brands you can get complete sets of '94 fleer ultra x-men for example for $20-30.  Pokemon was just a few short years later, I was around during the peak of that as well, and it wasn't too different.  "1st edition" packs were artificially rare, they weren't super exclusive like everyone thinks, if you're pegging the entire safety of your investment on that then good luck.  It's easy to blame 90's x-men cards failure as being over-produced/too much supply and while that's true to think Pokemon is somehow different or immune to that well I don't know what to say really.  The concepts were the same, the production was the same, they printed those things out like money with no cares to give.  Same thing, different property.

FleerUltraX-men94.jpg

 

While I agree with your sentiment

One could argue that pokemon was used to play a game and could not be just placed in a sleeve idk just thinking out loud 

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1 hour ago, 90sChild said:

Rule of 25 doesn't seem to apply to the awesome marvel x-men cards that came out between 93-96, those things were the pinnacle of collecting back then, kids cared more about collecting the cards than the actual comics of the characters they were based on.  
Depending on some of the brands you can get complete sets of '94 fleer ultra x-men for example for $20-30.  Pokemon was just a few short years later, I was around during the peak of that as well, and it wasn't too different.  "1st edition" packs were artificially rare, they weren't super exclusive like everyone thinks, if you're pegging the entire safety of your investment on that then good luck.  It's easy to blame 90's x-men cards failure as being over-produced/too much supply and while that's true to think Pokemon is somehow different or immune to that well I don't know what to say really.  The concepts were the same, the production was the same, they printed those things out like money with no cares to give.  Same thing, different property.

FleerUltraX-men94.jpg

 

The Marvel cards were definitely over produced. 95 and 96 Marvel Masterpieces have some value as the print runs dropped.

Unfortunately the art for these is also extremely lagging other markets. I loved these cards growing up so a lot of my OA collection is focused on this stuff...and  of course because that’s with what I have stuff with it is mostly dog mess on resale and not very liquid with little profitability compared to graded comics and other pen and ink comic art. 

I own the Magneto painting and the art for the Wolverine vs. Hulk on that promo piece.

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4 minutes ago, Mephisto said:

The Marvel cards were definitely over produced. 95 and 96 Marvel Masterpieces have some value as the print runs dropped.

Unfortunately the art for these is also extremely lagging other markets. I loved these cards growing up so a lot of my OA collection is focused on this stuff...and  of course because that’s with what I have stuff with it is mostly dog mess on resale and not very liquid with little profitability compared to graded comics and other pen and ink comic art. 

I own the Magneto painting and the art for the Wolverine vs. Hulk on that promo piece.

That's super cool you should post the original art, somewhere.

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12 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:
12 hours ago, 90sChild said:

Rule of 25 doesn't seem to apply to the awesome marvel x-men cards that came out between 93-96, those things were the pinnacle of collecting back then, kids cared more about collecting the cards than the actual comics of the characters they were based on.  
Depending on some of the brands you can get complete sets of '94 fleer ultra x-men for example for $20-30.  Pokemon was just a few short years later, I was around during the peak of that as well, and it wasn't too different.  "1st edition" packs were artificially rare, they weren't super exclusive like everyone thinks, if you're pegging the entire safety of your investment on that then good luck.  It's easy to blame 90's x-men cards failure as being over-produced/too much supply and while that's true to think Pokemon is somehow different or immune to that well I don't know what to say really.  The concepts were the same, the production was the same, they printed those things out like money with no cares to give.  Same thing, different property.

While I agree with your sentiment

One could argue that pokemon was used to play a game and could not be just placed in a sleeve idk just thinking out loud 

Another big difference is that 1st edition Pokemon cards are also "first appearance" collectibles for Pokemon. 

A beautiful '94 Fleer Ultra X-Men collection is from the 31st year of X-Men collectibles. 

It's a different format, cards vs. comics, but 1994 was the 31st year of Professor X and Magneto, 1994 was the 20th year of Wolverine, etc.

When you're looking for value in cards, you're usually looking for "rookies" and year 20 isn't even close.

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1 hour ago, valiantman said:

Another big difference is that 1st edition Pokemon cards are also "first appearance" collectibles for Pokemon. 

A beautiful '94 Fleer Ultra X-Men collection is from the 31st year of X-Men collectibles. 

It's a different format, cards vs. comics, but 1994 was the 31st year of Professor X and Magneto, 1994 was the 20th year of Wolverine, etc.

When you're looking for value in cards, you're usually looking for "rookies" and year 20 isn't even close.

That's an excellent thought.   I was brainstorming recently it sounds like these future Generations will not have collectibles in the physical format 25 years from now since all kids use are tablets

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The rule of 25 doesn't apply to a ton of stuff. Beanie Babies? Nope. The vast, vast majority of 90's cards and comics? Nope. Literally everything I collected as a kid is worthless. You can argue all of that stuff was overproduced, and it most certainly was, but interest is still next to zero for a most of it. Even hot collectibles like video games are mostly low dollar. If you owned certain games and if you kept them sealed, it's a goldmine, but the rest? Not so much. The majority of NES carts are still cheap (under $50 each for a good whack of the library) and even CIB stuff isn't generally that expensive. 

I agree that 25 years from now something will be popular and valuable, but identifying that thing is much much easier out the back window than the front. 

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13 minutes ago, october said:

The rule of 25 doesn't apply to a ton of stuff. Beanie Babies? Nope. The vast, vast majority of 90's cards and comics? Nope. Literally everything I collected as a kid is worthless. You can argue all of that stuff was overproduced, and it most certainly was, but interest is still next to zero for a most of it. Even hot collectibles like video games are mostly low dollar. If you owned certain games and if you kept them sealed, it's a goldmine, but the rest? Not so much. The majority of NES carts are still cheap (under $50 each for a good whack of the library) and even CIB stuff isn't generally that expensive. 

I agree that 25 years from now something will be popular and valuable, but identifying that thing is much much easier out the back window than the front. 

excellent counterpoints.

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