I collect and invest at the same time so definitely possible, have a PC and it's always for sale at the right price. Buy low and sell high keep in my collection till it sells! Very possible to do both at once.
My son and I just cracked a 151 ETB today that he had from his birthday. Got the full art illustration rare Charazard. Best card in the set. Should I open it or keep it sealed? ALWAYS OPEN IT! That's the fun!
@@MicahGCom No sealed product will ever be as valuable as the first sets, because nobody knew that the first sets would be valuable. Now these are "collectors items" which immediately decreases their value. But hey, good luck.
I don't gamble opening cards, I just buy specific cards I like that have a pattern of consistently going up in value or ones that I personally just enjoy a lot. I opened two evolving skies booster boxes when it came out. Spent about 290$ on the both and maybe made half my money back even with it being such a loaded set. I learned my lesson after that haha. Most high end new cards are less than 100$ unless it's the chase card. so why spend $100 in opening packs when you can just get that exact card you want.
In regards to the collection boxes (promo, premium, etc.), I've actually done very well with them. Might be different in the States verses other countries. Better for card shows, trade nights, etc. over selling online. For example, the Walmart Black Friday Jirachi boxes which I bought for $20 each (plus tax), sold easily for $100 each at a card show (sold seven boxes). If you're not familiar with those Jirachi boxes, they were huge with ten packs and with an actual promo card. And you have to remember that some cards/sets are only available in the collection boxes (and tins), like Detective Pikachu.
Buying any vintage also seems like a total waste of money, and only makes sense if you're making a ton of money off ripping it on youtube. Some of these loose packs, which are a rip anyways, or even boxes/etb's are so expensive sealed when the cards themselves have little to no value. Pretty much impossible to get back even half your money buying something like a Sun/Moon booster box or XY Evolutions.
@@Valverde713 I think of it as a hobby and an investment but no way in hell am I buying a pack that costs hundreds to get a non holo rare when you can get something like evolving skies or fusion strike in something which has more expensive cards than nearly anything eras before it. Even Paldean Fates or Twilight has good cards.
@@BigPat216 completely agree with you in that since. Though it is and always has been something that should be seen and enjoyed as a hobby first. Yes there are cards that are quite valuable and can be seen as an investment, however people shouldn't think they're gonna hit it off and get rich in a year or 2 off of Pokemon cards.
3-pack blisters tend to bend after months/years, due to the different reaction to the environmental humidity by the cardboard layer and the plastic one. This often causes the bending of the packs inside, due to the pressure of the bent cardboard.
I bought 4 pokemon 151 Booster bundles and I plan to save them for my newborn to open in the future once his older, Just to try and give him a bit of the childhood I had growing up. I just hope pokemon is still popular in the future and also that the 151 series isn't worthless by then😅
I personally only collect ETBs now. I just don’t have any desire to fumble with mixed sized items. For me, I rip packs, keep my favorite cards, complete master sets, and store ETBs.
What’s rough is that some sets start off being worth a lot, and are extremely promising. Then they just fall off completely, Lost Thunder is a great example of this. Opening up my Team Up Booster boxes was my biggest collecting mistake ever, the same thing with my Team Up ETB.
Took your advice and starting to buy 3 pack CZ for investing. Your logic is VERY SOUND. maximum product, most secure, and minimal storage space needed. As you said in a previous video i believe long term CZ will be the best set of the S&S era and one of the hall of fame sets. Because when it comes down to it people want good looking cards and high enjoyment in looking for these cards.
It is good If you buy 12 and you want to to rip open some packs yourself just open a three pack blister and you still have a load of sealed product, you can't really do that with a booster box
Wish I came across your channel when I got back into collecting a few months ago haha. I made the mistake of always falling for the marketing of the collection or premium boxes. But now a days I only buy individual cards that I need or want, as in my head it's a better long-term investment than spending $5 a pack for a CHANCE at something decent.
I 100% agree with you on the PC exclusive ETB. Great video! I made the mistake of buying the Crown zenith premium collection boxes; but just bought a few only. I did it because the PC ETBs aren’t available and I don’t like regular ETBs
Normally the collection boxes aren’t a great investment. But the crown Zenith Zacian and Zamazenta are an exception. If you got in at the $39 like me. You’re laughing. Regardless of the figures and the promos the 11 packs is a huge plus. They have shot up in price lately and are around $100 Aud and are dearer than the ETB’s. Most people have/are ripping them so they are becoming very sort after and will only go up more. So you’re good with these if you got in at a decent price.
Phillip you hit so many top points that not everyone talks about. Aside from opening the 151 Zappos box all collection boxes have rarely ever given me decent hits. Also, every time I see those collection boxes online they are always either low priced or the buyer will negotiate even more so than for a standard ETB or booster box. I think people make a lot of these mistakes all the time and they think there’s an exception to the rule. Generally there isn’t and you’re better off with a booster box. If you don’t have the funds, the three pack blister will do. Even regular ETBs will sell lower than MSRP because there’s not much interest in it. If you’re trying to open pack sets that don’t have booster boxes, ETBs are a nice buy since people will discount them.
It is a good point, but at least in the US, a PC ETB (which never go on sale and require paying extra for shipping) is almost 3-4 times the cost of a regular ETB of the same set on sale. So I agree they will be more collectible, but not sure if margin of value will actually put them ahead of regular ETBs in the next 10 years.
one thing i want to note is that it is also hard for veterans to tell if a pack is resealed most of the time unless they open it. like i think holding loose packs is fine if you get them from a sealed item but i would never buy a loose pack of any set. they are super easy to reseal, super hard to tell if they are resealed, and the rng can be manipulated on them even if you dont tamper with the pack itself. for example if you buy a loose pack of 151 from japan you will not get a master ball card. not because somebody opened the pack and took it out but because people know you get 1 per box so what they do is they open all the packs untill they get the master ball and then sell the packs left over. so yes stay away from buying loose packs but i would not necessarily say you should stay away from holding them if you get them from a sealed product you opened. like lets say you get a sealed product that has a set with witch you have already got all the cards you wanted out of it. might as well just keep that pack sealed and hold onto it at that point since it has nothing you want inside it.
They didn't even have to open the boosters, they weight them and the heavier booster have the ultra rare cards since these cards are heavier than common ones. They don't do this only in Japan, it's a regular trick that stores around the world use.
Ive always assumed for some reason the special releases i.e. zapdos/alakazam etc. are full of junk. But with a bunch of them on sale locally, I've pulled a zard from both the poster collection and zapdos this past week!
I know I shouldn't buy single packs, but I use all my truck stop points on them and find that getting them from multiple states across the country has given me a much better pull rate than buying local. Plus, there's an occasional sale where they're 50% off and I stock up!!!!
Vintage is no good anymore. Way too many hands on them at this point, even from legitimate sellers, because they've been tampered with before the legitimate seller got it. The best advice is to only buy from trusted sellers and nothing sealed older than like sun and moon. Buying singles older than that is the way to go. Also, if you only buy what you love yourself, including sealed packs, then even if they don't go up in price you can enjoy opening them down the road.
I couldn’t agree more! One of the smartest decisions Nintendo did when it’s comes to TCG is weighing energy cards so that weighed vs not-weighed has basically diminished and helped stop people from ripping others off
Nice video, I absolutely agree (but I do investing into loose packs when they are in sale, though 😉) and that's the point- when it's in the sale and there is some possibility of future profit (at least it can boost a traffic in your channel/shop/etc.) Then why not? I am not talking about spending thousands of dollars on loose packs or other premium collections, but a few. Just to benefit in a future from it 😊😊. Like Vaporeon V special collection from Evolving skies. Maan, I wish I'd bought more of them when they were in our shops😂. But it's only my suggestion😊.
I really appreciate this video!! I just got back into collecting after 20 years and im going to my first card show tomorrow to buy some things. I did buy a good few booster, but that was because i had nothing and wanted to see all the different cards.
Loose booster packs always looked like a suspicious deal to me but I never thought why it’s that way. After seeing your reasoning here I can completely agree!
Loose booster packs especially from modern set tend to get filtered from a booster box.. for example, in One Piece TCG, loose booster pack is always a big NO because each booster box has a certain hits.. so once all the hits are pulled, they know the rest of the booster packs has zero hits and then they will sell it as loose booster packs.. which are clearly filtered..
You should take some of his opinions with a grain of salt. People aren’t moving boxes everyday. Some people keep it stored. Others buy the booster boxes and sell them immediately online to make money. An addition to all that he does not have any statistics to say it’s generally bad either. At this point its anecdotal.
@@BodonismYou dont know if its clearly filtered. Its an opinion. I buy loose packs all the time and have gotten ultra rare cards. One youtube influences the minds of thousands of people when no one truly knows the numbers.
My collection is mainly ETBs (pokemon center if it was made for the set), booster boxes, and some collection boxes. I may start considering 3 pack blisters, but even if you have legit concerns over loose packs there will always be a buyer for them so i wouldnt worry too much.
Also you just have to use your head with regard to the cards. Illustration full arts are always more valuable than the gold and rainbow cards of a similar name, simply because they're beautiful, regardless of rarity. Know which pokemon are fan favorites. A lot of people just look up some theoretical price that their card is worth, not taking into account the market for the card. Fan favorite pokemon will always be worth more and have a bigger market than more obscure pokemon. Your obscure card may be worth $20, but you won't sell it for value and if you do, it will be to a niche market or a set collector who is looking to complete.
Someone else commented but yeah there’s a clear difference between investing and collecting. I wouldn’t invest in the cz premium boxes, but as a collector, they’re beautiful to display as cz so far is undisputedly a great set. Another note id include regarding promo boxes are there there are specific boxes worth investing in like the eevee vmax boxes in the past. Although its a train that is long gone, similar boxes in greninja and kingdra are fair to gauge as greninja is a fan favorite and the arts are beautiful
I agree with you on packs and boxes unless they are eeveelutions. There is a huge eeveelutions fan base and I am sure it will all appreciate with time.
Only one I think differently on is the Crown Zenith premiums, They are the last yellow border set before we changed to silver borders. Which people are already missing and feeling some form of nostalgia towards. I personally think later down the line people will look to return to sets like this maybe to rip on stream especially with great pull rates. But a potential for a good return on that investment just buy a few and store them in a tub later down the line. But I do agree that ETBs are more ideal and abit better on storage aha. In general though I go for BBs/ETBs/Triple Blisters and Sleeved blisters.
2:50 i understand this is aimed towards people with money (for the most part), but most people dont have hundreds of dollars to spend on TCG every month, so alot of people just buy a couple of loose booster packs here and there =) but yes, 100% true for people that HAVE money, and that want to store them sealed for a longer period of time!
not to mention with those special pokemon boxes, the promo and jumbo card will be bent or folded at the sides 99/100 times because its fckin impossible to get the card out without bending and most of the time it just bends itself because its only pinned down in two spots by plastic . The ones where you can slide the card out the bottom are way better but for some reason they dont always make them like that
I mean it's completely true to say if you hold any card long enough it will gain value. There is not a single card in platinum arcues set that is worth less than when it came out 15+ years ago.
I think I will have to just slightly disagree on that CZ figure collection. CZ has no booster boxes and I think it's the closest to that in terms of quantity of packs, some ripper in 5 years is going to want to open one of the biggest hitters of SWSH and that might be the easiest way of getting packs in bulk Great video though!
And I would say collection boxes with poor pack selections will ultimately keep the value down over the long term, but if it's something like 151 or crown zenith it should be better than the mythical squishys for example.
@@phillips.collectibles These things are always changing, so it's always good to look back at our assumptions and trends to see if things have changed. Plus, I'm still a bit new, so it's good to make sure I'm still grasping the principals or to see if my perspective is different now that I'm deeper in.
They are labeled and sold as pokemon center exclusive etb's. He explained it pretty well in the video, not to be an ass. The cards have the prestigious pokemon center stamp on them and they come with a few more goodies. Thats about it. ETB's are a good investment, regardless.
Can you even buy Pokémon center ETBs in Australia anyways? Or do you have to pay a premium to get it sent from overseas for example the new Prismatic Evolutions set? 👀
I think the CZ collection box is a poor example as most of the flaws you talked about it doesn't have (it is very clear what it contains and they seem to move reasonable volume at or just below MSRP in the US). The biggest thing against it imo is just the sheer size of the box makes storing a bit of a pain as well as the CZ ETB card sleeves are better imo. Also, if you just aren't a long term believer in CZ due to the size of the reprints that is understandable.
For me I just like collecting the pokemon that I loved as a kid (and still do) I don’t even know how the card game works, but I’m well on my way on my ralts+kirlia+gardevoir binder!
The ETB i don’t really agree with you. Yes the PC ETB is way better for investment but the regular ETB will be a better buy for people in the long run because they will always be cheaper then the PC one. 151 PC is already above the $100 mark where you can get the regular one for around $60. I am all in in both ETB’s but getting the PC one is hard for me (Netherlands) because they don’t ship in Europe
I disagree to a degree on the regulat etbs or collection boxes and not getting. Most regular etbs yes dont get cause not worth it and dont know how much they will grow. However, Certaim premium boxes and etbs do have the ability to go up alot. I.E. the eeveeloution premium boxes and ES etbs...however thats cause of eeveeloution for the boxes and ES etbs have ES in them. So there are outliers just gotta see them and grab em. Love the content. Thank you!
Love the channel but I think you are a bit harsh on premium collection boxes as a whole. Crown zenith is a specialty set and last of the yellow boarders so if you picked up the $39 boxes and held them for 2-3 years being able to sell them at the $80-$100 price point which is very reasonable at $8-$10 per pack would be a good investment as kids love collection boxes to rip open on birthdays and Xmas gifts. My 9 year old would rather a collection box to rip then a ETB that’s for sure.
Ive been finding tins with evolving skies loose packs and collecting those. I have 23 so far 🤷♂️ i feel like if youre lucky enough to find them those loose packs are worth it for sure.
Any advice would be appreciated, here is what I’m thinking so far. I’m new to collecting. I am going in loosely trying to collect a full set (shrouded fable) but mainly focusing on collecting all blastoise. I’m starting out with the Shrouded Fable set because it’s new and the trainer box was like $40 and that fits my budget. I also LOVED opening new packs when I was younger. I played the OG base set when I was a kid with friends so my main goal is collecting and nostalgia, not really looking at making a profit, just a little side hobby.
I made the mistake selling my 4000 card vintage collection, 1st ed shining gyrados, 4x lugia, tyranitar etc so many cards worth strong money and i sold all of it ungraded for a fraction of what it would be worth now, wanting to get back into the hobby again but cant justify buying individual cards like that again with current prices
@phillips.collectibles late 2019 early 2020 I believe, had 4 base set charizards in good condition too, sure I got around 2k for the full collection individually, shining gyrados first edition was around £280
Yer I made the mistake of selling my Crystal Lugia Aquapolis ungraded for just over 1000, I reckon it had a great chance of getting a 9 or even a 10. I didn’t know much about grading then.
I think that one is a bit of an anomaly since the promos inside did so well on the after market. In the vast majority of cases, the promos will not be nearly as cool looking or valuable.
I disagree with the premium collection boxes...especially with the example you gave, crown zenith has no booster box, like 151 also...These products are perfectly fine to keep sealed IMO because there is no "booster box" alternative. I agree for sets that have BB you should just buy that, but for sets like 151/Crown Zenith where your only options are the ETB or these 'premium' collections which aren't all that premium BUT they contain a good # of packs for the desired set. Those exact boxes are rising in price now and I think they'd be even more expensive if Sam's Club didn't release the specialty box containing a TON of CZ packs. 151 premium box is also on the rise....Also worth noting, ETBs I agree in general are pretty terrible investments...I had them for a long time and when I went to sell to invest in something else it was literally pulling teeth to get someone to buy them, and at a severe discount, I don't even think I made any money I sold at such a discount that I broke even at best.
in 10 years from now people WILL be searching for those jirachi boxes, because they would contain vintage cards of that era that would be worth $$$$$. The packs alone would sell for a boat load. Stop the bs lmao.
I think you’ve misunderstood the video. The main takeaway is if you bought a booster box in the same time period the profits would be better than the ancillary product. It’s not a matter of if the Jirachi Box would rise, it definitely would. However the booster box would outperform it.
Can can case the loose packs with the receipt. Showing the date it was sealed. Get that graded or something? That way it shows it was cases right after buying
Haha yeah just stay away from large boxes like those vboxes , just way too bulky for shipping be like $15 to ship , another 20% in fees , will take YEARS to break even
@@GameBoyGuru555 how so? I wasn’t talking about me. I don’t reseal packs. I was saying you’ve done that before to the guy that said it lol fool I don’t reseal shit I’m too poor.
I was like 10 yo and I resealed an OG pack just for the aesthetics, just with a regular prit stick glue stick. I had a Chinese older friend who I had JUST finally befriended (he was the cool nerd who always went back to china and brought over poke stuff before they were released here, his house was a poke fan’s dream. He was looking through my box of Poke stuff and asked to buy the pack. I sold it him and he opened there and immediately said is this resealed it doesn’t have a rare… he went home and we never talked again. I still cringe and feel super bad to this day, over 2 decades later
If I could give one bit of Pokémon buying advice it would be to never buy tins. They are harder to store. Its harder to understand what packs are included when they are older and have the worst hit rates. Leave them for children.
Yeah we’re doing fine. 😂 if you have product and have no concept of marketing or branding then yeah it’s not gonna be fun… if a woman is willing to pay $800 for a LV scrunchie I promise there are customers willing to buy anything
Only the ones that have shrink on the whole tin and not the ones with half shrink. You can slide the sleeve off and weigh the packs and re slip the shrink over.
Only the ones that have shrink on the whole tin and not the ones with half shrink. You can slide the sleeve off and weigh the packs and re slip the shrink over.
@@phillips.collectiblesI'm looking seriously at those. At Kmart they're $22, which means you're getting a promo card for an extra $1. Given that most of the S&V era Holos are appallingly centred, cut, and even printed on occasion, picking out any possible PSA 10's adds a bit of value.
As someone who wants to invest in single cards graded or ungraded I need to know if japanese cards will be worth the investment. English cards are getting so expensive that I am looking more and more for japanese cards. Japanese Secret Art Rare cards are also always so much better looking than the english version but are still cheaper and the price difference from a raw card to a PSA 10 is (of course due to better quality) never as high as for english cards.
If there's an English version of a card, the English version is pretty much always more valuable. Like he said about the whole etb .v pokemon center etb, it just feels second best. Cards that never got a English print, however, might be pretty valuable.
Dunno why you’re misinforming people regarding the mythical squishy collection. They aren’t sitting anywhere for ‘super cheap’, they may be available on secondary platforms but at about 2.5x retail which is a pretty good ROI. Also any product that contains evolving skies people are privy too and usually snap it all up when they can get it for retail, for example the v heroes tins which contained evoking skies packs where sold out nationwide within days of release.
Like I said these aren’t ‘sitting on shelves’ anywhere because the contents far exceed the retail value hence why they aren’t available for ‘super cheap’ and furthermore anyone who might’ve invested in these would be cheering as they’d be 2.5x on there money which to me doesn’t sound like a ‘drain on your money’.
What about the flareion vaporeon and jolteon boxes :)? Thoes boxes are imo a good sale! The promos are so great looking ppl are buying the boxes only to get them :)
Pokemon collecting and pokemon investing are 2 different things.
I collect and invest at the same time so definitely possible, have a PC and it's always for sale at the right price. Buy low and sell high keep in my collection till it sells! Very possible to do both at once.
Works best with graded cards and sealed products!
My son and I just cracked a 151 ETB today that he had from his birthday. Got the full art illustration rare Charazard. Best card in the set. Should I open it or keep it sealed? ALWAYS OPEN IT! That's the fun!
As someone with sealed product, I heartily approve this message. Everyone else, please open your boxes.
@@MicahGCom No sealed product will ever be as valuable as the first sets, because nobody knew that the first sets would be valuable. Now these are "collectors items" which immediately decreases their value. But hey, good luck.
I don't gamble opening cards, I just buy specific cards I like that have a pattern of consistently going up in value or ones that I personally just enjoy a lot. I opened two evolving skies booster boxes when it came out. Spent about 290$ on the both and maybe made half my money back even with it being such a loaded set. I learned my lesson after that haha. Most high end new cards are less than 100$ unless it's the chase card. so why spend $100 in opening packs when you can just get that exact card you want.
My number one mistake was being 7 when I got my og lugia and scratching it lmao
In regards to the collection boxes (promo, premium, etc.), I've actually done very well with them. Might be different in the States verses other countries. Better for card shows, trade nights, etc. over selling online. For example, the Walmart Black Friday Jirachi boxes which I bought for $20 each (plus tax), sold easily for $100 each at a card show (sold seven boxes). If you're not familiar with those Jirachi boxes, they were huge with ten packs and with an actual promo card.
And you have to remember that some cards/sets are only available in the collection boxes (and tins), like Detective Pikachu.
Very true! Thanks for the input you made some great points here.
Definately think selling these at conventions is better than online and shipping them
Buying any vintage also seems like a total waste of money, and only makes sense if you're making a ton of money off ripping it on youtube. Some of these loose packs, which are a rip anyways, or even boxes/etb's are so expensive sealed when the cards themselves have little to no value. Pretty much impossible to get back even half your money buying something like a Sun/Moon booster box or XY Evolutions.
Yeah good points made here
Buying any vintage is a waste? How naive...
Thinking of Pokemon as strictly an investment is a waste period
@@Valverde713 I think of it as a hobby and an investment but no way in hell am I buying a pack that costs hundreds to get a non holo rare when you can get something like evolving skies or fusion strike in something which has more expensive cards than nearly anything eras before it. Even Paldean Fates or Twilight has good cards.
@@BigPat216 completely agree with you in that since. Though it is and always has been something that should be seen and enjoyed as a hobby first. Yes there are cards that are quite valuable and can be seen as an investment, however people shouldn't think they're gonna hit it off and get rich in a year or 2 off of Pokemon cards.
3-pack blisters tend to bend after months/years, due to the different reaction to the environmental humidity by the cardboard layer and the plastic one. This often causes the bending of the packs inside, due to the pressure of the bent cardboard.
Yeah if you keep it outside or in sunlight which you shouldn’t be doing with any product
@@byVariations No, just a humidity difference between the store and your house is enough
I have silica gel packets in the containers with my products and cards.
I bought 4 pokemon 151 Booster bundles and I plan to save them for my newborn to open in the future once his older, Just to try and give him a bit of the childhood I had growing up. I just hope pokemon is still popular in the future and also that the 151 series isn't worthless by then😅
I personally only collect ETBs now. I just don’t have any desire to fumble with mixed sized items. For me, I rip packs, keep my favorite cards, complete master sets, and store ETBs.
ETBs are great for me as card storage as a beginner!
What’s rough is that some sets start off being worth a lot, and are extremely promising. Then they just fall off completely, Lost Thunder is a great example of this. Opening up my Team Up Booster boxes was my biggest collecting mistake ever, the same thing with my Team Up ETB.
Booster packs are my favorite thing to buy though lol. I enjoy opening them.
Took your advice and starting to buy 3 pack CZ for investing. Your logic is VERY SOUND. maximum product, most secure, and minimal storage space needed. As you said in a previous video i believe long term CZ will be the best set of the S&S era and one of the hall of fame sets. Because when it comes down to it people want good looking cards and high enjoyment in looking for these cards.
It is good If you buy 12 and you want to to rip open some packs yourself just open a three pack blister and you still have a load of sealed product, you can't really do that with a booster box
Wish I came across your channel when I got back into collecting a few months ago haha. I made the mistake of always falling for the marketing of the collection or premium boxes. But now a days I only buy individual cards that I need or want, as in my head it's a better long-term investment than spending $5 a pack for a CHANCE at something decent.
Great comment!
I 100% agree with you on the PC exclusive ETB. Great video! I made the mistake of buying the Crown zenith premium collection boxes; but just bought a few only. I did it because the PC ETBs aren’t available and I don’t like regular ETBs
That’s okay. Those premium figure collections are good to rip!
@@phillips.collectibles hahah true.
Normally the collection boxes aren’t a great investment. But the crown Zenith Zacian and Zamazenta are an exception. If you got in at the $39 like me. You’re laughing. Regardless of the figures and the promos the 11 packs is a huge plus. They have shot up in price lately and are around $100 Aud and are dearer than the ETB’s. Most people have/are ripping them so they are becoming very sort after and will only go up more. So you’re good with these if you got in at a decent price.
Finding out that everything on my shelf is a bad item to keep sealed... painful.
Enjoy the journey!
Rip em
Let it rip! Lol
So open it. lol. Were you really going to sell them one day? The fun is collecting the cards, not sealed boxes.
I dont get it so what should i buy if im trying to invest?
Phillip you hit so many top points that not everyone talks about. Aside from opening the 151 Zappos box all collection boxes have rarely ever given me decent hits. Also, every time I see those collection boxes online they are always either low priced or the buyer will negotiate even more so than for a standard ETB or booster box. I think people make a lot of these mistakes all the time and they think there’s an exception to the rule. Generally there isn’t and you’re better off with a booster box. If you don’t have the funds, the three pack blister will do. Even regular ETBs will sell lower than MSRP because there’s not much interest in it. If you’re trying to open pack sets that don’t have booster boxes, ETBs are a nice buy since people will discount them.
100%. Those collection boxes can be real misses with hits. For sure, booster boxes all the way!
I opened an Abra/alakazam box the other day and got 4 hits!
Really good point about the pokemon centre ETBs! Theres no Pokemon centres in Australia just yet so I never thought of that.
It is a good point, but at least in the US, a PC ETB (which never go on sale and require paying extra for shipping) is almost 3-4 times the cost of a regular ETB of the same set on sale. So I agree they will be more collectible, but not sure if margin of value will actually put them ahead of regular ETBs in the next 10 years.
one thing i want to note is that it is also hard for veterans to tell if a pack is resealed most of the time unless they open it. like i think holding loose packs is fine if you get them from a sealed item but i would never buy a loose pack of any set. they are super easy to reseal, super hard to tell if they are resealed, and the rng can be manipulated on them even if you dont tamper with the pack itself.
for example if you buy a loose pack of 151 from japan you will not get a master ball card. not because somebody opened the pack and took it out but because people know you get 1 per box so what they do is they open all the packs untill they get the master ball and then sell the packs left over. so yes stay away from buying loose packs but i would not necessarily say you should stay away from holding them if you get them from a sealed product you opened. like lets say you get a sealed product that has a set with witch you have already got all the cards you wanted out of it. might as well just keep that pack sealed and hold onto it at that point since it has nothing you want inside it.
They didn't even have to open the boosters, they weight them and the heavier booster have the ultra rare cards since these cards are heavier than common ones. They don't do this only in Japan, it's a regular trick that stores around the world use.
Ive always assumed for some reason the special releases i.e. zapdos/alakazam etc. are full of junk. But with a bunch of them on sale locally, I've pulled a zard from both the poster collection and zapdos this past week!
1999 packs are still 🔥 gotta buy it from a dependable source tho
They are unbeatable!
I know I shouldn't buy single packs, but I use all my truck stop points on them and find that getting them from multiple states across the country has given me a much better pull rate than buying local. Plus, there's an occasional sale where they're 50% off and I stock up!!!!
Vintage is no good anymore. Way too many hands on them at this point, even from legitimate sellers, because they've been tampered with before the legitimate seller got it. The best advice is to only buy from trusted sellers and nothing sealed older than like sun and moon. Buying singles older than that is the way to go. Also, if you only buy what you love yourself, including sealed packs, then even if they don't go up in price you can enjoy opening them down the road.
I couldn’t agree more! One of the smartest decisions Nintendo did when it’s comes to TCG is weighing energy cards so that weighed vs not-weighed has basically diminished and helped stop people from ripping others off
Nice video, I absolutely agree (but I do investing into loose packs when they are in sale, though 😉) and that's the point- when it's in the sale and there is some possibility of future profit (at least it can boost a traffic in your channel/shop/etc.) Then why not? I am not talking about spending thousands of dollars on loose packs or other premium collections, but a few. Just to benefit in a future from it 😊😊. Like Vaporeon V special collection from Evolving skies. Maan, I wish I'd bought more of them when they were in our shops😂.
But it's only my suggestion😊.
I enjoy the information you share with the community. It is very informative and digestible. Keep up the great work and happy hunting!
Appreciate that my man
I really appreciate this video!! I just got back into collecting after 20 years and im going to my first card show tomorrow to buy some things. I did buy a good few booster, but that was because i had nothing and wanted to see all the different cards.
Thats perfectly fine....the Hobby should bring fun. Do what makes you happy😊
Loose booster packs always looked like a suspicious deal to me but I never thought why it’s that way. After seeing your reasoning here I can completely agree!
Yeah I have always found them difficult to buy because of that!
Loose booster packs especially from modern set tend to get filtered from a booster box.. for example, in One Piece TCG, loose booster pack is always a big NO because each booster box has a certain hits.. so once all the hits are pulled, they know the rest of the booster packs has zero hits and then they will sell it as loose booster packs.. which are clearly filtered..
You should take some of his opinions with a grain of salt. People aren’t moving boxes everyday. Some people keep it stored. Others buy the booster boxes and sell them immediately online to make money.
An addition to all that he does not have any statistics to say it’s generally bad either.
At this point its anecdotal.
@@BodonismYou dont know if its clearly filtered. Its an opinion. I buy loose packs all the time and have gotten ultra rare cards.
One youtube influences the minds of thousands of people when no one truly knows the numbers.
My collection is mainly ETBs (pokemon center if it was made for the set), booster boxes, and some collection boxes. I may start considering 3 pack blisters, but even if you have legit concerns over loose packs there will always be a buyer for them so i wouldnt worry too much.
Nice one - are you collecting Scarlet and Violet ETB’s?
@@phillips.collectibleswith sv I'm doing a PC etbs and a booster box or two
Holding modern day products is so common the margins wont be nearly as big but still is fun
Also you just have to use your head with regard to the cards. Illustration full arts are always more valuable than the gold and rainbow cards of a similar name, simply because they're beautiful, regardless of rarity. Know which pokemon are fan favorites. A lot of people just look up some theoretical price that their card is worth, not taking into account the market for the card. Fan favorite pokemon will always be worth more and have a bigger market than more obscure pokemon. Your obscure card may be worth $20, but you won't sell it for value and if you do, it will be to a niche market or a set collector who is looking to complete.
Someone else commented but yeah there’s a clear difference between investing and collecting. I wouldn’t invest in the cz premium boxes, but as a collector, they’re beautiful to display as cz so far is undisputedly a great set. Another note id include regarding promo boxes are there there are specific boxes worth investing in like the eevee vmax boxes in the past. Although its a train that is long gone, similar boxes in greninja and kingdra are fair to gauge as greninja is a fan favorite and the arts are beautiful
I agree with you on packs and boxes unless they are eeveelutions. There is a huge eeveelutions fan base and I am sure it will all appreciate with time.
I just got back into tgc the other day and my first pack I opened was twilight masquerade and I pulled the eevee full art, talk about some luck!
@@ItsBreathingjet That’s awesome!
Only one I think differently on is the Crown Zenith premiums, They are the last yellow border set before we changed to silver borders. Which people are already missing and feeling some form of nostalgia towards. I personally think later down the line people will look to return to sets like this maybe to rip on stream especially with great pull rates. But a potential for a good return on that investment just buy a few and store them in a tub later down the line. But I do agree that ETBs are more ideal and abit better on storage aha. In general though I go for BBs/ETBs/Triple Blisters and Sleeved blisters.
Yeah exactly right good point here. Do you like Crown Zenith?
Yes I like it a lot . It's the gallarian gallery that does it. And thé hits are unbelievable . @@phillips.collectibles
2:50 i understand this is aimed towards people with money (for the most part), but most people dont have hundreds of dollars to spend on TCG every month, so alot of people just buy a couple of loose booster packs here and there =)
but yes, 100% true for people that HAVE money, and that want to store them sealed for a longer period of time!
not to mention with those special pokemon boxes, the promo and jumbo card will be bent or folded at the sides 99/100 times because its fckin impossible to get the card out without bending and most of the time it just bends itself because its only pinned down in two spots by plastic . The ones where you can slide the card out the bottom are way better but for some reason they dont always make them like that
Yep…those in PSA 10 are so hard to get!
I pulled an illustration rare Charizard in the zapdos ex promo box :)
Thank you for this great video. 🎉
I mean it's completely true to say if you hold any card long enough it will gain value. There is not a single card in platinum arcues set that is worth less than when it came out 15+ years ago.
Thank you for the video, I'll keep it in mind.
I think I will have to just slightly disagree on that CZ figure collection. CZ has no booster boxes and I think it's the closest to that in terms of quantity of packs, some ripper in 5 years is going to want to open one of the biggest hitters of SWSH and that might be the easiest way of getting packs in bulk
Great video though!
And I would say collection boxes with poor pack selections will ultimately keep the value down over the long term, but if it's something like 151 or crown zenith it should be better than the mythical squishys for example.
I agree with the ETB pulls I pulled the giratina v alt and moonbreon from ETBs.
They pack straight heat!
I'm always rewatching your videos to make sure I'm keeping sharp!
You're the best!
@@phillips.collectibles "I want to be...the very BEST" XD :)
@@phillips.collectibles These things are always changing, so it's always good to look back at our assumptions and trends to see if things have changed.
Plus, I'm still a bit new, so it's good to make sure I'm still grasping the principals or to see if my perspective is different now that I'm deeper in.
But it’s still ton of fun opening vintage boosters.
Damn my first investment was a CZ zamazenta box 😅 I decided to pick it up because it was 30e cheaper than the only other one I found. Lesson learned!
Me living in europe with the ETB part:
Thanks, i cant get those without extra loopholes since no pokemon centre exists here
Thank you for the amazing content bro so helpful it’s unreal
You're a legend!
I disagree on the crown zenith premium boxes. Anything Crown Zenith will increase in value.
This is true! Though buyer market later really matters.
Be real that’s what your whole collection consists of 😝
@@JB-ek5fi Nah
I love crowns artwork
@@JB-ek5fi shut up 💖
Hi, love the content, any chance you could explain the difference between a base ETB you said to avoid and a standard ETB such as Crown Zenith please?
They are labeled and sold as pokemon center exclusive etb's. He explained it pretty well in the video, not to be an ass. The cards have the prestigious pokemon center stamp on them and they come with a few more goodies. Thats about it. ETB's are a good investment, regardless.
I stick to slabs rated by PSA or Beckett! Put them away for 20 years for the kids. Hopefully they thank me one day!
Can you even buy Pokémon center ETBs in Australia anyways? Or do you have to pay a premium to get it sent from overseas for example the new Prismatic Evolutions set? 👀
I think the CZ collection box is a poor example as most of the flaws you talked about it doesn't have (it is very clear what it contains and they seem to move reasonable volume at or just below MSRP in the US). The biggest thing against it imo is just the sheer size of the box makes storing a bit of a pain as well as the CZ ETB card sleeves are better imo. Also, if you just aren't a long term believer in CZ due to the size of the reprints that is understandable.
I've also bought half of what you said not to by. If my channel name doesn't say enough. Im a total noob 😅😂
How do you feel about sleeved blisters?
Better than loose
Pokemon just became a gambling thing. I enjoy to see there is people that see as i did when kid, a cool card game.
For me I just like collecting the pokemon that I loved as a kid (and still do) I don’t even know how the card game works, but I’m well on my way on my ralts+kirlia+gardevoir binder!
Great vid
The ETB i don’t really agree with you. Yes the PC ETB is way better for investment but the regular ETB will be a better buy for people in the long run because they will always be cheaper then the PC one.
151 PC is already above the $100 mark where you can get the regular one for around $60.
I am all in in both ETB’s but getting the PC one is hard for me (Netherlands) because they don’t ship in Europe
Don’t forget the poke centre stamped promos though. They add more value to the pc versions.
Totally agree and commented this as well. Every ETB released before 2020 is up AT MINIMUM 100% over MSRP. Bad take, in my opinion.
Are hanger packs safer to buy? And if so, are they good to invest in.
I disagree to a degree on the regulat etbs or collection boxes and not getting. Most regular etbs yes dont get cause not worth it and dont know how much they will grow. However, Certaim premium boxes and etbs do have the ability to go up alot. I.E. the eeveeloution premium boxes and ES etbs...however thats cause of eeveeloution for the boxes and ES etbs have ES in them. So there are outliers just gotta see them and grab em. Love the content. Thank you!
Love the channel but I think you are a bit harsh on premium collection boxes as a whole. Crown zenith is a specialty set and last of the yellow boarders so if you picked up the $39 boxes and held them for 2-3 years being able to sell them at the $80-$100 price point which is very reasonable at $8-$10 per pack would be a good investment as kids love collection boxes to rip open on birthdays and Xmas gifts.
My 9 year old would rather a collection box to rip then a ETB that’s for sure.
It’s great for younger gens! I think I would just always choose ETB over Premium figures.
Appreciate the comment ✅👍
This is so interesting i do sports cards right now but this is cool too
Ive been finding tins with evolving skies loose packs and collecting those. I have 23 so far 🤷♂️ i feel like if youre lucky enough to find them those loose packs are worth it for sure.
absolutely love the content!
Appreciate that!!
Wow you really opened my eyes to how I buy online bro...
Sounds like sarcasm 😂
Love the content.. subscribing now 👍🏃💨
Welcome aboard!
Any advice would be appreciated, here is what I’m thinking so far. I’m new to collecting. I am going in loosely trying to collect a full set (shrouded fable) but mainly focusing on collecting all blastoise. I’m starting out with the Shrouded Fable set because it’s new and the trainer box was like $40 and that fits my budget. I also LOVED opening new packs when I was younger. I played the OG base set when I was a kid with friends so my main goal is collecting and nostalgia, not really looking at making a profit, just a little side hobby.
Curious to know how Pokemon TCG Pocket (mobile/digital collections) will impact the card trading market. I'm highly interested in PTCGP.
Great advice! thx. I bet i'll save alot from this! ☺
Nice one!!
I made the mistake selling my 4000 card vintage collection, 1st ed shining gyrados, 4x lugia, tyranitar etc so many cards worth strong money and i sold all of it ungraded for a fraction of what it would be worth now, wanting to get back into the hobby again but cant justify buying individual cards like that again with current prices
When was this? How long ago did you sell
@phillips.collectibles late 2019 early 2020 I believe, had 4 base set charizards in good condition too, sure I got around 2k for the full collection individually, shining gyrados first edition was around £280
Yer I made the mistake of selling my Crystal Lugia Aquapolis ungraded for just over 1000, I reckon it had a great chance of getting a 9 or even a 10. I didn’t know much about grading then.
I keep getting good hits from the three booster pack bundles.
Idk man. Things like my jolteon premium collection box has went from 40 bucks to 130 in the span of a few years. I have sold several of them easily
I think that one is a bit of an anomaly since the promos inside did so well on the after market. In the vast majority of cases, the promos will not be nearly as cool looking or valuable.
That mythical squishy pack sells for £120 uk. Maybe location dependant too?
I disagree with the premium collection boxes...especially with the example you gave, crown zenith has no booster box, like 151 also...These products are perfectly fine to keep sealed IMO because there is no "booster box" alternative. I agree for sets that have BB you should just buy that, but for sets like 151/Crown Zenith where your only options are the ETB or these 'premium' collections which aren't all that premium BUT they contain a good # of packs for the desired set.
Those exact boxes are rising in price now and I think they'd be even more expensive if Sam's Club didn't release the specialty box containing a TON of CZ packs. 151 premium box is also on the rise....Also worth noting, ETBs I agree in general are pretty terrible investments...I had them for a long time and when I went to sell to invest in something else it was literally pulling teeth to get someone to buy them, and at a severe discount, I don't even think I made any money I sold at such a discount that I broke even at best.
in 10 years from now people WILL be searching for those jirachi boxes, because they would contain vintage cards of that era that would be worth $$$$$. The packs alone would sell for a boat load. Stop the bs lmao.
I think you’ve misunderstood the video. The main takeaway is if you bought a booster box in the same time period the profits would be better than the ancillary product.
It’s not a matter of if the Jirachi Box would rise, it definitely would. However the booster box would outperform it.
KMarts still alive? Talk about a curveball mid video 😂
This is in Australia, not sure around the world
genuine question - what about Europe where we don't have a Pokemon Center and therefore no Pokemon Center ETBs? (Germany)
Can can case the loose packs with the receipt. Showing the date it was sealed. Get that graded or something? That way it shows it was cases right after buying
I would love to buy some vintage packs but I’m super nervous about them being weighted. Can the blister ones be weighted too?? I have no clue lmao
Wouldn’t worry about that with blisters. Definitely can’t be weighted.
Loose boosters is a big no no. Agreed.
Should’ve watched this video before I bought the charizard premium
pulled an arcues v star that ended up being a psa 10 in the zarian premium box. sold it for $300
Haha yeah just stay away from large boxes like those vboxes , just way too bulky for shipping be like $15 to ship , another 20% in fees , will take YEARS to break even
100%. What’s your favourite to invest in?
Idk why people would use glue for re sealing because the packs are self sealing with heat
Glue is very common
Done this before
@@GameBoyGuru555 how so? I wasn’t talking about me. I don’t reseal packs. I was saying you’ve done that before to the guy that said it lol fool I don’t reseal shit I’m too poor.
@@coltonblood2776can confirm this guy is full of shit and they do not reseal with heat
I was like 10 yo and I resealed an OG pack just for the aesthetics, just with a regular prit stick glue stick.
I had a Chinese older friend who I had JUST finally befriended (he was the cool nerd who always went back to china and brought over poke stuff before they were released here, his house was a poke fan’s dream.
He was looking through my box of Poke stuff and asked to buy the pack. I sold it him and he opened there and immediately said is this resealed it doesn’t have a rare… he went home and we never talked again.
I still cringe and feel super bad to this day, over 2 decades later
If I could give one bit of Pokémon buying advice it would be to never buy tins. They are harder to store. Its harder to understand what packs are included when they are older and have the worst hit rates. Leave them for children.
Bros got me busting out a notepad
I bought my Daughter one of the promo boxes from a discount rack at JB HiFi on Saturday for $25 and She pulled a Giratina V, crazy hey.
Unreal!! What a pull
How did base ETB's make this list when every ETB before 2020 is up 100% over MSRP. You could have bought any ETB back in the day and be up big time...
Yeah we’re doing fine. 😂 if you have product and have no concept of marketing or branding then yeah it’s not gonna be fun… if a woman is willing to pay $800 for a LV scrunchie I promise there are customers willing to buy anything
I just bought two booster boxes of the japanese 151 rerun, hope I didn't make a mistake 😢
This goes to one of his other videos about not worrying about FOMO. Buy what you like. Buy the things your enjoying. The money chase will kill ya.
So sea & sky collection a no no? Hahaha here in the states sams club had them for 40 each. 14 packs!!
Do you think Pokémon mini tins are a good investment? Particularly crown zenith.
Only the ones that have shrink on the whole tin and not the ones with half shrink. You can slide the sleeve off and weigh the packs and re slip the shrink over.
Only the ones that have shrink on the whole tin and not the ones with half shrink. You can slide the sleeve off and weigh the packs and re slip the shrink over.
@@justinalexander4166 appreciate the advice, I just bought a crown zenith 10 mini tin set so will definitely be double checking that shrink wrap ! 💯
They’re cool. I love 3-pack blisters!
@@phillips.collectiblesI'm looking seriously at those. At Kmart they're $22, which means you're getting a promo card for an extra $1.
Given that most of the S&V era Holos are appallingly centred, cut, and even printed on occasion, picking out any possible PSA 10's adds a bit of value.
10:03 you call 90 bucks cheap lol 😂
He’s comparing it to what the evolving skies packs are on their own, in comparison it is cheap
@@FiXic0 no it’s not they are 15-20 Per pack
@@sandycrash8868 what’s 15x7? It’s more than $90
@@FiXic0 you only get 2 pack of ES what’s 15x2 vs 90
@@sandycrash8868 when he said that he was talking about the 7 pack ETBs
As someone who wants to invest in single cards graded or ungraded I need to know if japanese cards will be worth the investment. English cards are getting so expensive that I am looking more and more for japanese cards. Japanese Secret Art Rare cards are also always so much better looking than the english version but are still cheaper and the price difference from a raw card to a PSA 10 is (of course due to better quality) never as high as for english cards.
If there's an English version of a card, the English version is pretty much always more valuable. Like he said about the whole etb .v pokemon center etb, it just feels second best.
Cards that never got a English print, however, might be pretty valuable.
3 pack blisters are the best
Well, I started on base sets, and they definitely won't come back as 1st editions
Fossil or other special designations on packs
What are peoples thoughts on tins?
ETBs will never be as good of an investment as a booster box.
Dunno why you’re misinforming people regarding the mythical squishy collection. They aren’t sitting anywhere for ‘super cheap’, they may be available on secondary platforms but at about 2.5x retail which is a pretty good ROI. Also any product that contains evolving skies people are privy too and usually snap it all up when they can get it for retail, for example the v heroes tins which contained evoking skies packs where sold out nationwide within days of release.
In Australia we can still get these pretty easily to be honest.
Like I said these aren’t ‘sitting on shelves’ anywhere because the contents far exceed the retail value hence why they aren’t available for ‘super cheap’ and furthermore anyone who might’ve invested in these would be cheering as they’d be 2.5x on there money which to me doesn’t sound like a ‘drain on your money’.
Here in California you can find them on the market for just over retail 🤷♂️
@@PokeVidTCG doubt it as most recent eBay sales on this item from the US are $100 aud + $70 aud shipping
@@khodrsalah2024 you say doubt it but I see them sitting at my Walmart and have seen plenty listings on FB marketplace for cheap.
ETBs have the WORST pull rates Character Boxes shit pull rate only booster boxes are sort of guaranteed pull rates
What about the flareion vaporeon and jolteon boxes :)? Thoes boxes are imo a good sale!
The promos are so great looking ppl are buying the boxes only to get them :)
Moonbreon is now over 1400 PSA 10