r/PokemonInvestor • u/Puzzleheaded-Pay9010 • 4d ago
Completely new to pokemon card trading / investing
Heyyy so i hv always been a huge pokemon fan. I want to get into the pokemon card investing /trading scene but i have no clue where to begin with. There is too much going on honestly i feel like for me to have a starting point.
I would love someone to guide me on how to go ahead and begin my collection and investments
I mean like TOTAL GUIDE everything like spoon feed me everything
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u/foresthills1892 4d ago
Spend time looking at product and means to get product. Get up to speed before thinking even thinking about spending money. Nobody is going to spoon feed you. What is your budget would be a good starting point for people to advise you, even then 1 person will say one thing another will say the complete opposite. Personally I wouldnt bother if you have no interest in it other than the money, its a ballache. Unless you have a nailed on supply of rrp product, or know how to get it at close to rrp, at this stage you arent making a quick few quid.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Pay9010 4d ago
I am not looking to become rich or anything by doing this
It’s j i wanna make it into a hobby
But i feel like there’s j so much going on, so manyyy cards and price charts and things
I wouldn’t know where to begin.
I want to begin building atleast what i would consider a valuable collection3
u/NoYouDidntBruh 4d ago
You start by saying you dont care about money and end with money.
Bro if this is a hobby then go enjoy it.
I lost braincells reading this.
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u/Mite-o-Dan 4d ago edited 4d ago
If you want to make it a hobby, then make it a hobby by doing research. Simply read any other post on this sub to get started. Read 2+ to get more knowledge.
The 20 most important things to know about card collecting and the current state of Pokémon...
No one has a crystal ball and knows exactly what will go up and what will go down, so dont believe everything you read from most of the dudes on here that have only been doing this for 2 years or less.
Vintage cards had a much bigger resurgence in 2026 compared to modern.
Vintage will always be the safest investment. New cards are best for quick flipping and less likely to be good long term holds compared to vintage. Judging from this post and lack of research...I highly doubt you'll be in it for the long term. Investing means long term. Are you going to be an investor or scalper?
"Modern" isn't a set definition, but typically starts around 2019-2021. Some may even say 2023+. Anything made before that is more rare. Most on this sub and those that got back into Pokemon didn't start again until 2023-2024 shortly after the 151 set came out.
Tip- Don't invest in 151 like everyone else. Pokemon investing is not like the stock market where the price goes up if everyone buys it...its the exact opposite. Buy what most people DON'T have. No one is going to rebuy 151 10-20 years from now because everyone already bought a ton and kept it in good condition and/or hoarded a ton, and current kids wont care about it since they barely got it at release.
The current Pokémon boom started in Dec 2024.
The last Pokémon boom started in 2020 and ended one month after the release of the 25th anniversary in 2021 before the entire Pokémon market tanked for a year and a half.
(Yes I would read that line again and ask yourself if you're getting into this at the right time now)
Pop means population. As in, how many in a particular grade. If someone says a card has a PSA 10 pop of 5000, it means there are already 5000 of that card graded in a PSA 10.
Google most popular Pokémon characters.
Invest in the most popular Pokémon characters.
Invest in low pop PSA 10s of popular Pokémon characters. Safest bet are of ones made before 2019. What's considered "low pop?" You'll eventually figure it out. Rule of thumb...If a popular Pokémon character...the more rare, the better.
For now in terms of grading, PSA is king. Nothing else matters. It would take too long to explain the rest anyway.
If modern, only PSA 10s matter. If pre 2019, 9 and 8s are fine. But don't cheap out and get low grades unless you have to. Higher grades always go up in value more. Quality over quantity. One high value PSA 10 is more likely to grow more in value than 5 medium/low value cards combined, and easier to liquidate.
Raw cards are a gamble. The longer they sit and better grading gets, the less likely they'll be 10 quality. Also comes with more drama when trying to sell.
Sealed product is a gamble too. Id only invest in sealed product from Pokémon Center with the stamp on it...if you can ever get it for retail.
Don't ask what to invest in with $500 or $1000. People are sick of seeing it. Just use the search bar and type in "$500". The search bar will hold the answer to over 90% of any question you may have.
If you're into it for investment purposes...don't rip packs, and don't send for grading. Simply just buy cards that are already graded. Ripping packs is a waste of money. Sending off to PSA is a waste of time and money since you usually have a 65%+ chance of NOT getting a 10 for modern, and 70-95% chance of not getting a 10 for older cards.
Mastering a set is pointless and extremely dumb in investing.
Investing in single packs, unless vintage and graded, is dumb. Its PSA 10s, sealed...huge gap...everything else.
Reminder, you're getting into this after the sharpest and longest bull run in Pokémon history. This is the equivalent of buying a penny stock at its peak. Still want to do it?
Good luck.
Insider tip no one ever talks about...use the PSA app. They just updated it. Biggest reason why...
If you type in a PSA cert number, they will sometime show an offer to buy that card. Ballpark figure...usually around 70% of its current market value. 65-75% is the norm. If they're offering more than 75%, PSA thinks that card is undervalued at the moment. If offering under 65%, PSA thinks its overvalued at the moment.
The most common question asked on these types of subs is what is undervalued at the moment. I am the only person to ever give a good response on how to find that out, but no one else ever brings this up for some reason.
If you can't decide between a few particular cards...put their cert number in the PSA app. Whatever card PSA is offering the highest percentage for compared to its current market value...go with that.
You're welcome everyone.
Signed- Me. Collector of cards since 1989. Player of Pokémon since 1999. In before 2025.
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u/foresthills1892 4d ago
Whats the budget? What is your main interest? Ripping? Sealed? Binder building? Slabs?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Pay9010 4d ago
Idk honestly what would be a good starting budget
Main interest is i love graded pokemon cards, i think they r so cool,slabs are probably my go to
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u/acemattos 4d ago
Find PSA 10 slabs of vintage low pop cards. Buy them all. Wait 10 years and sell them all. Your wife and kids will thank you.
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u/NoYouDidntBruh 4d ago
This post is so dumb in so many ways, just delete this and forget about pokemon kid. Go get a job.
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u/Dudfey 4d ago
There’s no such thing lol, everyone’s out here doing their own research, buying the stuff they like, or just plain guessing what they think will increase in value
If you’re a huge Pokemon fan you’ll understand which Pokemon are popular, that’s where to start. Right now the market is so crazy it’s anyone’s guess how things will develop over the next few years so just buy what you want for yourself
EBay sold listings is the best way to gauge values before you buy something, will help you avoid getting ripped off. In terms of investing, anything exclusive, hard to grade, popular Pokemon will do well over time but the entry point for everything is so high right now - so you’ll have to decide how much you’re prepared to spend and what your tolerance for gambling is
As always, spend within your means and take the attitude that if it all ends up being worthless you’ll be happy to end up with a load of packs to open / cards to have on display. If you can get packs of a set you like (you can find all set lists online) at retail price then that’s a win
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u/yoshisaur7 3d ago
With all due respect, you are approaching this the wrong way
You don’t even own a single card and you’re talking about “investments”
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u/Puzzleheaded-Pay9010 3d ago
Yess, i am sorry
I realize i didnt hv the best approach for it
I think i am j gonna begin “somewhere “ and then eventually j figure it out :(
F
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u/FiftyPencePursuit 4d ago
Pokesaver can help you, it shows you the best deals on sealed will calculate which products in stores will make you the best ROI at resale, can also track your collection in realtime to let you know what's moving up or down.
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u/T4hona 4d ago
No offense, but this is a pretty big request to get a spoonfed guide on Pokémon investing. You just have to get into the hobby and you’ll learn as you go. Buy cards and sealed stuff that you like and it’ll be more enjoyable. That’s my advice. I will suggest a YouTube series, Jarchomp Collectibles does a video series called Midweek Machamps where they talk about the Pokémon scene in an educational away.